Friday, January 5, 2007

Isaac Buck in the Woodpile? - Post 1

One of my most challenging genealogy mysteries has been to identify the father of Isaac Buck, born in 1757 in Southborough MA.

According to the Southborough (MA) Town Record book:

"Born to Mary Richards, a son named Isaac Buck reputed by her to be a son of Isaac Buck on Sepr 27, 1757."

This record is on the same page, and just below, the list of children born to Joseph and Mary Richards, including their daughter Mary in 1733.

While browsing through The American Genealogist for 1992, I found an article called "Southborough MA Notifications", which included the following:

"I have taken into my house ... a famaley Last from Framingham the
name of Isaac Buck and his wife Ruth and ther Children Susanna and
Joseph, March ye 25:1756. Joseph Richards."

This Joseph Richards is the son of Joseph (died 1748) and Mary (died 1755) Richards who also were the parents of Mary Richards (born 24 September 1733 in Lynn MA). It may be that the young Mary Richards lived with her brother Joseph Richards (and his wife Lydia) when Isaac and Ruth (Graves) Buck moved into the home of Joseph Richards in 1756. Isaac and Ruth went to Southborough to close out her father's estate.

It would appear that Isaac Buck, husband of Ruth, or some other, perhaps younger, Isaac Buck had the opportunity to impregnate Mary Richards. It is most likely to have been a younger Isaac Buck.

In 1765, "spinster Mary Richards" and her siblings conveyed their share of the homestead land to their brother, William Richards. This is the last found record of Mary Richards, and indicates she was known as Mary Richards and not Mary Buck at that time.

A Mary Richards married John Phillips in 1774, according to records in both Southborough and Lancaster MA. They had no children recorded.

Isaac Buck, son of Mary Richards, married Martha (Patty) Phillips, daughter of John and Hannah (Brown) Phillips, on 18 May 1780 in Lancaster MA.

It is apparent to me that Mary Richards, mother of Isaac Buck, married John Phillips, father of Martha (Patty) Phillips. Isaac and Martha were probably living in the same house in Lancaster MA as teenagers!

But - the question remains - who is the Isaac Buck that fathered Isaac Buck in 1757 by Mary Richards? Was it the older Isaac Buck, husband of Ruth Graves? Or was it another Isaac Buck who was perhaps an unrecorded son of the older Isaac and Ruth (Graves) Buck?

More later about a probable solution to the mystery.

No comments: