There is controversy regarding the marriage of Austin Bearse to Mary Hyanno. There are no church records of Austin marrying anyone, however all his children were baptized and documented. There are records indicating a wife named Mary. But is that Mary Hyanno or a Mary Wilder who arrived aboard the "Confidence" in 1638, the same ship Austin sailed? There are advocates for each Mary. There are several Bearse message boards that detail both sides of this controversy.

A Frederick Bearse is “blamed” for spreading the Mary Hyanno story. In the 1930’s he mounted a campaign to prove his Indian heritage in order to benefit from compensation being given to Indian descendants. Professional genealogists debunked two of his claims holes were made in the Hyanno story.

But there are sources that tell of the union of Mary Hyanno and Austin Bearse that predate Frederick Bearse. A good detail of these is at http://www.murrah.com/gen/bearse.htm (Lee Murrah's conclusions)

In 1847 A History of The Episcopal Church In Narragansett Rhode Island by Wilkins Updike Boston was published. It made no mention of the Bearse/Hyanno connection. However a reprint of this book in 1907 (printed & published by D.B. Updike The Merrymount Press 1907) fully details the ancestry of Mary Hyanno and her children with Austin Bearse. Which is correct? Why the change?

I have chosen to include Mary Hyanno in this genealogy. I believe that Frederick Bearse was trying to take advantage of a family legend that until then had little publicity. And that legend was true.

lth1424