Mary Wilder LeBaron Waite
(1668-1737)
The Wilder Family
Mary was the youngest of ten children born to Edward Wilder (1623-1690) and Elizabeth Eames (1624-1692), each arriving in Massachusetts with their families from England in the 1620-40 "Great Migration." Edward and Elizabeth married in Hingham in 1650, and had ten children between 1652 and 1668. The image below shows a portion of their tree in Ancestry, with Mary highlighted to the right, and her brother Ephraim in the red box to the left.
The story of how Francis LeBaron, noble-looking Frenchman bound for a Boston prison, met Mary Wilder, one of a large family living in Hingham, is one of speculation. The fact is that they married in Plymouth in 1695 and produced three sons before the Francis' untimely death in 1704. Mary married Return Waite in 1707, but did not bear any more children. She died 26 Sep 1737 in Plymouth and is buried on Burial Hill next to her first husband Francis.
Here is more information about Mary and her family, which leads to an interesting possibility about where the LeBaron family wealth originated
Ancestry.com, LeBaron Family Tree, annotated screen shot, accessed 18 Aug 2026.
Ephraim Wilder's Will
As we look through records of Edward and Elizabeth Wilder and their ten children, the second oldest son Ephraim (1655-1690) is notable for leaving a substantial will in 1687 prior to his death in 1690 at the young age of 35. He had land holdings in both Mendon and Hingham which he left to siblings, as he was unmarried and had no offspring. In particular, Ephraim left his Mendon land to his six sisters, one of whom was Mary Wilder. She would have inherited her portion soon after Ephraim's death in 1690, several years before she married Francis LeBaron. This could have provided the young couple with some initial wealth, as Francis purchased land in Plymouth Colony in 1697/8 for a substantial sum. Click on the image below to read the entire will.
Ancestry.com, Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 > Suffolk > Probate Records, Vol 7-8, 1636-1766,
image 330 of 585 : downloaded 9 Oct 2024.