Re: MARTHA ALLEN 1710-1767
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In reply to:
MARTHA ALLEN 1710-1767
Crystal Sharp 3/14/13
Let's break this query down by sentence....
"Martha Allen was born 1710 in Henrico,Virginia."
Stated as absolute fact, this statement has several components:
(1) that Martha Sharp was born Martha Allen;
(2) that Martha Allen was born in 1710; and
(3) that Martha Allen was born in Henrico County.
This myth appears to be the product of sloppy research which has been copied so many times as fact that it is accepted without question. First, there is no record of a Martha Allen in Henrico County prior to the Revolution. Second, the year of birth is unsupported by any evidence whatever.
"She died 7 June 1767 in Williamsburg,Virginia."
One Martha Sharp "from Chesterfield" County was executed on Friday 4 Jun 1767 in Williamsburg. The execution was reported in the Virginia Gazette published the following Friday. The crime was committed in Chesterfield County because the Chesterfield Court would not have jurisdiction if it happened elsewhere. It is not clear whether the phrase "from Chesterfield" meant that the case was referred to the General Court from Chesterfield County Court or that Chesterfield was the county of her residence. Common usage would argue for the latter.
"Martha was executed for the murder of her illegitimate child."
None of the court records or news reports of the crime state that the child was illegitimate. The court records do not even state that the victim was a child. That fact was first mentioned by the Gazette report of her sentencing in the issue of 7 May 1767.
"She claimed the father of the child committed the murder."
The Gazette report of the execution states: "She denied the crime for which she suffered, and laid it upon the father of the child."
"Does anyone know the name of the child or who the father could have been?"
No. No record from the time has been found that even hints at the name of the father, the age of Martha, or whether Martha was married.
"She was married to William Sharp at the time."
Not one shred of evidence supports this claim. There is no evidence that she was married, much less to a particular Sharp. The matching of this Martha Sharp with William Sharp appears to derive from a leap of logic and absence of proof.
There was a Martha Sharp who relinquished her dower right to 372 acres in that part of Henrico County which later became Chesterfield County. That land was in the western part of the county and part of Dale Parish. William Sharpe appeared in Henrico County Court on Monday 7 Oct 1745, before Justices Richard Randolph, Beverley Randolph, Peter Randolph and John Coles. He acknowledged under oath that he had signed the deed to Thomas Tanner and then "Martha his Wife" was questioned apart from her husband and relinquished her right of dower in the land. [Henrico Co. Wills & Deeds 1744-48, p. 81; Henrico County Court Order Book 1737-46, p. 333]
Note that this deed and acknowledgment were over 20 years before the murder trial of Martha Sharp. There is no evidence that they remained in Chesterfield County or that they were living in 1767. The land in question was granted to William Sharp by patent dated 1 Mar 1743/44, indicating that he was born before 1 Mar 1722/23. How long before that date is anyone's guess. His wife Martha could not have been born after 1730, and likely was considerably older. If born in 1737, she would have been 39 when this child was born. The absurd birth date of 1710 would have her giving birth to the child at 56 or 57.
There were multiple persons named William Sharp living in Henrico County in the mid-1700s. There were, among others, William Sharp the Blacksmith (1751), William Sharp heir and devisee of William Sharp (1757), William Sharp of Dale Parish (1735), and William Sharp (living along The "Uphnam" Brook), son of Robert Sharp (1685 or 86 - 1773).
This last William is the one most often (with no evidence) and implausibly associated with Martha as her alleged husband. This William lived along Uphnam Brook until he was given 50 acres by his father on 4 Jul 1757, closer to the Chickahominy Swamp. (If Martha was "from Chesterfield," she was not married to this William who lived on the land given to him.) He died 27 Nov 1767 in Henrico County leaving his wife Elizabeth and nine children (none named Martha). Five of these children were legatees of their grandfather's will. Most of the children were already grown and the youngest was born in 1761. There is no evidence that this William Sharp had a wife other than Elizabeth (maiden name unknown). Elizabeth also has been assigned as an Allen, but no evidence supports that designation.
So not sure why anyone thought the child wasn't William's.
Good point. If Martha was married, the child would be legitimate and William would be the legal father. The exceptions to that rule were (1) the husband was over the sea for ten months prior to the birth, or (2) the mother confessed to the crime of adultery.
Unless someone can produce a document from the 1700s that supports the generally posted proposition that "Martha the Murderess" was married, married to a William, and married to the son of Robert Sharp (will 1772; d 1773), the linkage is missing and the claim is BOGUS.