Capt. Michael, John and Capt. William Pierce
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NO. IV, BEING THE RECORD OF THE POSTERITY OF CAPT. MICHAEL, JOHN AND CAPT. WILLIAM PIERCE, WHO CAME TO THIS COUNTRY FROM ENGLAND. BY FREDERICK CLIFTON PIERCE, OP_ ltOCKFORD, ILL., AutJ,.o-,, of Hi.story of Grafton, HistorJI of Bat't'tt Masf•1 Compiler of Ifar.wood, Gibs,,n, Pei-rce1 Pi,r,:11 and Pea1"ce Genealogies. ! love the linea.ges of heroes: but I l~e merit more, Patents o{ nobility are but pnantoms; true worth is within, Kings are nothing but men, and all men are equal, KING FREDERICK OF P1u.1ss~A, ALBANY1 N. Y.: PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR BY JOEL MUNSELVS SONS~ 1889. COPYRIGHT, z889. !<~RED.ERICK. CLIFTON PIERCE. WEED, PARSONS & CO,, PRINTERS AND ELECTROTYPERS, ALBANY, N. V. Edition Limited. TO MY PARENTS, MR. AND MRS. SILAS A. PIERCE, THIS WORK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY THEIR SON, THE A UT HOR. Concerning this nebular history, then.,· £sit a human invention or is it a divine record? Is it " a tale told by an i~iot signifying noth ing," or i's # a plan of lnfinite imagination signifying immortalz"ty f Prof. BENJAMIN PEIRCE, of Harvard University. AUTHOR'S PREF.A.OE. Fifteen years ago while at work compiling data for the History and Genealogy of the Pierce family (my own branch), considerable information was obtained of the family of Captain Michael Pierce, an early inhabitant of Plymouth Colony, who moved from Weymouth to Scituate. Having been urged by numerous members of this family to complete the work as far as possible, the attempt was made, with what success the reader of this volume can judge. Thousands of letters were written, and in nearly every instance prompt, full and complete replies received, varying in length from a single page of note paper to over twenty pages of foolscap. It required considel'able wol'k to arrange all this matter in a presentable shape. The form adopted by the New England Historical and Genealogical Society in the publication of· their R6gioter hae been used as the best and simplest arrangement. It is the habit of some persons to depreciate genealogical studies and labor; and in some instances even to ridicule the efforts of those so engaged. It is a matter of extreme indifference to them whether they ever had any ancestors or not, and in nearly every case of this kind the persons only care for themselves. They are so wrapt up in self, that all other matters dwindle into :utter insignificance. Of the numerous Pierce, Peirce and Pearce genealogies which I have published, there are none in which the emigrant ancestors were so active and prominent in the early history of the Massachusetts and Plymouth colonies as in this particular branch. Three brothers, J oho, Captain William and Captain Mic!l~el, took a lead. ing part in the early struggle of the infant colonies in New Englana: ABB!Ul:VIATIONS AND ExPLANATIONs.-..B. for aged; abt. for about; b. for born; bap. for baptised; bef., before; ch., children; d., died; dau., daughter; dee' d, deceased; m., married; unm., unmarriedj inv., inventory; rep., representative; res., resided, resides or residence; w., wife; wid., widow; yr., year; s. p., without issue. Thel'e u.re other abbreviations, of such common use, that the meaning will be obvious. A name in parenthesis, thus, Sarah Pierce, dau. of John and Maria (Scott} Pierce, indioa.tes the maiden name of the mother. An interrogation mark implies doubt or want of absolute certainty. Birthplaces are not always given, but they can be ascertained by reference to the person's father and his residence at the time of his birth, OLD AND NEw STYu.-In computing time, the solar year is reckoned 365¾ days, but this is too much. by eleven minutes and a fraction. If this excess be neglected, in the course of centuries first of January would fall back toward midsummer, and in 1582, the time of Pope Gregory XIII, it was found that the vernal equiuox which 6 Author's Preface. in A. D. 325, happened on the 21st of March, actually occurred on the 10th of March. For the purpose of rectifying the calendar, the Pope ordered"tha.t ten days be dropped from that year. This was called "New Style," and the former calen dar "Old Style," The new calendar was soon adopted by all Catholic countries, but in England and her colonies, it was disregarded till 1752, when the error of the old calendar amounted to eleven days, and by an Act of Parliament, they were dropped from September of that year. If the year began the 25th of March, the date would be February 9, 1684, if the year began the 1st of January, the date would be February 9, 1685, and changed to New Style by addition of 11 days would be February 16, 1685. ORIGIN OF THE NAME.-One of the most common methods of bestowing surnames was from the place or residence. Not only countl'ies but counties and towns were a fruitful soul'ce of surnames. John from Cornwall became John Cornwall or Cor nish. Richard, who lived nea1· a piece of woodland was spoken of as Richard at or near the wood, originating the surname Atwood, or John living near a hill became John Hill. So with Underhill, Atwell, etc. John living near a clump of oaks was John atten oaks, abbreviated into Noakes, or William who bad pitched his tent or cabin near a notable ash tree was known as William at the ash or William atten ash, which easily drifted into Nash. So, too, Thomas who lived near a small stream (or in Anglo-Saxon a oeclcet) was Thomas at the becket-, and thus was named the martyr Thomas a'Becket. The most common terminations of English surnames taken from places are/ol'(J, kam, Zea and ton. Ford is from the Saxon jaran, to go, sig nifying the place where a stream could be crossed. In the name of Shakespeare's birthplace we have a memento of three different eras of English history, viz., the period of the occupancy of the old Britons, the Romans and the Sa-xons. Stratis au abbreviation of atrata (street), the name by which the great Roman roads were known .. Ford tells us that one of these roads crossed a stream, and .Avon is the name which the old Britons or Celts gave to the streams. The word tea, lean, or leigk signifying a pal'tially wooden field, served as the end ing for many surnames, such as Horsley, Cowley, Ashley, Oakley, Lindley and Berkley, or Birchley, Hay or k<11W means a. hedge, and this has given us Hayes, Haynes, Haley, Haywood, Hawes, Haworth, Hawthorn, Haughton or Houghton. Occupations, too, have afforded an endless array of surnames. This method was used by the Romans in such names as Fabricus (smith), Pistor (painter), Agricola (farmer). In England a skillful hunter would adopt that as bis surname, and equally so with the carpenter, joiner, sawyer, baker or butcher. Personal traits and complexions, too, gave rise to surnames. From the former we have the names Stout, Strong, Long, Longman, Longfellow; and from the latter, Bro,•1n, Black, etc. Some mental and mora.l t1·aits were also used to denote surnames. Richard the Ii'irst, of England, was bettel' known as Richard of the lion heart. The next step would be to derive from this quality the surname Lion. The name of Pierce is a common one in England, being undoubtedly derived from the baptismal name, Peter or Pirse, or Pierse, as it was called after the Conquest and while French was still the court language, and has been variously called or written Pieres, Pierse, Pierce, Pearce, Pie1·s, Peires, Peirce, Peirse, Pearse, Peers, and families of the same name settled in the counties of Gloucester, Kent, Devon, Nor- Author's Preface. 7 folk, Bedford, Somerset, Suffolk, England. Percy, Piercy, Percey, Pierce, Pearce, etc., local. The renowned family of Northumberland, England, deriT"ed their name from Percy Forest, in the province of .Maen, Normandy, whence they came, which signifies a stony place, from pierre. It may signify a hunting place from pirsen, Teutonic, to hunt; perce1·, French, to penetrate, to force one's way. [Arthur's Ety mological Dictionary of Christian Names, 1857.] The following are the different ways the name--.is spelled in several countries; English. French. Swedish. Danish. Dutch. Italian. Spanish. Portuguese. Peter. Pierre. Per. Pedeo. Pieter. Pietro. Pedro. Pedro. Piers. Pierrot. Piet. Pier. Pedrinho. Pierce. Perrin. Piero. Peire. Pietruccio. [From History of Christian Names, England, 1868.] .A.RRANGBMENT OF THE Boon:.- The plan adopted, as stated previously, is that of the 08'11,ealogicai Register which is by far the most intelligible. The small figure over a name to the right, thus Fred.&, indicates the generation to which the person belongs, reckoning from the original ancestor in this country, Capt. Michael Pierce. The descendants for several generations belonged to the agricultural class and were characterized by good sense,· sound judgment and christian excellence. They helped swell the ranks of honest New England yeomanry, with an ancestry not often great, but always virtuous, filling with fidelity aud honor the stations they were called upon to fill, the descendants can well be proud of their ancestors and Iea.rn from thAm that" the rich;15t beque~t which any man c8.n makA; fnl' th A h1mAflt of posterity, is that of a shining and spotless example." FRED. C. PIERCE. ROCKFORD, ILL., Julljj 30, 1889 . .L'IOTJ!l ON THE SPELLING AND rRONUNCIA'l'ION OF TBB NAME OF PIERCE, BY .t'J!.OJ', JAMES M.