Experience Luce (1673 - 1747)

Born 7 Feb 1673 in Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard, Province of New York

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Manter) Luce — married 1 Jul 1693 in Tisbury, Dukes, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 2 Jan 1747 at age 73 in Tisbury, Dukes, Province of Massachusetts Bay

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Biography

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

Experience Luce, son of Henry Luce and Remember Litchfield, was born Martha's Vineyard on February 7, 1673.^[1][2] Based on this father's residency in Tisbury after 1670,^[3] Experience was probably born there.

Marriage

Experience married a woman named Elizabeth. Litchfield Family in America says she was Elizabeth Martin, daughter of John Martin.^[4] However, most sources say that she was Elizabeth Manter, daughter of John Manter.^[2][1][5] History of Martha's Vineyard says they were married about 1694,^[1] while Descendants of Henry Luce says they were married in Tisbury on July 1, 1693.^[2]

Residency in Tisbury; Occupation; Offices

Experience resided in Tisbury.^[1][2] Several sources describe him as a weaver.^[1][2] However, in his will (transcribed below) he calls himself a yeoman. Experience was also a deacon of the church at West Tisbury.^[1][2]

Children

Experience and Elizabeth had the following children:

1. Zephaniah, b. February 19, 1695^[1][2]
2. Shubael, b. October 18, 1701^[1][2]
3. Timothy, b. March 18, 1704, m. February 18, 1731 Sarah Presbury in Edgartown or Tisbury, d. May 6, 1782 in Tisbury. (See discussion and sources in Timothy's profile.)
4. Jemima, b. March 10, 1705^[1][2]
5. Benjamin, b. March 24, 1707, res. Edgartown, m. Mrs. Abigail (Cottle) Presbury, d. January 30, 1750/1^[1][2]
6. John, b. March 13, 1708^[1][2]
7. Martha, b. May 23, 1711^[1][2]

Descendants of Henry Luce lists two possible additional child: Maria b. about 1694, and Nicholas b. sometime 1710-15.^[2] The fact, however, that Experience's will lists his sons Zephaniah, Shubael, Timothy, Benjamin and John but does not mention a son named Nicholas, suggests that Nicholas may not have been his child. Maria is also not mentioned in the will, but since his will mentions none of his daughters, no inference can be made from her omission.

Will; Death; Estate

Experience made his will on September 20, 1746. In his will, he is described as "Experience Luce of Tisbury in the County of Dukes County and in the Province of Massachusetts Bay in New England yeoman." He made bequests to his wife Elizabeth and sons Zephaniah, Shubal, Timothy, Benjamin and John. He appointed his son John as executor. The will was witnessed by Samuel Lumbart, Seth Daggett and Isaac Chase.^[6] For a full transcription of the will, see Will of Experience Luce.

Experience died in Tisbury on either January 2, 1747^[7][8] or January 9, 1747.^[1][2]

Experience's will was probated on February 1, 1747.^[6] His gravestone can be found in the West Tisbury Village Cemetery.^[7]

^{[6] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [7] [8]}

DNA

HENRY LUCE-1640 & REMEMBER LITCHFIELD-1644

Paternal/maternal relationships are supported by a triangulation group on MyHeritageDna consisting of OS, child of HERMAN SAXTON-1909; JG, grandchild of D. GORDON GIFFORD; and GE, grandchild of GLENN VOUGHT-1893, who share a 16.9 cM segment on Chromosome 2. OS and JG are 8C; OS and GE are 8C2R; and JG and GE are 8C2R. OS is descended from ELEAZER LUCE-1675; JG is descended from EXPERIENCE LUCE-1673; and GE is descended from a child of REMEMBER LUCE-1669 who married a child of ROBERT LUCE-1667. Their most common ancestors are Henry Luce and Remember Litchfield.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} Banks, Charles Edward. The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Volume III. Dukes County Historical Society, 1966. pp 249-250. Link to book at familysearch.org.
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14} McCourt, Martha F., Luce, Thomas R., Massard, Robert L., Mayhew, Catherine M. The American Descendants of Henry Luce of Martha's Vineyard, Vol I. The New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1994. p 19. Link to book at familysearch.org.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Banks, Charles Edward. The History of Martha's Vineyard, Dukes County, Massachusetts, Volume III. Dukes County Historical Society, 1966. p. 248. Link to book at familysearch.org.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Litchfield, W.J. The Litchfield Family in America, Part One, No. 1. 1901, p 35. Link to page at archive.org.
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Torrey, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Volume 2. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008. p. 975. Link to page at americanancestors.org.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2} Dukes County Probate Records, Vol. 2, pp. 263-264. Link to page at familysearch.org; Link to page at ancestry.com.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Find A Grave: Memorial #5846265
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Vital Records of Tisbury, Massachusetts to the Year 1850. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1910. p 223. Link to page at archive.org.

See also:

• Jackson, B. Darrell. "The Family of Henry and Remember Luce of Martha's Vineyard." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Vol. 177, No. 3 (Summer 2023). pp. 245-257.