Born in Methuen, Essex, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America
Ancestors 
Daughter of Abel Merrill
and Sarah (Bodwell) Merrill
Sister of
Sarah (Merrill) Swan, John Merrill, Mary (Merrill) Keyes, Phebe (Merrill) Barker, Anne (Merrill) Stevens, Enoch Merrill and Susanna (Merrill) Hildreth
Wife of
Benjamin Pierce
— married
after 2 Aug 1746 in Massachusetts Bay Colony
Wife of
Oliver Bowers
— married
3 Jan 1769 in Chelmsford, Middlesex, Massachusetts
Descendants 
Mother of
Rebecca (Pierce) Corey, Jesse Pierce, Phebe (Pierce) Foster, Lydia (Pierce) Barker, Elizabeth (Pierce) Danforth, Susanna Pierce, Benjamin Pierce Jr, Leafey (Pierce) Dodge and Merrill Pierce
Died about
at about age 80
in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire [uncertain]
[uncertain]
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| Created 17 Jul 2012
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This person is an ancestor of President Franklin Pierce 14th US President
Biography
Elizabeth "Merial," the daughter of Abel and Sarah, was born on 22 Feb 1728 at Methuen, Essex, Massachusetts.[1]
Elizabeth Merrill and Benjamin "Pierce" were married at Methuen about 1757.[1] This year must be wrong, as the Chelmsford records show that the Intentions for their marriage were filed on 2 Aug 1746.[2]
If Elizabeth married Oliver Bowers, then his first wife, was Esther. The Chelmsford Vital Records show that Esther Bowers, wife of Oliver, died on 13 May 1767 at Chelmsford.[2] Elizabeth and Oliver would have been married after that.
Stearns says that, after the death of Benjamin Pierce, the widow Elizabeth married a "Mr. Bowers."[3] The records of Chelmsford show that Mrs. Elizabeth Pierce married Oliver Bowers on 3 Jan 1769 at Chelmsford.[2]
It appears the Elizabeth Merrill Pierce Bowers died in 1809 in Milford, New Hampshire.
- "Gen. Pierce's mother married for her second husband a Mr. Bowers. I never knew him, but when I was a small boy she was a widow, and lived in Milford, N. H., the nearest neighbor to my father. She was quite aged, and was usually call 'Grandmarm Bowers.' She died in 1809. Gen. Pierce wrote to the father to make arrangements for the funeral, which he did."[4]
Research Note
Please note: An original Marriage Intention document for Benjamin Peirce to Elizabeth Merril (of Methuen) was recorded in Chelmsford om 2 Aug 1746.[5] Their first child was born in 1747
Sources
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mass Methuen. Vital records of Methuen, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Topsfield, Mass: Topsfield historical society, 1909. Open Library Birth, page 81; Marriage, page 231
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Vital records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Salem, Mass: The Essex Institute, 1914. Open Library Marriage to Pierce, Page 275; Marriage to Bowers, Page 295; Death, Page 368
- ↑ Stearns, Ezra S. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire (Lewis Publishing Company, 1908) Vol. 2, Page 558
- ↑ "I. Sketch of the Life of Benjamin Pierce, by Joshua Merrill. Read February 7, 1883." Contributions of the Old Residents' Historical Association, Lowell, Mass. Vol. III, No. 1, published by the Association Sept 1884, Morning Mail Print (Lowell, Mass. 1884), page 1-12, at 7 Accessed 10 June 2016 at HathiTrust (https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3621166;view=1up;seq=15)
- ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRSY-NLM?cc=2061550&wc=Q4DM-N3Y%3A353350601%2C353781801%2C353781802 : 13 July 2016), Middlesex > Chelmsford > Births, marriages, deaths 1673-1770 vol E > image 26 of 146; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
- Franklin Pierce, 14th U. S. President web page, (http://members.aol.com/dwidad/piercepg.html 1999), "Electronic."
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DNA
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M > Merrill | B > Bowers > Elizabeth (Merrill) Bowers
Categories: Grandparents of US Presidents | Methuen, Massachusetts | US President Direct Ancestor
"Vital records of Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849", Town of Chelmsford, Births. Pg. 116. https://ma-vitalrecords.org/MA/Middlesex/Chelmsford/Images/Chelmsford_B116.shtml
I've also added a "Research Note" and a source regarding the marriage date, which should be after 2 Aug 1746.
Thanks in advance.
edited by Faylene Bailey
edited by Faylene Bailey
Vic