With a small and unassuming stone, Mary Corry is perhaps best known for the frequent confusion between her and her husband’s subsequent wife. Born about 1621 in England, Mary Brite’s first arrival in America seems to have been Virginia, not New England. However, Mary’s time in Virginia was exceedingly brief, scarcely having left her London-based ship before boarding the vessel of Richard More, onetime Mayflower passenger and Salem tavern-keeper. Richard's son Caleb says he ‘bought her’ off the ship (which might imply indentureship) and we know that Mary lived in the More household for a time. It was likely at the More tavern that Mary met her eventual husband, Giles Corey, who was known to frequent the establishment. Corey’s first wife, Margaret, had died, and the two of them married on April 11, 1673.
Mary Corey can be difficult to find a clear picture of, mostly only appearing in records when her husband is being accused of crimes. She testifies on his behalf when he was accused of arson against John Proctor (the two men would reconcile in Richard More’s tavern). She appears again when she takes Jacob Goodale, recently beaten by Giles, to seek medical attention. Historical record of her as a person is vague, appearing once in court for swearing and calling John Pudney’s wife ‘vile names’. A number of her neighbors came forward to rebut the accusations, including Caleb More, who, having been present on her voyage to Salem, said, “...the whole ship’s company gave her the character of an honest, civil woman. Neither in coming home in the ketch nor while she lived with his father or since, had he ever heard her swear, see her overtaken in drink or speak reproachfully of any of her neighbors or of anybody else. Also he never heard anybody else say such things of her.”
This is really the only biographic description of Mary Corey as an individual. She would die on August 27, 1684 and Giles would go on to marry Martha Corey, who would famously be executed for witchcraft in 1692. Where Giles and Martha are buried is unknown (modern markers exist on their land in Peabody) but Mary’s unadorned stone stands alone in Charter.