It's been a while since I posted about another ancestor. I'm back on track now after completing a very large project. Here's a post about a long-ago ancestor in the 1600s: Benjamin PIERCE - variants Pearse, Peirse, Peirce, Pears, Piers, and many more. He is the 7th great-grandfather through the RICE line of brothers Jack & Bill Lewis, 8th to their children, 9th to their grandchildren, 10th to great-grandchildren.
Benjamin PIERCE was the 4th child, eldest son, born in Scituate, Massachusetts, in approximately
1657. His birthdate is inferred to information of him being 13 in 1670 records, although of course he might have turned 14 soon after. Scituate is the "heart" icon on the coast below Boston.
Here is some information on Benjamin's parents: his father was [Capt] Michael PIERCE (1615 - 1676) who married Persis EAMES, (1621-1662) in approximately 1644 or 1645. He was the eldest of the two sons of Michael and Persis; the couple had 5 daughters as well, one of whom died as an infant. *See below at end for Michael's supposed 2 brothers who also immigrated.
Research for the families of Benjamin PIERCE and his mother Persis EAMES was relatively straightforward as the Online Parish Clerk for Dorset [OPC] England, was extremely thorough and detailed in his postings of genealogical/historical information of the Pierce & Eames families. FamilySearch and Ancestry both have more digitized records from early Massachusetts town records. More research is needed to clarify several fuzzy dates and relationships.
Note Benjamin's parents, Michael PIERCE & Persis EAMES, immigrated from Fordington, Dorset, England, to Massachusetts or Rhode Island before 1645. All of their eight children were born in Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts, as confirmed by summary images of baptism registers for Scituate, MA.
St. George, [right] with a very early history in this area from the 11th Century on.
Photo credit: By Chris Downer,
CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org
/w/index.php?curid=12996528
Benjamin PIERCE was the 4th child, eldest son, born in 1657, in Scituate, MA.
On 5 Feb 1678, Benjamin PIERCE married Martha ADAMS [1658-1717] who had been born in Plymouth County, MA of very early settlers to MA. The couple had 8 known children, as follows, all born in Scituate, Plymouth, MA:
1. Martha, b 14 Dec 1679, d 18 Feb 1700.
2. Jerusha [ancestor], b 13 Feb 1681, d. 6 Apr 1758, Scituate MA;
m approx 1702 to Deacon Joseph BAILEY jr., 5 children
3. Ebenezer, b 2 Apr 1686, d 15 Dec 1772, MA; poss. married, [Mary]
2 children, [not proven]
4. Benjamin (jr), b 2 Apr 1684
5. Persis, b 6 Jun 1688, d 1717 Scituate MA
6 Caleb, b 12 Jun 1690, d 22 Dec 1769 Litchfield CT; m est 1720
Hannah Tilden; 2 girls known
7. Thomas, b 14 Nov 1692, d 9 May 1775; m 29 Jan 1717 Mary Booth,
2 children
8. Adams, b 11 Jun 1695, d 1714.
9. Jeremiah, b 17 Sep 1697, d Jan 1780, MA; m 24 Aug 1732 Bethsheba
Litchfield; no other research completed yet.
10. Elisha [Deacon], b 24 Nov 1699, d 15 Jul 1770; m Sara Edson, 2 girls, 2 boys.
Benjamin is listed with other landowners in a late 1620s or early 1630s land record. For a number of years, Benjamin, with 2 other men, had responsibility from the district council to examine the boundaries of various lands, re buying land, subdividing land, clarifying boundary edges for all freemen.
After his father Michael died in 1676, Benjamin was executor of his father's considerable estate, receiving the majority of the land and buildings. He apparently managed it extremely well, becoming a wealthy landowner with holdings in excess of 1000 acres. He also owned and ran a sawmill that was erected on a river running through his lands.
Like his father before him, Benjamin was appointed Captain of the local militia.
Martha, died aged 59 on 29 Dec 1717 in Scituate MA.
Two years later, on 21 Jul 1718, he married widow Elizabeth Lobdell Perry, who had 12 children. They had no children together. Elizabeth died in 1742.
Benjamin died aged 73 on 8 May 1730, where he lived his entire life, in Scituate, MA. A gravestone may be seen at Groveland Cemetery, Scituate, MA: FindAGrave
*See "Pierce Genealogy, being the Record of the Posterity of Capt. Michael, John, Capt. William Pierce, who came to this country from England,"* by Frederick Clifton Pierce of Rockford Ill., published in 1889, Albany NY, by Joel Munsell's Sons.
This is a debunked genealogy book that inaccurately states three brothers, Capt. Michael, John, and Capt. William, emigrated from Frodington, Dorset, England before 1645. This has been thoroughly debunked as false by current genealogist researchers. Michael Pierce had no brothers with these names. Actually, no siblings have been verified as yet. And there are many Pierce immigrants with variants: Pearse, Peirse, Peirce, Pears, Piers, etc. These first names are very very common as well. Easy to get excited about how they "must" be brothers. They weren't.
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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues or add additional information in these family trees.
