(Discussion of this subject begins on page 37 of our book. Also see the November 20, 2016 post entitled Dayton History before 1617 for related thoughts)
As the search for pre-1617 records of Ralph Dayton continues, I often wonder if Ralph had another marriage previous to wedding 30 year old Alice Goldhatch Tritton. Alice was a widow with two daughters (Bennet and Rose) and, at his estimated age of 29 or 30, there is no reason to assume that this was Ralph’s first marriage. If Ralph had been married previous to 1617, the couple probably lived at another location since there is no record of Ralph in the Ashford parish registries prior to his marriage to Alice at St. Mary’s.
Because there is no record of Ralph’s children prior to his first with Alice, Ralph Junior, we should not conclude that this disqualifies the possibility. If such children existed, it may be safe to conclude that they were probably daughters since Ralph Junior, as eldest son, received his father’s name. Remember, Ralph Senior’s son Samuel and his son Abraham both “disposed” children, so that possibility also exists for children of Ralph prior to his marriage to Alice.
Dayton Ancestry 