Henry and Mary Wormwood

Henry Wormwood (sometimes Wormall; c.1634 – after 1694) and Mary Knight (say 1641 – after 1683) were my 8th-great-grandparents, being the parents of William Wormwood, whose surname was later mostly spelled Wormall or Wormwall. Mary was the daughter of William and Elizabeth Knight. Henry’s parents are unknown; more research is needed.

Births

Henry was identified as aged 48 on 1682-06-27.⁠^{⟮1⟯FamilySearch} An extract says he was about 50 in November 1684.⁠^{⟮2⟯FamilySearch} This places his birth around 1634.

Mary was under-age in her father’s 1653-12-02 will.⁠^{⟮3⟯FamilySearch} She ceded inheritance claims on 1661-04-10⁠^{⟮4⟯FamilySearch}, so presumably she was of age then. Her oldest known child was born 1666. So we may guess she was born around 1641.

Marriage

The births of Henry’s children at Lynn do not specify a mother. Only the birth of Dorcas at Andover in 1673 identifies the mother as Mary. Records show that Henry lived in both Lynn and Andover⁠^{⟮5⟯FamilySearch}, so there is nothing suspect about one birth being elsewhere.

The estate record of Daniel Knight in 1672 lists his living siblings as Jacob Knights, Elizabeth Graves, and Mary Wormwood.⁠^⟮6⟯ In addition, a 1669 deposition by Jacob Knight refers to his “sister Wormwood”.⁠^{⟮7⟯FamilySearch} Thus Mary Knight, daughter of William, was almost certainly the mother of all of Henry’s children.

When Mary, then unmarried, ceded her inheritance to her step-father in 1661⁠^{⟮4⟯FamilySearch}, the witnesses were her step-brother John Bread and Henry Wormwood, indicating the couple had an association even then.

Family

Henry had several children, all born in Lynn, MA⁠^{⟮8⟯FamilySearch}⁠^{⟮9⟯FamilySearch} except for Dorcas. However, the situation with the multiple Elizabeths is confusing:

William Wormwood (1666-04-01 – ⊥ 1713-03-16), my 7th-great-grandfather.
Elizabeth Wormwood (1668-03-14 – 1677-05-15); but see below.
Dorcas Wormwood (* 1673-12-08), born in Andover, MA.⁠^{⟮10⟯Ancestry$/Lib}
Daniel Wormwood (1676-01-31 – before 1726). He also moved to Boston and there married Hannah Gouge⁠^{⟮11⟯FamilySearch}. Her 1726 will says her only child is Daniel.⁠^{⟮12⟯FamilySearch} A Rachel was born to Daniel and Sarah Wormall in Boston⁠^{⟮13⟯FamilySearch}, so perhaps Daniel had an earlier wife who died; Rachel likely died in infancy, as an unnamed child of Daniel is buried 17 months after her birth.⁠^{⟮14⟯Ancestry$/Lib}
Elizabeth Wormwood (* 1678-01-30). But county records show an Elizabeth born 1677-05-02; could this be the one who died 13 days later? But then what about this one found in Lynn records, born only 7 months later, and what happened to the one born in 1667/8?
Ester/Hester Wormwood (* 1683-05-11).

Deaths

No death or estate records of either Henry or Elizabeth have been found. A court index shows Henry giving a deposition in 1694, so he must have still been alive then.⁠^{⟮15⟯FamilySearch}