Most family historians credit Katherine as the mother of all of Edward’s children. That may be true, but it is also possible Katherine was Edward’s second or possibly third wife. She may have been the birth mother of all or just some of Edward’s children:
- Sarah, possibly born in Derby in 1631, or as late as approximately 1633[1]
- Nathaniel likely born in 1634 or 1635 based on his death in 1719 while “in his 85th year”[2]
- Abigail born between 1635 and 1638, but possibly as late as 1639[3]
- Gap of up to 15 years
- Dorcas mostly likely born in the 1640s, possibly as late as 1648-50[4]
- Jethro born in 1650 if his traditional age at death is correct, but possibly between Abigail and Dorcas instead[5]
As noted above, there could have been a gap of up to fifteen years between Abigail and Dorcas. That spread could also have been as few as eight or nine years if Abigail was born in 1639 and Dorcas before 1648. If Jethro was born earlier than 1651, his birth could conceivably fill an eight- or nine-year gap since Edward’s wife (or wives) were having children approximately every three or four years.
However the math is done, the possibility of a fifteen-year gap still exists and gaps that large can indicate the death of one wife and a remarriage with additional children from a second wife. They can also indicate a separation of a couple due to immigration, which in Edward’s case is also a strong possibility. That longer gap falls right into the period in which he immigrated to Dover.
Katherine was the only spousal name found in any original record for Edward, and the first appearance of that name was on a 1653 deed.[6] There is no question Katherine was married to Edward by 1653, but all of Edward’s children were born by then. A 1678 deed signed by Edward and Katherine Starbuck stated Abigail was their daughter.[7] If indeed Katherine was Abigail’s birth mother, it is likely Katherine was the mother of all Edward’s children despite of the gap because Abigail was likely the last child born in England before the family immigrated. If Katherine was actually Abigail’s stepmother (a distinction that was not important to creating the deed), then a death of a first wife coupled with Edward’s immigration could explain a gap of up to fifteen years between children.
No marriage record was found for Edward’s marriage to Katherine in England. There was, however, a Catherine Reynolds baptized in Southwell, within Starbucky Territory, on 16 Feb 1607/8.[8] If this Katherine was Edward’s wife, and if they married in England, she may have been the mother of all his children. There is also a marriage of and Edward Starbuck to a Mary Kirk in Nottingham St. Mary on 22 September 1625.[9] She may have been the mother of Edward’s oldest children, if he married more than once. He could still have married the Katherine of Southwell before immigrating, or afterwards. There was a John Reynolds, of whom very little is known, who lived in the general Dover area in the 1640s.[10] He may have had a sister or widow who married Edward Starbuck as a second wife in colonial New England. All this is to say there may be a large enough gap between Edward’s children’s births, which may be an indication his wife Katherine was not his only spouse.
Although the Nantucket vital records (civil documentation of birth, marriage, and death) start in 1662, there is no death entry for Katherine in them. Proof exists that she lived until at least 1678, but the Nantucket vital records which were likely compiled in the 1700s (based on the handwriting) are not comprehensive. The list of sources in the printed version indicate many of the records used came from privately held documents as well as public ones. Given the later date they were created, and other events known to be missing from the Nantucket records, Katherine’s death date and whether she was Edward’s only wife may never be known. Given the high maternal mortality rate of the seventeenth century, it would not be surprising for Edward Starbuck to have had more than one wife.
[1] “Derbyshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : 22 July 2022), Sara Starbuck.
[2] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 28 Jul 2022), death of Nathaniel Starbuck 6 Aug 1719.
[3] Sylvanus J. Macy, Esq, “The Coffin Family,” The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 24 (1870): 150-1; image copy, NEHGS (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 29 July 2022).
[4] “Massachusetts Vital Records 1620-1850,” database with images, American Ancestors (www.americanancestors.org : accessed 2 August 2022), Damaris, Dorcas and William Gayer’s birth records. These show Dorcas married about 1670.
Massachusetts Bay Colony, Massachusetts State Archives Collection, colonial period, 1622-1788 vol 10, document 212, Edward Starbuck, 1648; FHL film number 2,294,420, item 1; digital image 514/1646, Family Search (www.familysearch.org : accessed 10 September 2021). (Edward’s court case for anabaptism.)
[5] “Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, (Sherborn) Nantucket,” database, Family Search (www.familysearch.org: accessed 6 Jan 2022), Jethro Starbuck, 27 May 1663.
Alexander Starbuck, History of Nantucket (Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Company, 1896), 658.
[6] “Rockingham County, NH deeds,” database with images, Ava (www.ava.fidlar.com : accessed 9 Jun 2022), Edward Starbuck 1653-07-20, p. 1 & 2.
[7] “Rockingham County, NH deeds,” database, Ava (www.ava.fidlar.com : accessed 9 Jun 2022), Edward Starbuck, 1678-06-19, p. 1 & 2.
[8] “Nottinghamshire Baptisms,” database only (transcript), FindMyPast (www.findmypast.com : accessed 10 January 2022), Catherine Reynolds, 16 Feb 1607/8.
[9] “Nottinghamshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812,” database with images, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Jan 2022), marriage of Edward Starbuck and Mary Kirk, 25 Sep 1625.
[10] Noyes, Libby & Davis, Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire (reprint Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2002), 582.
