24 May 2015

Mary, Mary...That's not Contrary

This document comes from the guardianship of Mary Brown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The mother and daughter are requesting that the court appoint a local man as the daughter's guardian.

[begin transcription]

[For it?] my Desier and my Daughter Mary Browns that Deacon Stephen Gipson Should be put in Garden for Mary Mary Brown

[end transcription]

I'm not quite certain about the [For it] part of the transcription, but it seems to make sense in this context. The spelling of guardian as "garden" is easy to understand, especially if the note was written by someone not overly familiar with legal terms.

The "Mary Mary" appears to be correct well. The first "Mary" refers to the daughter and the second to the mother.

It appears that this document was written and signed by the same person. But I'll have to compare this purported signature of Mary to other known signatures of hers in the probate records of Mary's husbands Ephraim Puffer and Amos Brown. They may or may not be a match.