Much as we would like to think that the records we find pertaining to our ancestors are valid, there are times that it is clear that mistakes have been made. Even gravestones have been known  to contain errors, that, admittedly, most of the time, they’re pretty accurate. Sometimes the best we can do is to state our conclusions after preventing the facts as we know them. Such is the case with Zacharias Derickson, a very early settler in New Castle county.

It is generally accepted that Zacharias was first married to Helena Van der Veer, with a date of 1701. Additionally, those baptismal records from Old Swedes that can be found for his children show the mother as Helena, so we can accept that Helena was his wife and the mother of his children.

The first indication of an issue crops up when we look at the extract for Zach’s will from 1748.

Zachariah Derrickson. Yeoman. B’wine Hd. Jan 21, 1748. Feb 22, 1748. G. 277 Wife, Elizabeth Derrickson; son, Cornelius Derrickson; sons, Zeckrias and Peter; son, William. Exc. wife, Elizabeth Derrickson; Nels Justison.

Note the dates and the name of his wife. Where did Elizabeth come from? Sure enough, a little further searching turns up a record for a marriage at Old Swedes:

May 26, 1748: Zacharias Didrickson to Elizabeth Polson

Now look at those dates again. The marriage is from May of 1748, but Zach’s will was probated in February of 1748. It would be my guess that the church record is in error, but without seeing the original documents, it is really impossible to know the exact timing of the events in question. The only other Zacharias in that time frame that would be old enough to be getting married or writing a will in 1748 is Zacharias’ son Zach, Jr., but he was married to a Sarah and they are both listed in the baptismal records of Old Swedes for children born both before and after 1748, so we can rule out the son for the 1748 events. Like it or not, it seems we have to accept that Elizabeth was the second wife, even if the dates involved leave us with an uncomfortable conflict.