Mary Atherold

Biography

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Harvey-303

Thomas Atherold III married Mary, the daughter of John Harvey of Eye in Suffolk. It is not known when or where Thomas III and Mary Harvey married.

The Burgh registers record the baptism of three sons to Thomas Atherold III and Mary Harvey between 1628 and 1635:

• Thomas IV in 1628 (when Thomas III was 38),
• James in 1631 (died 1636) and
• Nathaniel in 1635.

This is consistent with Thomas Atherold III's will, which mentions an elder son called Thomas and a younger son called Nathaniel.

Hannah would have to have been born before (say) 1622 to marry in 1638, but as mentioned above the Burgh registers only record the baptism of three sons to Thomas Atherold III and Mary Harvey between 1628 and 1635. This suggests that Thomas III may have married late, and that there was a significant age gap between him and Mary, otherwise Mary could have been over 40 when she gave birth to Nathaniel in 1635. As Thomas Atherold III was admitted to Gray's Inn in 1611, it cannot be excluded that he and Mary Harvey had issue baptised elsewhere than at Burgh (e.g. in London) before 1628. Another possibility, of which there is no suggestion by the antiquarians, is that Mary Harvey was Thomas Atherold's second wife, and that Hannah was the offspring of his first marriage. While Thomas Atherold III clearly maintained his family home at Burgh, he must also have had a London residence (or lodgings) in connection with his practice at the Bar. In his will, made in 1655, he is referred to as "of Grayes Inne" (rather than Burgh), indicating that he was still practising law (or else still retained lodgings at Gray's Inn). To date no record of either the birth (e.g. baptism) or marriage to 'Colonel' William Ball of Hannah Atherold has been found. As it is reasonable to assume that Thomas Atherold III spent a lot of his time in London, at least during the law terms, it is quite possible that Hannah was christened there. Gray's Inn is adjacent to the north-west boundary of the City of London, and Thomas Atherold III's lodgings could just as well have been in 'Chambers' or in the City or one of the suburbs. As regards the memorandum by Joseph Ball II that Hannah Atherall was married "in London" in 1638 (see paragraph 2 above), the reference to "in London" probably means the City of London. In his will Thomas Atherold III bequeathed most of his property to his wife for the rest of her life, with a 'gift over' to his eldest son, Thomas IV, and his heirs, failing whom to his youngest son, Nathaniel, and his heirs, failing whom to his brother, John, and his male heirs, failing whom to be divided equally between his sisters, Anne Skinner and Elizabeth Dove, and the daughters of his brothers, Nathaniel (died 1653) and John (if any). There is no reference in Thomas Atherold III's will to a daughter called Hannah. It would not be unusual for a daughter not to be mentioned as a primary beneficiary if she was long since married (17 years in Hannah's case), but it is perhaps curious that there is no mention of Hannah or her children in the 'gift over' which seems to be intended to extend to all immediate blood relatives, including females.

References

• http://maryballwashington.com/2013monograph2.pdf