Her[e] li[es the bo]dy of
Margaret B[agl]y the wife
[of[ D[ea]con Joseph Bag
ly De[cease]d March 18
in the [year of our Lord]
Cemetery records include notes: Margaret is the wife of Deacon Joseph Bagley and died 18 March 1799. The marker may have originally given her age - it would be common for the era. However that information would have eroded away before the transcription was made.
In 1725, Margaret Bagley was baptized by Samuel Moody, the Congregational Minister in York, Maine, during one of the Minister's visits to Providence. Based on this, church histories of the Beneficent Congregational Church indicate she was one of the early members of the Congregational Church in Providence. (https://archive.org/details/) The church histories seem to indicate Margaret is an adult. Some family histories make an assumption Margaret is a child and daughter of Joseph Bagley. In the 1740's the congregation split in two over differences caused by the Great Awakening. Joseph Bagley is not mentioned in the records of either Congregation after the split. However, family members were still buried in the plots provided by the Congregational Churches.
Family historians have generally associated Deacon Joseph Bagley of Providence with the son of Samuel Bagley of Weymouth. This is very reasonable - there are very few people in New England prior to 1750. There is probably only one Joseph Bagley/Bagly/Bayley in that time and place born in the 1680's. It is likely the individual mentioned in several church and town histories in Rhode Island is this man. (http://www.4familytrees.com/mckee/Family%20Group%20Record%20of%20Joseph%20Bagley.pdf) Based on a land transaction in 1714, his wife is thought to be Mary or Martha Bates, the sister of Samuel Bates. Samuel Bagley (1709 to 1773) is usually identified as the son of Joseph and Mary/Martha Bates.
The following table summarizes what we know from these records:
| Record | Name | Relationship |
| 1714 Deed | Samuel Bates | Brother in law of Joseph Bagley |
| 1725 Baptism | Margaret Bagly | by Samuel Moody |
| 1799 Grave Marker | Margaret Bagley | Wife of Joseph Bagley |
So
- Is Margaret Bagley the sister of Samuel Bates?
- What is the relationship between Margaret Bagly, baptized in 1725 and Deacon Joseph?
- Is Margaret the mother of Samuel?
Option 1: Margaret, Mary and Martha are the same person. Margaret would be born around 1790, would be the mother of Samuel, and would have been around 110 when she died. She would have married fairly young. This is possible but not likely.
Option 2: There are two women named Margaret. Margaret Bagley baptized in 1725 is an adult daughter of Joseph and Mary/Martha (Bates) Bagley. She would be older than Samuel by at least 4 or 5 years. Margaret Bagley a second wife could be born as late as the 1720's if she married Joseph late is his life. The the wife would be between 70 and 100 when she died.
Option 3: Margaret Bagley baptized in 1725 is the second wife of Joseph Bagley. She could be born as late as 1704 making her in her mid to late 90s when she died in 1799. Martha/Mary Bagley would have died before 1725, putting her death at around age 40.
Sources:
Anderson, Margaret Bagley and Bagley, Russel Norton. Some descendants of Orlando Bagley of Amesbury, Massachusetts, vol. 2. 1972.
Anderson, Margaret Bagley and Bagley, Russel Norton. Some descendants of Orlando Bagley of Amesbury, Massachusetts, vol. 3. 1990.
Vose, James G. Commemorative preached in the Beneficent Congregational Church, Providence, R.I., October 18, 1868. 1868. Providence : Beneficent Congregational Church.
Wilson, Arthur Edward. Weybosett Bridge in Providence Plantations, 1700-1790. 1947. Boston: The Pilgrim Press.
