She did not, as some have surmised, marry Benoni Gardiner, and is not the same as Mary Gardiner

Mary Eldred

• Gender: Female
• Birth: June 15, 1646 Cambridge, Middlesex County, Massachusetts
• Death: May 09, 1712 (65) Portsmouth, Newport County, Rhode Island
• Daughter of Captain Samuel Eldred and Elizabeth
• Wife of Rouse Helme

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http://www.geneamusings.com/2013_12_01_archive.html

1490.  Rouse Helme,

• born about 1644 of Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States;
• died 17 May 1712 in Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States.  
• He married about 1673 in Rhode Island, United States.

1491.  Mary Eldred,

• born 15 June 1646 in Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States;
• died 09 May 1712 in Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States.  
• She was the daughter of 2982. Samuel Eldred and 2983. Elizabeth Miller. Children of Rouse Helme and Mary Eldred are:
•  Samuel Helme (1675-1728), married Dorcas (????-1727).
•  Elizabeth Helme (1677-1727), married 1695 Stephen Hazard (1665-1727)
•  Margaret Helme (1679-1727), married 1699 Ichabod Potter (1677-1755).
•  Mercy Helme (1680-????), married 1711 Samuel Watson (1686-1740).
•  Rouse Helme (1682-1751), married 1709 Sarah Niles (1685-1749).
•  William Helme (1685-????).

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From: http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/p/e/n/Victoria-L-Penley/...

MARY3 ELDRED (SAMUEL2, WILLIAM1) was

• born 15 June 1646 in Cambridge, MA, and
• died 09 May 1712 in Kingstowne, Rhode Island.
• She married ROUSE HELME,
  • son of CHRISTOPHER HELME and MARGARET.
  • He died 17 May 1712 in Kingstowne, Rhode Island. Children of MARY ELDRED and ROUSE HELME are:
• i. SAMUEL4 HELME.
• ii. ELIZABETH HELME, m. STEPHEN HAZARD.
• iii. MERCY HELME, m. WILLIAM WATSON.
• iv. ROUSE HELME, m. SARAH NILES.
• v. WILLIAM HELME.
• vi. MARGARET HELME, b. Abt. 1679; m. ICHABOD POTTER.

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http://www.werelate.org/wiki/Person:Mary_Eldred_(6)

Name[4] Mary Eldred

• Gender Female
• Birth 15 Jun 1646 Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States
• Death[1] 9 May 1712 North Kingstown, Washington, Rhode Island, United States
• Internet source suggests last name for Mary; need further verification.
• The source, Hunt, is a typescript in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• The second source, Davis, published by the Pettaquamscutt Historical Society, Kingston, RI, is perhaps better. Austin's Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island
  • does not list the maiden name for Mary Helme, but
  • does list a daughter, Mary, of Samuel and Elizabeth Eldred.
  • This Mary Eldred was born 16 June 1646.

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References

• 1. ↑ North Kingstown Births and Deaths, in Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636–1850: First series, births, marriages and deaths. A family register for the people. (Narragansett Hist. Publ. Co., 1891), 80, .
  • HELME, Mary, wife of Rouse, died, May 9, 1712. 

• 2.   Geroge C. Davis, in The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett Country Rhode Island, p 7, 1983.
• 3.   E. Virginia Hunt, in Eldred and Allied Families, pp 6-7, 1975.
• 4. ↑ Proof still needed for Mary's surname.

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http://www.healyancestry.com/373.htm

Eldred, Mary [111]

• Born: 15 Jun 1646, Cambridge, Middlesex, Mass. [110]
• Marriage: Helme, Rouse circa 1673 in Kingstowne, Washington, RI [110]
• Died: 19 Jan 1729 at age 82 [110]
• Mary married Rouse Helme circa 1673 in Kingstowne, Washington, RI.
  • son of Christopher Helme and Margaret Rouse (?).[110]
  • (Rouse Helme was born between 1641 and 1644 in possibly in Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island [111] and
  • died on 17 May 1712 in North Kingston, Washington County, Rhode Island [111].) Source:
• [110] (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~soper/12/35109.htm), http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~soper/12/34039.htm.
• [111] Don Strahle, Some North American Descendants of John Elmes of Lincolnshire, England
through his Great-Grandson, Christopher Helme of Rhode Island. (This is a CD that I received in September 2004 from Don Strahle, 1101 Steeles Ave. West, Apt 314, North York, Ontario, M2R3W5. His email is donstrahle@rogers.com), p. 23.

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GEDCOM Source

Samuel Eldred and Some of His Descendents Nelson B. Edlred Heart of the Lakes Publishing

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eldred-87

Biography

Disputed items:

The WikiTree profile vitals report that Mary Eldred, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth, died 1712 at Cambridge, Massachusetts. Further that she was the wife of both Rouse Helme and Benoni Gardiner. The narrative information is in conflict, reporting she died both in 1712 and in 1729.

The same woman wouldn't have died on dates more than 15 years apart and unlikely was married to two men at the same time.

Rouse Helme had wife identified in Torrey as "Mary Eldred/Eldredge," with that marriage date estimated as "by 1671?, by 1676?."[1] Benoni Gardiner had wife Mary. Torrey called her "Mary [Dyer?] and placed that marriage at "by 1667, by 1671"[2] There are other materials about these families that suggest it is more probably that Mary Eldred had married Rouse Helme and less likely she was ever married to Benoni. See

Clara Gardner Miller and John Milton Stanton, Gardiner-Gardner genealogy, including the English ancestry of George Gardiner, immigrant ancestor of Newport, R.I., & many of his descendants, especially his grandson, Stephen Gardiner of Gardner Lake, Connecticut (1937), p. 33; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014). Notes "recent research by an Eldred genealogist" saying this "reveals the fact that Mary Eldred was born in 1646 and died in 1712, years before the death of Benoni's wife." George C. Davis, The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett County Rhode Island, Jean Adams Bradley, editor (1983), 7 (in particular part); digital images, via Family History Library Catalog (accessed 2014). Reports Mary, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Miller) Eldred, probably "married Rouse Helme."

Origins

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eldred-19

Samuel Eldred and his wife Elizabeth had at least 4 children:

1. Elizabeth, bap. 26 Oct 1642, Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony.[5]
2. Samuel, bap. 26 Oct. 1644, Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony.[5]. Married Martha Knowles.
3. Mary, bap. Jun 1646, Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony.[5]. Married Rouse Helmes.
4. Thomas bap. 8 Sep 1648, Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony.[5]. Married Susanna Cole.

5. Early Vital Records of Massachusetts From 1600 to 1850. The Massachusetts Early Vital Records Project. Cambridge Births, p. 227. (dead link)

Sources

1. The Mary Eldred, daughter of Samuel Eldred and Elizabeth Miller, was the wife of Rouse Helme, and not Benoni Gardiner. Please remove Gardiner as husband and his children as her children. See Some North American Descendants of John Elmes of Lincolnshire, England through his Great-Grandson Christopher Helme, published 2006, for a fairly exhaustive treatment of Rouse Helme and his wife Mary Eldred. No mention anywhere of Gardiner.
2. There is a death record for Mary Gardner, "wife of Benoni, Portsmouth, died at her son-in-law Job Shearman's, aged 84 years, Jan. 16, 1729" (Arnold, James N. 1895. Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850, Vol. VII. Friends and Ministers, page 103, www.ancestrylibrary.com). Job Shearman (or Sherman) married Mary's daughter Bridget (Robinson, Caroline E. 1919. The Gardiners of Narragansett, http://persi.heritagequestonline.com and elsewhere).
3. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eldred-87
   1. Baldwin, Thomas W., Vital Records of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 Volume 1. Births (Boston, Mass. 1914)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 227
   2. "Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700," entry for Rouse Helme; database, AmericanAncestors.org (accessed 2014). Location references given as Kingston, RI; places both of their deaths at 1712; cites several works consulted as "Austin: GDRI 140, 322; Eldredge-Dutcher 6; Noyes-Gilman 78; Brownell 31; Hazard 7, 17; Reg. 98:23."
   3. George C. Davis, The American Family of John Watson of the Narragansett County Rhode Island, Jean Adams Bradley, editor (1983), 7 (in particular part); digital images, via Family History Library Catalog (accessed 2014). Reports Mary, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Miller) Eldred, probably "married Rouse Helme."
   4. Clara Gardner Miller and John Milton Stanton, Gardiner-Gardner genealogy, including the English ancestry of George Gardiner, immigrant ancestor of Newport, R.I., & many of his descendants, especially his grandson, Stephen Gardiner of Gardner Lake, Connecticut (1937), p. 33; digital images, Hathi Trust (accessed 2014). Notes "recent research by an Eldred genealogist" saying this "reveals the fact that Mary Eldred was born in 1646 and died in 1712, years before the death of Benoni's wife." See also:
   5. Eldred Family, The; from New Lisbon files: Note: sent to me [who?] by town historian, New Lisbon, Otsego county, NY, in 1998.
   6. Eldred, Nelson B. III, and Eldrid, John Trevor, Saxon House of Eldred, The, 1992, Phillimore & Co. Ltd, Shopwyke Hall, Chicester, Sussex, England. Well written and researched: Call Number: ISBN 0-85033-822-0; LOC Card No. 2-81631
4. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Eldredge-338
5. The Boston Transcript (Oct 15 1923) The article details the Helme family lineage, including marriages, deaths, and birth events from 1646 to 1712 in Rhode Island. < MyHeritage > “ Rouse Helme, son of Christopher and Margaret Helme of Warwick, married. (date unknown), Mary (2) Eldred (name changed in later generation to Eldridge, and Eldredge) daughter of Samuel (1). She was born June 15,... “