All, The records show that "Mrs." Mary WHITNEY "of Dorchester" married Rev. Jacob BACON "of Plymouth" on 25 Oct 1774, Dorchester, MA. Who was she? Previously I identified her as Mary-6 WHITNEY, born 5 Nov 1745, Natick, MA, daughter of David-5 and Mehitable (PARKER) WHITNEY [Nathaniel-4, Nathaniel-3, John-2, John-1]. Apparently that is wrong. According to Bacon, Leon Brooks, "Michael Bacon and his Descendants," NEHGR, vol. LVI (1902), pp. 364-374, especially pp. 369, 373-374, Mary (WHITNEY) BACON died in Sedgwick, Maine, March 6, 1815, aged 87. That puts her birth 1727-1728, which is 17 years earlier than the above Mary-6 WHITNEY. The only Mary WHITNEY I know, either maiden or widow, who is available to be this wife, and whose age is within three years of 1727, is Mary-5 WHITNEY, born 8 Jan 1727/8, Wrentham, MA, daughter of Jonathan-4 and Tryphena (DANIEL) WHITNEY [Josiah-3, Jonathan-2, John-1]. Her age tallies exactly with that of the widow of Rev. Jacob BACON. Furthermore, her age of 46 at marriage explains the lack of children born from this union. I don't know why she would have been living in Dorchester. As a result of these considerations, I now believe that Mary-5 married BACON, not Mary-6. The later history of Mary-6 WHITNEY now comes into question. She might well be the Mary WHITNEY "of Natick" who married 10 May 1792, Medfield, MA, Solomon PARKER, at the age of 46. That bride is otherwise unidentified. I find no children recorded for this couple, either. For her husband, I propose the Solomon PARKER, son of Samuel and Hannah (DUNCKLEY) PARKER, born 17 Aug 1741, Needham, MA. He apparently married firstly, 13 Jun 1763, Holliston, MA, Elizabeth JONES, who died Mar. 24, 1790, Holliston, MA, aged 47 years. They had several children born in Holliston. Elizabeth's death left this Solomon PARKER free to marry the spinster Mary-6 WHITNEY two years later. Mary would have been about four years his junior. As probably as I believe they are, proof of these two identifications is lacking, and would be gladly received. Pierce fails to give a marriage for Mary-6, and doesn't mention Mary-5 at all, so that source is irrelevant. Probably it is not an critical matter, since neither of these brides seems to have left descendants. Regards, Robert Mr. Robert L. Ward [email protected] http://www.whitneygen.org/home.html