Mary Mills
c. 1787–1858
Born about 1787, a daughter of John Mills of Sussex County, New Jersey. In Upper Canada she was the wife of Peter (Teater) Null and then, for some thirty years, the partner of Abraham Marlatt of Clinton Township, with whom she had five children. Died 19 August 1858.
Life events
| Born | about 1787 | Sussex County, New Jerseyfrom her age, 71, on her gravestone |
|---|---|---|
| Married | Upper Canadato Peter (or Teater) Null, from an abstract of the original record; the date is not known here | |
| Residence | by about 1815 to 1835 | Clinton Township, Lincoln County, Upper Canadahousekeeper to Abraham Marlatt, as his 1835 will calls her. The will leaves her his house for life and names their five children |
| Died | 19 August 1858 | Clinton Township, Lincoln County, Ontario |
| Buried | Konkle-Marlatt Cemetery, Lincoln, Lincoln County, Ontarioher stone reads “Mary, wife of Abraham Marlatt” |
Research note: one Mary Mills, not two
The original family file showed Mary Mills, born 1769 in Sussex County, as the wife of Ambrose Marlatt. No record supports that marriage; it survives only in unsourced family trees. Amy Brennan, who descends from Mary, knows of only one Mary Mills: the daughter of John Mills of Sussex County, New Jersey, who became the wife of Peter Null and then the partner of Abraham Marlatt of Upper Canada. Ambrose was a brother of the Paul Marlatt who went to Canada with Abraham, which may be how the mix-up began.
She and Abraham were never legally married. His will of 1835 calls her “Mary Null (wife to Peter Null) House Keeper to me” and their children his natural children: Paul, John Mills, Elizabeth, Hannah and Jane. Her gravestone, twenty-three years later, calls her his wife.
The year 1769 in the old file does not fit. Her stone gives her age at death in 1858 as 71, which puts her birth about 1787.
Sources: Amy Brennan, from her own research, including an abstract of the Null marriage record; the will of Abraham Marlatt, Surrogate Court of the Niagara District, 1835; CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project, Konkle-Marlatt Presbyterian / Mountain Presbyterian Cemetery. Her stone is pictured on Abraham’s page.