Ruth (…)

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Pedigree
ChartsAncestors of Dora Myrtle Woolsey
Richard M. Nixon - Dora Myrtle (Woolsey) Smith
James Earl Carter Jr. - Dora Myrtle (Woolsey) Smith
Ruth (…), whose ancestry is unknown (or not traced here), was born at Jamaica, Queens Co., New York, say 1664.1 She died at Westchester Co., New York, in 1739, and was buried at Bedford, Westchester Co., New York.1

Ruth married Thomas Woolsey, son of George Woolsey and Rebecca Cornell, at Jamaica 11 January 1684.1,2

She has been thought to be Ruth Bailey or Baylis, daughter of John Baylis. However, recent and authoritative research puts this theory very much in doubt:
"You asked if I had any further information on Ruth bailey or baylis, who married Thomas Woolsey. My colleague Henry Hoff is descended from this couple (I think through a daughter) and has done research on them. He says there is no question Thomas' wife was named Ruth, but he never found any proof that she was Ruth Bailey, although he thinks that is a good possibility. John(1) Baylis of Jamaica did have a daughter Ruth who was unmarried when he made his will in 1682 (see enclosed abstract). As most of her sisters were married by that time, she probably was also close to marriageable age. Henry says there is a marriage date of 11 Jan 1684 that has been quoted for Thomas and Ruth, but he has no idea where it came from. There are no Jamaica church records for this period. Possibly it comes from a family record that no longer exists."3
His gravestone was preserved, buried for about a century, and not unearthed until 1976. It was apparently left behind in the village graveyard when the bodies of the Woolsey family were removed to the Bedford Union Cemetery in the 1800's.

The headstone is shown here:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~woolsey/resources/descends/woolgen/ots/wlthomas1656_1742_b.gif.4

Family

Thomas Woolsey b. 10 Apr 1655, d. 1742
Children
  • Thomas Woolsey1 b. Dec 1684, d. bef. 1721
  • William Woolsey1 b. 30 Jun 1687, d. 7 Mar 1771
  • John Woolsey1 b. 1691, d. Nov 1751
  • Jonathan Woolsey1 b. 1695, d. 1754
  • Elizabeth Woolsey1 b. 24 Jun 1696
  • Richard Woolsey+1 b. 1697, d. bt 1779 - 1782
  • Mary Woolsey5 b. 1697, d. 1782
  • Deborah Woolsey6 b. 1709
This person was last edited on3 Jan 2021

Citations

  1. [S817] Wilford Whitaker and Carolyn Woolsey Wilkerson, Woolsey Genealogy Website, online https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~woolsey/, Descendants of Thomas Woolsey 1655 - 1742. Hereinafter cited as Whitaker and Wilkerson, Woolsey Genealogy.
  2. [S1872] Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, 3 vols. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2011), 1721, further cited as Torrey, New England Marriages (2011).
  3. [S1741] Letter from Harry Macy (New York) to Wilford Whitaker, 1 July 1998; quoted from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~woolsey/resources/descends/woolgen/wlthomas1655_1742.html
  4. [S1766] Publications Committee, Town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York: Historical Records, Ten volumes, subtitles vary, (Bedford Hills, New York: Town of Bedford, 1966-1980), 8:iv, further cited as Bedford, Bedford Historical Records.
  5. [S817] Whitaker and Wilkerson, Woolsey Genealogy, online https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~woolsey/, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~woolsey/resources/descends/woolgen/wlthomas1655_1742.html.
  6. [S817] Whitaker and Wilkerson, Woolsey Genealogy, online https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~woolsey/, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~woolsey/resources/descends/woolgen/wlthomas1655_1742.html.