Mary

• Name	Mary   [1]
  Gender	Female
  Person ID	I6257	Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of TNH
  Last Modified	15 May 2020

  
  

  Children	+ 1. Capt. John Akin,   b. 1663   d. 13 Jun 1746, Dartmouth, Bristol, Massachusetts (Age 83 years)
  Family ID	F3767	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	22 Dec 2014

  
  

• Notes

  From Descendants of David Akin of Newport, RI, by Robert Larry Akin: "There is very little known about Mary, the 'mother' of this line of the Akin family in America. In fact, the only proof of her existence is a deed that is recorded in the Rhode Island State Archives dated 1671. A copy of this deed can be seen in the Town Hall in Portsmouth, Newport, RI. This deed is for 200 acres of land 'lying in Narragansett Country or Kings Province' purchased for ten pounds sterling. The grantors were William Brenton, Benedict Arnold, John Hull, John Porter, Samuel Wilbur, Asmuill Wilson, and Thomas Mumford. The description of the land states that it is bordered by land owned by Samuell Albro and Robert Hasard (Hazard). "After purchasing the land in September 1671, Mary assigned it to two of her sons, John and David, the following January, 1672. "Family lore says that Mary and her three children, John, James, and David, came to America on a ship that sailed from Aberdeen, Scotland to Newport County, Rhode Island before 1676, but there is not a shred of evidence to support this story. In fact, Mary could have been born in America and borne her children in this country. A genealogist I hired in Scotland, Diane Baptie, wrote: 'The reference in Donald Whyte's book A dictionary of emigrants to the USA reads: "Mrs. Mary Akin, From Aberdeen to Newport, Rhode Island before 1676; issue: John born 1663; David born 1664; James born 1668." His source is given as "Letters to the editor regarding Scottish emigrants - Scottish Genealogical Library, 4th January 1963". In other words, this entry does not rely on an original source but has been apparently sent by a correspondent to Donald Whyte almost certainly from America. Aberdeen could mean either the burgh or county of Aberdeen.' As a result, I believe that the idea that Mary traveled to America with her three sons is questionable since the source was a letter from America. "The Akin genealogist Daphne Brownell found a deed showing that a man named David Akin lived in Newport, Newport, RI as early as 1662. A transcription of this deed can be found in Rhode Island Land Evidences, Vol. 1, 1648-1696 on pp. 84-85. Daphne and I believe that this man MAY have been the husband of Mary and, therefore, the 'father' of this Akin line in America; however, this is only speculation based on the idea of sparcity of population in Newport between 1662 and 1671 and the odds that two of them would be unrelated and named Akin. "It is not know when either Mary Akin or David Akin were born nor when they died; however, since Mary signed the land deed mentioned above as Mary Akin, widow, we know that her husband died before 1671. No other dates are known. "We do know the names of her children. They were John Akin, the eldest (b. 1663); James (b. 1667); and David, the youngest (b. 1669). These dates of birth are all derived from their ages at death so are not precise."

  
  

• Sources

  [S4160] The Frost Genealogy: Descendants of William Frost of Oyster Bay, New York by Josephine C. Frost. New York: Frederick H. Hitchcock, 1912.