Ezra Pillsbury (1740 - 1791)

Born 16 Apr 1740 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Ancestors

Husband of Martha (Bailey) Pillsbury — married 29 Nov 1759 in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 1791 at about age 50 in Weare, Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States

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Biography

Ezra Pillsbury was born in 1740, the son of Ezra Pillsbury and Hannah Hale.^[1] Ezra married Martha Bailey in Newbury in 1759.^[2] Note that two of his siblings also married Bailey siblings of Martha.

Ezra and Martha had six children, the first three born in Newbury, MA and the last three in Rowley, MA:

1. Sarah, b. 12 Oct. 1760; d. 15 Nov. 1774 (Rowley, MA)
2. Joseph, b. 11 July 1762; m. Elizabeth Collins
3. Mary, b. 19 Apr. 1765; m. John Ayer
4. Elizabeth, b. 7 April 1767; m. John Noyes, 27 Oct. 1782; d. 28 June 1828
5. Solomon, b. 17 June 1769; m1. Prudence Puffer, Feb. 1790; m2. Lucy Strange, 22 Apr. 1842; d. 16 Aug. 1849, and
6. Moses, b. 12 Oct. 1771; m. Hepsibah Greenough, 26 Sep. 1794; d. 23 Apr. 1860.

The family was still living at Rowley in 1772, when Ezra "of Rowley" signed a land deed with his father Ezra Sr.^[3] They were also still in Rowley in 1774 when their oldest daughter died.

Ezra was a pioneer settler of Weare, New Hampshire. He purchased land in Weare in 1775, Lot 91 Range 7.^[4] There he built a large house which was still standing in 1888. He was recorded on the Weare taxpayers lists for 1788 thru 1793^[5] and on the 1790 census for Weare, NH. He signed the Association Test in 1776 in Weare, NH.^[6] Ezra was a service veteran in the War of Independence, serving under (Gen.) Stark and participating in the Battle of Benning in 1777.^[7][8]

The Pillsbury Family Genealogy referenced below, gives a death date for Ezra of 15 Sep. 1820, a date copied onto hundreds of online trees. However this death date is bogus.

On 12 Mar. 1791, Ezra wrote his Last Will and Testament.^[9] In his will Ezra left his widow, Martha Pillsbury, one-third of the improvements on his farm “which I dwelleth in Weare” with one-third of its buildings thereon as long as she remained his widow. He also left her his household goods and furniture and after her decease what she had not used or disposed of was to be divided equally among his two daughters, Molly Ayers, wife of John Ayers, and Elizabeth, wife of John Noyes 2nd. Ezra left each of his sons Joseph Pillsbury and Solomon Pillsbury four acres of his farm. He left his daughter Elizabeth Noyes two acres of land and his daughter Molly six shillings in money. Ezra appointed his son, Moses Pillsbury, his executor and left Moses the rest of his farm, about 60 acres and all his personal estate he had not given his widow and that Moses was to give him a decent burial and that of his wife after her death, if she remained his widow.

Ezra passed away in the spring or summer of 1791, his will being proven by the Hillsborough County court on 2 Aug. 1791.^[10]

It is said that Ezra was buried in Center Square Cemetery of Weare, which makes sense. However, this may be just an assumption, given that the FAG entry has no gravestone or supporting source.^[11]

Sources

1. ↑ Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911)| Volume 1, Page 409
2. ↑ Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911)| Volume 2, Part 1, Page 42
3. ↑ Massachusetts Land Records, Essex County, Volume 130, Deeds 1770-72, Image 151| Page 144
4. ↑ The History of Weare, New Hampshire (Little, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1888)| Page 683
5. ↑ The History of Weare, New Hampshire (Little, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1888)| Page 329
6. ↑ The History of Weare, New Hampshire (Little, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1888)| Page 204
7. ↑ The History of Weare, New Hampshire (Little, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1888)| Page 212
8. ↑ The History of Weare, New Hampshire (Little, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1888)| Page 216
9. ↑ New Hampshire, Probate Records, Hillsborough County, Vol. 3-4, 1777-1791| Last Will, Images 641-642
10. ↑ New Hampshire, Probate Records, Hillsborough County, Vol. 3-4, 1777-1791| Settlement of Estate, Image 642-3
11. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #81440857 for Ezra Pillsbury

See Also:

• Family Search | Ezra Pillsbury
• A Genealogy of the Descendants of Richard Bailey of Rowley, Massachusetts, Historical and Genealogical Researches, of Merrimack Valley, Vol 1, Nbr. 1, April 1857, Published by Alfred Poor, Haverhill,| Page 136, lower left-hand column
• David B. Pillsbury and Emily Getchell, The Pillsbury Family in America, 1898| family #54, Page 38

Acknowledgments

• Many thanks to Chris H. Bailey, Accredited Genealogist, Eustis, Florida, for the "Descendants of Richard Bailey of Rowley, Mass.", 2020