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Home / 📁 Harrington / Mary Harrington (1836-1907)

Mary Harrington (1836-1907)

Sister of Daniel Harrington (1834-1917). Details of this family are somewhat sketchy but the following is known:

  • The Washington County Post (Washington County Post 1896-09-11.pdf) has a note reading "Mrs. Mary Maynard of Shrewsbury, Mass, is visiting her brother, Daniel Harrington."
  • A telegram from "M. A. Maynard" to Preston Meeker Harrington Sr (1871-1942) dated July 18, 1893, reads "Grandmother died this morning come as soon as possible".
  • On Ancestry, someone has uploaded an image of a grave marker reading "Mary E. Harrington, wife of Benjamin Johnston, 1837-1907". It's labeled as being in Mountain View Cemetery, Shrewsbury, MA. It's not found at Find a Grave.
  • It's not clear where the name Maynard comes from. Mary married Benjamin Johnston in 1898, relatively late in life, so Maynard may have been a previous husband. So far I have no evidence of him though.
  • A record of her marriage to Benjamin Johnston lists here name as "Mary A (Harrington) Millard Maynard" of Shrewsbury, with parents named Dennis and Margaret McNeil.
    • It also says this is her third marriage, which probably explains all the family names listed here. She might have married Millard, then Maynard, then Johnston, but I don't know who the McNeils are here.
    • The Maynard mention ties it to the newspaper and telegram references above.
    • This also says she was born in Cambridge, NY, not Ireland.
  • Another marriage record specifically indicates her maiden name as Harrington
    • also indicates Cambridge NY as her place of birth.
    • Parents are listed as "Dennis & Margaret (McNeil)" so McNeil may be her mother's maiden name.
  • A third marriage record shows her name as "Mary Ann (Harrington) Maynard" with parents Dennis & Margaret McNeil
  • A passenger list shows her arriving from New Brunswick, Canada in 1839.
  • A baptismal record from Ireland shows a Mary harrington baptised May 6 1836 to parents William and Cather (Catherine?)

Taken together the likeliest summary seems to be:

  • Mary Ann Harrington was born in Ireland and immigrated with her family while still a child. The family included her brother Daniel Harrington (1834-1917).
  • She likely lived in Cambridge at first, and used this as her place of birth for official purposes.
  • She married someone named Maynard, so far unidentified.
  • She had a second marriage that could have been to someone named Millard, possibly before Maynard.
  • Later in life she married Ben Johnston.

Here's the telegram that got this all started:

A list of Harrington births and deaths in my archives is additional confirmation, listing Mary Johnston as having died Mar. 14 1907 and Benjamin Johnston on May 24, 1907.

Benjamin F. Johnston

Married Mary relatively late in both of their lives. Both had been married previously.

  • Find a Grave shows him buried in Hope Cemetery, Worcester MA, with Mary Hulman (1832-1894), "his wife" (first wife, probably).

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