Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
Mertz Genealogy - Person Sheet
NameRichard Thayer (Thayer 2, page 355) 
Death4 December 1705
Memo(Vinton book)
FatherRichard Thayer (Thayer 1, page 355) (-1695)
Spouses
Birth16 October 1634
Memo(find-a-grave)
Death4 December 1705
Memo(find-a-grave)
BurialElm Street Cemetery, Braintree, MA
FatherQuentin Pray (1594-1667)
MotherJoanna Valliance (1599-1667)
ChildrenDorothy (1653-1693)
Research notes for Richard Thayer (Thayer 2, page 355)
The name Richard Thayer was way too popular. Only two of them, the immigrant of 1640 or a little before and his son of the same name were ancestors of Priscilla Hayden Hollis. I’ll call them Richard I and Richard II. But Richard II named a son Richard and that son also named a son Richard and some of the brothers of all of these Richards also named sons Richard. What a mess.
About Richard II (this Richard), the Vinton book says he was born probably in England, married Dorothy Pray 24 Dec 1651 and died 4 Dec 1705. And he and Dorothy were the parents of Dorothy born 30 Aug 1653. The Vinton book does not say who Dorothy, the daughter, married, but other sources I consulted say it was John Yardley. The Vinton book also says that Richard’s wife, Dorothy, died 11 Dec 1705 (a week after her husband).
The Vinton book also comments that what it says about the early Thayers is partly derived from Thayer’s Family Memorial printed in 1835, “a valuable and much consulted work, but faulty in arrangement”. And several vague (or poorly edited) comments associated with the several earliest Richards seem to imply the “faulty arrangement” has to do with which Richard died when.
All of these Richards (and several more) are covered on find-a-grave. This Richard, husband of Dorothy Pray and father of Dorothy born 1653 — who I call Richard II — is called Richard III on find-a-grave and it says he died in 1695 (the date of death Vinton has for Richard I). Moreover, find-a-grave says Dorothy, his wife, died 4 Dec 1705 (the exact date attributed to the death of her husband in the Vinton book). An actual Town of Braintree record is cited in support of the 4 Dec date of death for Dorothy.
So it is not clear to me who has it right. Is find-a-grave repeating the errors of the Thayer book, which Vinton points out, or does find-a-grave represent a better version of the truth than either Thayer or Vinton? I don’t know.
I have used the date of death for this Richard from the Vinton book but then have used the same date of death for Dorothy citing find-a-grave since it also had a date of birth for her. I doubt they both died the same day.
It should be noted that on find-a-grave, Dorothy (Pray) Thayer is buried at Elm Street Cemetery while her supposed husband who died in 1695 is buried in a different cemetery. So, I repeat — what a mess!
About Richard II (this Richard), the Vinton book says he was born probably in England, married Dorothy Pray 24 Dec 1651 and died 4 Dec 1705. And he and Dorothy were the parents of Dorothy born 30 Aug 1653. The Vinton book does not say who Dorothy, the daughter, married, but other sources I consulted say it was John Yardley. The Vinton book also says that Richard’s wife, Dorothy, died 11 Dec 1705 (a week after her husband).
The Vinton book also comments that what it says about the early Thayers is partly derived from Thayer’s Family Memorial printed in 1835, “a valuable and much consulted work, but faulty in arrangement”. And several vague (or poorly edited) comments associated with the several earliest Richards seem to imply the “faulty arrangement” has to do with which Richard died when.
All of these Richards (and several more) are covered on find-a-grave. This Richard, husband of Dorothy Pray and father of Dorothy born 1653 — who I call Richard II — is called Richard III on find-a-grave and it says he died in 1695 (the date of death Vinton has for Richard I). Moreover, find-a-grave says Dorothy, his wife, died 4 Dec 1705 (the exact date attributed to the death of her husband in the Vinton book). An actual Town of Braintree record is cited in support of the 4 Dec date of death for Dorothy.
So it is not clear to me who has it right. Is find-a-grave repeating the errors of the Thayer book, which Vinton points out, or does find-a-grave represent a better version of the truth than either Thayer or Vinton? I don’t know.
I have used the date of death for this Richard from the Vinton book but then have used the same date of death for Dorothy citing find-a-grave since it also had a date of birth for her. I doubt they both died the same day.
It should be noted that on find-a-grave, Dorothy (Pray) Thayer is buried at Elm Street Cemetery while her supposed husband who died in 1695 is buried in a different cemetery. So, I repeat — what a mess!
Research notes for Dorothy (Spouse 1)
According to find-a-grave, she was the daughter of Quinton Pray and Joan Valliance.