Friday, May 15, 2020

52 Ancestors - Week 330: #541 Elizabeth (Smith) Peirce (1674-1747) of Waltham, Massachusetts

Elizabeth Smith (1674-1747)  is number 541 on my Ahnentafel List, my 7th great-grandmother, who married #540 John Peirce (1673-1744) in 1702 in Watertown, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

I am descended through:

*  their son #270 Samuel Peirce (1712-1772) who married #271 Abigail Stearns (1715-1796) in 1739.
*  their daughter #135 Abigail Peirce (1750-1776) who married  #134 Jeremiah Knowlton (1745-1785)  in 1771.
*  their daughter #67 Abigail Knowlton (1774-1855) who married #66 Nathan Gates (1767-1830)  in 1790.
*  their daughter, #33 Abigail Gates (1797-1867) who married  #32 Benjamin Seaver (1791-1825)  in 1817.
*  their son #16 Isaac Seaver (1823-1901) who married #17 Lucretia Townsend Smith (1828-1884) in 1851.
*  their son #8 Frank Walton Seaver (1852-1922) who married #9 Hattie Louisa Hildreth (1857-1920) in 1874.
*  their son #4 Frederick Walton Seaver (1876-1942) who married #5 Alma Bessie Richmond (1882-1962) in 1900.
*  their son #2 Frederick Walton Seaver (1911-1983) who married #3 Betty Virginia Carringer (1919-2002)  in 1942.
*  their son #1 Randall Jeffrey Seaver (1943-living)

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1)  PERSON (with source citations as indicated in brackets):
 

*  Name:                            Elizabeth Smith[1–3]    
*  Alternate Name:            Elizabeth Peirce[4-5]

*  Sex:                               Female    

*  Father:                          Daniel Smith (1642-1681)    
*  Mother:                        Mary Grant (1647-1700)  

2)  INDIVIDUAL EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Birth:                            15 January 1673/4, Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1–2]    

*  Distribution:                 21 May 1744 (age 70) husband's will proved; Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[5]    

*  Death:                          20 September 1747 (age 73), Waltham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[2,4]  

3)  SHARED EVENTS (with source citations as indicated in brackets):

*  Spouse 1.                  John Peirce (1673-1744)    
*  Marriage 1;               5 November 1702 (age 28), Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States[1-3]    

*  Child 1                     John Peirce (1703-1774)    
*  Child 2                     Jonas Peirce (1705-1776)    
*  Child 3                     Ezekiel Peirce (1709-????)    
*  Child 4                     Samuel Peirce (1712-1772)    
*  Child 5                     Elizabeth Peirce (1716-1743)    
*  Child 6                     Daniel Peirce (1719-????)    
*  Child 7                     Jonathan Peirce (1724-????)  

4)  NOTES (with source citations as indicated in brackets):  

Elizabeth Smith was born 15 January 1673/4 in Watertown, Massachusetts, the fourth child and second daughter of Daniel and Mary (Grant) Smith of Watertown[1-2].  The Daniel Smith family of Watertown is briefly mentioned in Henry Bond's Watertown book[1], and Elizabeth's birth is also mentioned in the John Peirce sketch in the same book[2].

Her father died in 1681, and her mother died after 1700.  

Elizabeth married John Peirce (1673-1744) on 5 November 1702 in Watertown at age 28[1-3]. He was the son of Joseph and Martha (--?--) Peirce. They had seven children, all recorded in the Watertown town birth records:

*  John Peirce (1703-1774), married 1728 Rebecca Fenno (1697-1783).
*  Jonas Peirce (1705-1776), married 1727 Abigail Comee (1707-1749).
*  Ezekiel Peirce (1709-????), married 1731 Mercy Wellington (1711-????).
*  Samuel Peirce (1712-1772), married 1739 Abigail Stearns (1715-1796).
*  Elizabeth Peirce (1716-before 1743)
*  Daniel Peirce (1719-????), married 1752 Martha Godding (1732-????).
*  Jonathan Peirce (1724-????), married 1745 Abigail Blanchard (1726-1764).

After their marriage, they settled in Waltham on his father's land, which was initially in the town of Watertown[2].

John Perice wrote his will on 29 November 1743, and died on 26 April 1744 in Waltham.  He bequeathed to his wife[5]:
"Imprimis  I give and Bequeath to Elizabeth my Dearly beloved wife whom I also Constitute make and Ordain my Sole Executrix of this my last will and Testament All my Personal Estate, and the Sole Improvement of all my Real Estate During her natural life."
The will was proved on 21 May 1744, and she posted a bond of 200 pounds on that date with Samuel Peirce, a brother of her husband[5].

Elizabeth (Smith) Peirce died at age 73 on 20 September 1747 in Waltham, Massachusetts[4].  There are no burial or probate records for her.
 
5.  SOURCES


1. Henry Bond, M.D.,  Family Memorials: Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts (Boston, Mass. : Little, Brown & Co., 1860), page 439, Daniel Smith family sketch.

2. Henry Bond, M.D., Family Memorials: Genealogies of the Families and Descendants of the Early Settlers of Watertown, Massachusetts, Volume 2, page 17, John Peirce family sketch.

3. "Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988," indexed database and digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com), Watertown, "Births, Marriages, Deaths," page 16 (image 191 of 3991), John Peirce and Elizabeth Smith Marriage record, 1702.

4. Vital records of Waltham, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Boston, Mass. : New-England Historic Genealogical Society, 1904), Deaths, page 282, Elizabeth Peirce death entry, 20 Sept 1747.

5. "Middlesex County, MA: Probate Papers, 1648-1871," digital image, American Ancestors (http://www.AmericanAncestors.org : accessed, 7 May 2020), Packet 17496 (8 images), estate of John Peirce, 1744.

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NOTE:  In 2014, Amy Johnson Crow suggested a weekly blog theme of "52 Ancestors" in her blog post  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks on the No Story Too Small blog.  I have extended this theme in 2020 for a seventh year to 364 Ancestors in 364 Weeks.  The list of 52 Ancestors biographies from my great-grandparents to the 7th great-grandparents (in work) is in   https://www.geneamusings.com/p/ancestor-biographies.html.


Copyright (c) 2020, Randall J. Seaver

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