Captain Michael Pierce of Scituate And Thomas Pierce of Charlestown
This paper covers three topics:
1. Captain Michael Pierce The Son of Thomas Pierce Of Charlestown?
2. The Correct Date That The Ship Recovery sailed.
3. The Possible Pierce/Eames Connection
When considering the possibility that Captain Michael Pierce was the son of Thomas Pierce of Charlestown, there are three key pieces of information.
They are:
1. Y-DNA
2. Captain John Pierce of London
3. Abigail Pierce
Y-DNA
Y-DNA is the male chromosome passed down indefinitely from father to son. The Pierce DNA Project North uses Y-DNA test results from Pierce males with ancestors from the northern United States or the United Kingdom. Brad Pierce is the administrator of the site, as well as the Pierce DNA Project South.
There are 44 unique pedigrees (groups) for men with the name Pierce in some form of the name. The descendants of Thomas Pierce of Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony, and Captain Michael Pierce of Scituate, Plymouth Colony share the same Y chromosome. Their descendants are in Group C.
Brad has been generous with his time and assistance in helping me understand the mysteries of DNA. Over time mutations do occur in the Y-chromosomes. When this happens a new haplogroup is created. Between 1324 and 1585 a new haplogroup, FT164037 emerged. Richard Pierce a descendant of Thomas Pierce, and I have this haplogroup. Thomas Pierce was born about 1583. It is possible that the haplogroup originated with Thomas, although it is more likely that it originated earlier than Thomas. What this does tell us is that Thomas was closely related. It does not tell us the exact relationship.
Captain Pierce of London
When Captain Michael Pierce was killed on 26 March 1676, it was reported that he was "Brother to Captain Pierce of London...." This statement was in a section of Drake's Old Indian Chronicle titled "News From New-England," 1 originally published in London in 1676. The author of this publication is unknown. Captain Pierce of London was well-known enough to merit the mention that he was Michael Pierce's brother.
Frederick Clifton Pierce wrote that Captain Pierce of London was Captain William Pierce of London.2 William Pierce was a well-known sea captain in the early years of New England. However, William Pierce was killed in 1641, when his ship carrying settlers to the Caribbean island of Providence was fired on by Spaniards who unknown to Pierce had recently captured the island.3
William being the brother of Michael has no basis in fact. It is highly doubtful that a man who had died 35 years earlier would be the person referred to in that contemporary report. Nevertheless, family genealogists have believed Frederick Clifton Pierce. William continues to be shown in many genealogies as the brother of Michael Pierce.
John, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Pierce was known as Captain John Pierce of London. David Kruchten first alerted me to a book by Thomas Bellows Wyman that included a reference to J. P. of London, mariner.4 The entries in Wyman's book are extracts where he often used initials instead of complete names. The Charlestown Town Records have a full description of two of these transactions which establish the identity of John Pierce. On 15 July 1648, John Peerce [Pierce] of London, Marriner bought a house in Charlestown from Grace Smith. On 27 June 1655, John Peirce Mariner, "now resident of Charlestowne" sold his house in Charlestown. This sale also included a small piece of land he bought from his sister, "widdow Peircis [Persis] Bridges." 5
Thomas Pierce wrote his will on 7 November 1665. John Pierce was named as one of the overseers for his father Thomas. No other children were named in the will. He did name granddaughters Mary Bridges and Elizabeth Jeffs who were living with him at the time.
Thomas's granddaughter Mary Bridge was the daughter of Persis Bridge that John named as his sister in the 1655 property transaction.
John's reference to his sister Persis in 1655 and Thomas' will provide the evidence that John Pierce the Mariner was the same person who was known as being of London in 1648, and a "now resident" of Charlestown, Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1655.
Brad Pierce of the Pierce DNA Project informed me of a dissertation by Dr. Bracy V. Hill II of Baylor University. It is an exceptional study into the life of James Pierce, the son of Captain John Pierce. Included is an excellent history of John Pierce.
Abigail Pierce
Abigail Pierce the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Pierce was baptized in the First Church of Charlestown on 17 June 1639.7
In Captain Michal Pierce's will, he mentioned his brother Mark Eames and his brother Charles Stockbridge.8 Mark Eames was the brother of Michael's first wife Persis Eames. There has been uncertainty as to how Charles Stockbridge was related. A theory has been put forth that Charles' wife was Abigail Eames, the sister of Michael's wife Persis. However, there is no evidence that there was an Abigail Eames.
Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700 entry for Charles Stockbridge says that Abigail could have been the sister of Michael Pierce or Michael's first or second wife.9 The supplement to Torrey's New England marriages changes the original entry in Torrey's New England Marriages Prior to 1700. It states that Abigail Eames was Charles Stockbridge's wife. The source cited is "The American Genealogist, Volume 38," Page 186.10
The American Genealogist does not say that Abigail Eames was Charles Stockbridge's wife. It says she was "probably" the wife of Charles Stockbridge, and this "seems to be substantiated in the will of Capt. Michael Pierce who married first, Persis Eames...".11
Genealogies of Mayflower Families, Vol III states "that it has been suggested" that Charles Stockbridge's wife Abigail was the daughter of Anthony and Margery Eames.12
No source substantiates that Charles Stockbridge's wife was Abigail Eames. Every source leads back to Michael Pierce's will, which does not name Charles Stockbridge's wife.
The Children of Thomas Pierce
As stated earlier, Thomas Pierce did not name all his children in his will. No birth records have been found for his children, except for the exception of Abigail's baptismal record. The order of birth is not known. Even a full accounting of his children is not possible with the records that are available to us. Thomas' wife Elizabeth was born about 1596. Her age was 71 in 1667 when her husband's probate inventory was taken.13 It is unknown when Thomas and Elizabeth were married, or when their first child was born. Elizabeth could have married at age 18 and had her first child at age 19, which puts the birth of the first child of Thomas and Elizabeth about 1615.
Below is a possible order of birth for Thomas and Elizabeth Pierce.
1. John 1615. There is no birth record for John. He was possibly the oldest child. He was named as an overseer for his father's will. He was the only child Thomas named in the will. He died about 1676 when his will was probated.14
2. Thomas Jr 1617. There is no birth record for Thomas. He signed a petition in 1663 giving his age as about 46.15
3. Michael 1619. There is no birth record for Michael. He died on 26 March 1676.16 Descendants of Thomas and Michael share Y-DNA, which confirms that Thomas and Michael were related.
4. Elizabeth 1621. There is no birth date for Elizabeth. Her husband was Randall Nichols. Their daughter Sarah was born on 27 January 1642/43.17 Based on the date of the birth of her daughter Sarah, Elizabeth could have been born anytime between 1621 and 1625. Randall Nichols was named as one of the overseers of Thomas' will.
5. Persis 1623. This date is based on her Find A Grave memorial. It gives her age as 60 when she died on 7 March 1683. 18 As stated above, John refers to his sister Widow Bridges in a land transaction. Her daughter Mary is mentioned in her father Thomas' will.
6. Samuel 1625. There is no birth record for Samuel. He died in 1678. Samuel could have been born much later. In his will, he refers to his children's Uncle John (Samuel's brother). 19
7. Mary 1628. This date is based on her Find A Grave memorial. It gives her age as 75 when she died in January 1702/3.20 Her daughter Elizabeth Jeffs is mentioned in her father Thomas' will.
8. Robert 1635. There is no birth record for Robert. He could have been born anytime between 1630 and 1637. Torrey's "Marriages Prior to 1700" has the marriage of Robert Pierce and Sarah Eyre/Ayer on 18 February 1657.21 There is no additional information for Robert or Sarah. There is no real evidence that he was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth. He could have been part of the Robert Pierce of Dorchester line.
9. Abigail 1639. Abigail is the only child of Thomas and Elizabeth for which there is a birth (baptismal) record. Abigail Peirce the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Peirce was baptized on 17 June 1639 in the First Church of Charlestown.
Thomas and Elizabeth could have had other children for which there are no records. Thomas Pierce Jr's wife was also named Elizabeth, which could lead to speculation that Abigail was the daughter of Thomas Pierce Jr: however, she was the daughter of the elder Thomas. Thomas Jr and Elizabeth Pierce had a daughter Abigail born on 20 November 1660. Thomas Jr and Elizabeth's first child was born in 1643.22
Sometimes the children's names can give a clue to a family connection. Often children are given the names of their grandparents or their parents' siblings. In the case of Abigail and Charles Stockbridge, their children's names seem more in line with names in the Thomas Pierce family than those in the Eames family. Charles and Abigail had no children with the same names as those in Anthony Eames' family, except for John and Elizabeth. These two names also appear in Thomas Pierce's family. They did not name any children Anthony, Millicent, Mark, Justus, or Margery.23 They had children named Thomas, Abigail, and Samuel. Thomas had children with these names.
It was Abigail the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth baptized on 17 June 1639 that married Charles Stockbridge. Michael Pierce referred to his "brother Charles Stockbridge" because Charles married his sister Abigail.
Related Supplemental Material
The Ship Recovery
Michael Russell the On Line Parish Clerk for the Parishes of Dorchester and Fordington, Dorset commented on the possible existence of Abigail Eames. He gave possible some possible scenarios of her birth but concluded it was after all, speculation since there were no records of Abigail. One possibility was that she was born in 1633 on the voyage to America. We now know that the Recovery did not sail to New England in 1633. This is a good time to discuss the evidence that the Recovery sailed in 1634.
Anthony Eames his family group and many others set sail out of Weymouth Harbor in Dorset, England on 31 March 1634. This is a year later than the recorded date of 31 March 1633.
Michael Russell reports that this information comes from the National Archives at Kew in London.24 Sometimes a clerk can make a mistake. The calendar changed from 1633 to 1634 on March 25, only 6 days previous to the sailing of the Recovery. The clerk who recorded the Recovery's sailing date mistakenly wrote 1663, instead of the correct date of 1634.
The website "Phelps Family History in America," authored by Brian Phelps presents evidence that the Recovery sailed a year later than originally thought.25
Brian Phelps makes several points. Each has been confirmed.
1. Recovery passenger Stephen Terry appeared in the Dorchester Town Records on 3 April 1633, where he was responsible for 40 feet of fence based on owning 2 cows at 20 feet per cow. 26
It would have been impossible for Mr. Terry to have sailed from Dorset, England on 31 March 1633, when he was in Dorchester, Massachusetts on 3 April 1633. The only explanation is he had sailed back to England sometime in 1633 and returned to New England in 1634.
2. Passenger Hezekiah Hoar witnessed leases for his step-brothers in Combpyne, Devon, England on 30 April 1633.27 This date is more than a month after the date recorded for the Recovery's departure.
3. William Whiteway of Dorchester, England recorded in his diary on 17 April 1634 that "Mr Newburgh of Marshwood Vale and many others set saile from Waimouth towards New England." 28
4. There are no records of any Recovery passenger in New England until 1634.
On 1 September 1634, Recovery passengers Thomas Newbery and Robert Elwell (Elway) were granted property in Dorchester, Massachusetts Bay Colony. 29
5. On 3 September 1634, three passengers were made Freemen by the Massachusetts colony. They were Thomas Newbery, John Pope, and John Hardy.30 None of these men were shown in any records in New England before 1634.
Additionally, Anthony Eames another Recovery passenger was listed as an inhabitant of Charlestown in 1634, as was Thomas Pierce.31 Anthony Eames, Thomas Pierce, Richard Sprague, William Sprague, and others witnessed an agreement on 10 February 1634 (35) on the formation of Charlestown's local government.32
Thomas Pierce was not on the Recovery passenger list. There were 26 names on the passenger list. Only the name of the leader of each group of passengers was recorded. Michael Russell presents a well-reasoned case that shows that Thomas Rose could have been part of Anthony Eames's family group that sailed on the Recovery,33 although his name was not on the passenger list.
Thomas Pierce could also have been part of Anthony Eames's group. However, there is a lack of documentation to show that Thomas Pierce came from Dorset. Thomas's association with Anthony Eames and the members of the Sprague family does not prove a relationship that pre-dated their arrival in New England; however, it does offer a possibility that the Eames, Sprague, and Pierce families knew each other in England.
Both Anthony Eames and Thomas Pierce arrived in Charlestown in 1634. They could have sailed on the same ship, or Thomas could have sailed on one of the other 20 ships that sailed to New England that summer. 34
There is a strong hint that Thomas Pierce and Anthony Eames knew each other in England. Both had a daughter named Persis. Persis Eames was baptized on 28 October 1621. 35 Persis Pierce was born about 1623.36 Was there an earlier Persis with whom both families thought highly enough to name their daughter after her?
Ordinary names such as Abigail, Hannah, Mary, etc. would mean little. Persis is a very unusual and uncommon name. It raises the possibility of a common source. It is striking that both Thomas and Anthony had daughters named Persis. That name does not appear in any other families. Interestingly, Michael Pierce married Anthony Eames' daughter Persis.
Odd thoughts:
Margery Pierce is sometimes given as the name of Anthony Eames' wife.37 There is no proof that Pierce was her maiden name. There are few records in Dorset for anyone named Thomas Pierce. Only two records have been found and those records do not provide a link to Thomas Pierce of Charlestown.
Margerie the daughter of Thomas Pierce was baptized in Poole, Dorset on 21 October 1604, but she would have been much too young to have been Anthony's wife.38 Margerie could have been the one whose illegitimate son was baptized on 20 January 1621/22 at St Georges Church in Fordington, Dorset.39
Thomas Pierce's son Michael was baptized in Lytchett Minster, Dorset in 1584.40 Of course, this was not Michael and Thomas Pierce of Charlestown. Thomas was such a common name at the time that it means little. Michael on the other hand was not common in England at that time. Searching through colonial records one seldom sees the name Michael. This record in Lytchett Minster could be of for someone in Thomas Pierce of Charlestown's family. There is no evidence to substantiate that.
August 7, 2024
Michael D Pierce
Chandler, AZ 85249
mpierce3021@gmail.com
1 Samuel G. Drake, The Old Indian Chronicle; Being a Collection of Exceeding Rare Tracts, Written and Published in the Time of King Philip’s War, by Persons Residing in the Country. To which are now added an Introduction and Notes, (Boston, Samuel A. Drake, 1867) 307.
2 Pierce, Frederick Clifton, Pierce Genealogy, No. IV, Being the Record of the Posterity of Capt.
Michael, John and Capt. William Pierce, Who Came to This Country From England. (Albany,
NY, Joel Munsell's Sons 1889). 19.
3 "Transcript of County Records (Boston) 1643-166 0, Vol 1, Births, Marriages, Deaths from 1630-1666." Ancestry.com. Image 17 of 306. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2495/images/40400_274679-
00239?pId=44579267.
Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volume III, P-W, (Boston, Great Migration Study Project, New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, 1995), 1473. Image 162 of 795, Ancestry.com.
4 Thomas Bellows Wyman, The Genealogies and Estates of Charlestown, in the County of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1629-1818, K-Z, (Boston, David Clapp and Son, 1879) 756.
5 A Report of the Record Commissioner Containing Charlestown Land Records, 1638-1802, Second Edition, (Boston, Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, 1883) 98 & 99, 137
6 "Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, Middlesex County Probate Records," Image 1058 of 1241, Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9069/images/007553719_01058?pId=6869231
7 First Church in Charlestown, Massachusetts, 1632--1789. Printed Under The Care of James Frothingham Hunnewell. (Boston, David Clapp and Son, 1880) 48. Image 30 of 110, Ancestry.com
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2495/images/40400_274783-
00280?pId=43602957
8 "Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Records, 1633-1967," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-V32T?cc=2018320&wc=M6BX-F29%3A338083801 : 20 May 2014), Wills 1633-1686 vol 1-4 >image 399 of 616; State Archives, Boston
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G97D-V32T?i=398&cc=2018320
9 Clarence Almon Torrey with Revised Introduction by Gary Boyd Roberts, New England
Marriages Prior to 1700, (Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.,1985), 712. Image 727
of 1022, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3824/images/gpc_newenglandmarriages-0728?pId=168903
10 Melinde Lutz Sanborn, Supplement To Torrey's New England Marriages Before 1700, (Baltimore, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.,1991,2002), 56. Image 58 of 86, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3824/images/gpc_supptorreysnewengmarr1-
0058?pId=900184763
11 The American Genealogist, Volume 38, No. 1, January 1962. Page 186.
The American Genealogist. New Haven, CT: D. L. Jacobus, 1932-.
(Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .)
https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/rd/11868/188/134838052
12 Genealogies of Mayflower Families, Vol III, Peck - Wolcott, Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc, Baltimore, 1985. Image of 508 of 1020, Ancestry.com
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/48107/images/MayflowerFamiliesIII-
002686-497?pId=201400
13 "Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, Middlesex County Probate Records,"; Image 1060 of 1241, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9069/images/007553719_01060?pId=6869231
14 "England & Wales, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1384-1858,"Images 127 & 128 of 433, Ancestry.com
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/5111/images/40611_310566-
00243?pId=744415
15 "Massachusetts State Archives collection, colonial period, 1622-1788," v. 105 -- Petitions (from p.335), 1643-1775 ; v. 106 -- Political, 1638-1685. Image 521 of 1301, FamilySearch.org.
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9YY-K496?i=520&cat=1055547
16 George Madison Dodge, Soldiers In King Philip's War, (Boston 1906, Baltimore, Genealogical
Publishing Co., Inc, 1976) 382
17 "Transcript of County Records, 1643-1660, Vol. 1 Births, Marriages Deaths from 1630-1666,"
Image39 of 306, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2495/images/40400_274679-
00261?pId=22131693
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2495/images/40400_274679-
00261?pId=22131693
18 Find A Grave memorial 34835196
19 "Massachusetts, U.S., Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991, Middlesex County Probate
Records," Image 731of 1241, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9069/images/007553719_00731?pId=7208987
20 FAG memorial 22246022
21 Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, page 584, Image 599 of 1022, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3824/images/gpc_newenglandmarriages-
0600?pId=63179
22 Edward F Johnson, Woburn Records Births, Deaths, and Marriages, Part I--Births (Woburn,
Mass 1890, Drews, Cutler & Co, Steam Book and Job Printers) 193.
23 "Pilgrims from Fordington The Eames Family"
http://www.opcdorset.org/fordingtondorset/Files/FordingtonAnthonyEames.html
24 "Pilgrims from Fordington The Eames Family"
http://www.opcdorset.org/fordingtondorset/Files/FordingtonAnthonyEames.html
25 https://www.phelpsfamilyhistory.com/history/voyages/ship_recovery.asp
26 Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston. 1880. Dorchester Town
Records. Third Edition, 1896. Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, Boston, 1896. page 1.
27 New England Historical And Genealogical Register, Volume CXLI, January 1987. "The English
Ancestry of Hezekiah Hoar," pages 32 & 33.
28 William Whiteway of Dorchester His Diary 1618-1635. Dorset Record Society, Volume 12,
Dorset Country Museum, Dorchester, Dorset, 1991. page 143. Digitized the Internet Archive
2022.
29 Fourth Report of the Record Commissioners of the City of Boston. 1880. Dorchester Town
Records. Third Edition, 1896. Rockwell and Churchill, City Printers, Boston, 1896. page 7.
30 New England Historical and Genealogical Register, Volume III, January 1849, No. 1. Page 93.
31 Richard Frothingham Jr., The History of Charlestown, Massachusetts, (Boston, Charles C Little
and James Brown, 1845) 83.
32 Frothingham, The History of Charlestown, Massachusetts, 51.
33 "Pilgrims from Fordington, The Rose Family"
http://www.opcdorset.org/fordingtondorset/Files/ThomasRoseAnneEames2.html
34 William Whiteway of Dorchester His Diary 1618-1635, 143.
35 "Fordington Baptisms St Georges Church 1600-1625"
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~fordingtondorset/genealogy/Files/FordingtonBaptisms1600-
1625.html
36 Find A Grave memorial 34835196
37 Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700, page 238, Image 253 of 1022, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3824/images/gpc_newenglandmarriages-
0254?pId=47798
38 "Dorset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Poole," Image 655 of 1508, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2243/images/32435_239666-
00722?pId=151507461
39 "Fordington Baptisms St Georges Church 1600-1625"
https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~fordingtondorset/genealogy/Files/FordingtonBaptisms1600-
1625.html
40 "Dorset, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Lytchett Minster," Image 208 of 543, Ancestry.com.
https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2243/images/32435_239619-
00076?pId=151754408 |