So I've been researching a line of the Stanfield family, and I've come across an Ephraim Stanfield, supposedly the son of Robert Stanfield (1702-1760) and Jenny or Jennie Shakespeare, birth and death dates unknown. However, Robert was married to a Frances Merryweather, and they had several children together. But in trying to figure this out I've found an unanswered forum mentioning at least one other child, if I remember correctly they were named Robert, that was also supposedly the son of Jenny Shakespeare.
Now, people get married more than once all the time. But what I find odd about this, and is also creating a brick wall, is that I cannot find any historical records mentioning Jenny Shakespeare's existence, or any on Robert Stanfield that connect him to her. There are many that connect him to Frances Merryweather though.
Yet on many user submitted family trees on Ancestry and FamilySearch, they list Jenny Shakespeare as being the mother of Ephraim and also of Robert's other children.
Here's one from FamilySearch, for example:
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:3DDK-3WT
The tree lists Jennie as the mother of Robert's children, yet if you look at details about Robert, it still says he was only married to Frances.
What the heck is going on? I can't figure this out. Is there something I should be seeing that I'm not?
Jenny Shakespeare doesn't seem to have a wikitree profile yet, but Robert and Frances do, as does Ephraim as I created his.