Mary Ann aka Polly Perry Sorrell

  General Notes:

There are twelve references to a "Mrs. Sneed" in Jefferson's _Memorandum
Books_ over a period from 12 Sept 1792 to 27 Sept 1801. For the 12 Sept 1792
entry, which reads: "Pd Mrs. Sneed 3.2", we have this footnote: "Mary (Polly)
Snead, wife of Benjamin Snead, was a midwife." Of interest is the editors use of
the diminutive "Polly," which nowhere appears in the Jefferson text. Mrs.
Sneed's services, however, went beyond midwifery. She served also as a tutor to
the young Thomas Jefferson and possibly as an overseer of Sally Hennings'
accounts.
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BENJAMIN SNEED (1721-1819): THE WIFE
(Update April 30, 2002 by Richard "Dick" Baldauf)
Recent endeavors by Trueman Farris have unearthed a book by Rosalie Davis
entitled "Garth family: Descendants of John Garth of VA, 1734-1986." On page
375 is this reference to material in "the Garth files" at the KY Historical
Society:
"About 1772 David (Garth) married Frances Snead, the daughter of Benjamin Sneed and his wife, a Miss Perry of
Albemarle Co. (4) Rev. William Douglas spelled Frances' maiden name Snead. It was most frequently spelled Sneed in
her father's deeds. Frances was born by 1755, according to the 1800 Census. Both she and David could read and
write."
"(Footnote 4) the name of Frances Sneed's mother, Mary Perry, is on an unsigned paper, handwritten in the Garth
files KHS; another oral tradition gives Sarah Perry (as her name),"
This identifies Benjamin Sneed's wife as Mary Perry, and it tells us that she was a "Miss," not a widow Perry.
However, we have not seen this material. We understand that "it ranges from photocopies of newspaper articles to
handwritten scaps of paper. There are family charts, some vital records, cemetery listings, correspondence, etc." It is
difficult to evaluate these items without knowledge of their nature. A newspaper item would obviously carry more
weight than a penciled note. But whatever its origin, we do have an additional source naming "a Miss Perry of
Albemarle Co." as the wife of Benjamin Sneed. Her Christian name of "Mary" matches perfectly with the "Mary Ann"
that appears on Sneed documents naming her as the wife of Benjamin Sneed.
Mr. Farris has also located a second source indicating that Mary Ann Sneed may have been born a "Perry." We refer
you to Payne/Mattingly Family Files, updated as of 24 Oct. 2001. From these files we note below the eldest child of
David and Frances (Sneed) Garth, who bore the middle name of "Perry."
Sarah Perry Garth b. bet. 1770-1775, prob. Albemarle Co., VA; m. 23 Oct. 1790 in Louisa Co. (1) John Coates, b.c. 1765.
For further information on Frances (Sneed) Garth and her husband, David Garth, and the names of their children, we
refer you to Dorothy Payne at <payne1026@aol.com>

Mary married Benjamin Sneed or Snead, son of William Sneed or Snead and Unknown, in 1749 in Louisa County, VA. (Benjamin Sneed or Snead was born in 1721 in Albemarle Co., VA and died on 28 Apr 1819 in Danville, KY.)