Early Life
Was the wife of John Hart called Mary or Anne?
We know that
Henry Hart of Muff and
Anne Beresford had two daughters called Anne (one born 1680 and apparently dying two years later, the other born in 1692 and apparenly surviving) and one called Mary (born 29 Jun 1681). In TFHoHoD
1, it is Mary who is given as the wife of John Hart, she previously having been married to a Capt. Francis Purefoy - this also stated in the Maryland Archives
2.
However, in Marylandia Hart's baptismal record, her mother's name is given as Anne.
Finally, if we look at the will of
Henry Hart of Muff, dated 1712, we see that he makes no mention of any daughter called Mary, but he does mention a daughter called Anne, whom he describes as his second daughter, also naming Elizabeth as his first. This being the case, then Anne (b. 1680) and Mary (b. 1681) must have died by 1712 when Henry wrote his will, leaving only Anne (born 1692) as the possible second daughter and future wife of John Hart. If this is the case then Anne (b. 1692) would have been 21 when her son Thomas was born.
For now, I'm going to stick with Mary, born 1681, but I think the evidence from Henry's will is very suggestive of the possibility that it was instead Anne who married John Hart.
Death
Mary/Anne must have died by 1740 when John Hart wrote his will as he makes no mention of her therein.
Footnotes
[1] The Family History of Hart of Donegal, by Henry Travers Hart, London, 1907, page 38
[2]
Archives of Maryland
1681 - 1739 (35 years)
(Age 61 years)