Dear WRG, I posted a note on the subject of the birth and parentage of Mercy HEALD, wife of Elijah-4 WHITNEY (Isaiah-3, Thomas-2, John-1), on the HEALD GenForum website: "Can anyone identify Mercy HEALD who married Elijah WHITNEY on 11 Mar 1730/1, Lancaster, MA? They son Elias, b. 26 Dec 1731, Lancaster, and she died before 30 Oct 1736. Was she the widow of Joseph HEALD of Stow, MA?" I got a very nice response from Rebecca Hamel: "Clarence Almon Torrey compiled a manuscript in 1940 entitled, "THE HEALD-HALE GENEALOGY JOHN HEALD OF CONCORD MA AND SOME OF HIS DESCENDANTS (SIX GENERATIONS)". The manuscript is located at the NEHG Society in Boston. He has two pages in his manuscript devoted to the Joseph Heald you mention. It says that Joseph Heald was born in Stow, MA about 1689, and died there March 22, 1724 (1723/24). He married about 1713 Mercy Brown, daughter of Boaz and Abial Brown of Stow. She (Mercy) married second, int recorded 12/3/1727, Nathaniel Hapgood of Lancaster, Ma. He (Nathaniel) died Aug. 26, 1758 in his 62nd year, at Bolton (MA). She (Mercy) died there Oct. 1, 1774, in her 79th year. It lists 4 children all born in Stow, Ma. 1. MARY, b. 6/22/1714, m. 3/11/1730/31 Dr./Lieut. Elijah Whitney, son of Isaiah and Sarah Woodward Whitney, b. 8/2/1707, at Lexington, MA. She died and he married 12/8/1736 at Lexington, Rebecca Winship. He died 2/19/1755, at Harvard, MA. His widow married second 1/25/1764, at Harvard, MA, Deacon Joshua Whitney of Stow, MA. Rebecca died there 12/8/1769. Joshua died March 15, 1787 at Boxborough, MA. 2. ELIZABETH, b. 4/26/1717, m. March 23, 1736, Thomas Wetherbee, of Stow, son of John and Catherine (Whitcomb)Wetherbee, b. 6/10/1715 at Stow. She was living in Stow in 1776. He sold land May 5, 1783, acknowledged the same day. 3. LYDIA, b. 5/23/1719, m. about 1734 Peter Graves of Stow, son of Deacon Ebenezer and Elizabeth Haynes Graves. He was living Feb. 2,1760, when he acknowledged signing a deed, died before May 14, 1760, when Lydia and her children were warned out of Bolton, MA. She remained in Bolton and married there 4/5/1762 as his second wife, Daniel Priest of Leominster, MA. He died 7/29/1771. She died 1/29/1807, in Leominster. 4. MERCY, 3/6/1722/23, died at Leominster, MA.,3/10/1796, aged 72 years 11 months, and 22 days (gravestone); married about 1741 Reuban Gates, son of Daniel and Anna Gates, b./ 12/12/1716, at Stow; died at Leominster 12/15/1787, aged 70 years 11 months and 28 days (gravestone)(If birth and death dates are correct his age as stated is slightly inaccurate) [that note is from CA Torrey] JOSEPH HEALD, is listed on pg 249 of the Stow Vital Records book, as dying 3/22/1724. Under marriages on pg 162 it lists Mar[y] and Nathaniel Hapgood of Lancaster, int. 12/3/1727." The marriage record says precisely, "Elijah Whitney & Mercy Heald of Lancaster was married by Joseph Wilder Esqr. March 11: 1730-1". Apparently it should have read "Mary" instead of "Mercy". Regards, Robert Robert L. Ward WHITNEY Research Group <http://www.whitneygen.org/home2.html>