The Wives of Mareen Duvall the Emigrant

We know that it is entirely possible that Mareen Duvall married for the first time when he was still living in France (see "Was Mareen Duvall First Married in France?"  March 3, 2010 blog post).  It is believed that he married first in Maryland about 1658, but there is no definite proof as to who his wife was, other than that her name was Mary.  It is probable that she was the "Mary Dewall" named as an heir in the will of Thomas Bouth of Calvert County, but what her relationshipe was to Mr. Bouth is unknown as he died without issue.  One could guess that she might have been a niece of Thomas Bouth.  It is believed that she is the mother of the first five children of Mareen Duvall the Emigrant.  It is doubtful that Mary was the natural mother of John Duvall as there is no record of any landrights claimed for any female Duvall transported to Maryland.  However, it is probably that she is the mother of Mareen the Elder born 1661, Lewis, Samuel born 1667, and Eleanor.

It is believed that the second Maryland wife of Mareen Duvall the Emigrant was Susannah Brasseur.  As she was the mother of Mareen Duvall the Younger, and a direct ancestor of Ellis Duvall and his descendants, more will be written about Susannah Brasseur in a separate posting.  It is believed that Mareen and Susannah married about 1673 or 1674 and had the following children :  Susannah born about 1677, Mareen the Younger born about 1680, Catherine, Elizabeth, Mary, Johanna born about 1685, and Benjamin.

The third Maryland wife of Mareen Duvall the Emigrant was a woman named Mary.  Mareen and Mary had no offspring and there was clearly tension between her and some of Mareen's children.  There was a bitter dispute over Mareen's estate, a final accounting was not filed until more than five years after Mareen's death, and by then much of the "liquid assets" (money and tobacco) of the estate had vanished.  Also, a few years after his father's death, Mareen the Younger filed in court to have his brother made his guardian as he said his stepmother was not providing proper care of him or his future estate; Mary had remarried by then to a Col. Henry Ridgely who's wealth and influence were pronounced; Col. Ridgely argued vehemently that his stepson was well cared for and Mareen the Younger's request was denied and he was ordered to return to the home of his stepparents and threatened with a thrashing by the court.  After the death of Col. Ridgely, the now very wealthy widow married for a third time to the Rev. Jacob Henderson, rector of Queen Anne's Parish, and a powerful and wealthy man in his own right.