The maiden name of John's wife Mary remains completely uncertain. Toda te, our efforts to uncover primary source information regarding hermai den name have led us only to historical researchers speculations.What w e have seen are "best guesses" but nothing definitive, andbacked by vi rtually no primary source material.
Perhaps our most prolific and accomplished historical researcher,Raymo nd Edwin Bowlby, has left us his case for suggesting MaryLANING. He wr ote:
John married before 1735, the estimated birth of his eldest son.John's w ill states that his wife's name was Mary, but familyhistorians disagre e upon her maiden name. Some believed her name wasMary Laning, while o thers believed she was Mary, the daughter ofJosiah Mercer of Burlingto n of whose will Thomas Bowlby , John'sfather, became executor in 1727. A fter carefully studying John'swill, Harriet Stryker-Rodda, a leading e xpert on early New Jerseygenealogical history today, wrote her opinion i n a letter of 10 Nov.1981, that the wife of John was Mary Laning: 'Tha t will proveswithout a doubt his relationship and family name of his w ife Mary,for the executors were wife Mary and friend Joseph Laning, wi tnessesEdward Laning, Isaac Laning and Altiye Laning. A wife's interes ts inan estate in such a rural area as Mansfield-Woodhouse were normal lyprotected by having her relatives party to its settlement if any wer eliving nearby."
But, many other well respected historical researchers have also leftus t heir opinions.
Perhaps a source of suggesting Mercer as Mary's maiden name may haveco me from DOCUMENTS RELATING TO THE COLONIAL HISTORY OF THE STATE OFNEW J ERSEY, VOLUME XXIII. CALENDAR OF NEW JERSEY WILLS, VOL. I.1670-1730 pa ge 316
1727 Aug. 26. Mercer, Josiah, late of Edmington, Co. of Middlesex,Grea t Britain, now of Burlington, gentleman; will of. Wife Sarah.Daughter M ary. Real and personal estate. Executor - Thomas Bowlby,Witnesses - Th o: Barnes, Will'm Robinson, Daniel Mestayer. ProvedSeptember 5, 1727.
1727 Sept. 5. Inventory of the personal estate, L60.5, incl. 18moydore s, 2 half moydores, 1/2 guinea, 2 small gold rings, in all 139pwt. and 1 8 gr. at 5sh. 6 per pwt. L38.8.7 1/2, money in copperpennies L4, a sil ver watch and steel seal and chain L5, a silvertobacco box and pipe st opper L1.5; made by Thos. Hunloke and Tho.Barnes.
______ _____, Mercer, 1 _______. Part of will of , mentions a willexec uted in Great Britain and left in the Custody of wife Sarah.Leaves rea l property in America to the wife and daughter Mary andappoints Thomas B owlby as executor; used as wrapper of another(Eddington, 1727) will.
1. Doubtless the Josiah Mercer whose will is given in the nextprecedin g paragraph.
From: THE AMERICAN GENEALOGIST VOL. XXXIV (1958). Article written byLe wis D. Cook. F.A.S.G., of Philadelphia: BOWLBY OFMANSFIELD-WOODHOUSE, N OTTINGHAMSHIRE, ENGLAND OF BURLINGTON, MORRIS,HUNTERDON, AND SUSSEX CO UNTIES N.J.: OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNA., ANDNOVA SCOTIA
"iv. John Bowlby, executor of father's Will in 1731; is said to havem. o ne Mary Lanning, dau. of some Joseph Lanning, in 1734, butevidence is n ot found. The Joseph Lanning named a co-executor in theWill of John Bo wlby was probably the testator of Bethlehem Twp.,Hunterdon Co., N.J., 1 814, q.v. in NJ Archives, 42:248. John Bowlbyd. testate in Mansfield T wp., Sussex Co., Nj, between 7 Dec 1779 and31 Dec. 1782, appointing he w ife Mary Bowlby and friend Joseph Laningexecutors, and devising his es tate to his children..."
He further mentions that the baptisms of some of their children, bythe C hurch of England minister in Sussex Co., N.J. are found in hisregister , published in the Penna. Magazine of Hist. and Biog., vol.12.
But, on 23 Nov 1972, William M. Leffingwell sent a draft of hisarticle B OWLBY to Janis Pahnke, (and she kindly has sent a copy tome...) From p g 3.
"...
3. John, b. m Mary (Mercer ?)
....
As executor of his father's will, John Bowlby was responsible for thef amily's right to land in West Jersey. He probably returned toEngland a fter his father's death, where he may have married MaryMercer. He was b ack in the Province by 1735, when his first son,Samuel, was born."
We remain hopeful that we might yet uncover more definitive evidenceby e xploring both the Laning and Mercer genealogies. Other theoriesabound, s uch as Mary was first married to a Mercer or a Laning priorto her marr iage to John, or that he was married to two differentwomen by the name o f Mary - first to a Mary Mercer, then to a MaryLaning. But, to date, n one of these speculative theories are basedupon any direct evidence th at our Mary Bowlby was related to eitherthe Mercer or Lanning families .
Mary was still living when John wrote his will but whether shesurvived u ntil the estate was settled is unknown.
