Joseph Sears UEL (abt. 1746 - 1846)

Born about 1746 in Westchester, Westchester, New York Colony

Husband of Hester (Wheaton) Sears — married 17 Apr 1780 in Westchester, New York

Descendants

Died 1846 at about age 100 in Sackville, Westmorland, New Brunswick, Canada

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Biography

Joseph Sears was a United Empire Loyalist.
UEL Status:Proven
Date: Undated

Joseph Sears was born in 1746 in Morrisania, Westchester Co., NY. Some sources incorrectly claim Yarmouth, MA, as his birthplace.^[1] He was a Loyalist.^[2]

According to the "Appendix of Other Families of Sears ... so far (as of 1890) not certainly identified..." in The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass. 1638-1888,^[3], Joseph Sears "was b. about 1746, on Long Island, or in Morrisania, N.Y., (accounts differ,) was probably a grandson of Wm. and Eliz. Sears of Boston who were m. there, Mar. 12, 1710-11; he was a farmer in Morrisania; served in the British Army during the Revolution; was wounded in the shoulder, and carried the bullet to his grave. His farm was confiscated and he exiled to New Brunswick, where he had granted him a large tract of land in Sackville. He was a hard-working and successful farmer, and d. 1846, ae. 99 yrs. 7 mos. License for Joseph Sears and Hester Wheaton to marry was granted N.Y., Apr. 20, 1780."^[4]

Further to May, Joseph married Hester Wheaton on April 20, 1780 in New York.^[5][6] In July 1783, Joseph, his wife Hester and their three children left New York on the ship "Thetis", destined for Fort Cumberland, Nova Scotia, along with 85 other Loyalist families, for a total of 246 men, women and children (including Hester's father and siblings and their families). Two years later, in 1785, Joseph was granted 500 acres of land.^[7] In 1808 Joseph Sears was granted a further 350 acres of land in Sackville, New Brunswick.^[8]

Joseph died at Sackville, New Brunswick in 1846 at the age of 99 years and 7 months. Joseph is buried in Sackville Rural Cemetery, Sackville Parish, Westmorland Co., New Brunswick.^[9]

Notes

• Joseph Sears and Hester Wheaton had 12 children:

1. Daniel, b. N. Y. State; m. Sicks of Dorchester, N. B., and d. Sackville about 1847
2. David, b. N. Y. State; m. Mary Ward; both d. Sackville
3. Jeremiah, b. Sackville.
4. Frederic, b. Sackville; m. Eunice Ward, and both d. there
5. William, b. Sackville
6. Thomas, b. Sackville; m. Amy Babcock of Dorchester, N.B., and d. Maine
7. Joseph, b. Sackville; m. Sep., 1818, Mary Geldert, she b. Monckton, 1798; had 14 children, and d. Eastport, Me., 1865; his widow was living in Boston in 1885
8. Reuben, b. Sackville, 1797
9. Esther, m. Finney
10. Charlotte, m. Wm. Barnes
11. Elizabeth, m. Geo. Crowder, and a dau. m. McGawan of Sackville
12. Dau., m. Bannister

Sources

1. ↑ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Collections, 1620-1988
2. ↑ Provincial Archives of New Brunswick : Records of Old Revolutionary Soldiers and Their Widows - Sears, Joseph
3. ↑ May: Page 615
4. ↑ May: Page 615
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. New York Marriages, 1600-1784 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: State of New York. Names of Persons for whom Marriage Licenses were Issued by the Secretary of the Province of New York, Previous to 1784. Albany, NY, USA: State of New York, 1860. - Record M.B., Volume XXIX, OSPage 36
6. ↑ New York Marriages, 1600-1784
7. ↑ Nova Scotia Land Papers : 1785, incl. Joseph Sears and Thomas Wheaton
8. ↑ Index to New Brunswick Land Grants - Joseph Sears
9. ↑ Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Joseph Sears, III : Memorial #133884239

See Also

• The United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada
• May, Samuel. The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888 [1] Page 615 (Joel Munsell's Sons, 1890)
• Milner, Dr. William Cochrane. History of Sackville, New Brunswick. The Tribune Press, Ltd. Sackville, New Brunswick. 1934
• [2] Descendants of James Wheaton - Hester Wheaton
• Bannister Sandkin
• MARRIAGE: NEW YORK MARRIAGES; 1666-1784; GPC, Inc, 1984; p 345; Brewster, NY Public Library; 1780. April 20. Sears, Joseph, and Hester Wheaton, Record M.B., Vol XXIX, p 36. Names of Persons for Whom Marriage Licenses were issued by the Secretary of the Province of NY previous to 1784, Weed, Parsons and Co, 1860, Albany;

• New York County Marriages, 1848-1936 this source needs more details since his marriage was before 1848- does not seem to apply

• May, Samuel. The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888 [3] Page 615 (Joel Munsell's Sons, 1890) shows approx birth date, m. license to Hester Wheaton on 20 Apr 1780, lists 12 children, d. ae 99 y, 7 ms in 1846 presumably in Sackville where he was a farmer. May later struck through this note and added notes- Was probably a gr-son of Wm and Eliz Sears of Boston, who were married there Mar. 12, 1710/1711. He was a farmer in Morrisania, NY, served in the British Army during the Revolution; was wounded in the shoulder and carried the bullet to his grave. His farm was confiscated and he was exiled to New Brunswick, where he was granted a large tract of land in Sackville.

May's handwritten note about Joseph reads, "Joseph Sears and James Sears were of the 27 proprietors of Horseneck, now Greenwich, Conn., in 1672, but as neither name appears in subsequent lists, they, perhaps never resided there or removed or died." May continues "As Horseneck is but a few miles from Morrisania, N.Y., it is possible that Joseph the Loyalist, of that place may have been a descendant of one of them, or he may derive from Joseph Sears, who was b. Boston, Nov. 28, 1711." (see p. 618)