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