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Tracking down our ancestors: Mary Eleanor Allen
We know her given name, thanks to Ezekiel Skinner's will, which identifies her as Mary Allender, interpreted as an alternate spelling for Mary Eleanor. However, so far her maiden name has not been discovered in records. The most common suggestion on Ancestry and FamilySearch is Gray because Gray was carried down as a middle name, as mentioned
in Ezekiel's will, specifically Mary E Gray Skinner (E likely stood for
Eleanor) and Asa W Gray Skinner.
However, it seems more likely that she
was an Allen.
We know Asa's middle initial of W stood for William, based on the Oregon Death Index record for his son Asa William, Jr. It's seems likely that he was given the middle name of William was in honor of his grandfather William Allen. The additional middle name of Gray given to Asa and to Mary Eleanor was likely in honor of Mary Eleanor Allen Skinner's mother, Eleanor Gray Allen1.
I speculate
that the A in Ezekiel and Mary Eleanor's 1st child, John A Skinner's name stood for Allen. Allen is a middle name that was carried down the Skinner line: grandsons Asa Allen Skinner and James Allen Skinner, great-grandson Morris Allen Skinner, and g-g-grandson John Allen Morton. The only hint of Gray being carried further down the line is the possibility that the G in
grandson Samuel G Skinner's name stood for Gray but so far, I've found no confirmation of that hunch in any record.
Another factor that points to Mary Eleanor being an Allen, not a Gray is that she and Ezekiel had a daughter named Precious. Mary Eleanor Allen had a sister named Precius [sic] as identified in William Allen's will or Preshe as indicated in other records. That is not a common name so a family connection seems likely. I've found no Precious, or its variations in Gray families at that time.
I'm unconcerned that William Allen's will only identifies her as Mary Eleanor. His will was written in 1781, when she was 11 to 15 years old, based on the age brackets checked for Ezekiel's wife on the 1810 and 1820 censuses and her likely age when James A Skinner was born.
Ezekiel Skinner and Mary Eleanor Allen lived near each other in Charles County, Maryland, per land records. A lease between Bayne Smallwood and William Allen was recorded on 28 August 1743 for 100 acres of Smallwoods Enlargement, which was located within Chickamuxen, William and Mary Parish. James Skinner inherited 3 tracts of land, Milerne, Doncaster, and Aspinnal's Choice, all within Chickamuxen, William and Mary Parish.
Lastly, while there were Grays living in the area, as identified by wills and land records, I've been unable to identify any of them as a possibility for Mary Eleanor through records, predominately wills of the time.
This is still theory, based on the above but the argument to Mary Eleanor being an Allen is much stronger than the argument for her being a Gray.
Notes:
1. There is some confusion over William Allen's wife's name. Records indicate both Eleanor and Anne. They could mean the same woman or he could have been married twice to women who were likely half sisters.
| Owner/Source | Lisa Allison Albert |
| Linked to | Mary Eleanor Allen; Precious Allen; William Allen; Eleanor Gray; John Allen Morton; Asa Allen Skinner; Asa William Gray Skinner, Sr.; Ezekiel L Skinner, Sr; James A Skinner; James Allen Skinner; Mary Eleanor Gray Skinner; Morris Allen Skinner; Precious Skinner |
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