 |
| Weems Crest |
There is an interesting pattern of intermarriages in the family of Mary Skinner and James Weems of Calvert County MD.
Mary Skinner, the daughter of Dr. William Skinner and Elizabeth Mackall, was born in Calvert County MD about 1701. She was married four times.
She married first before 1720 Robert Wheeler of Calvert County, the son of Roger Wheeler and Elizabeth Gibson. Mary and Robert had two children: Elizabeth Wheeler ca. 1720 and Roger Wheeler ca. 1727.
Robert Wheeler died about 1728, and Mary married secondly Captain Joseph Wilkinson of England about 1730. Mary and Joseph Wilkinson had two children: Joseph Wilkinson Jr. and Elizabeth Wilkinson. Captain Wilkinson died at sea on his way to England in 1735.
Mary married thirdly Thomas Crompton of Calvert County MD about 1738. Mary and Thomas Crompton had four children: Ann Crompton, Thomas Crompton Jr., Mary Crompton, and Catherine Crompton. Thomas Crompton died in Calvert County MD in 1745.
Mary married fourthly James Loch Weems of Calvert County MD in April 1746. Mary and James had no children together, but James had six children from his first marriage aged 6 to 16 still living in his home. Together with the eight children from Mary's three marriages, that made for quite a full house at the Weems plantation.
That propinquity led to three marriages among the step-siblings, connecting all three of Mary's previous marriages to the Weems family.
Susanna Weems, James' oldest daughter married Roger Wheeler, Mary Skinner's oldest son sometime before 1750. Susanna and Roger had four daughters: Mary Wheeler, Elizabeth Wheeler, Sarah Weems Wheeler, and Anne Weems Wheeler. Both Roger and Susanna died before 1763, so the four girls were raised by their grandfather Weems, which later led to a series of lawsuits trying to straighten out their inheritance. But that is a story for another time.
William Loch Weems, the second son of James, married his step-sister Elizabeth Wilkinson about 1756, as indicated in the settlement of her father's estate. Elizabeth died shortly after the marriage, having no children, and William married secondly Amelia Chapman of Charles County.
John Weems, James' third son married his stepsister, Catherine Crompton, as the first of his four wives and the mother of five of his twelve children. Actually, I am not 100 percent certain that his wife was Catherine. His son, John Crompton Weems, merely says that he married Miss Crompton, with whom he had grown up:
"My grandfather's youngest son, my father John Weems, married a Miss Crompton of Calvert County. My grandfather James Weems, having married their mother, Mrs. Crompton, as his fourth wife, [Actually, this is an error. James was Mary's fourth husband. ]the children , my father and mother being quite young were brought up to call each other brother and sister. After their marriage they built and settled at Weems Forest in Calvert County and had a large family. . . ."
However, looking at the family naming patterns in later generations, there are quite a few Catherines and Catherine Cromptons in the line, which makes me feel pretty safe in assuming that John Weems married Catherine Crompton rather than Mary or Anne.
Mary Skinner Wheeler Wilkinson Crompton Weems died in Calvert County MD in 1769. James Loch Weems died at the home of his son William Loch Weems in Prince George's County MD in 1781.
No comments:
Post a Comment