Robert Pierce (abt. 1620 - 1706)

Born about 1620 in Norwich, Norfolk, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Knight) Peirce — married before 16 Oct 1645 in Woburn or Charleston, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 10 Sep 1706 at about age 86 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile manager: S Willson [send private message]

Biography

Robert Pierce immigrated to New England as a child during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640).

Robert Peirce, son of John Pers (sic) and his wife, Elizabeth, was born about 1620 in England. He likely came to New England with his brother, Anthony, before 1637, when his father, mother and 4 siblings arrived.^[1][2] "Robert, son of John Pearse and Elizabeth his wife" was baptized at St. Edmund Parish, Norwich, Norwalk, England, December 26, 1621.^[3]

Robert first settled in Watertown, Massachusetts, purchasing a house there in 1646. He removed to Woburn, Massachusetts in about 1650, and it was likely this Robert who was made freeman there on May 22, 1650. He was referred to as a yeoman and weaver.^[1]

Robert married (probably before October 16, 1646), Mary Knight, daughter of John Knight, Sr. of Charlestown. Their known children were:^[1][4]

1. Judith, b September 30, 1651; d May 30, 1689, leaving an illegitimate daughter, Miriam, born May 17, 1689^[2]
2. Mary, b January 21, 1653-4; married John Walker of Woburn on October 14, 1672; she died November 8, 1695
3. Nathaniel, b December 4, 1655; married first December 27, 1677, Hannah Converse; married second Elizabeth (Pierce) (Whittemore) Foster March 23, 1680-1^[2]
4. Elizabeth, b March 6, 1658-9; married Samuel Wilson, son of John, February 24, 1681-2
5. Jonathan, b February 2, 1662-3; married November 19, 1689, Hannah Wilson, sister of Samuel Wilson, Jr.^[2]
6. John, b about 1665; d Sept 1696; married about 1677, Lydia Morgan, daughter of Miles and Prudence Morgan^[2]
7. Benjamin, b probably between 1666 and 1669; m April 3, 1693, Hannah Bowers
8. Sarah, b about 1669; married June 19, 1690 at Woburn, Ens. John Holden, as his second wife (She is not listed in the Peirce Genealogy) ^[2]
9. Joseph, b May 1, 1672; married Ruth _____ and Mary _____^[2]

In 1693 Robert and Mary Pierce conveyed to sons Benjamin and Jonathan parcels of land in Woburn which formerly belonged to her father John Knight.^[5]

"Old Robert Peirce" died September 10, 1706, at Woburn, Massachusetts.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Peirce, Frederick Clifton, Peirce genealogy, being the record of the posterity of John Pers, an early inhabitant of Watertown, in New England ..., published 1880. Reference page 18 (parents), Reference pages 22-25 (wife, family)
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Holman, Mary Lovering, Ancestry of Colonel John Harrington Stevens and his wife Frances Helen Miller, published 1948-1952. Reference pages 219-221
3. ↑ Hatcher, Patricia Law, "The Peirce Family of Norwich, England and Watertown, Massachusetts" The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1937-. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) Reference Volume 84 (2010), pages 178, 183. $Subscription
4. ↑ Pierce, Harvey Cushman, Seven Pierce families: a record of births, deaths and marriages of the first seven generations of Pierces in America, published 1936. Reference pages 96-98
5. ↑ Johnson, Edward F. Early Woburn Deeds Recorded at Middlesex County Registry, 16 Page 34.
6. ↑ Massachusetts Deaths and Burials, 1795-1910, database, FamilySearch : 17 January 2020), Robert Peirce, 1706. FamilySearch Record