Mary Beckett

Mary, known in Plymouth records as Marie or Mary Buckett and sometimes identified in later research as Mary Beckett, was the wife of Mayflower passenger George Soule. Her origins remain unproven. She is thought to have arrived at Plymouth aboard the Anne in 1623, married George Soule about 1625 or 1626, and was the mother of nine known children. She died in December 1676, apparently at Duxbury, Massachusetts, according to later testimony attributed to her son John.

Mary's birth and parentage have not been conclusively established. She has historically been called Mary Bucket or Buckett from a single 1623 record, and some writers have used Becket or Beckett as her maiden name. A proposed identification with Mary Beckett of Watford, Hertfordshire, born about 1605, remains a promising but unproven research lead. That proposed Mary Beckett's father reportedly died in 1619, and her mother was listed as “Widow Buckett” in 1622; these circumstances have been suggested as possible reasons that Mary may have lived with relatives or acquaintances before emigrating. They do not, however, prove that she was the Plymouth colonist.

Mary is thought to have reached Plymouth before 31 July 1623 aboard the Anne, described as the third ship to bring groups of Pilgrim families to Plymouth. She was a single woman passenger, recorded as “Marie Buckett.” Whether she knew her future husband, George Soule, in England before his 1620 Mayflower voyage is unknown. She is not considered to have arrived as an indentured servant, since she was not listed as attached to a particular person or family in Plymouth's initial 1623 land division. In a later division, she received one acre described as next to John Rogers; another account gives the location as adjoining Joseph Rogers, on the other side of town toward Eel River.

Mary married George Soule, probably about 1625 or 1626. In the 1627 Division of Cattle, George and Mary were listed with their young son Zachariah, then their only living child. This record is described in the supplied material as essentially a census of Plymouth in 1627.

George and Mary had nine known children. Their children, in likely but not certain birth order, were Zachariah, John, Nathaniel, George Jr., Susanna, Mary, Elizabeth, Patience, and Benjamin. William Bradford's 1650 journal stated that “George Soule is still living and hath 8 children.” Benjamin, said to have been born about 1651, was the ninth known child. He died unmarried at Pawtucket, Rhode Island, on 26 March 1676, during King Philip's War.

Mary was living after the births of her children and died in December 1676, apparently at Duxbury, Massachusetts. The supplied account attributes the month and place to her son John's later statement, but does not give her age at death. Her husband, George Soule, is listed as having lived from 1597 to 1680.

The later lives of Mary's children extended the family into several New England and neighboring communities. Zachariah died before 11 December 1663; John died before 9 November 1707 at Middleborough, Massachusetts; Nathaniel died before 12 October 1699 at Dartmouth, Massachusetts; George Jr. died 12 May 1704 at Dartmouth; Susanna died 2 January 1715/16 at North Kingstown, Rhode Island; Mary was living at Duxbury on 26 March 1720; Elizabeth reportedly died about 1700 at Woodbridge, New Jersey; Patience died 11 March 1705/6 at Middleborough; and Benjamin died in 1676.

Historical context

Mary's arrival occurred during Plymouth Colony's early settlement period. The 1623 land divisions and the 1627 Division of Cattle are important surviving Plymouth records used to place early residents and households. The proposed Watford, Hertfordshire, identification is based on later research that noted possible associations with Alden and Warren families, the use of the name Nathaniel, and an age compatible with travel on the Anne; these points are circumstantial and do not establish Mary's identity or parentage.

Sources & research

Original Family Tree Maker Notes, revised 23 May 2014.
“Mary Bucjkett - Information from Familysearch.org,” posted 6 May 2019 by Susan Nanoff; revised 14 October 2014.
William Bradford, Journal of William Bradford, 1650 entry: “George Soule is still living and hath 8 children.”
Plymouth Colony Records, Division of Cattle, recorded 22 May 1627.
Caleb H. Johnson, “The Mayflower Quarterly,” December 2013; described in the supplied material as the most recent scholarly treatment of Mary Buckett's possible origins.
Caleb Johnson, research on Mary Beckett, reported in 2015 on Soule Kindred in US.
North America, Family Histories, 1500-2000.
New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635.