A possible Mayflower line has been the BSO that has most recently caught my attention. In two recent posts, I have outlined the proposed – and accepted – Mayflower line to George Soule through Mary Fones who married Captain Ebenezer Hill, a sea captain from Rhode Island. I’ve also outlined my concerns about the accuracy of the line.

Well, recent correspondence with a state Historian of the Mayflower Society has helped bridge the gap to where I feel comfortable about previous research.

There are two pieces of information I received which greatly increase my confidence rate, mainly because I now have enough information to check primary evidence for myself.

First:

The page was scanned at an angle, but the beginning sentence is the important one: The will of Mary’s brother Samuel Fones, dated 19 Nov. 1739, names sister Mary Hill.

This is the mention that I found once online on someone’s page, but could never find again. Samuel died in North Kingstown, Rhode Island and those probate records are on microfilm in Salt Lake City.

Second:

The next sentence provides yet a second proof document: The settlement of the estate of Capt. Jeremiah Fones includes a 1756 deposition that mentions Mary Hill, sister of the half blood to Capt. Jeremiah Fones and her children alive: Jonathan, Samuel, Mary, Ruth, Rebecca (burned). This record is badly burned and only an oval remains.

Again, checking the microfilmed probate records might be fruitful.

Samuel, son of Jeremiah and Martha (West) Fones was born in 1714, so only about 25 years old when he wrote his will. He may never have married and, thus, named siblings as heirs.

I now have enough information to verify these statements myself, but I have to admit that my Mayflower line is looking like it’s the real thing. 🙂