Samuel Stearns (1659 - 1735)

Born 3 Sep 1659 in Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Died 1735 at about age 75 in Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts

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Biography

Samuel Stearns was born on September 3, 1659, in Billerica, Middlesex, Massachusetts ^[1], to John Stearns, one of the first settlers at Billerica and his second wife Mary Lathrop. After John Stearns died, widow Mary Lathrop married Lt. William French, and he was ordered by the court to care for Samuel Stearns, later described as an "impotent and discomposed person."

Whether Samuel had a developmental disability or was insane, or both, is unclear from the descriptions, but after Lt. French died, he became a financial burden. In those days the general public was not charged with the financial obligation to care for non-functional persons unrelated to themselves, and in 1722 the selectmen of Billerica petitioned the court and was awarded the land he had inherited from his father's estate in exchange for Samuel's support. Sine prole.

Van Wagenen, A. Stearns. (1901). Genealogy and memoirs of Isaac Stearns and his descendants. Syracuse, N.Y.: Courier printing co.

Sources

1. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Society, Vital Records of Billerica, Massachusetts to the Year 1850 (Boston, Mass. 1908)(Free e-book) (Records are also available at ma-vitalrecords.org) p. 184

• Van Wagenen, Avis Stearns, Genealogy and Memoirs of Isaac Stearns and His Descendants (Syracuse, N.Y., Courier Printing Co., 1901) (Free e-book. Available at Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/genealogymemoirs00vanw))
• FAMILY GENEALOGY BY ANNA TRIPLETT