Capt. Michael Pierce

Family

https://familypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Michael_Pierce_(c1617-1676)

Captain Michael Pierce and Persis (Eames) Pierce had 13 children between 1645 and 1662, the first (which died) and the last were both named Persis after her. She died 5 days after the birth of her 11th and last child, also named Persis.

Persis (Eames) Pierce was born about 1621 in St. George, Fordinghams, Dorset, England, She was baptized October 28, 1621, Fordingham, Lincolnshire, England, and she died December 31, 1662, Hingham, (Plymouth) Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Captain Anthony Eames and Margery Eames. She immigrated to Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts in May, 1634 and married Captain Michael Pierce in 1645, Scituate, Massachusetts (Plymouth).

Children of Persis Pierce and Capt. Michael Pierce were:

• 1) Persis Pierce (1645-1646)
• 2) Benjamin Pierce (1646-1730)
• 3) Ephraim Pierce, Sr. (1647-1719)
• 4) Elizabeth Pierce (1649-1670)
• 5) Deborah Pierce (1650-
• 6) Sarah Pierce (1652-1675)
• 7) Mary Pierce (1654-1735)
• 8) Abigail Pierce (1656-1723)
• 9) Anna Pierce (1657-1665)
• 10) Abiah Pierce (1659-1721)
• 11) John Pierce (1660-1738)
• 12) Ruth Pierce (1661-1760)
• 13) Persis Pierce (1662-1715)

Persis (Eames) Pierce died at age 41 after giving birh to 13 children on December 31, 1662 Hingham, Massachusetts, (Plymouth)

" Mrs. Annah James married Michael Pierce sometime soon after 1662. They had no children. Captain Michael Pierce remained married to Annah Pierce until his death. Annah Pierce is well provided for in his will.

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DNA proof that Captain Michael Pierce is related to Captain William Pierce, Jane Pierce Phippen and others. Note: matching cM and SNPs point to a time period of a common ancestor and end location number points to common ancestors and time period that DNA has not mutated. Slight mutations have occurred in this line. Careful study will show you when and who.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yKdrqEinZLicSJwgGxb922chODLPrYDE&...

From Captain Michael Pierce and the Fake Genealogy of Frederick Clifton Pierce, by Michael D. Pierce (March 16, 2017):

https://rkkeyes.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/captain-michael-pierce-...

https://www.geni.com/documents/view?doc_id=6000000075346825844&amp

For some 140 years, many of the Capt. Michael Pierce genealogies contained serious errors that render these genealogies false, in that they present a family history that did not exist.

This paper addresses the following subjects:

• 1. Michael Pierce's father was not Richard, James, or Azrikam.
• 2. His brothers were not William, John, Richard, or Robert.
• 3. Michael Pierce was related to Thomas Pierce, of Charlestown, Massachusetts, but how they were related is unknown. Testing of Michael and Thomas' descendants show shared DNA.
• 4. Michael Pierce did not have a middle name or initial. This one is not really the fault of F.C. Pierce except in perhaps an indirect way.
• 5. Deacon Mial Pierce was the son of Ephraim Pierce and Hannah Holbrook. he was not the son of Ephraim Pierce (Jr.) and Mary Low.
• 6. Judith Round's maiden name was not Ellis.

Many family genealogists of Michael Pierce have used four Pierce genealogy books as their main source for their family research. Frederick Clifton Pierce wrote three of these books, and contributed heavily to the fourth. There have been a few other books that have influenced family historians; for the most part, these books have borrowed heavily from F.C. Pierce and contain the same errors, and occasionally have added new inaccuracies.

Full titles of the Pierce genealogy books that have adversely influenced generations of genealogists:

• 1. Peirce Genealogy, Being the Record of the Posterity of John Pers, An Early Inhabitant of Watertown, In New England; With Notes on the History of Other Families of Peirce, Pierce, Pearce, ETC. By Frederick Clifton Peirce, Esq., 1880.
• 2. Pierce Genealogy, Being the Record of The Posterity of Thomas Pierce, An Early Inhabitant of Charlestown, And Afterwards Charlestown Village (Woburn), In New England, With Wills, Inventories, Biographical Sketches, ETC. By Frederick Beech Pierce, Of Boston, Assisted and Edited by Frederick Clifton Peirce, Esq., 1882.
• 3. Pearce Genealogy Being the Record of The Posterity of Richard Pearce An Early Inhabitant of Portsmouth, in Rhode Island, Who Came From England, And Whose Genealogy Is Traced Back to 972 with An Introduction of the Male Descendants of Josceline De Louvaine, The Second House of Percy and Territorial Lords of Alnwick, Warkworth and Prudhoe Castles in the County of Northumberland, England, By Col. Frederick C. Pierce, 1888.
• 4. 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, By Frederick Clifton Pierce, 1889

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Ben M. Angel's summary of undocumented assertions taken from this work:

• 1. John Pers Genealogy: John Pers was a weaver who came to America from Norwich in 1637 - documentation exists of his presence in America and city of departure from England. F.C. Pierce presented John Pierce, Merchant Adventurer, as being related, though no documentation of this relationship exists, and without sources he likewise asserted that his son Richard was a resident of Pemaquid, an early colony in present Maine, and that Robert Peirce, settler of Dorchester in the early 1630s, was also related, again speculative, without referenced documentation.
• Thomas Pierce Genealogy: Frederick Beech Pierce suggested that because there was a Thomas Pierce in Norfolk in the 1500s, the Thomas Pierce living in Charlestown in the 1600s was somehow related, without source documentation. As a result, F.B. Pierce claims that since Thomas was from Norfolk, he must therefore be a brother of John Pers, disregarding all other Pierce (Pers, Peirce, etc.) families that came from this English county (which hosts Norwich, a rather large English port, even back in the 17th century).
• Thomas Pierce Genealogy: A DNA match does exist between descendants of Thomas Pierce and Michael Pierce, but the exact relationship has not yet been documented. Thomas was born in 1584, and Michael was born 1615-1620, meaning that the likelihood of them being brothers is small (Ben M. Angel notes: Michael may be a nephew to Thomas, or possibly a cousin, but again without documentation, any assertion to a particular relationship is wholly speculative).
• Richard Pierce Genealogy: A completely unsourced genealogy is presented that includes a supposed Manfred the Dane (b. 972) as an ancestor of the historical Agnes de Percy. This inaccuracy was referenced by Gerald Brenan in his 1902 book "A History of the House of Percy from Earliest Times Down to the Present Century", in which he writes: “There exists…a specious pedigree to deduce the line of Perci from Geoffrey Fitz-Mainfred… But no trustworthy evidence can be set forth of a Danish Mainfred’s existence or even of the source from which the race of Perci sprang.”
• Richard Pierce Genealogy: No documented connection has yet been found connecting the Pierce family to the Percy family. The Pierce spelling could well be a variation on Peter (such as Piers, etc.), but there exists no documentation reliably connecting the Percy family of nobility to the colonial Pierce family. (Read: wishful speculation...)
• Richard Pierce Genealogy: Assertion of a Pearce Hall having existed in York or elsewhere in England has not been confirmed in historical documentation. Also, no connection with the Pearce family of Richard Pearce, Rhode Island settler, and William Pierce, the mariner, exists (FC Pierce asserts without documentation that they are brothers).
• Richard Pierce Genealogy: The ship Lyon captained by Pierce (probably William Pierce) made four voyages to America between 1630 and 1632. Richard Pierce does not appear on any passenger list of this ship, nor of any ship named Lyon or Lyons. (This is easily verified through online sources.)
• Michael Pierce Genealogy: William Pierce of Virginia, a militia captain, is not the same person as William Pierce, the navigator. Further, although William Pierce sailed a ship called Mayflower in 1629, it was not the 1620 vessel that landed Plymouth colonists at the foundation of that colony. Some 20 ships named Mayflower existed in the early 1600s, and the most famous of these was actually sold for scrap within a couple of years of its most famous voyage. John Pierce, financier of two failed attempts to sail the Paragon to America, is connected to a Richard Pierce who helped him financially, but this is not the same Richard Pierce, early Rhode Island settler, who was about age 7 at the time of the 1627 Chancery trial documenting the sibling relationship.
• Michael Pierce Genealogy: Michael Pierce was killed during King Philip's War on Mar. 26, 1676. F.C. Pierce links Michael with a Capt. William Pierce of London, apparently from a document that links Capt. Michael Pierce to a Capt. Pierce in London (William is not specified). This could not be the same as Capt. William Pierce, the navigator, as suggested, because he was killed some 35 years before.
• The source for asserting the father to be Azrikam was Lora S. LaMance in her book The Greene Family and Its Branches (1904). The assertion was apparently based on a grandson being named Azrikam. No documentation exists naming the father at all, so this is clearly speculative. (She also relies a lot on F.C. Pierce's dubious assertions for much of the work she did associated with the Pierce family.) She also claims that Michael Pierce served as an ensign under Capt. Miles Standish, who apparently ended his military duties in 1635, well before Michael's first known military assignment in 1673.

Later books seem to be based mostly on the assertions of F.C. and F.B Pierce, which themselves lacked adequate documentation.

Based on the findings of Michael D. Pierce, Capt. Michael Pierce should be kept separated from other Pierce ancestors and siblings until better documentation can be identified documenting parent or sibling relationships.

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Listed as Captain Michael J Pierce (Fell in Rehoboth Swamp Fight battle.). Commander Of A Mixed White/ Native American Wampanoag Fighting Unit.- (Ben M. Angel notes: the Great Swamp Fight was in the previous December. Capt. Pierce died in a wholly different incident, an ambush that took place some three months later. The ambush took place at Central Falls, but the victims were carried off to the site in Cumberland following their defeat. Refer to the English-language Wikipedia page on Nine Men's Misery.)

2nd Source lists birth and death alternate,

• Birth Hingham, Norfolk, Kent, England.
• Death in Cedar Falls, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Or Middlesex in Massachusetts.
• Alternate Death Location is Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony.

Another source lists the following. There were four Pierce brothers who made their mark on the new world. John Pierce (the Patantee), Robert Pierce, Captain William Pierce, and Captain Michael Pierce. All were grandsons of Anteress Pierce, and sons of Azrika Pierce and his wife Martha.

Another source list 1st marriage as 1642 in Charleston, Suffolk, Mass.

Alternate source list birthplace as Bristol, Somerset, England.

Moved from Hingham in 1676 to Scituate. Scituate is located ten miles north of the original Plymouth Colony. It was settles in 1628.

Michael Pierce resided on a beautiful plain near the North River and not far from Herring Brook. He assisted in erecting the first saw-mill. The mill was the first one erected in the colony.

He attained the Title from the colony court in 1669. He was first giv en the rank of Ensign under Captain Miles Standish. He perished in King Phillip's War, it remains one of the bloodist conflicts in American History.Battles Canonchet at Attleboro Gore during Knig Philip's War.

From His Will dated jan. 15, 1675, names Anna, children Benjamin, John, Ephraim, Abigail Holbrook, Mary Holbrook, Elizabeth, Sarah, Annah (wife), Abiah, Ruth and Persis, Grandchildren Elizabeth Holbrook and Abigail Holbrook, and "my brother Mark Jennes [Eames]" Mrs. Annah James married Michael James Pierce sometime soon after 1662. They had no children. Captain Michael Pierce remained married to Annah Pierce until his death. Annah Pierce is well provided for in his will.

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Capt. Pierce's will, dated Jan 15,1675, was proved Jul. 22, 1676. It provided as follows:

I, Michael Pierce of Scituate, in the government of New Plymouth in America,being now by the appointment of God going out to war, against the Indians, doe make this my last will and testament: First I do committ myself and wayes unto the Eternal God; nextly concerning that estate which God has blessed me with, I thus dispose. First I give unto my beloved wife Annah Pierce, during her life, the westward end of my now dwelling house in Scituate aforesaid which I last built to dwell in, and the bed in it, with what appertenances to it, to use and dispose of, as she shall see cause, and the one half of my other household stuff for her use during her life, and then to be disposed of to my children as she shall see cause. Also my will is that for my wifes yearly maintenance, that my son Benjamin Pierce shall pay unto her twelve pounds per year, one half in money and the other half in provisions, and also sufficient firewood for her use in the house during her life; and I give unto my son Benjamin aforesaid my now dwelling house and barn in Scituate afroesaid, and all the land which I have in Scituate excepting that I bought of Benjamin Bates of Hingham, and that which I bought of William James of Scituate and excepting the abovesaid westerly end of my abovesaid house, during my wife's life as abovesaid, out of which abovesaid Estate in house and lands given to my son Benjamin, he shall pay unto my aforesaid wife for her maintenance twelve pounds a year, as abovesaid during her life, and sufficient firewood also as abovesaid. And I give unto my son John Pierce all my lands in Hingham, in the Massachusetts, and my land in Scituate which I bought of William James, of Scituate, paying out of it to my son Ephraim's two children Eserikum Pierce and Ephraim Pierce, to each of them fifteen pounds at the age of twenty and one years; provided that neither my son Ephraim aforesaid, nor either of his after him, or any by or under him, shall go about to molest my said John of or upon the attempt of the three or four acres of meadow land in Hingham aforesaid which my father gave unto my said son Ephraim which is not yet so fully confirmed to me as by my son Ephraim's promise it should have been.

Also I give unto my aforesaid son Benjamin all my movable estate in cattle and boats, and household goods, and such like, excepting that which I have disposed of to my wife as abovesaid, out of which said movable estate my said son Benjamin shall pay these legacies which I give to my children as followeth:

• first I give unto my son Ephraim Pierce, five pounds.
• 2 I give unto my daughter, Abigail Holbrook five pounds.
• 3 I give unto my daughter, Elizabeth Pierce 30 pounds.
• 4 I give unto my daughter, Sarah Pierce 30 pounds.
• 5 I give unto my daughter, Anna Pierce, fifty pounds.
• 6 I give unto my daughter, Mary Holbrook, 20 pounds.
• 7 I give unto my daughter, Abiah Pierce, thirty pounds.
• 8 I give unto my daughter, Ruth Pierce, thirty pounds.
• 9 I give unto my daughter, Persis Pierce, 50 pounds.

Also I give unto my grandchild Elizabeth Holbrook five pounds to be paid her by my son Benjamin aforesaid at her day of marriage or 21 yers old.

Also I give unto my grandchild Abigail Holbrook five pounds, to be paid her by my son John Pierce aforesaid at her day of marriage, or twenty-one years of age.

Also my will is, that if it should please God that my beloved wife aforesaid should be afflicted with lameness or sickness so that the abovesaid 12 income be not sufficient to maintain her in comfortable manner, that then what shall be meet by my overseers to be added for her comfortable maintenance shall be equally payed her yearly by my son Benjamin Pierce and my son John of that estate which I have given them as aforesaid.

Also I make my abovesaid wife my executrix and my son Benjamin Pierce abovesaid my executor of my last will and testament, and also I the abovesaid Michael Pierce my truly and will beloved friends Cornett Robert Statson and Isaac __________ and my brother Mark Jennes and my brother Charles Stockbridge overseers or witnesses of this my abovesaid last will and testament. In witness wereof I set my hand and seal this fifteenth of January 1675.

Witnesses: Benjamin Woodworth Michael Pierce

Charles Stockbridge

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Captain Michael Pierce, the third prominent one of the brothers, was an Ensign under Captain Miles Standish. In 1669 he was made Captain. He was easily the greatest Indian fighter of the King Philip War. But close to Rehoboth, Mass., near the Pawtucket River, he was hemmed in by a host of red men, on March 26, 1676. He had only 52 white men with him and 11 friendly Indians. In the fearful massacre that followed only three of the sixty-three escaped. Thus dearly he sold his life on that Sabbath day's fight, so long ago. The family of Richard (his nephew) have his battle handed down in their memories, and tradition could be no more positive than theirs that they are nearly related to him. Richard Pierce's line was exceedingly proud of their near relationship to Captain Michael, and named after him for five generations.

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• The Pioneers of Massachusetts, a Descriptive List, Drawn from Records of the ... By Charles Henry Pope
• http://books.google.com/books?id=k___uh7sQAkC&pg=PA360&lpg=PA360&dq...
• Pg. 360
  • PIERCE, PEARCE, PEARS, PEARSE, PEIRCE, PIERS,
• Michael, Hingham, 1645. Rem. to Scituate. Took John Reade as an apprentice July 15, 1653. His wife d. 31 Dec. 1662; he m. Anne __. Ch. Persis bapt. Jan 7, 1645, Benjamin, John, Ephriam, Elizabeth, Deborah, Anna and Abigail, all bapt. at Hing. May 9, 1665; Abiah, Ruth. [Hist. Hing. and Col. Rec.]
• He was a captian in King Philip's War, and was slain in battle. His will dated 15 Jan. 1675, prob. 22 July, 1676, made his son Benjamin exec.; beq. to wife Annah, son John; to son Ephraim, and his ch. Eliakim and Ephraim; refers to a gift from father Eames, and calls Mark E. and Charles .....
• Pg. 361 is not part of this book preview. _________
• Pierce genealogy : being the record of the posterity of Thomas Pierce, an early inhabitant of Charlestown, and afterwards Charlestown village (Woburn), in New England, with wills, inventories, biographical sketches, etc. (1882)
• http://www.archive.org/details/piercegenealogyb00pier
• http://www.archive.org/stream/piercegenealogyb00pier#page/n18/mode/1up
  • A GENEALOGICAL DICTIONARY
• http://www.archive.org/stream/piercegenealogyb00pier#page/n18/mode/1up
• Benjamin, Scituate, s. of Capt. Michael, m. 1678. Martha, dau. of James Adams, had Martha, Jerusha, Benjamin, Ebenezer, Persis, Caleb, Thomas, Adams, Jeremiah, and Elisha, all b. between 1679 and 1699. — Deanes Scituate.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/piercegenealogyb00pier#page/n19/mode/1up
• Ephraim, Weymouth, prob. s. of Capt. Michael of Scituate, by
• http://www.archive.org/stream/piercegenealogyb00pier#page/n20/mode/1up
• wf. Hannah, dau. of John Holbrook, had Azrikam, b. Jan. 4, 1672 ; prob. Ephraim ; and perhaps others.
• http://www.archive.org/stream/piercegenealogyb00pier#page/n22/mode/1up
• John, Scituate, s. of Capt. Michael, same, m. 1683, Patience, dau. of Anthony Dodson, had Michael, John, Jonathan, Ruth, Jael, David, and Clothier, b. bet. 1684 and '98. — Deane.
• Capt. Michael, Hingham, Scituate. Ch. Persis, Benjamin, John, Ephraim, Elizabeth, Deborah, Ann, Abia, Ruth; he m. a second wf. Ruth, was a capt of great bravey, in command of 50 Eng. and 20 Friendly Indians from Cape Cod, in Philip's War, and was with most of them killed March 26, 1676, at Pawtucket fight in Rehoboth-- Deane's Scituate, pp. 122, 325. ________________________
• Indian history, biography and genealogy: pertaining to the good sachem ... By Ebenezer Weaver Peirce
• http://books.google.com/books?id=6c0pAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA141&dq=Killed+ma...
• Pg. 141
• Sunday, March 26, 1676, was a most sorrowful day to the English, Capt. Michael Peirse and nearly all his command being slain by the Indians near Pawtucket (for Particulars see biography of Nanuntenoo alias Canonchet in Chapter 4 of this book).
• Pg. 175 - 182, 221 _____________________

Origin information for Capt. Michael Peirse from Bushwah Family Archives (research here is extensive):

http://www.bushwah.com/names/GardnerCaptMichaelPeirse.pdf

1. Captain Michael PIERCE[1],[2].

• Born est. 1615 possibly in St. George, Fordington, Dorset, England (Or York, England?).
• Michael died in Central Falls, RI (Pawtucket-Attleboro Gore), on 26 Mar 1676; he was 61.[3]
• Spelling in early documents is seen as: Pearse, Peirce, Pierce, Pearce, Peirse, Purse, Peerse, Perce, and Peirse.
• Michael Pierce came to Hingham, Mass from England in about 1645. He had been a resident at Hingham, before he came into Scituate. He had lands assigned to him at White Head at Cohasset (Litttle Hingham) and also bought from William James some Conihassett marshland that had originally been alloted to John Woodfield. [4]

Footnotes:

• 1. Savage, James, A Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of New England before 1692., Boston 1860-62, Reprinted , elec. publ. Genealogical Publishing Co, Baltimore 1994., 1-4, www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/newengland/savage, 3:430.
• 2. Myers, Florence Barthell “Patty”, Ancestors and Descendants of Thomas Rice Lyon and his wife Harriet Wade Rice with related families., self published, 2003, fmyers210@earthlink.net, International Standard Book Number: 0-9672230-2-4 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-109714, 2003, p. 507-513. Patty B. Myers, 15 Campden Circle, San Antonio, TX 78218-6053
• 3. Schultz, Eric B., Michael J. Tougias, King Philip’s War, The Countryman Press, Woodstock, VT 1999, 57, 276-282, 286.
• 4. Pratt, Harvey Hunter, The Early Planters of Scituate: a History of the Town of Scituate, MA from its Establishment to the End of the Revolutionary War., The Scituate Historical Society, 1929, 325-29. ____________

Capt. Michael and Persis (Eames) Pierce

Michael PIERCE - d. Mar. 26, 1676, Pawtucket, RI. No evidence has been found to indicate that Michael PIERCE was related to Ship Master William PIERCE or to John PIERCE of Dorchester and Boston. Michael settled first at Hingham, MA, then moved to Scituate, MA. Commissioned a captain by the Colony Court in 1669. Ambushed and killed with company by Canonchet at Attleboro Gore during King Philip's war. Will dated Jan. 15, 1675, proved Jul. 22, 1676, names wife Anna, children Benjamin, John, Ephraim, Abigail HOLBROOK, Mary HOLBROOK, Elizabeth, Sarah, Annah, Abiah, Ruth and Persis, grandchildren Elizabeth and Abigail HOLBROOK, and "my brother Mark JENNES [EAMES]". Married second in 1663 Anna (_____) ALLEN.

Persis EAMES - bap. Oct. 28, 1621, Fordington, St. George, Dorset, England; d. Dec. 31, 1662, Hingham, MA. Daughter of Capt. Anthony EAMES and Margery. The NEHGR of Oct. 1902, page 409, provides the following:

   In Mass. Bay Colony Records, Vol. IV., part 1, page 380, under date of May 28, 1659, is an answer of the Court to the petition of Anthony Eames, in which is named "his sonne in lawe Michaell Pearse." It would seem that the first wife of Michael Pierce was a daughter of Anthony Eames, of Hingham and Marshfield. Her death is recorded in the Journal of Rev. Peter Hobart, "Dec. 31, 1662, Michaell Perces wife dyed."

Children of Michael and Persis Pierce

   Persis - bap. Jan. 7, 1645/6, Scituate, MA; d. 1646.

   Benjamin - b. 1646, Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA; d. May 3, 1730, Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA. Executor of father's estate. Benjamin was married first on Feb. 5, 1678 in Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA to Martha ADAMS (b. about 1665; d. Dec. 29, 1717, Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA, daughter of James ADAMS. Benjamin was married second on Jul. 23, 1718 in Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA to Elizabeth (ADAMS) PERRY. Children of Benjamin PIERCE: Martha; Jerusha; Benjamin married first Mary COWEN, and second Elizabeth PERRY; Ebenezer; Persis; Caleb; Thomas; Adams; Jeremiah; and Elisha.

   Ephraim - b. 1647, Scituate, MA; d. Sep. 29, 1719, Warwick, RI. Lived at Weymouth, MA, and moved to Warwick, RI about 1673. Freeman of Providence Plantation May 3, 1681. Married in 1670 Hannah HOLBROOK (d. 1719, Warwick, RI), daughter of Capt. John and Sarah HOLBROOK. The following paragraph is contained in the will of Capt. John HOLBROOK, Jul. 12, 1699, Weymouth, MA: "I give to my daughter, Hannah Pierce, £50 in money, to be at her disposal as she shall see cause. Also, I give unto my grandson, Azarikum Pierce, £15 in money. Also, I give to Ephraim Pierce, jun., £15 in money. I give to my granddaughter, Rachel Peck, £5 in money. All which legacies are to be paid by my executors within one year after my decease, which shall be in part payment of a bond under the hands and seals of Ephraim Pierce and Azarikum Pierce, bearing date June 14, 1697." Children: Azrikim married first Sarah HEYWOOD (or HOWARD), and second Elizabeth ESTEN; Ephraim married Mary LOW; Michael; Rachel married Mr. PEET; Hannah married William MARTIN; Experience married Samuel WHEATON; John married Hannah MILES; Benjamin; and Mial married Judith (or Joanna).

   Elizabeth - b. about 1649, Scituate, MA. Married Mr. HOLBROOK.

   Deborah - b. about 1650, Scituate, MA.

   Sarah - b. about 1652, Scituate, MA.

   Mary - b. 1654, Scituate, MA; d. Apr. 26, 1735. Married Samuel HOLBROOK.

   Abigail - b. about 1656; d. Sep. 29, 1723, Scituate, Plymouth Co., MA. Married about 1670 John HOLBROOK, son of Capt. John and Sarah HOLBROOK. Capt. John HOLBROOK mentions grandchildren John, Abigail and Elizabeth in his will dated Jul. 12, 1699. Children of Abigail and John HOLBROOK: Thomas; Abigail married Thomas PORTER; Elizabeth married James SMITH; Experience; Hannah married Josiah TURNER; Sarah; Deborah married Joseph BRIGGS; and John married Sarah CRITTENDON.

   Anna - b. about 1657, Scituate, MA.

   Abiah - b. about 1659, Scituate, MA. Married Andrew FORD.

   John - b. about 1660, Scituate; d. Jun. 28, 1738. Married on Dec. 12, 1683 in Plymouth Co., MA, Patience DODSON, daughter of Anthony DODSON. Children of John and Patience PIERCE: Mial married Mary WOOD; John married Abigail VINTON; Jonathan; Ruth married Stephen CORNELL; Jael married Hezekiah CHACE; David; Clothier married Hannah SHERMAN; Mary married Mr. NORTON; and Samuel married Polly BARBER.

   Ruth - b. about 1661, Scituate, MA.

   Persis - b. about 1662, Scituate, MA. Date of death and date of marriage both reported as Dec. 3, 1695 in different sources. Married Richard GARRETT (b. 1659).

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Captain Michael Pierce Genealogy of John Harwood Pierce: 1st Generation

[See also Carole Gardner's Capt. Micheal Peirse document attached. Gardner has done extensive recent genealogical research. Some of her findings conflict with the information presented on these pages and shed new light on the Micheal Pierce genealogy.]

Captain Michael Pierce was born in 1615 and died in1676. He and his descendants form the first American generation of Pierces in our family tree. Michael Pierce immigrated to the New World in the early 1640s from Higham, Kent, England to Scituate, in what later became Massachusetts. The ten year period from 1630 to 1640 is know as The Great Migration. During this period, 16,000 people, immigrated to the East Coast of North America.

Brother of famous Colonial Sea Captain, William Pierce. Captain Michael Pierce was the brother of the famous Colonial sea captain, William Pierce, who helped settle Plymouth Colony. Captain Michael Pierce played a significant role in the Great Migration. Historical records show that this one sea captain crossed the Atlantic, bringing settlers and provisions to the New World more frequently than any other. He had homes in London, the Bahamas and Rhode Island. He played a central role in the government of the early colonies. He was killed at Providence, one of the Bahama Islands, in 1641.

There were actually four Pierce brothers who made their mark on the New World: John Pierce (the Patentee), Robert Pierce, Captain William Pierce, and Captain Michael Pierce. All were grandsons of Anteress Pierce, and sons of Azrika Pierce and his wife Martha.

Marries Persis Eames. In 1643, Michael Pierce married Persis Eames of Charleston Massachusetts. His wife was born in Fordington, Dorsetshire England 28 October 1621. She was the daughter of Anthony Eames and Margery Pierce.

Pierce Family Moves to Scituate. Michael and Persis Pierce's first child, a daughter, was born in 1645 and named Persis in honor of her mother. Unfortunately, their first child died in 1646 at one year of age. The new family settled first in Higham, but moved in 1676 to Scituate, where the Pierce family continued to reside for most of the next century. Scituate is located some 10 miles north of the original Plymouth colony. It was settled as early as 1628 by a group of men from Kent, England.

In 1646, Benjamin Pierce, their second child, a son and heir, was born. This son, Benjamin Pierce, fathered the second Pierce generation in this family tree. Twelve other children were born over the coming years: Ephraim, Elizabeth, Deborah, Sarah, Mary, Abigail, Anna, Abiah, John, Ruth and Peirsis.

Erected First Saw-Mill. Michael Pierce resided on a beautiful plain near the north river and not far form Herring brook. He assisted in erecting the first saw-mill. The mill was the first one erected in the colony. It is believed that Samuel Woodworth (1784-1842) wrote the song, "The Old Oaken Bucket," concerning this river and mill in Scituate. Samuel Woodworth's grandfather, Benjamine Woodworth, witnessed the signing of Captain Michael Pierce's will, on January 1675. The lyrics to this classic American folk tune are given below:

   How dear to this heart are the scenes of my childhood,

   When fond recollection presents them to view,

   The orchard, the meadow, the deep tangled wildwood,

   And ev'ry lov'd spot which my infancy knew.

   The wide spreading stream, the mill that stood near it,

   The bridge and the rock where the cataract fell.

   The cot of my father, the dairy house by it,

   And e'en the rude bucket that hung in the well.

   The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,

   The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well.

   The moss-covered bucket I hail as a treasure,

   For often at noon when returned from the field,

   I found it the source of an exquisite pleasure,

   The purest and sweetest that nature can yield.

   How ardent I seized it with hands that were glowing,

   And quick to the white pebbled bottom it fell.

   Then soon with the emblem of truth overflowing,

   And dripping with coolness it rose from the well.

   The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,

   The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well.

   How soon from the green mossy rim to receive it,

   As poised on the curb it reclined to my lips,

   Not a full flowing goblet could tempt me to leave it,

   Tho' filled with the nectar that Jupiter sips.

   And now far removed from the loved situation,

   The tear of regret will intrusively swell.

   As fancy reverts to my father's plantation,

   And sighs for the bucket that hung in the well.

   The old oaken bucket, the ironbound bucket,

   The moss-covered bucket that hung in the well.

Captain in the Local Militia Fighting the Indians. Unlike his famous brother, Captain William Pierce, Michael Pierce was not a sea captain. He attained the title, Captain, from the Colony court in 1669. Historical records show that he was first given the rank of Ensign under Captain Miles Standish, then later, in 1669, he was made Captain. These titles reflects his role as a leader in the local militia formed to protect the colony from the Indians.

Honored for Heroism in King Phillip's War. Captain Michael Pierce's memory is well-documented in American history. He is honored for the brave manner in which he died in defense of his country. The exact manner in which he died is repeated in more than 20 books and letters detailing the military history of the King Phillip's War. This war took place between 1675 and 1676, and remains one of the bloodiest conflicts in American history. It was also a pivotal point in early American history. Although the English colonists were ultimately victorious over the Indians, it took the colonies over 100 years to recover from the economic and political catastrophy brought about by this conflict.

The battle in which Captain Michael Pierce lost his life is detailed in Drakes Indian Chronicles (pp. 220-222) as follows:

   "Sunday the 26th of March, 1676, was sadly remarkable to us for the tidings of a very deplorable disaster brought into Boston about five o'clock that afternoon, by a post from Dedham, viz., that Captain Pierce of Scituate in Plymouth Colony, having intelligence in his garrison at Seaconicke, that a party of the enemy lay near Mr. Blackstorne's, went forth with sixty-three English and twenty of the Cape Indians (who had all along continued faithful, and joyned with them), and upon their march discovered rambling in an obscure woody place, four or five Indians, who, in getting away from us halted as if they had been lame or wounded. But our men had pursued them but a little way into the woods before they found them to be only decoys to draw them into their ambuscade; for on a sudden, they discovered about five hundred Indians, who in very good order, furiously attacked them, being as readily received by ours; so that the fight began to be very fierce and dubious, and our men had made the enemy begin to retreat, but so slowly that it scarce deserved the name, when a fresh company of about four hundred Indians came in; so that the English and their few Indian friends were quite surrounded and beset on every side. Yet they made a brave resistance for about two hours; during which time they did great execution upon their enemy, who they kept at a distance and themselves in order. For Captain Pierce cast his sixty-three English and twenty Indians into a ring, and six fought back to back, and were double - double distance all in one ring, whilst the Indians were as thick as they could stand, thirty deep. Overpowered with whose numbers, the said Captain and fifty-five of his English and ten of their Indian friends were slain upon the place, which in such a cause and upon such disadvantages may certainly be titled "The Bed of Honor." However, they sold their worthy lives at a gallant rate, it being affirmed by those few that not without wonderful difficulty and many wounds made their escape, that the Indians lost as many fighting men in this engagement as were killed in the battle in the swamp near Narragansett, mentioned in our last letter, which were generally computed to be above three hundred."

Today, in Scituate, there is a Captain Pierce Road.

In Cumberland, Rhode Island, there is a monument called Nine Men's Misery. A tablet near the monument reads:

   NINE MEN'S MISERY

   ON THIS SPOT WHERE

   THEY WERE SLAIN

   BY THE INDIANS

   WERE BURIED

   THE NINE SOLDIERS

   CAPTURED IN

   PIERCE'S FIGHT

   MARCH 26, 1676

The monument is located in a dark, place in the woods, near a former monastery. The monastery is now a public library. The monument consists of little more than a pile of stones cemented together by a monk and marked with a plaque. However, this site is of major historical significance because it is concidered to be the oldest monument to veterans in the United States.

• Nine Men's Misery From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
• Nine Men’s Misery The Joseph Bucklin Society
• Capt Michael Pierce Find A Grave Memorial# 52532104
• Capt Michael Pierce's Defeat Roll of Pierce's Company at Find A Grave
• Pierce Park and Riverwalk, Central Falls, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA

_________________________________________

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Listed as Captain Michael J Pierce (Fell in Rehoboth Swamp Fight battle.). Commander Of A Mixed White/ Native American Wampanoag Fighting Unit.- (Ben M. Angel notes: the Great Swamp Fight was in the previous December. Capt. Pierce died in a wholly different incident, an ambush that took place some three months later. The ambush took place at Central Falls, but the victims were carried off to the site in Cumberland following their defeat. Refer to the English-language Wikipedia page on Nine Men's Misery.)

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Michael Pierce is the fourth Brother of Richard Pierce Jr., John Pierce the Patentee and Captain William Pierce.

The Father of the four brothers is Richard Pierce born at Pearce Hall, (now ruined), Spofforth Castle. The former great hall is said to have been the place where the Magna Carta Surety was signed and was the main home of the Percy's until it was greatly damaged during the battle of Towton in 1461.

There are several branches of Pierces, aka Percy, Pearce, Pers, Peircy etc., who are related but not all of them lived at Northumberland. One branch of Pierces were weavers, which during that time period, was a very lucrative profession.

John Pierce the Patentee, Captain Michael and Captain William were invested with the "Merchant Adventurers of London". John Pierce the Patentee was invested with the business of financing the Mayflower voyage. The Merchant Adventurers of London was heavily invested in the trade or export of white non-dyed broadcloth of which some Pierce/Percy branches were manufacturing with great success in Norwich.

Michael Pierce was new to the militia group and unknown among the men. He was initially elected and commissioned Lieutenant in 1666, with James Cudworth as Captain

After the Men got to know Pierce, he was elected and commissioned Militia Captain in 1669

In Captain Michael Pierces "Will", which he drew up in early 1675, he mentions that me must go out to fight in the Narrangansett (Great Swamp War) December 1675.

In the spring of 1676 after Narranganssett Indians killed Plymouth Colony inhabitants, Pierce was ordered to pursue the enemy with 55 of his men and 20 Christian Indians. Pierces group was greatly outnumbered and once he realized the gravity of the situation he sent a messenger for reinforcement. The messenger stopped for religious services along the way. delaying the request for backup and cost Pierce and his Men their lives.

Captain Michael Pierce and his men were captured and tortured by the Narrangansett Indian's. Their sacrifice and honor of duty was duly noted by commission of a plaque called "Nine Men's Misery", which became America's first veteran memorial.

Captain Michael Pierce married Persis Eames and together they had eight daughters and one son.

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Captain Michael Pierce (1615-1676) was born 1615, in England and he died March 26, 1676, Scituate Center, Scituate, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay. He married Persis (Eames) Pierce about 1644 (to 31 Dec 1662) in United States, no marriage record, He also married Ann (unknown) Pierce March 26, 1663 (to 26 March 1676) location unknown. The children of Captain Michael Pierce and Persis (Eames) Pierce are:

1) Persis Pierce 2) Abigail (Pierce) Holbrook 3) Elizabeth Peirce 4) Sarah Pierce 5) Ephraim (Pearce) Pierce, Sr. 6) Anna Peirce 7) Mary (Pierce) Holbrook 8) Benjamin Pierce 9) Abiah (Pierce) Ford 10) John Pierce 11) Ruth Peirce 12) Persis (Peirce) Garrett

Captain Michael Pierce (1615-1676) is my 9th great-grandfather, and his wife is my 9th great-grandmother, Persis (Eames) Pierce. I am DNA matched on Ancestry DNA to Job Pierce, Jr. (1753-1818), GEDMATCH # A319313 and so is my only daughter, (Sheryl Lynn (Sanders) Bolton, DNA matched on Ancestry DNA to Job Pierce, Jr. and Hannah (Bullock) Pierce. Dona Floyd is also DNA matched to Job Pierce, Sr. (1723-1791), her 6th great-grandfather who is the brother of Nathan Pierce, the direct ancestor of both Presidents George H.W. Bush and his son, President George Walker Bush. Dona Floyd is the daughter of Frankie Bess (Williams) Floyd and Wilbur Lewis Floyd. Frankie Bess Williams is the daughter of Judge Alvin Luke Williams, who also was the District Judge of Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska in the 1960's, later retiring as judge in Grandbury, Ft. Worth, Texas. She is the great-great granddaughter of Nathan Melford Williams who married Adeline Eluisa Cornwell. Dona is in the DAR under her Revolutionary War Ancestor, Elijah Cornwell, whose DNA matches the bones of King Richard III Plantagenet. She is also descended from King John Plantagenet. Both of these genealogies are in the books "Royal Descent of 900 Immigrants", and "Plantagenet Ancestry", including the Cornwells and Bushes. Dona Floyd wrote a book on her Williams family in 1974 at the request of her grandfather, Judge Alvin Luke Williams, called the "Williams Family History Book", author, Dona (Floyd) Vance, published in 1974, distributed to her family members and copyrited in Washington, D.C. Dona is a writer and researcher of genealogy and family history and has worked on her Williams family history for over 40 years, tracing them back to Morgan Williams who married Elizabeth Cromwell, and Joan Tudor, also in this line of Morgan Williams/Cromwell. Sheryl Lynn (Sanders) also DNA matched to Job Pierce, Jr. (1753-1818), is the daughter of William Edmund Sanders and Dona Floyd, born in 1964. Michael Pierce, a direct descendant of Capt. Michael Pierce, b. 1615, also wrote a book on his Pierce family, which includes Job Pierce, Sr., which was thoroughly reseached and he found no evidence of a son named Samuel Pierce or a Miriam Williams, as claimed by another descendant of Job Pierce, Sr. Job Pierce, Sr. only has proven one son, Job Pierce, Jr.. A thorough DNA study was done on the male and female lines of Dona's Williams family by REID/MORGAN/WILLIAMS/GREER/SANDIFER/BEARDEN/MCKENZIE/Y. JOHNSTON/HALCOMB/MCGUIRE/CAMERON/ AND STEWART, due to the Royal lineages of this family and lists all members down to her current generation of Dona (Floyd) Kimmons and her only child and their children. This DNA study was done in 1986 and given to Dona to add to her book on her Williams family history, which went back to the 1500's on this line..

Captain Michael Pierce (b. 1615 was killed in the battle of Cedar Falls, Killed in Action, King Philip's War. There is a Pierce Park and Riverwalk, Central Falls, Rhode Island. One of Dona's Williams ancestors was Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island. She has been DNA matched to Roger Williams, b. 1700, North Farnham Parish, Province of Virginia, d. 1767.

Captain Michael Peirse/Peirce/Pierce's (his surname varies) parents are not known. He was born in England in 1615. He was in Hingham, Mass. before 1646 when his first child was baptized. He married Persis Eames, daughter of Anthony Eames and Margery in 1645 at Scituate, Massachusetts (Plymouth). Persis died on December 31, 1662, 5 days after the birth of her 12th child. Three months after the death of Persis, Michael married Anna, the recent widow of John Allen on March 26, 1663, they had no children.

The ambush of Captain Michael Pierce and his soldiers occurred on Sunday, March 26, 1676, in the location of the present day city of Central Falls, Rhode Island in a bloody batle that was part of King Philips War. Pierce, of Scituate, Mass. had been appointed Captain in 1669 by the colony court, having been an ensign under Captain Miles Standish. King Phillips War was named for Philip, the son of Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoag Indians. He was in command of a company of 63 men and 20 friendly Indians who met up with over 500 Narragansett warriors. Pierce's men were ambushed and most were killed. The remains of the soldiers and their friendly Indians were not carried away to church yards or burial ground; instead, they were buried where they fell, either in a mass grave or individually. Reverend Newman reported that on the first of the three days, volunteers laid twenty souls to rest - "17 English & 3 Indians buried." On the second day, "that I might express my respect to Captain Peirce & Leift: Fuller, who dyed so honorably," the Reverend himselft "went forth & that day we buryed 18 English and one Indian." On the third and last day "They buryed 7 or 8 English and one Indian.

Alternate Death Info Place: Rehoborh, Bristol, Massachusetts, listing

Listed as Captain Michael J. Pierce. 2nd Source lists birth and death alternate, birth Hingham, Norfolk, Kent, England, death Cedar Falls, Pawtucket, Rhode Island, or Middlesex in Massachusetts. Alternate death location is Rehoboth, Plymouth Colony.

Another source list the following: There were 4 Pierce brothers who made their mark on the New World, John Pierce (the Patentee), Robert Pierce, Captain William Pierce, and Captain Michael Pierce. All were grandsons of Anteress Pierce, and sons of Azrika Pierce and his wife, Martha.

Another source list 1st marriage as 1642 in Charleston, Suffolk, Mass. Alternate source lists birthplace as Bristol, Somerset, England. Moved from Hingham in 1676 to Scituate, Scituate is located ten miles north of the original Plymouth Colony. It was settled in 1628.

The Will of Captain Michael Pierce dated january 15, 1675, named Anna, children, Benjamin, John, Ephraim, Abigail Holbrook, Mary Holbrook, Elizabeth, Sarah, Anna, Abiah, Ruth, Persis, Grandchildren, Elizbeth Holbrook and Abigail Holbrook, and "my brother Mark Jennes (Eames)".

Persis Eames: Date born 1621, d. December 31, 1662, Scituate, Mass.

Notes for Anna (Allen) James: Widow Anna James and family resided in Marshfield in 1650. She ,married Capt. Michael Pierce abt. 1663

Deane, Samuel. History of Scituate, Massachusetts (James Loring, Boston, 1831.

Pope, Charles. The Plymouth Scrap Book (C.E. Goodspeed & Co. Boston, Mass, 1918, pp 128-9.

Memoir of Benjamin Pierce, Late Govenor of New Hampshire, the New England Historical & Genealogical Register (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Mass. 1853. Vol. 7, pg. 9, "Captain Michael Peirse of Scituate was his brother; he was killed in the memorable Pawtucke fight, Sunday, March 26th, 1676.

Bodge, George. Soldiers in King Philip's War Being a Critical Account of that War (Boston, Mass. 1906) Page 347-50.

William Richard Cutter "New England Families, genealogical and Memorial: a Record of the achievements of Commonwealths and the Founding of a Nation." Published by Lewis Historical Publishing Company, New York, 1915, Series 3, Vol. 1, pg. 38

Note: Florence May (White) Pierce, who married Howard Pierce, my great-grandfather, DNA matched GEDMATCH A319313, daughter of John Albert White and Julia Electa (Meacham) White, who was the daughter of George Standish Meacham (1832-1915), is a descendant of Miles Standish or Myles Standish, and also William White,Mayflower Descendant. From Dona Lorine (Floyd)(Vance)Kimmons.

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GEDCOM Source

@R1603628284@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=161124604&pi...

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GEDCOM Note

<p><a href="Capt. Michael Pierce">Michael Pierce (1615 - 1675) - Genealogy</a></p>

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Captain of a company in King Phillip's War. He was killed in an Indian Ambush.