Margery (Offlett) Bitfield (abt. 1605 - bef. 1632)

Born about 1605 in Bristol, England [uncertain]

Wife of Samuel Bitfield — married 1 May 1626 in Bristol, England

Descendants

Died before 1 Apr 1632 before about age 27 in Bristol, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Chase Ashley [send private message]

Biography

This is the profile for Margery Offlett who married Samuell Bitfield at St. Werburgh, Bristol on 1 May 1626.

Parentage; Other Offlett Records

Margery's parentage has not been determined.

As of October 2023, the following are the only records for persons with the surname Offlett (or variants thereof) in the Bristol area in 1580-1640:

• Mary Oflet, daughter of Edmunde Oflet, bpt. 28 May 1618 at St. Thomas, Bristol.^[1] (Edmund may have been Margery's older brother.)
• Alice Offett bur. 14 November 1624 at St John the Baptist, Bristol.^[2] (Alice may have been Margery's mother.)
• Ann Oflett m. William Stratton on 29 July 1632 at St. Thomas, Bristol.^[3] (Ann may have been Margery's younger sister.)

Possible other spellings of the surname include Offutt, Owfett and Ovett.

Date and Place of Birth

Based on Margery's date of marriage, she was probably born sometime in 1600-1608, with about 1605 being a reasonable round-number estimate. Since Margery was married in Bristol, it is most likely that she was born in or near Bristol, England.

Marriage

Samuel Bitfield batcheler and Margery Offlett maiden were married the first day of May 1626 at St. Werburgh, Bristol.^[4]

It is quite likely that the Samuel Bitfield whom Margery married was the Samuel Bitfield who later emigrated to Boston. That assertion is supported by the following factors: (1) Samuel Bitfield of Bristol's May 1626 date of marriage is highly consistent with Samuel Bitfield of Boston's February 1601/2 date of baptism,^[5] (2) Samuel Bitfield of Boston was known to have been living in Bristol in 1622,^[5] and the Samuel Bitfield who married Margery is the only Samuel Bitfield who is known to have been in his 20s and living Bristol at the time, (3) Samuel Bitfield of Bristol had a daughter Elizabeth who was baptized at St. Thomas, Bristol on 21 March 1628/9,^[6] which is consistent with the fact that Samuel Bitfield of Boston had a daughter named Elizabeth who got married in the late 1640s,^[7] (4) Samuel Bitfield of Boston had a daughter Mary who, based on her being mentioned before his daughter Elizabeth in his will, was older than Elizabeth,^[5] and although no baptism record has yet been found for a daughter Mary of Samuel Bitfield of Bristol, the gap between Samuel Bitfield's marriage in May 1626 and the baptism of his daughter Elizabeth in March 1628/9 makes it likely that he had a child born about 1627, who was probably Mary, and (5) Margery, the wife of Samuel Bitfield of Bristol, was buried at St. Thomas, Bristol in April 1632,^[8] which is consistent with evidence that indicates that Samuel's relict, Elizabeth, was not his first wife or the mother of his children Mary and Elizabeth.^[5]

Children

Margery and Samuel Bitfield had the following children:

1. Mary, b. probably about 1627 in Bristol, England,^[9] m. probably 1646 Samuel Plummer in Newbury, Massachusetts
2. Elizabeth, bpt. 21 March 1628/9 at St. Thomas, Bristol, England,^[6] m. 1st probably 19 May 1648 William Stevens in Newbury, Massachusetts,^[7] m. 2d 3 March 1653/4 William Tittcomb in Newbury, Massachusetts^[10]

Death; Burial

Margery ("Margery the wife of Samuel Bidfeild") was buried at St. Thomas, Bristol, England on 1 April 1632.^[8]

^{[2] [1] [3] [9] [10] [6] [7] [5] [8] [4]}

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812". Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P/St T/R/1/a. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61666 #16610217 (accessed 28 October 2023).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812". Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P/St T/R/1/a. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61666 #764033 (accessed 28 October 2023).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812". Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P/St T/R/1/a. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61666 #1612965 (accessed 28 October 2023).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812". Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P/St W/R/1. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61666 #1643139 (accessed 3 April 2023).
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4} See the profile for Samuel Bitfield.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812". Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P/St T/R/1/a. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61666 #16610610 (accessed 22 October 2023).
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} The entry for William Stevens' marriage to Elizabeth in Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to 1849 indicates that both her maiden name and the year of their marriage were unreadable in the original records, but notes that a later town copy of those records says that they were married in 1645. See Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to 1849. Volume II - Marriages & Deaths. The Essex Institute, 1911. p. 463. Link to page at archive.org. However, since Elizabeth would have only been 16 at the time and since William and Elizåbeth's first known child was not born until March 1648/9, it is likely the that later transcription of their marriage record was incorrect and that they were actually married in 1648.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} "Bristol, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812". Bristol Archives; Bristol, England; Bristol Church of England Parish Registers; Reference: P/St T/R/1/a. Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61666 #1615734 (accessed 22 October 2023).
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} Mary's date of birth of about 1627 is based on (1) the May 1626 date of her parents' marriage, (2) the March 1628/9 date of baptism of her sister Elizabeth, (3) the fact that her family is mentioned before Elizabeth's in her father's will and (4) her probably 1646 date of marriage.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to 1849. Volume II - Marriages & Deaths. The Essex Institute, 1911. p. 488. Link to page at archive.org.

See also:

• Plummer, John, "English Origin of Samuel Bitfield." The American Genealogist. Vol 67 (1992), pp 236-42, AmericanAncestors (by subscription)