Alexander Sears (1664 - bef. 1736)

Born 25 May 1664 in Salem, Essex, Massachusetts

Husband of Rebecca (Staines) Sears — married before 1686 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died before 25 Mar 1736 before age 71 in Boston, Suffolk, Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

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Biography

Alexander Sears was born in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts, 25 May 1664,^[1] the son of Alexander Sears and his wife, Mary Lemon.^[2] He died, probably Boston, before 25 March 1736 (date will proved).^[3]

Alexander Sears married, probably Boston, before 1686 (birth of child), Rebecca Staines. She was born Boston, 26 December 1662,^[4] the daughter of Richard and Joyse Staines. Rebecca was not mentioned in her husband's 4 October 1732 will; she had presumably predeceased him.

Family

Alexander Sears and his wife, Rebecca Staines, were the parents of nine children,^[5]

1. Rebecca Sears, born 12 August 1686; married (1) Joseph Gray, son of Samuel and Susannah Gray; married (2) Arthur Hill of "Gr. Britian."
2. Sarah Sears, born 11 August 1688.
3. Mary Sears, born 27 September 1690; married (1) Benjamin Street of Pennsylvania, a mariner; married (2) Samuel Treat, Jr., of Turo, Massachusetts, son of Samuel Treat and Elizabeth Mayo.
4. Joyce Sears, born 26 November 1692; married Robert Marvel/Marble.
5. Ann Sears, born 13 December 1694; married William Phillips, son of William Phillips and Deborah Long.
6. Hannah Sears, born 14 January 1696/7; married Abraham Snelling, son of John Snelling and Jane Adams.
7. Elinor Sears, born 7 May 1699.
8. Alexander Sears, born 28 June 1701.
9. Deliverance Sears, born 23 October 1703; married Henry Atkins, son of Nathaniel Atkins and Winifred Chick.

Research Notes

Sears Notes

His Probate. See Alexander Sears 1736 probate, case 6842 (11 pp.; testate) in Suffolk County, MA: Probate File Papers; database and digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors, will dated 4 October 1732, proved 25 March 1736; witnessed by Andrew Hall, Edward Edes and John Keith; he is "Alexander Seares of Boston ... Shipwright"; executors as William Phillips and Henry Atkins; inventory dated 30 March 1736 by Mr. Thos Lee, Mr. John Golthwait, and Mr. Jno Adams, sworn 20 April 1736; will mentions family members,

• my daughter Sarah Sears (also below)
• my daughter Joyce Marble (also below) and her children
• my Loving Children, namely,
  • Rebecca Hill
  • Sarah Seares
  • Mary Treat,
  • Joyce Marble
  • Ann Phillips
  • Hannah Snelling
  • Delive^r Atkins

1736 Deed. H. Minot Pitman, "Descendants of John Snelling," New England Historical and and Genealogical Register, 108 (1954):179-187 at 181 (5. Capt. Abraham^3 Snelling); digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors, author notes, citing "Suffolk County Deed (vol 54, p. 82)," that "[on] 11 Feb. 1736, Arthur Hill and Rebecca, his wife, Sarah Sears, spinster, Mary Treat, widow, Joyce Marble, widow, William Phillips, mariner, and Ann, his wife, Abraham Snelling and Hannah, his wife, all of Boston, Rebecca, Sarah, Mary, Joyce, Ann, and Hannah being daughters of Alexander Sears, shipwright, late of Boston, conveyed property to Henry Atkins of Boston."

New England Marriages prior to 1700. Seers-[Staines] by 1686 marriage, New England Marriages prior to 1700, 3 vols. (Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015), 2:1346 (Seers); digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors, he is Alexander Seers; she is Rebecca [Staines]; marriage is by 1686, location reference is Boston. References are Boston VR 171 and Treat 188.

• Boston VR 171; Boston (Massachusetts) Record Commissioners, Boston Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths, 1630–1699 as Boston Record Commissioners [Ninth Report], "Document 130--1883" (Boston: Rockwell & Churchill, 1883), 171 (Births and Baptisms); digital images, Hathi Trust, for "Rebecca of Alexander & Rebecca Seers born Aug. 12."
• Treat 188; John Harvey Treat, The Treat family: a genealogy of Trott, Tratt, and Treat for fifteen generations … (Salem, Mass., The Salem press publishing & printing company, 1893), 188; digital images, InternetArchive.

Sources

1. ↑ Allexander Seers 1664 birth, citing "CT. R. [court record, Essex Co. Quarterly Court]," Vital Records of Salem, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849, 6 vols. (Salem, Mass., The Essex institute, 1916-1925), 2:274 (Seers); digital images, Hathi Trust, parents as Allexander and Mary Seers.
2. ↑ Samuel P. Mays, The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass. 1638 - 1888 (Albany, N.Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1890); digital images, Hathi Trust or InternetArchive, for the handwritten notes, reportedly by the author, regarding this Sears family in "Appendix: Other Families of Sears," at 565, digital images, InternetArchive, courtesy of L. Ray Sears and Rick Pierpont.
3. ↑ Alexander Sears 1736 probate, case 6842 (11 pp.; testate) in Suffolk County, MA: Probate File Papers; database and digital images by subscription, AmericanAncestors, will dated 4 October 1732, proved 25 March 1736.
4. ↑ Rebecca Staines 1662 birth record, Boston (Massachusetts) Record Commissioners, Boston Births, Baptisms, Marriages and Deaths, 1630–1699 as Boston Record Commissioners [Ninth Report], "Document 130--1883" (Boston: Rockwell & Churchill, 1883), 85 (Births and Baptisms [1662/town]); digital images, Hathi Trust, parents as "Richard & Joice Staines," birth is December 26.
5. ↑ Samuel P. Mays, The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass. 1638 - 1888 (Albany, N.Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1890), 566-568; digital images, Hathi Trust. For this text and reportedly the author's handwritten notes regarding the families, see InternetArchive and especially, "Appendix: Other Families of Sears," 566 (including several handwritten sheets), InternetArchive, courtesy of L. Ray Sears and Rick Pierpont.

See also--

• Samuel P. Mays, The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass. 1638 - 1888 (Albany, N.Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1890), 566-568; digital images, Hathi Trust. For this text and reportedly the author's handwritten notes regarding the families, see InternetArchive and especially, "Appendix: Other Families of Sears," 566 (including several handwritten sheets), InternetArchive, courtesy of L. Ray Sears and Rick Pierpont.

Other--

• American Marriages Before 1699 Author: Ancestry.com Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.Original data - Clemens, William Montgomery. American Marriage Records Before 1699. Pompton Lakes, NJ, USA: Biblio Co., 1926.Original data: Clemens, William Montgomery. American M
• Massachusetts Marriages, 1633-1850 Author: Dodd, Jordan, Liahona Research, comp. Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.Original data - With some noted exceptions all marriage records in this collection can be found at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Alexander Sears in Ancestry Family Trees; http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=15949597&pid=420408545 Ancestry Family Trees Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.; Note: This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

Acknowledgments

• WikiTree profile Sears-534 created through the import of Ancestors of PBHowe.ged on Jun 6, 2011 by Buck Howe. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Buck and others.