Roland Sears (1762 - 1851)

Born 24 Dec 1762 in Hardwick, Worcester, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Fletcher) Sears — married 29 Nov 1785 in Barre, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

Descendants

Died 22 Mar 1851 at age 88 in Greenwich, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Hope Tillman [send private message]

Biography

Deacon Roland Sears was born Dec. 24, 1762 in Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Freeman Sears and Mehitable Haskell. ^[1] He married Mary Fletcher, and they had nine children.^[1] He married Mary Fletcher in Barre, Massachusetts on Nov. 29, 1785, and they had nine children. He died in Greenwich, Massachusetts on March 22, 1851. ^[1]

Birth

24 DEC 1762 Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA^[2]

Title

Deacon

Residence

1850 Enfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts, USA^[3]

Marriage

29 NOV 1785 Barre, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA^[4]

Notes

Note !S.P. May p.299 A tall, erect figure, very kindly and benevolent to the poor, industrious, and with large executive ability, claiming that six hours' sleep was enough for any man. He had a sterling sense of honesty, and fair dealing. He was a patriot, and loved his country, enlisting in its service when but a mere lad of sixteen, and he often astonished his grand-children and friends with recitals of their privations and sufferings during the war. Roland Sears of Greenwich, Hamp. co., MA, 17 years, 5 feet, 8 inches in height dark complexion, arrived in Springfield, 18 Jul 1780, for service in northern army; he had previously served, 17-21 Aug 1777, in Capt Ephraim Jennings' Co., Col David Field's Regt. at Bennington, 30 miles; 12 Sep 1777 to 4 Jan 1778, in Capt Eben. Newell's Co., Col Key's regt; and 21 Jul to 25 Aug 1779, at New London, CT, in Capt Elisha Dwight's Co, Col Elisha Porter's Regt, 85 miles from home. In 1787 he took oath of allegiance, having been concerned in Shay's rebellion. His name appears in census of 1840, as a Revolutionary pensioner, then aged 77. "Dea Roland, as he was called, to distinguish him from his brothers, Dea Andrew and Dea John, who lived near by, was a very conscientious, religious man, quite after the Pilgrim type. He offered grace at every meal. With the greatest reverence I recall my grand father on his knees in the family prayers, in his earnest and devout expressions of gratitude and thankfulness; and his confessions of shortcomings. And the closing words of the prayer have never left my childish memory, and I often find myself closing the petition with them:' And now Lord, what wait we for? Our wants and complaints are spread before Thee, and Thou knowest what we need, better than we can think or even ask.' Many years ago, in a great movement in the Congregational Church, Dea Sears avowed himself a believer in one God, a Unitarian; quite a grief to his wife, a sweet Christian lady. Later on they both accepted the faith, that evil can never perpetuate itself, in the other life, and as the result every soul shall confess, and glorify God forever. ^[1][5]

DAR# 29956 enlisted 1777, under Capt Ebenezer Dwight. His pension was allowed for 11 months actual service as a private in the Mass. line.^[5][DAR Link]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass. 1638-1888 with an appendix containing some notices of other families by the name of Sears, Samuel P. May (1890), #831. Deacon Roland Sears, p. 297-300. [Link][Book]
2. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011. Rowland Sears, born Hardwick, Worcester, Massachusetts. birth date: 24 Dec 1762 [Link]
3. ↑ 1850 United States Federal Census Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data - Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census. Page: Enfield, Hampshire, Massachusetts; Roll: M432_321; Page: 338A; Image: 196 [Link]
4. ↑ Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp Title: Massachusetts, Marriages, 1633-1850 Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005. [Link]
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Work of L. Ray Sears [Link]

• Vital Records of Hardwick, Massachusetts, to the Year 1850 (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1917) Page 102. Birth record.