Is this a real person? Mary Polly Hayden.

Question

This is a rabbit hole I am not willing to go down but perhaps you might be interested in this family or this puzzle to make wikitree more accurate.

I do not think this person ever existed and I suspect with my gut that the marriage record citing the marriage between Leonard Mattingly and Mary Hayden was copied at ancestry a few times with the important detail lost just so someone could give a maiden name to Mary.

The link cited for the sources was Rootsweb which no longer works.

Have fun.

Answer 1

This website has wills posted for the Hayden family of Washington County and St. Mary's County of Maryland.

This page details Mary's father George, explains two marriages and the ages of his children.

https://kentuckykindredgenealogy.com/2022/06/20/1794-will-of-william-hayden-washington-county/

This page has the will of Basil Hayden, one of the older sons of George and related explanations.

https://kentuckykindredgenealogy.com/2020/05/24/1804-will-of-basil-hayden-sr-washington-county/

This page lists the will of Leonard Mattingly and mentions two wives, neither of which are this Mary:

https://kentuckykindredgenealogy.com/2020/12/01/1829-will-of-leonard-mattingly-senior-washington-county/

In the comments, someone mentions Mary (Polly) and says her information is from :

“Traditions and genealogy lamentably imperfect of the Mattingly family 1633-1918”

Here is the page which mentions Leonard marrying Polly:

Mattingly

There are no dates involved but it looks like it's attempting to outline the same family, as they both are outlining Charles Mattingly with sons Leonard and Luke. 

More work needs to be done here, whether it's tidying or research.

Answer 2

I think it might help to retreat down the family line and get the earlier generations right before trying to sort out Mary. There's a lot wrong in all those profiles.

Answer 3

This is in reference to the source "Traditions and genealogy, lamentably imperfect, of the Mattingly family, 1633-1918", by Father Julius Mattingly.

It does list that Leonard Mattingly was married to Polly Hayden. With that being said, Father Julius Mattingly was of the Ohio branch of the family so his source would've probably been one of the Kentucky family members.

Regardless, it doesn't seem like Polly Hayden as Leonard Mattingly's wife is a new creation. The book was written in 1918.

Traditions and genealogy, lamentably imperfect, of the Mattingly family, 1633-1918

Traditions and genealogy, lamentably imperfect, of the Mattingly family, 1633-1918

Traditions and genealogy, lamentably imperfect, of the Mattingly family, 1633-1918