♀Margaret (surname unknown)

Margaret married Edmund Borden (about 1480 – 1539) of Headcorn, in Kent, England; their great-great-grandson Richard Borden (1595–1671) left Headcorn for New England and settled at Portsmouth, Rhode Island. She was the thirteenth great-grandmother of Frederic Roger Curtis (1928–2007) by two separate lines of descent, both through her son William Borden (1510–1557).

Life

Margaret’s surname is not known. She and Edmund had eight children, born between about 1505 and 1527: Edward, John, William, Joan, Marion, Margaret, Alice and Julian, a daughter. Their daughter Joan married Ralph Champ shortly before 13 April 1539, and Marion was betrothed to John Little. Edmund made his will on 13 April 1539 as a man of Headcorn, and died soon afterwards; the will is said to have been proved on 18 June 1539.

Lines of descent

Both lines run through her son William Borden (1510–1557), William’s son Thomas Borden (1533–1592), Thomas’s son Matthew Borden (1563–1620), Matthew’s son Richard Borden (1595–1671) and Richard’s daughter Mary Borden. They divide in later generations and meet again in Salena Sherman (1806–1842), whose parents Waite Allen (1766–1850) and Batchelder Sherman (1761–1828) both descend from Margaret.

Notes

Sources

Margaret is known from the article “Genealogical Research in England: Borden”, in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register 84 (1930), which on page 226 names her as Edmund’s wife and gives their eight children; the children’s birth years are estimates. Her marriage came before English parishes began keeping registers in 1538, so no marriage entry survives to give her surname or fix the date.