There is a record of a marriage of Georg Gardiner to Sara Baunin in Stone Arabia Palatine, (Montgomery Co), New York on Dec. 31, 1765. In 1778-1779. She appears to be the mother of the first 7 children born 1766 to 1787. Then there is a gap until Emily was born in 1799 and Nancy in 1800. Their mother was probably his second wife. She probably died around 1800. A woman named Ruth (born between 1754 and 1766) maiden name unknown was married to John Boyce. He died in 1802. They had several children. Ruth then married John Booth in 1803 and he died in 1805. She probably married George Gardiner. George died about 1816 leaving land to Ruth. Ruth married Benjamin Salts about 1820. Together, in 1827, they sold land she had been left by George.
The misunderstanding probably comes from Leavitt's History of Leeds and Grenville. a discussion of the Pennock Family: “Philomon, the elder, raised the following children: Chapman, Elizabeth, William, Mary, Samuel, Philomon Jr., John and George, the latter being a child by the second wife, who was a Gardiner of Yonge, sister of George Gardiner. Mr. Gardiner’s wife was a Morey, Samuel Morey having arrived in Upper Canada about the same time that the Pennocks did, also coming from the same part of Vermont.”
The wording is not clear as to which George Gardiner married a Morey or what her first name was. However, there is ample documentation that George, jr. was married only to Anna Coleman. This makes it appear that George Sr was married to a Morey and we know from his will that his wife was named Ruth. Therefore, the reasoning goes, his wife must be Ruth Morey.
Another researcher and I have done extensive research on “Ruth Morey” and find no evidence of her existence. George’s daughter, Sarah, was married first to Samuel Morey and then to Philomon Pennock. Since the above statement comes in the middle of a description of the Pennock family, I think Leavitt meant to say that Sarah Pennock was married first to a Morey. He probably wrote “Gardiner md Morey” and when expanding the write-up forgot that it was Sarah Gardiner who was married to a Morey not George Gardiner.
