William Pierce, of Mulberry Island

William Pierce

• died after 1655
• Not the same as Capt. William Pierce, "the Mariner"
• perhaps the grandfather of Colonel William Pierce, of Cople Parish
• probably related to Thomas Pierce - his uncle ?

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There were seven Pierce (Peirce) families who came to the American Colonies. Some settled in New England, some in Virginia, and some made their way to Texas. Capt William Pierce (born say 1580, died after 1655) sailed with Governor Gates from England in 1609 on the Sea Venture; was captain of the Fort at Jamestown; and was for many years one of the Council of State.

Jone Pierce, his wife, and their children : William, Jone, and Thomas, came to Virginia in 1609 on the Blessing. Jone also brought with her a young niece [SIC: kin, relationship unclear] Cicilly Reynolds, age 10 probably to help care for the younger children.

Capt. Pierce had a home in James City and a plantation on "Mulberry Island."

Children

List in progress March 2018

From http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/pierce/6608/

1. William PIERCE was born Abt 1603, and died before 1609. ?
2. Jane (Joan) PIERCE was born 1605. She married John ROLFE 1619 in James City, Virginia, son of John ROLFE and Dorothea MASON. He was born 6 MAY 1585 in Heacham, Norfolk, England, and died 22 MAR 1621 in James City, Virginia.
3. Thomas PIERCE was born Abt 1607. He was NOT the Thomas Pierce who and died 22 MAR 1622 in Henrico

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disambiguation

From The Great Migration Begins

Frederick Clifton Pierce, whose genealogical conclusions are generally of little value, has further muddied the water by claiming that Mr. William Pierce of Ratcliffe and Boston was the same as Captain William Pierce of James City, Virginia [Pierce Genealogy No. IV, Being the Record of the Posterity of Capt. Michael, John and Capt. William Pierce, Who Came to This Country From England (Albany 1889), p. 14]. This William Pierce had wife Jane, which is the origin of the misconception that the Boston William Pierce had a wife of that name. Examination of a modern account of Captain William Pierce of Virginia demonstrates conclusively that he was quite a different man from the shipmaster of New England [Virginia M. Meyer and John Frederick Dorman, eds., Adventurers of Purse and Person, 3rd ed. (Richmond, Virginia, 1987), pp. 475-78].

Biography

https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=thamm&id...

From William and Mary Quarterly, Vol XXIV, pg 195.

CAPT. WILLIAM1 PIERCE came to Virginia in the Sea Venture in 1610 with Sir Thomas Gates and his wife, Mrs. Jane Pierce, in the Blessing. He was captain of the guard at Jamestown in 1617. His daughter Jane was third wife of John Rolfe. His house, a wooden building at Jamestown, was in 1624 "the fairest in all Virginia". He had a fine garden in which he raised abundance of figs and other vegetables. George Sandys had a room in his house in which he wrote poetry and raised silkworms. In 1618 he patented 650 acres at Mulberry Island, to which he removed and had a house there, as shown by a land grant for 2,100 acres in 1643. In 1632, he stood sixth in the Council of Sir John Harvey, and in 1646, "Capt. William Pierce, Esq.", was second in standing.
Mr. William2 Pierce, who patented lands in Northumberland, was doubtless his son. [? Grandson?] He was a major and justice of Westmoreland county. He married Sarah Underwood, daughter-in-law of Capt. John Upton, of Isle of Wight county. His will, dated February 23, 1701, was proved in Westmoreland county in 1702. It names grandson William, son of son John Pierce, grandson Samuel Bayley; daughters Elizabeth Bridges, Margaret Graham and Mary Rowsy; devisees Pierce and Stanly Gower

Historical and Genealogical Notes. William and Mary College Quarterly Historical Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 4. (Apr., 1901), pp. 268-272.

From http://www.munsons-of-texas.net/c8.html

By 1624, Captain William Peirce had built a house near Jamestown described by a contemporary as "one of the fairest in Virginia." A wealthy, influential planter and merchant who had arrived in Virginia in 1610, Peirce also owned a store in Jamestown.

A "beloved friend" of Governor Francis Wyatt, Captain Peirce was the colony's cape merchant and also served as lieutenant governor and commander of Jamestown Island. He was responsible for the island's two blockhouses and appointed captain of governor's guard. A member of the Council from 1632 to 1643, Peirce was amongst those who thrust Governor John Harvey from office.

Captain John Smith would praise Peirce's wife Joan, describing her as "an honest and industrious woman" who maintained "a garden at Jamestown containing 3 or 4 acres." The Peirces' daughter, named Jane, would marry John Rolfe, the widower of Pocahontas, in 1617.

In August 1619, Captain Peirce and John Rolfe ventured to Old Point Comfort to meet the Treasurer and the White Lion, aboard which were the first Africans recorded to have arrived in Virginia.

In 1606 King James I of England granted a charter to the London Company for settlement and development of the territory of Virginia (extending from present day Pennsylvania to South Carolina) in the new world of America. The London Company was a business with plans to make money by establishing a trading post and searching for gold and silver. In 1607, after five months at sea, the 104 original settlers 120 set out from England and sixteen died at sea sighted land near Chesapeake Bay and sailed thirty-two miles up the James River to a site which they named Jamestown.

These early settlers were not prepared for life in the wilderness, and many of them died of hunger, malaria, and lack of shelter, or were killed by the Indians. The colony barely survived the "starving time" during the first two winters under the leadership of John Smith, who returned to England in 1609. In 1610 the colonists abandoned the colony and boarded ships to return to England, but at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay they met the ships of Lord Delaware bringing supplies and new colonists, and all returned to Jamestown under the leadership of John Rolfe.

In 1612 the colonists began the profitable raising of tobacco. In 1614 John Rolfe married Pocahontas, the daughter of the powerful Indian chief Powhatan, and the struggling colony enjoyed peace with the Indians until Powhatan died in 1618. In 1619 the first black slaves were introduced to work the tobacco farms, and in that year the Virginia House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in the new world, was established. The thriving colonists established plantations inland on both sides of the James River, and in 1622 a severe Indian raid killed about 350 colonists. Famine and disease further reduced the population to about 1,200 persons. The Munsons' ancestors William Pierce, his wife Jane, and their children were among the survivors.

Bits of information show one or several Pierces or Pearces joining the earliest settlements at Jamestown [2]. In 1607 or 1609 a William Pierce arrived in Virginia, coming across the sea with Sir Thomas Gates on the ship Sea Venture. His wife, Mrs. Jone [Jane] Pierce, followed in the Blessing. In 1619 a land patent was granted to "Master Pierce who has undertaken to transport to Virginia great multitudes of people with store of Cattle". A letter dated April 11, 1623, describes Lieutenant Pearce as "the fairest in Virginia", and a document dated May 29, 1623, names Lieutenant Pierce as "governor of James Town". In 1623 and 1624 Captain William Pierce and wife Jane were living at James Town. In 1620, Jane, the daughter of Captain William Pierce, married John Rolfe as his third wife. William Pierce and John Rolfe owned lands on Mulberry Island in the James River, and William Pierce was one of the most prominent men of the Colony. In 1629 Mrs. Pierce visited England after spending twenty years in America. This indicates her arrival date to be 1609.

J. C. Hotten's List of Emigrants to America reports that on January 24, 1624, William Pearce owned a plantation on Mulberry Island with thirteen servants. He was a member of the "Council" (i.e. of James City County) in 1631. And further, Hotten records that "Captain William Peerce patented 200 acres of land nere Mulbery Island in the corporation of James Cittie in 1636", and that on August 1, 1635, "Steeven Pierce, aged 30, was licensed to go beyond the seas on the ship Elizabeth of London with Christopher Browne, Master".

From http://eradcliffe.tripod.com/thigpen.html

in the muster of inhabitants James Cittye 1624 (after the Indian Massacre), The Muster of Capt. William Pierce: Capt. William Pierce - came in the"Sea Venture" Mrs. Jone Pierce, his wife - came in the "Blessing" Servants Thomas Smith, age 17, in the Abigail; Henry Bradford age 35, in the Abigail; Ester Ederife (a maid servant) in the Jonathan; Angelo, (a Negro woman)
The rest of the servants, provisions, armes, munitions, etc. att Mulberry Island. (Hotten) The Muster of Capt. William Peirce's Servants at Mulberrie Island 25 January, 1624: Richard Atkins, 24, came in the London Marchant; Abigail, his wife came in the Abigail; William Baker, 20, came in the Abigail; Hugh Wing, 30, and Robert Lathom, 20, came in the George, 1620; Richard Aldon, 19,and Thomas Wood, 35, in the George, 1620; Roger Ruce came in the Charles; Alexander Gill, 20, in the Bony Bess; Samuel Morris, 20, in the Abigail; Thomas Rose, 35, in the Jonathan; Robert Hedges, aged 40 yeres; John Virgo and Susan his wife, came in the Treasurer; John Gattes came in the George, 1620; William Richardson in the Edwine; Richard Fine in the Neptune; John Nowell in the Margaret & John; Richard Downes in the Jonathan; John Cranich, in the Marygold; Percival Wood, in the George, and Ann Wood his wife on same shipp; William Raymont came in the Neptune; William Bullock came in the Jonathan.

Notes

Boddie, Colonial Surry, p51, states that "Captain Pierce's final end is not known." He was living on Mulberry Island in Warwich County as late as 21 Jan 1655. Warwick Co. Wills, Book I, p116. Unfortunately, the Warwick Co. records after that date have been destroyed.

Boddie, Colonial Surry, p50, says that wife Joan Pierce came to VA on the "Blessing" quote; in 1610. She was listed as a survivor in the muster taken after the 1622 Indian massacre. Cf. Hotten, Lists of Emigrants to America - 1600 - 1700, p224. She was also with Captain Pierce on a mission to London in 1629. She died shortly afterward in 1630. Boddie, Colonial Surry, p50.

Boddie, Colonial Surry, p60 refers to Captain Pierce's son "Thomas Pierce, and his grandson William Pierce (IV) living on Mulberry Island with him 21 Jan 1655. Thomas Pierce also had a daughter Jane (II)

References

Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Nov 23 2016, 19:52:53 UTC
Pierce, Planter Captain William William Pierce328 was born 1560 in Heacham, Norfolk, England328, and died Mar 22, 1622 in Martins Hundred, Isle Of Wight, Virginia, USA328. He married Jane Phippen.

Children of William Pierce and Jane Phippen are:

1. +Alice Elizabeth Pierce, b. 1600, Heacham, Norfolk, England328, 328, 328, d. 1647, Isle Wight, Virginia, USA Birth: 1580 Heacham Norfolk, England Death: 1656 Henrico County Virginia, USA

William Pierce was born in 1580 in Heacham, Norfolk, England. He was the son of William Pierce (aft 1563-1622). Don't know the name of his mother at this time.

William married Joan Phippen (1580-1650) in the year 1600. They were both 20 years of age. Joan was the daughter of William Phippen (1551-1596) and Jane Jordaine Phippen (1551-1612).

William and Joan Pierce were the parents of 4 known children: Alice, Jane, William and Thomas Pierce.

Capt. William Pierce died in 1656 in Mulberry Island,,Virginia,USA. Burial: Non-Cemetery Burial

Famous People related to William Pierce BETA

Hillary Rodham Clinton(1947-) First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton is the wife of former President Bill Clinton. Relationship: 10th Great Granddaughter

Sources

• Pierce in Colonial Surry By John Bennett Boddie
• page 52 of Southside Virginia Families, Volume 1 By John Bennett Boddie. 1641 will of Anthony Barham, gent., of Mulberry Island, Virginia. "To Mrs Joan Pierce wife of Mr William Pierce"
• Nugent, Nell Marion, (1934) Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800, 1st ed. Richmond: Dietz Print Co., Archive.org (Page xxx). link

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Links

• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pierce-336#Children
• https://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=thamm&id...

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Biography Origin William Piece is assumed to have been born c. 1560 at Heacham, Norfolk, England, a son of William Pierce and Elizabeth Pierce (no evidence, source unknown).[citation needed]

Birth date is an estimate, based on other known historical dates.

Immigration William arrived on the flagship, Sea Venture (also called the Seaventure or Sea Adventure), with Captain Christopher Newport.[2] He was one of the Ancient Planters.[3]

His wife sailed on The Blessing with Captain Gabriel Archer and Captain Adams - Archer died the winter of 1609.[4]

The Muster of Captain William Pierce, 25 January 1624[5] The Captain's household was split between his home at James Citty and his plantation at Mulberry Island.[2]

James Citty was as follows: Captain William Pierce came in "Sea-venture." Mrs. Jane Pierce, his wife, in the "Blessings." Servants. Thomas Smith, 17 years, in the "Abigail." Henry Bradford, 35 years, in the "Abigail." Esther Ederife, a maid-servant, in the " Jonathan." Angelo, a negro woman, in the "Treasurer." The rest of Captain William's servants, provisions, armes, munition, etc., were at Mulberry Island:

The Muster of the inhabitants at Mulberry Island, Virginia, 25 January 1624[5] The Muster Of Captain William Pierce's Servants. Richard Attkins. 24, came in "London Marchamst." Abigail, his wife, came in " Abigaill." William Barker, 20, came in "Abigaill." Robert Ashton, 29, came in the " Treasurer." Hugh Wing, 30, came in "George," 1620. Robert Lathoun, 20, came in "George," 1620. Richard Aldon, 19, came in "George," 1620. Thomas Wood, 30, came in " George," 1620. Roger Ruce, came in "Charles." Alexander Gill, 20, came in "Bonny Bess." Samuel Morris, 20, came in "Abigaill." Thomas Rose, 35, came in "Jonathan." Robert Hedges, 40, came in the ___. John Virgo, came in "Treasurer." Susan, his wife, in the same ship. John Gatter, came in "George," 1620. William Richardson, came in "Edwine." Richard Fine, came in "Neptune." John Nowell, came in "Margaret and Jane." Richard Downes, came in "Jonathan." John Cranich, came in "Marygold." Percevall Wood, came in "George." Ann, his wife, came in "George." William Raymont, came in "Neptune." William Bullock, came in "Jonathan." Anthony Baram, came in "Abigail." Elizabeth, his wife, came in "William and Thomas." Thomas Harwood, came in "Margaret and Jane," 1622. Grace, his wife, came in "George." Thomas Read, 65 years. Virginia Land Patents County: James City[5] Sponsor: Capt. WILLIAM PEIRCE, Esq. & Council of State; Ancient Planter, Mulberry Island, VA Date: 1635 Immigrants: William Sheers, Elianor Pooly, Thomas Colmer, Marke Avery, Jon. Magson, Jon. Snellocke, Domnick Lumbrey Grant: James River, S, Bakers Neck. At Bakers Neck butting upon James River Beginning at a point S. of the plantation of Thomas Harwood At Queene hive S. upon the great River unto Capt. Peirce his Creek unto a cedar tree somewhat from the bridge etc. down Harwoods Creek etc. Due for trans Date: 1 Mar 1635 Grant: Lawnes Creek; Neck of land conteyning 50 in Lawnes Creek towards Hogg Is. Creek adjacent land of William Spencer. Witnesses: Georg Lobb & John Hassord. Date: 22 Jun 1635 Grant: Lawnes Creek Immigrants: Mary Peefe, Barbary Tanner, Tho. Dawson, James Harrison, Rich. Burthen, William Tompson, Edwd. Cockshott, Tho. Rolfe, Jam. Eustis, Margt. Smally, Jon. Pawly, William Allin, Ja. Legat, Edwd. Hamer, Niccodemus White, Christ. Adkins, Ja. Smalledge, William Short, William Edwards, Greg. Wells, Alice Lawson, Hen. Harrison, William Weekes, Robt. Brittaine, Rich. Webber, Benj. Dodson, Jon. Newman, Jon. Browning, Geo. Eagle, Jon. Heath, Tho. Johnson, Jon. Sparks, Jon. Lowe, Peeter Willoughby, Edwd. Wilford, Math. Martledon, Alice King, Eliz. Adams, Ann Drawter, John Bayant. Property and Positions William Pierce was appointed, in May 1623, as Captain of the Guard and first lieutenant governor, then commander of James City (Jamestowne).[6][7] On 23 July 1623, he led an attack on the Chickahominy Tribe "with no small slaughter," and again in 1627.[7] Pierce was one of those who opposed Gov. Harvey, but he was later exonerated; his confiscated property was returned.[7] He was ordered back to England, but because of the English Civil War, never made the trip. He was again in attendance at Council in in 1639 and last in February 1644/5.[7] Death and Legacy William Pierce apparently died sometime after his last session at Council in February 1644/5.[7] Children Children of William and Jone (probably incomplete):[7] Jane Pierce, b c. 1600; m (his 3rd) Thomas Rolfe Others include the following (without evidence, no source)[citation needed]

William Pierce, b 1573 Thomas Pierce, b 1590 William Pierce, b 1603 Edith Pierce, b 1607 Research Notes William Pierce 1550 - 1622, Birth: 1550 Dorset, England Marriage: Marguerite Pierce (born Coney) 1561 Norwich, Norfolk, England Wife: Marguerite Pierce (born Coney) 1550 - 1572 Wife: Marguerite Pearce (born Coney) 1568 - 1646 Death: Mar 22 1622 Martins Hundred, Isle of Wight, Virginia, United States Son: William Pierce, Sr. 1560 - 1622 [8]

CAPTAIN WILLIAM PEIRCE, the emigrant ancestor of the Westmoreland County, Virginia, family, d. in 1651; came to America with Sir Thomas GATES in the ship Sea Venture, in 1609; his wife Jane (surname not given) came in the Blessing, in 1610; in 1642 it was said of his home in Jamestown, that it was the “fairest in all Virginia;” Captain PEIRCE was one of the leading men of Virginia; Councillor, 1631-1648; in 1631 he was sixth in the Council of Sir John HARVEY and in 1646, Capt. William Pierce, Esquire, was second in standing in the Council; in 1623 was commissioned Lieutenant by Governor WYATT to go against the Indians; was Captain of the Governor's Guard in 1617; was a Member of the House of Burgesses from the incorporation of James City, besides filling many other important positions of responsibility [p.187] and honor. His daughter Jane, b. 1620, was John ROLFE'S third wife.[9] Sources ↑ The Great Migration and The Great Migration Begins, 1620-1635 (Great Migration Begins, Vol 3, P-W; Page 1477; database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, Volumes 1-3; Boston: New England Historical and Genealogical Society, 1996-2011. amb 16:05, 10 November 2018 (UTC) ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hotten, John Camden, (1874) The Original Lists of Persons of Quality; Emigrants; Religious Exiles ... London: Hotten, Archive.org (Pages 224, 240). ↑ Nugent, Nell Marion, (1934) Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1800, 1st ed. Richmond: Dietz Print Co., Archive.org (Page xxx). ↑ Seaventure ↑ Nugent: Virginia Land Patents; (database online), accessed 10 November 2018, amb ↑ William Peirce (Perse), accessed 2014-05-15, amb ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, (1915) Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, Volume I-II. New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Archive.org (Vol 1, Pages 100-101). ↑ MyHeritage ↑ Colonial Families of the United States of America: Volume 6; ISSUE; page 187; added 2015-05-15, rl See also:

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