Richard Sears, the pilgrim

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23546941/richard_sears

Richard Sears, born in England, say 1590 - 1595, died at Yarmouth, MA, buried 26 Aug 1676.

family

Parents unknown.

• Not the same as Richard Sears, {fictitious person}
• Not the son of Marie Lamorel Sears, {fictitious person} & John Bouchier Sears, {fictitious person}.
• Not the father of Knyvet Sears, {fictitious person}, Mary Worden or John Sears, of Taunton

Marriage

1. Dorothy Jones b: ABT 1603 in Of Dinder, Somerset, England. By 1637, by which time he had removed from Plymouth to Marblehead, he had married Dorothy Jones, daughter of George and Agnes Jones of Dinder, Somerset, England. She was the sister of Richard Jones of Dorchester and of Elizabeth (Jones) Thatcher of Yarmouth. Dorothy survived Richard, and was buried 19 March 1678-9 at Yarmouth.

Children

• Paul Sears b: 20 FEB 1638 in Marblehead, Essex, MA. Married Deborah Willard, daughter of George Willard and Dorothy Dunster.
• Deborah Sears b: SEP 1639 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA. Married Zachary Paddock son of Robert T Paddock and Mary Palmer.
• Silas Sears b: ABT 1641 in Of Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA. Married Anna Bursell, daughter of James Bursell and Emott.

Richard died at Yarmouth at the age of 81 years and 4 months.

Sources

• https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sears_(pilgrim)_
• http://www.searsr.com/familyr/pafg01.htm#68 (Sears Family Association)
• The descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888 Published 1890 by J. Munsell's sons in Albany, N.Y By Samuel P. May Page 8 for details

  ---

disputed origins

RICHARD SEARS: The Ancestry of Thomas Brainerd by Dwight Brainerd

Richard Sears born in England, about 1612; died at Yarmouth, MA, buried 26 Aug 1676; married Dorothy Jones. A strange pedigree, in part at leastnconcoted by that able genealogist but (alas!) occasional fabricator of illustrious pedigrees, the late Horatio G Somerby, was given circulation in 1857 when Rev. E H Sears included it in all innocence in Pictures of the Olden Time.

This pedigree was gently but effectively castigated by Samuel Pearce May in 1886 in an article, "Some Doubts concerning the Sears Pedigree" published in The new England Historical and GenealogicalRegister (Vol 40, pp.261-268) Four years later, Mr May brought out anauthoritative genealogy of the Sears family.

He was taxed at Plymouth, 25 Mar 1633, but seems to have moved soon to Marblehead, then part of Salem,MA, where his brother-in-law, Rev Anthony Thacher, settled in 1635. Earlybin 1639 he was among those who accompanied Thacher in the settlement of Yarmouth. Freeman, 1652; Constable, 1660; Deputy to the Plymouth Genera COurt, 1662. His will makes his "brother Thacher" a trustee of hisestate, and Thacher's son John calls had three children, and that accounts for the six. (Savage, Genealogical Dictionary (1862), Vol 4, p.46, was misled by the pedigree and "family tradition" to the extent of giving Richard a mythical son, Knyvett.)

This Caveat is posted by the Sears Family Association:

http://www.searsr.com/history.htm

Please note: No one has yet proven who the Ancestors of Richard Sares (Sears) the Pilgrim, of Plymouth Colony were. Please don't fall into the trap promulgated by Mr H G Somerby that John Bourchier Sears(Sayer) is Richard's father. It has not been proven that Richard had a daughter Mary who married a Worden (Werden) and neither has it been proven that a Knyvet Sears was a son of Richard. In fact much work has been done to disprove the existence of Knyvet!

Samuel Pierce May's work to disprove the errant genealogical work of H G Somerby can be seen in the following four pages scanned from May's personal copy of his book. You can even see May's handwritten notes on pp19 and 22.

---------------------------

Also New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol 42, pp.77-79.

!CHILDREN-DEATH-BIOGRAPHY: GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY of SOUTHERNNEW YORK and the HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, Vol II;1640-1913; Lewis Historical Publishing Co, 1913; pp 507-510; Brewster,NY Public Library;

The several attempts of genealogists to trace the pre-American ancestry of the Sears immigrant have met with many discouraging obstacles and few satisfactory results; while it seems to bepretty well established that the family is one of great antiquity there has always existed a doubt regarding its origin, and there are those whoare disposed to place it among the old Holland families and bring forthDutch intermarriages in support of their reasoning. In these annals noattempt is made to investigate the subject of the origin of the family ofthe Sears immigrant, for it is not known when or where he was born, andnothing of his parentage, although there are various traditions and vagueconclusions regarding his forbears. The family in America is fully strong enough in every material respect tostand forever without the warrant of distinguished pre-American lineage.But in regard to the apparent lack of earlier data the Sears family isonly one in the long list of our best colonial families whose historyback of the immigrant is unkown, and the absence of definite knowledge ofhis ancestors is not to be taken as evidence of doubtful or obscureorigin, for the simple truth is that it has been found impossible totrace his lineage in the mother country. (I) Richard Sears appears in ourNew England colonial history with the mention of his name in the recordsof the Plymouth colony tax list in 1633, when he was one of fourty-fourpersons there assessed nine shillings in corn at six shillings perbushel. From Plymouth he soon crossed over to Marblehead, MA, and was taxed there, as shown by the Salem list, in1637-38. He also had a grant of four acres of land "where he had formerlyplanted," from which it appears that he may have been in that plantationat some previous time. In 1639 he joined the colonists under AnthonyThacher and went to Cape Cod and founded the town of Yarmouth. His firsthouse was built on Quivet Neck, and afterwards he built another house ashort distance to the northwest of his first house there. In 1643 thename of Richard Sears appears in the list of inhabitants of Yarmouth"liable to bear arms." He was made freeman in 1652, grand juror in 1652,took the oath of allegiance and fidelity in 1653, was constable in 1660,and representative to the court in Plymouth in 1662. In 1664 RichardSears, husbandman, purchased for twenty pounds from Allis, widow ofGovernor William Bradford, a tract of land at Sesuit. He died in August,1676, and was buried March 19,1678-79; but it is not certain that she was his only wife, or the motherof all or even any of his children. Indeed, there is a presumption thathe was previously married and that his children may have been born of hisformer wife.

There is a RIchard SEARS in the IGI AFN 4JDS-SW (1590-1676) with adaughter listed as Mary??? Contributed by Tom Greene, 4906 Apple Tree Dr,
Alexandria,VA 22310

Is John Satre his father? RIN -72

File: C:\Users\Harry Hadaway\Documents\Family Tree Maker\Hadaway Media\Sears Coat of Arms.jpg

Title: Sears Coat of Arms

False Sears Family Tree:

http://www.searsr.com/tree.html

Compiled by Olive H (Sears) Kelley

Drawn by George E Jones, Boston

Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1874, by Olive H (Sears)Kelley n the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington

[Please note this tree is not "genealogically" accurate. It shows a child of Richard named "Knyvet" which has never been proven by any documented source.]

notes

• Reference Number: 7847
• LDS Baptism: 06 FEB 1937 13
• Endowment: 26 FEB 1937 ARIZO
• Burial: Yarmouth Port, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA 1
• Event: Arrival 1633 Plymouth, Massachusetts 6
• Residence: Plymouth, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA 10
• Event: Departure 1633 10
• Death: Age at Death: 86 26 SEP 1676 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA 12 1 3 4 9 10 11
• Residence: 1639 Yarmouth 10

The name of Richard Seer is first found upon the records of Plymouth Colony, in the tax-list of March 25, 1633, when he was one of fourty-four, in a list of eighty-six persons, who were assessed nine shillings in corn, at six shillings per bushel, upon one poll. [Hand notes] His name is not in tax list of 1634 or in list of freemen 1633.

He soon after crossed over to Marblehead, in Massachusetts Colony, where Richard Seers was taxed as a resident in the Salem rate-list for January 1, 1637-8, and on October 14, 1638, was granted four acres of land "where he had formerly planted." [This would seem to indicate that he had then some family.]

What his reasons were for removing can now only be conjectured. It has been suggested that he sympathized with Roger Williams and followed him in his removal, but this is improbable. It may be that he wished to be near friends, former townsmen, or perhaps relatives.

Antony Thacher, and his wife who was sister to Richard Sares wife, was then living in Marblehead, and this fact probably influenced his removal to that place [changed to reflect hand notes]

The early settlers of Marblehead were many of them from the channel islands, Guernsey and Jersey, and in these places the family of Sarres has been established for several centuries, and is still represented in Guernsey under the names of Sarres and Serres.

[The next supposition was struck from the original book by May] Early in the year 1639, a party under the leadership of Antony Thacher crossed the Bay to Cape Cod, and settled upon a tract of land called by the Indians, "Mattakeese," to which they gave the name of Yarmouth.

With them went Richard Sares and family, accompanied probably by his wife and infant sons, Paul and Silas. [handnotes] He took up residence on Quivet Neck between Quivet and Sesuit creeks [in what became East precinct of Yarmouth now Dennis], where in September of the same year their daughter Deborah was born, perhaps the second white child, and the first girl born in Yarmouth; Zachary Rider being supposed to have been the first boy.

• In 1643, the name of Richard Seeres is in the list of those between the age of 16 and 60 able to bear arms. (In Williamsburg we learned that the requirements were, male, able bodied and with at least two teeth, one top and one bottom to pull the cap off the powder horn)
• Oct 26, 1647, the commissioners on Indian affairs were appointed to meet at the house of Richard Sares at Yarmouth, when he entered a complaint against Nepoytam Sachumus, and Felix, Indians.
• Oct 2, 1650, he with sixteen others, complained of William Nickerson for Slander, damage 100 pounds; and at the same term of court, we find his name with seventeen others, against Mr John Crow, William Nickerson and Lt William Palmer for trespass, damage 60 pounds.
• Jun 3, 1652, Richard Seeres was propounded to take up Freedom.
• Jun 7, 1652, Richard Sares was chosen to serve on the Grand Inquest.
• Jun 7, 1653, Richard Sares took the Oath of Fidellyte at Plimouth, and was admitted a Freeman.
• Mar 1, 1658, Richard Seares was chose on the committee to levy the church tax.
• Jun 6, 1660, Richard Sares was chosen Constable.
• Jun 3, 1662, Richard Saeres was chosen Deputy to the General Court at Plymouth.
• Nov 23, 1664, Richard Sares, husbandman, purchased of Allis Bradford widow of Gov William Bradford, (who signed the deed with her mark,) a tract of land at Sesuit, for 20 pounds.
• 10(3)1667, Richard Sares made his Will, to which Feb 3, 1676, he added a codicil. Both documents are signed with his mark, (RS) and in witnessing various deeds at previous dates, he always made his mark, a by no means unusual thing to do in those days.
• Mr H G Somerby in his manuscript collection in the library of the Mass Hist So, Boston, mentions a tradition that he held a commission in the militia, and lost his right arm by a gun-shot wound in a fight with Indians in 1650, but neither fact is recorded, nor is any such tradition known to the Cape antiquarians.
• Jun 30, 1667, the name of Richard Sares is signed with fourteen others to a complaint against Nicholas Nickerson for slander of Rev Thomas Thornton. His signature is well and plainly written, on the original document in the possession of Hon H C Thacher of Boston, (of which a copy much reduced may be seen in Swift's "Hist of Old Yarmouth," 1884) but it is not certain that it is his autograph, (and no other is known,) as it and several others may have been written by the same person, and probably the one who procured the signatures to it.

I have followed the spelling of Richard Sears name as found on the records, which is probably the clerk's phonetic rendering; I have been told by aged members of the family, that when they were children, early in the 19th century, the name was written Sears, but pronounced by old people, Sares [ed. this is born out by the fact that in our recent visit to the Bahamas, our surname was noticed and the comment was "Where did you get a good old Bahama name like Say'-ers?" two syllables, accent on the first]

Additional Comments:

From The Descendants of Richard Sears of Yarmouth, Mass pub by Joel Munson's Sons, 1880

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.org/ma/barnstable/bios/sears39gbs.txt

Richard Sears came to America in 1630 from Leyden and landed at Plymouth May 8.

from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~barbpretz/PS02/PS02_197.HTM

"Born in England, about 1612; died at Yarmouth, Mass., buried 26 Aug 1676; married Dorothy Jones. A strange pedigree, in part at least concoted by that able genealogist but (alas!) occasional fabricator of illustrious pedigrees, the late Horatio G Somerby, was given circulation in 1857 when Rev. E H Sears included it in all innocence in Pictures of the Olden Time. This pedigree was gently but effectively castigated by Samuel Pearce May in 1886 in an article, "Some Doubts concerning the Sears Pedigree" published in The new England Historical and Genealogical Register (Vol 40, pp.261-268) Four years later, Mr May brought out an authoritative genealogy of the Sears family. He was taxed at Plymouth, 25 Mar 1633, but seems to have moved soon to Marblehead, then part of Salem, Mass.,, where his brother-in-law, Rev. Anthony Thacher, settled in 1635. Early in 1639 he was among those who accompanied Thacher in the settlement of Yarmouth. Freeman, 1652; Constable, 1660; Deputy to the Plymouth General Court, 1662. His will makes his 'brother Thacher' a trustee of his estate, and Thacher's son John calls Richard Sears 'uncle.' These terms led formerly to an assumption that his wife Dorothy was a Thacher, but that has been disproved, and it is now accepted that she was a sister of Thacher's second wife, Elizabeth Jones. Their brother, Richard Jones of Dorchester, Mass., died intestate, and his widow in the inventory referred to her brother Thatcher, and also made Anthony Thacher of Yarmouth a trustee of the estate. Samuel Jones, son of Richard, in his will in 1661, made bequests to his six cousins in Yarmouth. Thacher had three children by his second (Jones) wife, and Richard Sears had three children, and that accounts for the six."

Also, see his Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sears_(pilgrim)

Notes for Richard Sears "Born in England, about 1612; died at Yarmouth, Mass., buried 26 Aug 1676; married Dorothy Jones. A strange pedigree, in part at least concoted by that able genealogist but (alas!) occasional fabricator of illustrious pedigrees, the late Horatio G Somerby, was given circulation in 1857 when Rev. E H Sears included it in all innocence in Pictures of the Olden Time. This pedigree was gently but effectively castigated by Samuel Pearce May in 1886 in an article, "Some Doubts concerning the Sears Pedigree" published in The new England Historical and Genealogical Register (Vol 40, pp.261-268) Four years later, Mr May brought out an authoritative genealogy of the Sears family. He was taxed at Plymouth, 25 Mar 1633, but seems to have moved soon to Marblehead, then part of Salem, Mass.,, where his brother-in-law, Rev. Anthony Thacher, settled in 1635. Early in 1639 he was among those who accompanied Thacher in the settlement of Yarmouth. Freeman, 1652; Constable, 1660; Deputy to the Plymouth General Court, 1662. His will makes his 'brother Thacher' a trustee of his estate, and Thacher's son John calls Richard Sears 'uncle.' These terms led formerly to an assumption that his wife Dorothy was a Thacher, but that has been disproved, and it is now accepted that she was a sister of Thacher's second wife, Elizabeth Jones. Their brother, Richard Jones of Dorchester, Mass., died intestate, and his widow in the inventory referred to her brother Thatcher, and also made Anthony Thacher of Yarmouth a trustee of the estate. Samuel Jones, son of Richard, in his will in 1661, made bequests to his six cousins in Yarmouth. Thacher had three children by his second (Jones) wife, and Richard Sears had three children, and that accounts for the six." 579

"To sum up briefly: the 'English pedigrees' cannot be proved; - it is doubtful if Richard Sares was ever in Holland, or that his wife was a Thacher; - he never had a son Knyvet, - and Richard and Daniel Sears, of Chatham, were younger sons of Paul, and not 'Head of the American Family'. The claim to estates in England is purely mythical. The 'family papers,' if still in existence, are not now accessible to inquirers." Details about the doubts Samuel May shared about previous Sears pedigrees are to be entered. 591

"Myrtle Steven Hyde, FASG, and I both looked into the purported English ancestry of the Sears family, another Somerby production. We were unable to find any evidence of the existance of the three generations immediately preceding the immigrant. An analysis of this extraordinarily colorful fraud, in which Somerby used similar tactics to those presented in this article, can be found in Samuel Pearce May, 'Some Doubts Concerning the Sears Pedigree,' NEHGR 40 (1886): 261-68. May said that one of the family 'wrote me that he received the material from Mr. Somerby, but had since made investigation and found 'that the details were not only not proven, but also incapable of proof, if not altogether wrong, and opposed to fact.' The author described Somerby's style as 'placing the flesh on the wrong bones.' (p. 268), a phrase that we have adopted in the title of the current article." 592

He was also said to have been buried 19 March 1678-9. 249

"SEARS. RICHARD SEARS, b 1590, member of Robinson's Leyden Congregation, came to Plymouth, Mass., 1630, son of John Bouchier Sayers, or Amsterdam, Holland. Arms - Gules, a chevron argent between three pewtis proper. Crest - A dexter arm embowed in armour proper, garnished or, grasping a griffin's head erased or." [black and white picture on file] 407

(Savage, Genealogical Dictionary (1862), Vol 4, p.46, was misled by the pedigree and "family tradition" to the extent of giving Richard a mythical son, Knyvett.) Also New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Vol 42, pp.77-79.

Ref to CHILDREN-DEATH-BIOGRAPHY: GENEALOGICAL AND FAMILY HISTORY of SOUTHERN NEW YORK and the HUDSON RIVER VALLEY, Vol II;1640-1913; Lewis Historical Publishing Co, 1913; pp 507-510; Brewster, NY Public Library; The several attempts of genealogists to trace the pre-American ancestry of the Sears immigrant have met with many discouraging obstacles and few satisfactory results; while it seems to be pretty well established that the family is one of great antiquity there has always existed a doubt regarding its origin, and there are those who are disposed to place it among the old Holland families and bring forth Dutch intermarriages in support of their reasoning. In these annals no attempt is made to investigate the subject of the origin of the family of the Sears immigrant, for it is not known when or where he was born, and nothing of his parentage, although there are various traditions and vague conclusions regarding his forbears. The family in America is fully strong enough in every material respect to stand forever without the warrant of distinguished pre-American lineage. But in regard to the apparent lack of earlier data the Sears family is only one in the long list of our best colonial families whose history back of the immigrant is unkown, and the absence of definite knowledge of his ancestors is not to be taken as evidence of doubtful or obscure origin, for the simple truth is that it has been found impossible to trace his lineage in the mother country. (I) Richard Sears appears in our New England colonial history with the mention of his name in the records of the Plymouth colony tax list in 1633, when he was one of fourty-four persons there assessed nine shillings in corn at six shillings per bushel. From Plymouth he soon crossed over to Marblehead, MA, and was taxed there, as shown by the Salem list, in 1637-38. He also had a grant of four acres of land "where he had formerly planted," from which it appears that he may have been in that plantation at some previous time. In 1639 he joined the colonists under Anthony Thacher and went to Cape Cod and founded the town of Yarmouth. His first house was built on Quivet Neck, and afterwards he built another house a short distance to the northwest of his first house there. In 1643 the name of Richard Sears appears in the list of inhabitants of Yarmouth "liable to bear arms." He was made freeman in 1652, grand juror in 1652, took the oath of allegiance and fidelity in 1653, was constable in 1660, and representative to the court in Plymouth in 1662. In 1664 Richard Sears, husbandman, purchased for twenty pounds from Allis, widow of Governor William Bradford, a tract of land at Sesuit. He died in August, 1676, and was buried March 19, 1678-79; but it is not certain that she was his only wife, or the mother of all or even any of his children. Indeed, there is a presumption that he was previously married and that his children may have been born of his former wife. There is a RIchard SEARS in the IGI AFN 4JDS-SW (1590-1676) with a daughter listed as Mary??? Contributed by Tom Greene, 4906 Apple Tree Dr, Alexandria, VA 22310243

His birth is also listed as about 1595 based on age at death.318

He was also said to have died 26 Aug 1676 at age 86.243

He was said to have come to America in 1633, resided first in Plymouth, MA, removed to Marblehead, MA by 1637, and to Yarmouth, MA by 1639.318

He is listed as one of the Dennis First Comers: "by 1643 Sears, Richard B[rewster] #8 Old County Way (NE side) K citing Reg. of Prob. R59, D515" 292

"We find him a member of the Plymouth Colony Court in 1662. His property must have been considerable, as his name appears with the colonists at Plymouth among those who were rated the highest." 364

"Origin: Unknown Migration: 1633 First Residence: Plymouth Removes: Marblehead by 1637, Yarmouth by 1639 Occupation: Husbandman. Freeman: Oath of fidelity at Yarmouth, 1639 [PCR 8:185]. Propounded for freemanship, 3 June 1652 [PCR 3:7]. Admitted a freeman, 7 June 1653 [PCR 3:31]. On the 1658 and 29 May 1670 lists of freemen from Yarmouth [PCR 5:274, 8:200]. Education: His inventory included '1 Great Bible and other books' valued at 1 L 3s. Offices: Deputy (from Yarmouth), 3 June 1662 [PCR 4:14]. Grand jury, 7 June 1652 [PCR 3:9]. Tax collector, 1 March 1658/9 [PCR 3:155]. Yarmouth constable, 6 June 1660 [PCR 3:188]. In Yarmouth section of 1643 Plymouth Colony list of men able to bear arms [8:194]. Estate: Assessed 9s. in Plymouth tax list of 25 March 1633 [PCR 1:11]; omitted from list of 27 March 1634. On 1 January 1637/8 'Richard Seeres' was included in a Salem rate list for the 'inhabitants of Marblehead' [STR 1:63]. On 14 November 1638 'Rich[ard] Sears' was granted four acres at Marblehead 'where he had planted formerly' [STR 1:74]. On 23 November 1664 'Allis Bradford the widow of William Bradford' sold to 'Richard Sares' of Yarmouth, husbandman, two tracts of twenty acres each 'at a place commonly called . . Sasuet, one of which had been the lot of William bradford deceased and the other of which had been the lot of Experience Mitchell [MD 34:23, citing PCLR 3:18]. In his will, dated 10 May 1667, with a codicil dated 3 February 1675/6, and proved 5 March 1675/6, 'Richard Sares of Yarmouth' bequeathed to 'Sylas Sares my younger son . . . all my land, that is allthe upland upon the Neck where his house stands in which he now dwells . . . after mine and my wife's decease,' provided that 'my son-in-law Zachery Paddock' shall have the house where he dwells and two acres within the above tract 'during the life of Deborah his now wife'; also to 'the said Sylas Sares' a tract of meadow and half of 'my land called Robins as in undivided'; to 'my elder son Paule Sares all the rest and remains of my lands whatsoever', to 'Dorothy my wife' all lands and goods during her natural life, she to be sole executrix, and 'do entreat my brother Thacher with his two sons as friends in trust' as overseers; to 'my son-in-law Zachery Paddock' two acres from land called Robins before it is divided between Silas and Paul Sears, and this two acres, along with the two acres mentioned above, to go to Ichabod Paddock, son of Zachary, at the death of Zachary's wife; witnessed by Anthony Thacher and Anthony Frey; in the codicil, dated 3 February 1675/6, Richard Sears bequeathed to 'my eldest son Paul Sares .. . the house which I now live in' and various moveables; witnessed by John Thacher and Judah Thacher; on 5 March 1675/6 deposed that he and his brother witnessed the codicil,a nd that when 'my uncle signed this appendix,' he asked him [John Thacher] to redraw the will and 'to leave out of the new draft the legacy of land that is given to Ichabod Paddock, for saith he I have answered it in another way,' but Thacher never did produce this new draft [PCPR 3:2:53-54]. The inventory of the estate of 'Richard Sares,' taken 8 October 1676 and presented at court on 15 November 1676 by 'Dorethy Sares the relict of Richard Sares and Paul Sares his eldest son,' was untotalled and included 'his house and lands,' valued at L 220 [PCPR 3:2:55; PCR 5:213]. Birth: About 1595 based on age of death. Death: Yarmouth 5 September [1676] 'age 81 y 4 m' [Yar VR 126]. Marriage: By 1637 Dorothy Jones. She was born about 1603, daughter of George and Agnes (____) Jones of Dinder, Somerset [TAG 58:244-46]. 'Cady [i.e., Goody] Seares was buried the 19th of March [16]78[/9]' at Yarmouth [YarVR 125]. . . Comments: Although the earliest record of Richard Sears in Marblehead is in 1637, he may have moved there as early as 1634, since he is in the 1633 Plymouth tax list, but not in the list of 1634. On 2 October 1650, with a large number of other men, 'Richard Seares' brought an action against William Nickerson for slander [PCR 7:50]. Bibliographic Note: Various publications of the middle of the nineteenth century set forth an English pedigree for Richard Sears, and partly on the basis of this pedigree assigned to Richard Sears a son Knyvett Sears. In 1886 Samuel Pearce May carefully examined and analyzed this pedigree, and found it to have no merit; he further demonstrated that the proposed son Knyvett did not exist [NEHGR 40:261-68]. Four years later May published a genealogy of the family [The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888 (Albany, 1890)] In 1948 Donald Lines Jacobus prepared a brief account of the family of Richard Sears [Brainerd anc 257-58]."318, 422 [Note: Pilgrim Migration entry is very similar o entry in Great Migration Begins. Under Education, PM adds reference PCPR 3:2:54].

"Miller's ministry of fourteen years was not an easy one. The community had a proportion of 'scoffers' along with some who had strong Puritan and Pilgrim ties. Four at least had Pilgrim connections: Stephen Hopkins (who was only briefly a resident), his son Giles, Richard Sears, and Anathony Thacher." 272

"This tract on the east was bounded by Kenelm Winslow's land. It extended from Quivet meadow southward to the road leading from the Mill to Yarmouth. Westerly it was bounded by the Yarmouth or Dennis line. It was the tract Richard Sears bought in 1664 of Mrs. Alice Bradford, being the first and second lot laid out by the 'Purchasers or Old Comers' in 1653." 593

"Some students of genealogy place Richard Sears with the Pilgrims in Leyden. His name appears on a tax list for Plymouth town in 1633 but has not been found on a passenger list of any vessel His whereabouts from 1633 to September 1639, when his daughter Deborah was born in Yarmouth, is not known. . . Their homestead was near Bound Brook in what is not East Dennis. The ancient house just across the Brewster line is an early Sears dwelling, and the family burying ground is on the hill in front of the old homestead, overlooking the small pond."293

"In the illustration facing this page, we reproduce an original deed from Major William (2) Bradford (Gov. William 1) of lymouth, to Paul Sears of Yarmouth. By this deed, dated 10 June, 1679, Major Bradford released all his rights in land which his mother, widow Alice Bradford, had sold, on 23 November, 1664, to Richard Sears of Yarmouth, father of Paul Sears". Copy of document is on file.594

He was also said to be buried 26 Aug 1676. 579

"Richard, the Pilgrim

There is no proof that this is a portrait of Richard but I have received it from three different sources. The best is this color photo from Mrs D R Stone in Florida. We have looked at Sears "characteristics" and many claim the fair hair, high forehead, widow's peak, detached lobes, and hazel eyes. (I have brown hair and blue eyes. So much for DNA!)

"Copied from a portrait in possesion of the Van Egmont Family""243

"Between the two creeks whose Indian names we have given above, there was a tongue of land called 'Quivet Neck,' made up in part of alluvial deposits, and forming therefore the best and most fertile soil. Richard Sayer purchased the greater part of this neck of land, and built his house upon it. On this gentle swell he could hear the crooning of the two brooks on either side of him s they wound through the meadows, and he could look over the green interval into the broad blue ocean, always sounding with the march and countermarch of its waves. After two hundred years, the house which he built had disappeared; but the precise spot is still to be seen where his household gods found undisturbed repose. . . Nothwithstanding his peace-loving habits, the Pilgrim, as tradition says, head a military office, and lost an arm by a gun-shot would in some conflict with the Indians. He also appears on the records as constable of Yarmouth, and once on some committee in ecclesiastical affairs. . . Richard Sayer lived to be the patriarch of the little colony of Sursuit, and to see his children and his children's children settled aroungd him. . . Richard sayer was once or twice summoned from his seclusion, as Deputy to the Colony Court at Plymouth. . . .He lived to a green and honored old age, and died in 1676. . . His ashes repose in the old Yarmouth churchyard, where one of his descendants, with filial reverence and affection, has erected a costly monument to his memory." 595

"The family bearing this name is one ancient in New England, an early Cape Cod family, the ancestor using the orthography Sares. Says the family historian: 'There is a popular belief that the family of Sears is of Norman origin,and it is noticeable tha in the eastern parishes of London, and adjacent villages, which contained many Huguenot, Flemish, and Walloon emigrants, the name of Sears or Sares is common about 1600. However, the parentage, place and date of birth of Richard Sares, the first American ancestor of the family considered, are unknown. Marblehead, at which point Richard Sares was found in 1638, was largely settled by people from the islands of Guernsey and Jersey; the names of Sarres and serres have been represented in Guernsey for several centuries and are found there to-day.' "240

"Richard Sares (name variously spelled, in time taking the form of Sears) is of record at Plymouth as early as March, 1632-33, when taxed. He soon crossed over to Marblehead and was there taxed in 1637. He removed to Yarmouth, where he was a proprietor, 1638. His name was in the list of those able to bear arms in 1643. He became a freeman June 7, 1653. Commissioners were appointed Oct. 26, 1647, to meet at this house on Indian affairs." 240

"In 1668, there was exchanging and buying of upland and meadow abetween Quivet Creek and Sauquatuckett River or as it was now often called 'Stoney Brook.' On January 17, an agreement was made between 'Richard Sears of Yarmouth and John Dillingham about an exchange of meadow lying between Bound brook and Stoney brook.' By this 'agreement' it appears 'Richard Sears fully and readily' accepted 'all right that John Wing and John Dillingham' had 'in all the meadows commonly called the Nooks - for all the right that Richard sears had in that meadow lying and being against Mr. William Bradford's two lots sold to said Richard Sears,' and 'his in the great division of broken meadow.' At the same date Richard Sears sold to 'John Dillingham, his heirs and assigns, all the land lying and being below the path commonly known as the path from Sesuit to the mill, with all the dead timber about the path forever.' 593

He was also said to have been buried Aug. 26, 1676.240

"He is found at Plymouth in 1633, but soon removed to Marblehead, being taxed there 1637, and was granted four acres of land in 1638. Many of the settlers at Marblehead were from Guernsey and Jersey in England. He appears in Yarmouth in 1643, where he served on the Grand Jury and as constable, also was a deputy to the General Court at Plymouth in 1662. His occupation was farming." 249

"Richard Sares (name variously spelled, in time taking the form of Sears) is of record at Plymouth as early as March, 1632-33, when taxed. He soon crossed over to Marblehead and was there taxed in 1637. He removed to Yarmouth, where he was a proprietor, 1638. His name was in the list of those able to bear arms in 1643. He became a freeman June 7, 1653. Commissioners were appointed Oct. 26, 1647, to meet at this house on Indian affairs. He died in Yarmouth, and was buried there Augs. 16, 1676. His widow, Dorothy, was buried there March 19, 1678-79. It is not cerain that she was his only wife, or the mother of all, if any, of his children." 240

"Mr. Richard Sears, who came over with the last of the congregation from Leyden, landed at Plymouth May 8, 1630. [pedigree info of question] . . He had a grant of land at Salem, in 1638, but did not stop there long, if at all. In 1643 he settled in Sesuit, now East Dennis. He was a constable in 1660, Deputy to the court in 1662, but seldom accepted public employment. He died in 1676, aged 86 years, after a life of great purity and devotion to religious duty. His will and codicil were signed with a mark, which has led some writers to state that he was a military officer, and lost his arm by a gun-shot wound in battle with the Indians, in 1650. There seems to be no foundation for such a statement, in any reliable record of the times, and his so writing was doubtless due to the infirmities of age, as frequently occurrred at that period." 261

There is a photo of a coat of arms labelled "Sears of Chatham" listed for The Granary Burying-Grounds, Boston, MA with the motto 'Honor et Fides'. "596

"Just as news of Philip's demise was received, an epidemic of a virulent but unnamed sickness occurred in Yarmouth, which brought more personal suffering and grief than the whole war had done. The record is torn and some names are illegible, but the story is clear. 26 August 1676 ______ Sears was buried [Probably Richard Sears as his will was offered for probate in october of 1676]."293

"Two of the first newcomers were from the Pilgrim Leyden Congretation; Anthony Thacher, a grantee, and Richard Sears who settled in what is now East Dennis" 265

"Richard Sears, born ca. 1595 and died at Yarmouth, 5 Sept. [1676], aged 81 years 4 months (VR, 126). He may have been the Richard Serrie(s), bp. 1605 in Croscombe, Co. Somerset (NEXUS, 5:14). He married by 1637 Dorothy Jones, born ca. 1603, at Dinder, co. Somerset, England; and as 'Goody Sares' was buried 19 March 1678/9 in Yarmout (VR, 125; Sares, 14-15; TAG, 58 [1982]; NEXUS, 5:14). She was the daughter of George and Agnes (___) Jones. Called Richard Sears, the Pilgrim, he joined the Separatists at Leyden, Holland. He was taxed in Plymouth Colony in 1633; in Marblehead, Massachusetts, 1637/8; in Yarmouth, Cape Cod, in 1639; and resided on Quivet Neck, between Quivet and Sesreit Creeks. He was admitted a freeman 7 June 1653 at Plymouth (PCR, 3:31). He was a member of the Plymouth Colony Court in 1662 and a member of the Yarmouth Company (Lt. Wm. Palmer). In his will, dated 10 May 1667, he named his wife Dorothy, his younger son Silas, and his older son Paul. He gave his son-in-law Zachery Paddock a house and four acres for the life of Deborah. For the complete will, see Plymouth Colony Records, 3:2:53-54." 511

"The English home of Richard Sears has not been found but he may have come from Somerset or Wiltshire. (Ref: Savage 4:46 & Pope-406)." 458

"Sears, Richard (____ - ____) of Yarmouth. English home: Unknown, but he m. Dorothy Jones in England, called sister of Richard Jones of Dinder, Somerset. He was taxed in Plymouth in 1632." 458

Large monument in Yarmouth Ancient Cemetery visited and photographed by Barbara Fleming, August, 2001. Photos on file. One side of monument read: "Sacred to the Memory of Richard Sears son of John Bourchiere Sears and Mariel van Egmond In Lineal Descent from Richard Sears of Colchester and Ann Bourchiere Knyvet England He landed at Plymouth in 1630 Married Dorothy Thacher And Died in Yarmout In 1676."71

The 4th side of the monument is to the (now said to be) mythical son Knyvet and reads: "Sacred to the Memory of Knyvet Sears. Eldest son of Richard Sears Born in 1625. Married Elizabeth Dymoke. and Died in England. In 1686."71

Richard Sears arrived in Plymouth in 1632, then came to Essex County. He was in Marblehead by 1637 and Yarmouth by 1639.

His wife's name, fairly confidently, has been established as Dorothy Jones, who came from Dinder, Co. Somerset.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mcronin111/sears.htm states:

Sometime spelled "Sayres" or "Sayer". Richard Sears is believed to have been born in Amsterdam, Holland in 1590. We first hear of him in this country at Plymouth Mass. Where he was taxed in 1633. In 1638, he was taxed in Marblehead and in 1643 we find him at Yarmouth. He served on the Grend Jury in 1653 and in 1653 he was made a freeman. In 1662, he was a Deputy. He was married to Dorothy Thatcher in 1632. Richard and Dorothy daughter Deborah married Zeckariah Paddock, from which we get the Folger descent.
Dorothy Thatcher was born 1611 in Queen Camel, Somerset, England. Her father was Peter Thatcher, who was born about 1545 in Queen Camel and was buried May 7, 1624 at St. Barnabas, Queen Camel, Somerset, England.
Richard Sears died August 26, 1676 in Barnstable, Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He was the son of John Sears and Maria Lamoraal Van Egmond. John was the son of John Bouchier Sears and Elizabeth Hawkins. In 1585 John Bouchier Sears married Maria Lamoraal Van Egmond (born 1564) in Amsterdam, Holland.

---

Richard Sears
BIRTH 1590 England DEATH 26 Aug 1676 (aged 85–86) Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA CENOTAPH Ancient Cemetery Yarmouth Port, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA Add to Map MEMORIAL ID 48961743 · View Source

Photos added by ditdit

His origins are not known at this time, though there have been several different theories over the years. Many of these have been discredited.

Richard Sears arrived in Plymouth in 1632, then came to Essex County. He was in Marblehead by 1637 and Yarmouth by 1639.

His wife's name, fairly confidently, has been established as Dorothy Jones, who came from Dinder,Co.Somerset.

Children: Paul Sears, Deborah Sears Paddock, and Silas Sears.

(The existence of a son Knyvet is completely fictitious, though his name lives on in the 19th century cenotaph erected at the Ancient Cemetery at Yarmouth.)

It is not clear where he and his wife are buried, though they likely wre interred in the Ancient Sears Cemetery, which is located about 200 yards from his homestead. A possible location for his burial there is shown in the photo. However, it is just as possible they are at the Ancient Cemetery at Yarmouth (see the cenotaph for him and his sons Here), or even somewhere on the grounds of their homestead. For this reason, this is a legitimate "burial unknown" memorial.

The cenotaph mentioned above was erected in 19th century, and is based on an early family history that has since been debunked.

Bio by: Kevin Avery

Parents John Bourchier Sayres, 1558–1629 Marie Lamoral Egmont Sayer, 1563–1595

NOTE: --- [THIS PARENTAGE HAS BEEN PROVEN FALSE] --- CDA

Spouse Dorothy Jones Sears, 1603–1678

Children Knyvet Sears, 1635–1696 NOTE: --- [THIS SON HAS BEEN PROVEN FALSE] --- CDA Paul Sears, 1638–1708 Sylas Sears, 1639–1697 Deborah Sears Paddock, 1639–1732 Silas Sears, 1641–1697

Inscription

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF RICHARD SEARS SON OF JOHN BOURCHIER SEARS AND MARIA L VAN ECMONS IN LINEAL DESCENT FROM RICHARD SEARS OF COLCHESTER AND ANN BOURCHIER KNYVET HE LANDED AT PLYMOUTH IN 1630 MARRIED DOROTHY THACHER AND DIED IN YARMOUTH IN 1676

3 sons on the monument also SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF KNYVET SEARS ELDEST SON OF RICHARD SEARS BORN IN 1635 MARRIED ELIZABETH DYMOKE AND DIED IN ENGLAND IN 1696

• SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF PAUL SEARS SECOND SON OF RICHARD SEARS BORN IN 1637 MARRIED DEBORAH WILLARD AND DIED IN YARMOUTH IN 1707
• SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF SYLAS SEARS THIRD SON OF RICHARD SEARS BORN IN 1639 MARRIED AND DIED IN YARMOUTH IN 1697

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/48961743/richard-sears

Author: Ancestry.com Title: Web: Massachusetts, Find A Grave Index, 1620-2013 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Yates Publishing Title: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Page: Source number: 91.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: CTD Author: Ancestry.com Title: U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Ancestry.com Title: U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Page: SAR Membership Number: 86915 Author: Ancestry.com Title: American Marriages Before 1699 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1997; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Gale Research Title: Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2010; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Page: Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts; Year: 1633; Page Number: 1642 Author: Yates Publishing Title: U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2004; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com

Page: Source number: 2811.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: MSL Author: Godfrey Memorial Library, comp. Title: American Genealogical-Biographical Index (AGBI) Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1999; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Heritage Consulting Title: Millennium File Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations Inc; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2003; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Ancestry.com Title: New England, The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2013; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Ancestry.com Title: International, Find A Grave Index for Select Locations, 1300s-Current Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012; Repository: Name: Ancestry.com Author: Robert Charles Anderson Title: The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony 1620-1633 Publication: Name: Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2004.; Page: 411. Quality: 3 Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Title: Ordinance Index (TM) Repository: Name: Family History Library84150 USA Author: Robert Charles Anderson Title: The Pilgrim Migration: Immigrants to Plymouth Colony 1620-1633 Publication: Name: Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historical Genealogical Society, 2004.; Page: 411.

GEDCOM Note

1642-4 Category: Horatio Gates Somerby Fraud

Disputes

Somerby fraud

A false biography and genealogy published in 1857 claimed (floridly) that Richard Sears was the son of John Sears of Colchesterand Marie Van Egmond.<ref name=pictures>Sears, Edmund Hamilton. Pictures of the olden time: as shown in the fortunes of a family of the Pilgrims. Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 1857. Digital image at archive.org (free).</ref><ref name=pilgrim>Sears, Edmund Hamilton. "Genealogies and Biographical Sketches of the Ancestry and descendants of Richard Sears, The Pilgrim," Appendix in Pictures of the olden time: as shown in the fortunes of a family of the Pilgrims: With a Genealogy - Private Edition. Boston: Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 1857. Digital image at archive.org and Google Books (free).</ref> Evidence presented in 1886<ref name=NEHGR40>May, Samuel Pearce. "Some Doubts Concerning the Sears Pedigree." The New England Historical & Genealogical Register 40 (1886): pp. 261-7. Digital image at americanancestors.org (subscription required).</ref> and expanded in 1890<ref name=may>May, Samuel Pearce. The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888. Albany, N.Y.: Joel Munsell's Sons, 1890. Digital image at archive.org (free).</ref> proved it a near-total fabrication with too many errors to list, including:

• "Anne Bourchier Knyvet", "John Bourchier Sayer" senior and junior, "Elizabeth Hawkins", and "Marie L. van Egmond" never existed
• Richard's wife Dorothy was not a Thacher* "Knyvet Sears" and "Elizabeth Dymoke" never existed
• Paul Sears was Richard's eldest, not second son** All five sons named in Paul's will were his own, not adopted sons of "Knyvet" Researcher Samuel P. May traced the bogus accounts back to Horatio Gates Somerby, a legendary perpetrator of genealogical frauds,<ref name=reed>Reed, Paul C. "Two Somerby Frauds: or 'Placing the Wrong Flesh on the Wrong Bones.'" The American Genealogist 74 (Jan 1999): pp. 15-30 Digital image at americanancestors.org (subscription required). "The distinguishing aspect of Somerby's career must now be his fraud."</ref> who cited now-"lost" documents provided by the Hon. David Sears of Boston.<ref name=NEHGR40/><ref name=may/> It is worthyof note that by inventing "Knyvet" and transforming Paul's youngest son Daniel into "Knyvet's eldest", the entire "Chatham branch" of the American Sears family (from which David descended) became elevated to first place in the line of primogeniture—heirs to significant imaginary fortunes and invented noble titles.

"The result of my researches proves beyond question that not one step of the pedigree can be substantiated by records, and on the contrary some portions are impossible, and others in conflict with known authorities."I have been desired to give the facts publicity, in order that the pedigree may no longer be copied, and quoted as authority, as has been done in numerous local histories and family genealogies, and in the hope that, attention being drawn to the subject, renewed searches may discover the true origin of Richard Sares of Yarmouth. Want of space forbids my alluding to many errors, and I will therefore only refer to those most vital to the pedigree, as printed in 'Pictures of the Olden Time,' etc., ed. 1857, Crosby, Nichols & Co., Boston."<ref name=NEHGR40/><ref name=may/> (emphasis in original)

No Worden daughter

Peter Worden's wife Mary is sometimes called Sears, without evidence. Peter's name appears in Richard's willsolely as a neighbor, to describe the boundary of lands Richard bequeathed to his son Silas.<ref name=may/>

Biography

Richard Sears was born about 1595, based on his age at death.<ref name=GMB>Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volume 3, P-W. Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1995, pp. 1642-4. Digital image at americanancestors.org (subscription required).</ref> There is no evidence he came from Amsterdam.<ref name=may/>
Early in the 19th century the name Sears was pronounced by the family as Say-ers, thus leading to confusion about how it was spelled. He appeared in the records sometimes as Seeres, Seer, Saeres, Sares. There is no evidence he came to Plymouth in 1630 nor had any connection to the migrants from Leyden. "Richard Seer" is first seen in Plymouth Colony records in the tax list of 25 Mar 1633, when he was 44, in a list of 86 persons assessed 9 shillings in corn, at 6 shillings per bushel, upon one poll. He does not appear in the 1634 tax list or the 1633 list of freemen.<ref name=GMB/> He was in Marblehead (then part of Salem) in 1637, and in 1639 is in Yarmouth as one its founders. In 1643 he is shown in the list of Yarmouth citizens "liable to bear arms". 26 Oct 1647 commissioners on Indian Affairs were appointed to meet at the house of Richard Sares of Yarmouth when he entered a complaint against Nepoytam Sachumus, and Felix, Indians. 2 Oct 1650 with 16 others he reported William Nickerson for slander, with damages set at 100 pounds; and with 17 others John Crow, William Nickerson and Lt William Palmer for trespass, with damages set at 60 pounds. He was made freeman in 1652 and on 7 Jun 1652 was chosen Grand Juryman. On 6 Jun 1660 he was chosen constable, and on 2 Jun 1662 was chosen Representative to the General Court in Plymouth. 23 Nov 1664 Richard Sares, husbandman, bought from Allis Bradford (who signed the deed with her mark) a tract of land at "Sasuet" for 20 pounds.<ref>Plymouth Colony Records of Deeds, Vol 3, Part 1, p. 18.</ref><ref name=GMB/> Consistent with his modest origins, he was referred to as "goodman Seares", never the title "Mr."<ref name=may/> Richard died 5 Sep 1676 in Yarmouth, "age 81y 4m,"<ref name=yarmouth>Yarmouth Vital Records</ref><ref name=GMB/> (May gives a burial 26 Apr 1676.)<ref name=may/> He is not buried at Yarmouth Ancient Cemetery; a monument to him there contains a mixture of true and false information:

SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF RICHARD SEARS SON OF JOHN BOURCHIER SEARS AND MARIA L VAN ECMONS IN LINEAL DESCENT FROM RICHARD SEARS OF COLCHESTER AND ANN BOURCHIER KNYVET HE LANDED AT PLYMOUTH IN 1630 MARRIED DOROTHY THACHER AND DIED IN YARMOUTH IN 1676

Family

Richard Sears married Dorothy Jones, daughter of George and Agnes (__) Jones of Dinder, Somerset, England.<ref name=hyde>Hyde, Myrtle Stevens. "Jones - Thacher - Sears: England and Massachusetts." The American Genealogist 58 (1982):pp. 244-6. Digital image at americanancestors.org (subscription required).</ref> "Cady [Goody] Seares" was buried 19 Mar 1678/9 at Yarmouth.<ref name=yarmouth/><ref name=GMB/> Children:# Paul, b. abt 1637; d. Yarmouth 20 Feb 1707/8 (per gravestone); m by 1659 Deborah, said to be dau of George Willard.# Deborah, b. abt 1639; d. Yarmouth 17 Aug 1732<ref name=yarmouth/>; m by 1661 Zachariah Paddock# Silas, b. abt 1641; m. by about 1665 Anna, probably daughter of James Bursell of Yarmouth.<ref>PCR 5:212</ref>

Will

Richard Sears left a will on 10 Mar 1667, adding a codicil on 3 Feb 1676, proved 5 Mar 1675/6. Both documents are signed with his "RS" mark,and the inventory was taken 8 Oct 1676, presented to court 15 Nov 1676.<ref>Plymouth Colony Records, Book 3, Part 2, pp. 53-5.</ref><ref>Original copy of his will image 215 of 291, Plymouth Wills, Inventories,Etc, 1637-1685 Ancestry(subscription needed or visit your public library that may be subscribing or your FHL) </ref><ref name=may/> Bequests included:

• "Sylas Sares my younger son"
• "my son-in-law Zachery Paddock" and "Deborah his now wife"
• "my elder son Paule Sares"
• "Dorothy my wife"* "my brother Thacher" (Anthony, husband of Dorothy's sister Elizabeth)<ref name=hyde/>
• "Ichabod Paddock, son of Zachary"

Richard SEARS was born about 1590 in Amsterdam.

Richard died 26 Aug 1676 in Yarmouth, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay.

Children:

• Knyvet Sears (1635 - 1696) (fictitious)
• Sylas Sears (1639 - 1697)

Richard was born about 1590. He passed away about 1676.

See also:

• Brainerd, Dwight, and Donald Lines Jacobus. Ancestry of Thomas Chalmers Brainerd. Montreal: [s.n.], 1948, pp. 257-8.
• Richard Sears, Pilgrim (Wikipedia)* Cutter, William Richard. Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1911) Vol. 1, Page 244* https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/39540279/person/19...
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 13 January 2019), memorial page for Richard Sears (1590–26 Aug 1676), 48961743, citing Ancient Cemetery, Yarmouth Port, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by ditdit (contributor 47012745).
• Place: Plymouth, Massachusetts; Year: 1633; Page Number: 1642.Title: U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s1900s.Author:Ancestry.com*Swift, Charles F. '""History of Old Yarmouth" Published by the Author, Yarmouth Port. 1884. p. 59.see at archive.org
• May, Samuel P. "The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass. 1638 - 1888" Joel Munsell's Sons, publishers, Albany, N. Y. 1890.see at archive.org

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=65493772&pid...

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