The surname Gershom for Mary doesn't seem likely. As far as I have been able to find, there were no Gershom families in Norfolk County, England during the time of Mary's birth. There was a Marible Underwood (no birth record found) who traveled to America with Thomas Flegg in 1637, both being servants of Richard (Carucar) Carver, (Thomas was an indentured servant as a way to pay his passage). From info found on Ancestry.com, there is a family tradition that Thomas Flegg fell in love with a woman below his station and his family objected to the marriage, so they immigrated to America together. Another researcher makes the suggestion that Mary's surname could have been Wilder, since 2 men named Wilder witnessed her Will. I looked for Mary Gershom in the ship lists, but the only ones I found were for 1659, much later than Thomas and Mary were married in Massachusetts. I'm not sure where researchers came up with the surname of Gershom, since none of them cite a source, other than other Ancestry trees (some trees list Gershom and others list Underwood). No records have been found giving Mary's maiden name, so any name we attach to her is only speculation. Mary and Thomas had a son named Gershom, but from the info I've found, it became common for people who had come to the New World to name a son Gershom, which means "stranger to this place" or "exile". I'm wondering if someone thought they named a son for Mary's maiden name, which also seems unlikely. I just thought that you might like to consider these possibilities for your memorial on Mary. I opted not to attach a maiden name for her on my tree, unless I can find definate proof of it.

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