Abiah (Pierce) Rogers (abt. 1633 - 1679)

Born about 17 Jul 1633 in Dorchester, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Wife of Jeremiah Rogers — married 1650 in Dorchester, Suffolk Co., Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 10 Mar 1679 at about age 45 in Dorchester, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts Bay Colony

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Biography

There has been some confusion as to whether the wife of Jeremiah Rogers was named Abigail or Abiah. The Lancaster VR and the Dorchester VR list her name 13 times. In 11 of those cases, she is referred to as Abiah, Abyah, or Abia. These cases involve the births or deaths of her children, and her own death. In the other 2 cases, she is referred to as Abigail. One such case refers to her birth (and makes no connection to Jeremiah). The other case is seen in the birth record of her son, Israel, in the 1890 version of Nourse's book on The Early Records of Lancaster. Actually, the 1884 version referred to her as Abiah, so it was probably a typo in the newer version. Such evidence strongly suggests that her name was Abiah.

Abiah, entered in the record as "Abigail", was born 17 July 1633 in Dorchester, dau of John Pierce (Pearce) and his first wife, Parnell Unknown.^[1] Note that the "History of Dorchester" asserted that there were two John Pierces in Dorchester, one married to Parnell and one to Mary. This is proven wrong by John's 1661 will since this Abigail was a child of the first wife Parnell and all other children listed in that will were children of second wife Mary.

Left a legacy in her father's will dated 16 September 1661, mentioned as the wife of Jeremiah Rogers along with her children. " my daughter the wife of Jeremiah Rog[e]rs ... whereas her husband Jeremiah Rog[e]rs stands deeply indebted unto me ... freely give [the sum of £20] to my daughter and her children and also 20s. apiece unto her three children in money"^[2]

Birth: 7 July 1633, in Dorchester, Massachusetts ^[3]

Marriage: No records found

Death: 10 March 1679, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Abiah Rogers, widow of Jeremiah Rogers, at Dorchester" ^{[4] [5]}

"Rogers, Jeremiah (-1676) & Abiah [Pierce] (not Abigail) (-1678/9); m 1652; Dorchester/Lancaster." (Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1985, 1987, 1990, p. 633.) </div>

Other spelling PEARS, URL: http://salemsites.com/Smithgen1/familygroup.php?familyID=F46&tree=Madden

Sources

1. ↑ Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33
2. ↑ Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33 (Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33, url: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=greatmigrationindex&rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-d&gsfn=jeremiah&gsln=rogers&uidh=2r7&ct=913 )
3. ↑ "The Early Records of Lancaster", Ed. by Henry S. Nourse https://archive.org/details/dorchesterbirths01dorc/page/3/mode/1up?q=Rogers
4. ↑ https://archive.org/details/dorchesterbirths01dorc/page/29/mode/1up
5. ↑ https://archive.org/details/birthmarriagean00masgoog/page/20/mode/1up

See also:

• In 1888 Frederick Clifton Pierce published one of his usual confused productions, a Pearce Genealogy, Being the Record of the Posterity of Richard Pearce, An Early Inhabitant of Portsmouth, in Rhode Island ... (Rockford, Illinois, 1888). He made John Pierce of Dorchester and Boston a son of this elder Richard Pierce, and the latter was supposedly brother of WILLIAM PIERCE, mariner, of Boston, and father of a younger Richard Pierce of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. The elder Richard does not seem to have existed, nor is there evidence that any of these other three men are related to one another. (Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-33, url: http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=greatmigrationindex&rank=1&new=1&MSAV=1&msT=1&gss=angs-d&gsfn=jeremiah&gsln=rogers&uidh=2r7&ct=913 )