Abraham Pierce (abt. 1605 - 1673)

Born about 1605 in England

Husband of Rebecca (Unknown) Pierce — married about 1638 in Plymouth, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 3 Jun 1673 at about age 68 in Plymouth, Plymouth Colony

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Abraham Pierce migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 3, p. 1466) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Abraham Pierce was born about 1605, assuming he was eighteen when he arrived in 1623. His origins are unknown.

"Abraham Pierce may be related in some way to Mr. John Pierce of London [TAG 54:164-66]."^[1]

Arrived in Massachusetts in 1623 on the Anne, initially settling in Plymouth, removed to Duxbury by 1643.

Abraham was one of two servants of Mr. [John] Pierce in the 1623 Plymouth division of land.

"A good indication that Abraham Pierce was indeed a close relative of Mr. John Pierce of London emerges from a close examination of early Plymouth land records, supported by the records of a Pierce (Peirsey) family in Virginia... The piece of evidence that provides the possible link between Abraham Pierce of Plymouth and Duxbury and Mr. John Peirce of London is a deed of 1629, recorded on page 7 of the [Records of the Colony of New Plymouth vol. 12]... dated 28 Sept. 1629, Abraham Peirce sells to Thomas Clark... [acre of land described in very similar ways to 1623 granted to "Mr. [John] Pierce's servants."] ... As it was common practice for a merchant adventurer in England to employ a young relative as servant or agent in the New World, it would seem highly probably that Abraham Pierce of Plymouth was indeed a close relative of Mr. John Peirce of London..."^[2][3]

Abraham Peirce's name first appeared in the "Division of cattle" in 1627.^[4] He sold 2 shares in the red cow on Jan 10 1627/8.^[5]

He was a taxpayer at Plymouth in 1633, paying 9 shillings,^[6] and again in 1634, at the same rate.^[7] He was one of the first freemen in 1633.^[8] He served on the inquest jury into the death of John Deacon, February 1635/6.^[9] He was a soldier in 1643, under Capt. Miles Standish. He was one of the original purchasers of ancient Bridgewater, and had several land grants.

He married by 1638 Rebecca _____. She does not appear to have survived him since her son made no acknowledgement of or provision for her dower. She was the sister of "Goody (possibly Hannah) Scudder" (probably wife of John Scudder of Barnstable) who took Rebecca's daughter Alice to be baptized 21 Jul 1650.

"That her sister took her youngest child implies that either Rebecca was ill, unable to nurse, or deceased following the birth."

He died by 3 Jun 1673 when "Abraham Peirse, Junior" transferred 22 acres of land to his brother Isacke, part of the land of "his father Abraham Perise deceased, dying intestate."

Abraham Peirse Junior also gave 20s apiece to "his three sisters, viz: Rebeckah Wills, Mary Baker, and Allice Baker..."

Children

1. Abraham, b ___ January 1638/9?; m1 by 1665 Hannah Baker. (In his will, dated 4 March 1692/3, Francis Baker made a bequest to "my daughter Hannah Pearse".) Abraham m2 in Scituate on 29 October 1695 Hannah _____ (said to be Hannah Glass).
2. Isaac, b say 1641; living 1673; no further record.
3. Rebecca, b say 1643; m by 1673 Samuel Wills.
4. Mary b say 1645; m by about 1670 Nathaniel Baker ("Samuel Baker the son of Nathanell Baker was 4 years old the 29th of October 1674")
5. Alice, bp Barnstable 21 Jul 1650; m by 1672 John Baker (eldest child b 31 My 1672)

Descendancy Notes

"On 13 November 1730, 'Caleb Pearce' of Yarmouth, planter, appointed "my uncle Isaac Pearce of Easthem," planter, his attorney to recover any right he might have in land 'descending to me from my great grandfather Abraham Pearce' of Duxbury, deceased, especially his right in "a plantation or other estate in the government of the Island of Barbadoes formerly belonging to & in the possession of Thomas Pearce late of said barbadoes, deceased, & by him given to my great grandfather Abraham Pearce... & from him descending to my grandfather Abraham Pearce of Said Duxborough late of Pembroke... and from him descending to my father John Pearce of the town of Pembroke abovesaid deceased & so to myself' [MD 9:162-3, citing a document in private hands]. The great-grandfather of Caleb Pierce was Abraham Pierce the immigrant, and so this power of attorney provides a powerful clue which should assist in finding the English origin of Abraham."^[10]

Note

Note: John Peirce was the oldest brother in this family out of 5 children, my husbands line stems from John's brother Samuel who married Mary Saunders. John was also married a second time to Susannah Newland. I have no dates except death years on these people, so maybe you can help me too.

I have a little write up on the father Abraham, b. 1605 in England/Barbados d. in Duxbury, MA....This man was the first member of the family who settled in Plymouth and from him are descended most of the name, however spelled, in that section of MA. His name does appear in the records of Plymouth as a taxpayer in 1623 and as a soldier under Capt. Myles Standish in 1630. He married Rebecca ---I have a bit more, probably shouldn't hog this message board, would like to hear from you. Patricia Pierce pjas@@clinic.net

Sources

1. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles, Great Migration Begins, Boston, MA: 1995, p 1466-9.
2. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson, "A Clue to the English Ancestry of Abraham Pierce of Plymouth and Duxbury," in The American Genealogist, 54(1978):164-166
3. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 12, p. 7.
4. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 12, p. 10.
5. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 12, p. 15.
6. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 1, p. 10.
7. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol.1, p. 28.
8. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 1, p. 4.
9. ↑ Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 1, p. 39.
10. ↑ GMB, p 1468

See also:

• The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Abraham Pierce pages 1466-69

• Ancestry.com. New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635, [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3; The Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volumes 1-6. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011. Abraham Pierce pages 1466-69

• The Peirce Family of the Old Colony: or the lineal descendants of Abraham Peirce Who came to America as early as 1623 Author: Peirce, Ebenezer W[eaver]. of Freetown, Mass. Publication: Boston : printed for the Author. David Clapp & Son, 334 Washington St., 1870. Date: 25 Feb 2006. Originally a series of articles in NEHGR, beginning in Vol. 21 (1867), p. 61.

• The Anne and the Little James, Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.

• Representative men and old families of southeastern Massachusetts Vol 3; Published by J.H. Beers & Co., Chicago, 1912; pg 1491

• Plymouth Colony Records, Volume 1, ed. Nathaniel B. Shurtleff (1855); Volume 12, ed. David Pulsifer (1861).

• Stearns, Ezra S. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire (Lewis Publishing Company, 1908) Vol. 2, Page 561 "He was in Plymouth as early as 1623..."
• Pierce, Harvey Cushman. Seven Pierce Families. (Washington, D.C., 1936) Page 3