Re: Richard Pearse

Disconnected as son of Richard Percy, of Pearse Hall - a place that did not exist

Are there other Pearse/Pearce/Pierce/Perce/Percys that need to be looked at on GENI?

Check the Magic pdf you found, I think they listed 7 Pierce arrivers to the US. Find their profiles !

Based on the debunking essay by Michael D. Pierce (https://rkkeyes.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/captain-michael-pierce-...) there are seven profiles on GENI that need to be corrected:
1. Capt. Michael Pierce
2. Richard Pearce, of Portsmouth
3. John ‘the cooper’ Pearce
4. William Pearce
5. Robert PIERCE
6. Ephraim Pierce
7. Ephraim Pierce, II

An eighth profile, that of Deacon Mial Pierce appears to be correct.

Thanks for fixing these!
John

Done. That went fast - the power of collaboration

The parents of Richard Pearce of Rhode Island are a big mystery so I acually think that this Richard Pearse b. 1553 is completely made up.

Looking at the son we find the following that I've compiled from various sources over the years.

Richard Pearce
Born 1615 – England

Died 22 April 1677, Portsmouth Rhode Island

Married Susannah Wright.

“In the "Pearce Genealogy," by Col. Frederick C. Pierce, which was published in 1888 and relates chiefly to Richard Pearce of Portsmouth R.I, and his descendants, it is stated that Richard Pearce's father was of Bristol, England, and that Richard himself was born in England in 1615, was at Portsmouth, R. I. as early as 1654, and married in Portsmouth, in 1642, Susannah Wright, who was born in 1620. Susannah Wright is said to have been the daughter of George Wright of Newport, R. L, who was probably at Salem, Mass., 1637, and at Newport in 1648. (Pearce Genealogy, pp. 37, 38.).

“Without considering here the question whether the English home and the date of birth of Richard Pearce are given correctly in the "Pearce Genealogy," there is no doubt that the maiden name of Richard Pearce's wife was Susanna Wright; but she was the daughter not of George Wright of Newport but of John Wright of Waltham Abbey, co. Essex, England, yeoman, as the entry in the "Aspinwall Notarial Records" proves.”

The entry in the Aspinwall Notarial Records, published Boston, 1903, pp. 85-86:

"Richard Pierce of Prudence Island in the Narrowgansett Bay did acknowledge the receite of twenty pounds of Elizabeth Dell Executrix of the last will & Testament of Ralph Dell of Bow in Middlesex due as a Legacie unto his wife Susanna daughter of John Wrighte of Walton [Waltham] Abbey parish in Essex yeoman: & doth acquitt & discharge the said Elisabeth of the said Legacie & every part thereof. Signed & sealed the 14 (7) before me the Not. publ. 1647."

Thus, it appears certain that Richard Peirce/Pierce/Pearce and his wife Susannah, related to the Dells of Middlesex, were in America as early as 1647.

The above from : Benjamin Franklin Wilbour, "Parentage of Susanna Wright, wife of Richard Pearce of Portsmouth, R. I.," New Eng. Hist. Gen. Reg., 84 (1930): 427-433

There are numerous land records for Richard Pearce beginning in 1654, and perhaps earlier, though that is the earliest I have.

He left a will, named children, etc. All pretty much standard. So much for Richard Pearce in America.

Turning to the problem of his origins. The book "Pearce Genealogy," by Col. Frederick C. Pierce, mentioned above, which was published in 1888, has a whole fanciful genealogy that is repeated ad nauseum by endless Pearce/Pierce/Peirce descendants. (My own line comes from one who chose and stuck with the Pearce spelling). Col. Pierce’s fancy takes Richard’s family from Bristol back to “Pearce Hall” in Yorkshire through a string of obvious “placeholder” ancestors to Peter Percy son of Ralph Percy, son of the Earl of Northumberland, Bosworth Field and all that.

The problem is: none of it has a shred of evidence and the dates don’t even fit nor has there ever been, as far as I can tell, a “Pearce Hall” in Yorkshire. It’s a load of horse-hockey.

However, with Mr. Wilbour’s information linking Susannah Wright, wife of Richard Pearce, to Ralph and Elizabeth Dell of Bow in Middlesex, we find:

FROM PROBATE RECORDS

(Ralph Dell born 1575):
The Will of RALPH DELL of Bow in Middlesex, citizen and cloth worker [date not given in abstract].
• To Ralph Dell and John Dell, sons of my brother John Dell. To George Dell and Elisabeth Dell, children of my brother John.
• To sister Mary Dell.
• To cousin Ann Barolers, wife of Richard of Harksey.*
• To sisters Ellen, Elisabeth, and Joan.
• To cousin Bull. (1636 Bazzell Bull and Jane Wright 1 September.)
• I give and bequeath unto and among the children of John Wright the sum of 100 pounds.
• To cousin Whiting’s wife.
• To my wife, Elisabeth Dell.
Proved in 1646. (P.C.C., Twisse, 184.) (71 yrs old)

*Cf. the will of George Dell of Boston mariner, dated 3 Nov. 1653 (Register, Vol 5 p 442), in which the testator names his brother Mr. Richard Barachew, Living at Hackney near London and his brother Ralph Dell. Perhaps Richard Barolers of Harcksey may be identical with Richard Barachew of Hackney, the names in one will or the other having been difficult to decipher. (This George Dell appears to be the nephew of Ralph Dell, brother to Ralph, sons of John Dell.)

Ralph Dell stated "I haueing no child" and the bequest to the Children of John Wright was later in the will than those to his brothers and sisters. However, I looked at "London Marriage Licences", edited by Joseph Foster, London, 1887 which you can access free on Google Books, and found the following:

"John Wright, of Waltham Abbey, co. Essex, yeoman, and Mary Dell, spinster, daughter of John Dell, of same, yeoman - at St. Mary Axe, London, 17 Apr 1624. Bishop of London's Office."

Also, "John Wright, of Waltham Abbey, co. Essex, yeoman, and Mary Dell - at Waltham Abbey, aforesaid, 19 Apr 1624. Bishop of London's Office."

It's difficult to understand why he would leave a bequest to his sister Mary Dell and then leave a bequest to the children of John Wright, if John and Mary Dell were married in 1624 and her name would no longer have been Dell, but Wright.

It is also difficult to understand why he would leave a bequest to the children of John Wright if they were NOT related to him, as in being the children of his sister.

The only solution that makes sense is that the sentence leaving a bequest to his sister was written before she died and the sentence leaving a bequest to her children by John Wright was written after her death. People didn't always completely re-write wills in those days, they just added the changes.

Note his bequest to his wife, Elizabeth Dell who was the one who delivered the bequest to Richard Pearce who received it on behalf of his wife, Susannah Wright Pearce. Here is the will of that Elizabeth Bright Dell:

The Will of ELIZABETH Bright DELL of Stratford-le-Bow, co. Middlesex, widow [date not given in abstract].

• To my brother, Master Henry Bright of New England, £200, to be paid within twelve months after my decease. In case he should die within that time, the money is to be divided amongst his children. To said children £70 to be divided and paid to them at the age of twenty-one years or on the day of their marriage; and their father, Henry, is to give bonds for the payment of the same.
• To cousin Mary Ray of Ipswitch.
• To brother William Forth.
• To my sister, Martha Blowers, and her children.
• To brother Blowers.
• To cousin Robert Forth.
• To nephew Dr. William Forth.
• To my nephew, William Parks.
• To my cousin, _____ [? William] Cawby, esq.
• To my half sister, Mary Barker, daughter of Richard, late of New England. To Mary Barker alias Bright.
• To William Forth of Hadleigh, gentleman.
• To Rev. Mr. Greenhall of Stepney.
• To the poor of Stepney. [To divers, persons legacies of 20s, each, for the purchase of rings.]
Overseers: my brother Blowers and my brother William Forth. Executor: my nephew, Dr. William Forth. Proved at Doctors’ Commons. London, 6 August 1657. (P.C.C.) **

Note that she makes no bequests to children or grandchildren, to no one named Dell or Wright so she is certainly not the mother of any Mary Dell, daughter of Ralph. So we can eliminate that possibility.

The most logical conclusions is that Mary Dell, sister of Ralph Dell, was initially listed as an inheritor but died between the time the will was first made and the time the Wright children were added. Thus, Mary Dell appears to be the sister of Ralph Dell.

I found the marriage record of Ralph Dell and Elizabeth Bright Dell. Marriage was on 6 Jul 1631 at St. Mary's church, Stratford Bow. I took a digital photo of the entry in the book. She was born in 1598 and was thus 33 years old when she married the 56 yr old Ralph Dell (b. 1575). This goes well with him having written that he had no children as well as the confirmation that Mary Dell who married John Wright was the daughter of John Dell and was Ralph’s sister.

So we know rather firmly that Richard Pearce and Susannah Wright Pearce were the couple from Waltham Abbey. Unfortunately, this doesn't tell us anything about Richard's parents, though we are confident about Susannah's parents: John Wright and Mary Dell.

I studied the parish registers of Waltham Abbey, in particular, that extending from 1563-1650. There are a slew of Wrights and a goodly number of Dells. Regarding the Pearces we find slim pickings:

PIERCE

Births

1655 John son of Robert Pierce 22 January [1655/6].
1659 Charity daughter of Robert Pierce 6 April.

Marriages

1642 Richard Pierce and Susan Write 5 May.
1655 George Wilson and Martha Pierce 22 January [1655/6]

Burials

1661 Robert Pierce, innkeeper, 22 October.
1661 Charles Morgan died at Richard Pierces and was buried 19 November.

**There is a note that "The Wrights of Surestone (Sewardstone), a village near Waltham Abbey, were recorded in the Parish registers under the spelling Write."

It seems obvious that Richard came from outside the parish. One thing that caught my eye particularly was this:

1661 Robert Pierce, innkeeper, 22 October.
1661 Charles Morgan died at Richard Pierces and was buried 19 November.

So, Robert Pierce was an innkeeper and he died in October. The following November, a Charles Morgan died at "Richard Pierces". What does that mean? We know that Richard Pearce and his wife, Susannah, are in Rhode Island because of the record of the bequest being handed over. That is, unless Robert was the father of Richard and Richard returned to claim an inheritance on the death of his father, the innkeeper and this was the "Richard Pierces" (place) in question.

Being alerted to the possibility that this Robert Pierce might be the father of Richard Pearce, I went looking.

From: “Abstract drawn up by Sir Wm. Dugdale, proving Mr. Francis Percy, now of Cambridge, to be of the line and family of the Percys, Earls of Northumberland” (From The House of Percy, p.359)

Sept. 6, 1680. — Roger England of Taunton in Somersetshire, aged 80 years, certifieth that he married Anne daughter of Robert, son of Thomas the Powder Traytor, and has heard the said Robert, his wife's father, say that he was son to Thomas Percy, who was employed in the Powder Plot. "

Oct. n, 1680. — John Swinton, clerk of ye parish Church of Anwick in Northumberland, aged above 80 years, affirmeth that he heard his father say that Mr Thomas Percy and his wife lived in the Castle at Anwick and had children, and after the Powder Plot for which ye said Thomas lost his life, his wife went to London and lived privately there. "

It’s also said that MARTHA WRIGHT PERCY moved to Holborn, London with her children, CHANGED HER NAME, (Pierce? Pearce?) and opened a school.

(“Abstract drawn up by Sir Wm. Dugdale, proving Mr. Francis Percy, now of Cambridge, to be of the line and family of the Percys, Earls of Northumberland” (From The House of Percy, p.359)

Oct. 14, 1680.— Matthew Scott of Gateshead in the Bishoprick of Durham, aged 99 years, certifieth that he knew Thomas Percy, who was afterwards in the Powder Plot, Constable of Anwick Castle, and that he had a son called Robert and two daughters, and that the said Robert was a schoolboy at Anwick. "

February 12, 1680: Richard (sic) Percy, widow of Francis Percy, son of Robert, aforesaid, aged 76 years, sayeth that she knew the said Robert Percy, her late husband’s father, and has often heard him say he was the son of Thomas Percy who was in the Gunpowder Plot: and that above 16 years since, ye said Francis, her late husband, purposing himself to make himself known as Algernon, Earl of Northumberland, went from Bickley in Devonshire, where he then lived, towards London for that end, but on his way falling sick at Oxford, returned home, where he shortly died.”
{Collectanea Topographica Et Genealogica, Volume 2 edited by Frederic Madden, Bulkeley Bandinel, John Gough Nichols verifies that 1641 marriage record to "Rich hord" Parsons. In 1680, she was called Richard, widow of Francis, son of Robert Percy. She was 76 in 1680.)

Bickley, Devon baptismal and marriage records:

Francis Pearsie (groom)
marries 9 July 1640 to Richoard Parsons (sic) at Bickley, near Exeter, Devon.

So, we have a Robert Percy born at Alnwick about 1594, child of Thomas and Martha Wright whose mother took him and his siblings to some area near London where she changed their name and basically went into hiding.

From Brenan we get:

"By a certificate of the 17 September 1680, taken out of the Church Register of Wiveliscomb, Somerset, it appeareth that Robert Percy did marry Emma Meade 22 Oct. 1615. "

"By a certificate of ye 10 May 1680, taken out of ye Church Register of Taunton in Somerset, it appeareth that Francis ye son of Robert Percy was there baptized 15 April 1616. "

That is: he was born six months or less after his parents were married. Francis Percy is also said to have been baptized: April 15, 1616, Bickley, Devon, England. (Is it just another way to say the same place?)

The author and collector of the above data, Dugdale, cited in Brenan’s book writes about Robert: "It is unknown where he died." In other words, the Francis and/or his widow, haven’t a clue about the whereabouts or fate of the alleged father of Francis.

Another researcher found the following items and sent them to me:

[Regi]ster of the names of all ye Passinger which Passed from ye Port of London for one yeare Endinge at Xpmas 1635.

WILLM SAYER 58
ROBERT PERCY 40
EDWARD CLARK 30

Based on age, this could very well be our Robert Percy born in 1594.

Next, in the colonies we find:

1637 - Robert Percy Tax payer in Freeman Township, St. Mary’s County, Maryland.

And then, things get MOST interesting.

***Liberation Theology Along the Potomac: Labor's Golden Rule in Early American Catholicism Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education, Volume 32, Issue 3, 2011

Out of the regard for their own value came the militant support of Maryland's contract workers for the levelling of Calvert and the local Maryland landlords in the 1640s and 1650s, which will be taken up in the following chapter. Tenants and contract workers were only 20% of the population in this period, but led in the levelling. Catholic tenants like William Lewis, Henry Hooper, and Robert Percy stopped paying the three barrels of corn in annual rent on their 21-year leases.[347]

[347]"Thomas Gerard," "Career Files;" Hughes, Society of Jesus, text, vol. 2, p. 25.
The Marshall was 'Robert Percy, gentleman ;' there are strong grounds for believing that he was the eldest son of Thomas Percy, a chief conspirator of the Gunpowder Plot. ****

St. Mary’s County, MD. Court Records Assembly Proceedings, January— March 1637/8.
Liber Z, p. 15

THE GENERALI, ASSEMBLY HELD AT ST MARIES, AND BEGAN ON THE 25th DAY OF JANUARY 1637

The Acts of the first day

The Leiutent grail taking his place, came and appeared personally: Robert Perry marshall (Robert Percy served as undersheriff from 1638-1639).

January 20, 1637 St Mary’s County, MD. Cecellius Lord Proprietor to Rob Percy, “marshall” asked to apprehend the body of Rose Gilbert, widow and keep her safe.
February 12, 1637 – St. Mary’s County, MD. Robert Percy, one of 24 freemen selected to serve on grand inquest.

17th Aprill 1638 - Memorand that this day mr Sheriff hath appointed Robert Percy to be his bailiff or vndersheriff vntill xtmas next, to exequute for him all writt, & warrants vpon his command, for exequution of iustice or otherwise and hath promised him a salary therefore of 100l of tobacco: and the said Robert Percy hath accepted thereof, & doth covenant and vndertake to performe the same & to save harmelesse mr Sheriff for all neglects or defaults wch may be committed on the part of the said Robert Percy.

August 16, 1638 - Mr. Copley came in person and revoked his attorney to Robt. Percy, p.78 (Note information in the Jesuit Mission article below about Mr. Copley and Robert Percy as attorney.)

August 22, 1638 - A true and perfect inventary of all the goods and debts of Andrew Baker’s., their value praised by Thomas Baldridge and Thomas Percy.

From the Maryland Historical Magazine, p.366: Land Notes 1634-1655

March 28, 1640 Robert Percie, Gent., demandeth land to him for transporting himself at his own charge into the province upon the Merchant –Boneventure in the Year 1635 (Viz) 100 acres of land in ffreehold, and was allowed. Eod. The said Robert Percie assigned over his right and interest in the 100 acres of land unto John Dandie and his heirs
Robert Percy. (signed)

July 21, 1640 The said Robert Percy Gent, demandeth ffive acres of Town Land due to him for transporting himself at his own charge into this province in the year 1635 – and assigned over all his right unto the Said five acres unto Robert Clerk, Gent.

February 1, 1643 Members of Inquest: robt. Percy

A link to the above mentioned documents and a few others:
http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc5000/sc5094/003000/0...

Next:
THE JESUIT MISSIONS OF ST. MARY'S COUNTY, MARYLAND by EDWIN WARFIELD BEITZELL
( http://openlibrary.org/books/OL4562439M/The_Jesuit_missions_of_St._... )

In 1645, at the time of the Ingle Invasion, there were (as we have seen) five Jesuit priests in Maryland. Fathers Bernard Hartwell and John Cooper were at St. Inigoes, Father Roger Rigby on the Patuxent, Father Copley at St. Mary's City and Father White at Port Tobacco. For several years, Richard Ingle had been a trader in goods from England and Holland and was well known to the Manor Lords of St. Mary's. In the year 1644, Governor Leonard Calvert had occasion to visit his brother Lord Baltimore in England, and Giles Brent was substituted in his place during his absence. Ingle arrived in the harbor at St. Mary's in January in his ship, the "Reformation", and during his stay was accused of treason for speaking seditiously against the King. He was arrested and placed in the custody of the Sheriff, and the "Reformation" was seized, a proclamation affixed to the mast, and a guard placed aboard. Soon afterward, Ingle made his escape. The Sheriff excused himself, saying that there was no prison in the Province except his own hands, and he supposed everything was all right when he saw Ingle leave the Governor's house in the company of Captain Cornwaleys and Mr. James Neale and he let him go, though against his will. Mr. Neale said he had no charge over Ingle and did not help his escape. Captain Cornwaleys said he thought the Governor had given his consent for the prisoner's release. The Captain of the Guard excused himself, saying that he thought everything was all right when he saw Cornwaleys come aboard with Ingle, and all talking in a very friendly manner together. Thus the "Reformation" slipped out of the Sheriff's hands. On his return to England, Ingle complained that his ship had been seized in Maryland because it was a London ship, and that Maryland was a stronghold of papists and supporters of the King against Parliament. Then Ingle procured letters of marque against all ships opposed to Parliament, and sailed for Maryland to avenge himself against the Government and the Catholics.

Ingle put in at St. Mary's on February 24, 1645, with the avowed purpose of burning or destroying whatever belonged to the Catholics, and to put the Protestants in possession of everything not destroyed. Ingle and his men captured the Fort at St. Inigoes and set out to rob and ravage the countryside. Fathers Hartwell, Rigby, and Cooper (as previously noted) were forced to flee for their lives across the Potomac to Virginia. Fathers Rigby and Cooper are reported to have died of hardship in Virginia in 1646. Father Hartwell died in the same year, although there is some indication that he may have returned to Maryland. Possibly, he did not flee to Virginia but went into hiding in Maryland. It is the writer's considered opinion that Fathers Rigby, Cooper, and possibly Hartwell were all martyrs, hunted down and killed by Ingle and his adherents. Otherwise it is difficult to understand how these three young priests could all have died in so short a period of time. Father Copley was either visiting Father White or had fled to Port Tobacco from St. Inigoes. Both were captured by Ingle and were sent to England in chains, for trial on the charge of treason (the treason being that they were Jesuits). Actually, they were tried on the technical charge that they returned to England after being banished from that Country. The Fathers were able to prove that they had not returned voluntarily but had been brought back much against their will. They were finally acquitted, but were detained in custody for about two years.

Mission property valued at over 2,000 pounds sterling was seized or destroyed. In a schedule filed by Father Copley, together with an affidavit, when he sued Ingle for recovery some years later, he mentioned that a house was burned, some sixty cattle were dispersed, hogs and other animals had disappeared, and twenty indentured servants were missing. All of the church and house furnishings at St. Mary's City, St. Inigoes, and Port Tobacco were stolen. In the same document, mention is made of massive silver plate, jewelry of gold, diamonds, sapphire and ruby, and tapestries embroidered in gold and silver.(57) Very probably the plate, jewelry, and embroidered tapestry mentioned in the schedule were the sacred vessels and the vestments used in the Church service. Father Copley would hardly have dared to identify the stolen articles otherwise to a Court in England. Nor did he mention the destruction of the Chapel House, other than as "a house". Father Joseph Zwinge, S.J., has pointed out that it was the Chapel House that was destroyed, because the residence at St. Inigoes was in possession of a Mrs. Baldridge,(58) a Protestant, when Father Copley finally was able to return to Maryland in 1648, and the "Hill" house in St. Mary's City remained intact, as it was mentioned in a deed of 1667.(59)

Father Copley's former attorney, Robert Percy, seems to have known a great deal about the disappearance of the plate.(60)

** Robert Percy was a prisoner at Pope's Fort,6 and it was rumored that he had hidden the priest's plate. John Hilliard said he would forgive him a debt, hoping that Percy, who was about to leave the country, would tell him where it was hidden. But Percy did not tell him and so Hilliard sued in vain for the debt in Greene's administration. 6) Md. Arch., Prov. Ct., 415, 418, 419. **

The Protest of 1648, New Style.

We, the freemen assembled in this present general Assembly, do hereby declare, under our hands ; and generally, jointly, and unanimously protest, against the laws which are now pretended to be put in force by the last general Assembly ; conceiving that they were not lawfully enacted. For that no summons issued out return, we may suppose, of all the Roman Catholics, who had been expelled or exported from St. Mary's, by Capt. Ingle, and the other enemies of the proprietary.

Witness our hands, this 28th January, 1647.

Robert Yaughan, 24 voices.
Robt. Clarke, proxy,
Geo. Akerick, 8,
Cuthbert Fenwick, 8,
Walter Peake, 22,
Robert Percy,proxy, 1

Robert Percy is not found in any record after December 2, 1649, evidently being ejected or fleeing from Maryland. See above where it says he was “about to leave the country” in 1648.

So, here are the bits of possibly interesting data:

A Robert Percy travels to the Colonies in 1635.
He shows up in Colonial records in St. Mary's County, Maryland in 1637.
Robert Percy has numerous adventures in Maryland.

Richard Peirce/Pierce/Pearce married Susannah Wright in 1642 in Waltham Abbey.
Five years later, they are in America where Susannah receives a legacy in 1647.
Robert Percy is imprisoned in December 1649 but somehow disappears and John Hilliard sued him in vain. He just disappeared.

Then, in 1661, a Robert Pierce, innkeeper, dies in Waltham Abbey with no prior connections recorded there other than the fact that he has the same name as our Richard Pierce/Pearce who married Susannah Wright.

And oddly, a month later, a Charles Morgan dies at “Richard Pierces”. But Richard Pierce who married Susannah is in America unless he returned to claim a legacy.

So, the question is: Was this Richard a son of Robert Percy/Pierce? Did he and Susannah help get Robert Percy out of jail and back to England and did the Wrights of Waltham Abbey assist him there? (He would have been 55 at that time.) Did he have some of the Jesuit plate and use it to open an inn? Did he die (age 67) and leave the inn to his son, Richard? Was it sold to pay his debts?

It is apparently known that Martha Wright Percy re-settled north of London, probably near to her kin, along with her children, and that she changed her name. Well, if she changed her name, she undoubtedly changed the names of her children, too. This is why I have doubts about the Francis Percy even though his widow claimed that his father was Thomas Percy. But the testimonies of the Alnwick people that there were children is helpful.

But it is entirely possible that a Robert Percy, son of Thomas (GPP) resumed his father’s name upon reaching adulthood because he was a zealous Catholic, married, and later, went to America to try his hand at farming and Catholicizing, and failed, ended up in jail. After that, he may have been helped by either his son (or a nephew), Richard Pierce/Pearce and wife Susannah, and persuaded finally to change his name permanently and retire to run an inn.

Obviously, this possibility needs some research and work. I do what I can when I am able.

I saw the mention of Nathaniel Pope - was just looking at him https://www.geni.com/discussions/176948

So perhaps there are some cross references in his historical mentions to look into.

Percy was famously recusant ....

Yes. And being recusant makes it rather hard to find records.

("Old Spain" aka Weymouth, comes to mind)

You cannot find Pearce Hall because the original Hall was destroyed during the battle of Towton. It has always been at Spofforth castle. It was in this place the Magna Carta surety was drawn up. When the family changed their name from Percy to Pierce, Pers, Peirce etc., the name of the family hall was changed as well to Pearce Hall. Sir Lord Henry Percy tried to renovate the ruined Spofforth Castle but the civil war caused the next destruction and the castle became neglected as you can see in photos. Calling it Pearce Hall is a bit of misnomer as the original Percy's would have referred to as Percy Hall, but since they changed their name, it became Pearce Hall.

http://www.castleuk.net/castle_lists_north/104/spofforth.htm

https://www.spofforthvillage.org/the-castle

I am quite thankful for the information I got from the 7 Pierce families as it helped me to piece together my family tree over a period of several years. My Grandparents told me that Captain Michael Pierce was our ancestor and that Captain William Pierce is his Brother. For some reason other people had William as an uncle. My Grandfather also personally met Barnard Colby and Mr. Colby sent out thousands of letter to Pierce family members for his book at great personal expense. To discount his work is just disrespectful and to disrespect the work of Frederick Clifton is disrespectful over a few perceived errors. Being curators, you correct errors as you find them. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater seems rather impulsive. I think people need to be more cautious before disconnecting and destroying years of work and research. Although I believe my Grandparents, I of course want to document and prove what was told me so I researched with DNA along with findagrave and other methods besides Fredrick Clifton's book. Through DNA work I have found Richard Pierce of Pearse Hall b. 1565 as a common ancestor no less than 5 times, Richard Pearce b. 1553 Norwich, Norfolk, England as a common ancestor one time and Richard Percy b. 1500 Pearse hall, Norwich Norfolk as a common ancestor one time.

Laura: be careful. Existence of a person in one colony with a name that matches someone in another colony is not proof that they were the same person. (We just disambiguated three Thomas Robinses on the Eastern Shore, one in Virginia and two in Maryland.)

Wanda *and* Laura: anything that originates from the work of "Col." Frederick C. Pierce requires corroboration from external, non-related sources - preferably primary documents. Anybody can spin a fanciful tale of noble descent, but that's not the same as actually proving it. (Does the name "Gustave Anjou" ring any bells?)

Thank you Maven. Frederick Clifton et al; is all we have to go on. A lot of his work seems to be correct as I followed the tree up and researched not just the Pierce line but the Wives to see if DNA/Surname matches could be found. It's a lot of work but so far, the following Wives (by surname of their Father's) are DNA matches adding DNA validity to the pedigree:

DNA match: Surname Acton: Same ancestor, same common ancestor. Eleanor Percy

DNA match: Surname Neville: Same ancestor, same common ancestor Eleanor Percy

DNA match: Surname Holbrook: Common ancestor Sir William Holbrook five times, John Holbrook b. 1595 Glastonbury, Somerset, common ancestor twice, our ancestor is Margaret Rockwood (Holbrook)

DNA match: Surname Dodson: Common ancestor Anthony Dodson b. 11/20/1625, and Sir Henry Percy 2nd Earl of Northumberland, our ancestor Patience Pierce (Dodson), b. circa 1660

These are just a few. I am still working on researching other Wives which help to verify the Husbands (Pierce, Peirce, Percy, etc) It's a lot of work. By chopping up the tree, it makes it harder to work on and verify by DNA as I have to hunt around with a jigsaw piece of pedigree that used to be a complete tree so you can imagine my frustration. Frederick Clifton may not have had corroboratory sources, and I doubt he knew he needed it, but by using DNA we can at least research to verify if what he wrote was true.

Correction: The second Eleanor Percy link is wrong. This is the right one. Eleanor Neville, Countess of Northumberland

@Maven B Helms.
Indeed I am aware of the problems. However, what I find fascinating in this is the connection between the Percy/Wright families in Waltham Abbey. We know that Martha Wright Percy removed to somewhere around London and Waltham Abbey is a market town in the Epping Forest District of Essex, and presently part of the metropolitan area of London. It's like 99.999 % certain, if not 100%, that Richard Pearce and Susannah Wright Pearce of Rhode Island came from Waltham Abbey.

The travel record of Robert Percy followed by his first appearance in the colonies, and then his disappearance from the colonies and sudden appearance of the name in Waltham Abbey connecting Robert to Richard are rather compelling. And certainly, being descended from a Gunpowder plotter and recusants is a good explanation for the change of name from Percy to Pierce/Pearce.

There will probably never be a smoking gun found to solve this mystery, but I rather like this construction with the caveat that it IS a construction based on clues. And certainly, it is a better construction than many that DO get passed as "true enough" and "probable". Names, dates, locations, rational evaluation of possibilities/probabilities dovetail nicely.

@Wanda Marie Pearce.

The main problem is connecting the Colonial Richard Pearce/Susannah Wright Pearce to any Percys at all.

How do you know about DNA matches? Did someone get DNA from the dead ancestors in question? A lot of people can get together and claim descent from the same lines that are completely bogus, and their DNA will match because they are all making the same bogus claim. There is no way to prove that this DNA matches the ancestors in question.

So can you share how this DNA matching is being done?

The other question is, what sort of "DNA match" is involved? Y-DNA only works male-to-male-to-male, mtDNA only works female-to-female-to-female, and autosomal DNA becomes less reliable with each generation back - by the time you're in the 17th century it is very unreliable indeed, with at least as many false positives and false negatives as true hits.

"Signal to noise ratio" is a concept anyone who wants to consider autosomal DNA needs to be very familiar with - the "signal" degrades by approximately 50% with each generation, and it's hit or miss whether you learn much of value past the 5th generation. Past the 7th you're talking in "population generalities" - ancestors maybe came from this general area (but so did other people who *aren't* your ancestors, because they came from the same population).

People think autosomal is more reliable than it is, because of all the talk about "Neanderthal DNA" and the assumption that it's possible to trace accurately back that far. It isn't. That stuff only tells you that there was *a* Neanderthal among your remote ancestors - not *which* Neanderthal, nor where, nor how those particular genes got passed down. (And the only reason they can tell *that* much is that there are significant differences between the Neanderthal genome and the sapiens genome.)

Laura: I seem to recall jumping through similar hoops trying to solve the "Frances White Wells" mystery. The available evidence was quite conclusive that she was not the daughter of Sir Richard White *and* Lady Catherine Weston - they *had* a daughter Frances, but she was too young and she went to France and Rome with the rest of the family, *not* to Colonial America. But there was a first wife in question - Anne Gray of Hinxham - and some uncertainty about just how many children she had.

Reusing the same first name for different siblings was occasionally done back then, particularly for children of different spouses.

The iffy part was the assumption that Jerome White, Surveyor-General of Maryland, was the same person as Jerome White, son of Sir Richard and Lady Catherine. The Surveyor-General did claim to be related to Frances, to her daughter Mary, and to at least one of Mary's husbands (George Yate), but never bothered to explain how. And it's curious that he left Maryland abruptly without explanation, shortly before Sir Richard and Lady Catherine's son Jerome became involved in some capacity with the negotiations to marry Mary of Modena (in Italy) with the widowed James, Duke of York (afterwards James II).

There it remains, a tantalizing speculation which may or may not be so, and is always subject to disproof pending further information.

Private User don’t mix up the Waltham Abbey Wright’s with the Plowland Wright’s!

The Gunpowder Plot Wright’s were from Yorkshire as you’d expect, not Essex.

There’s a current sourcing effort to work through that family which seems to (possibly) have contributed two groups of immigrants to America

- Rev Henry (I think) Wright to the Eastern Shore
- three Wright brothers to the Province of New Jersey

Maybe there were more, but careful, it’s a very different family from the Kelvedom Wright’s.

I’ll tag a relevant profile. They very well might have associated with the Percy’s but this lineage is unknown before say 1500

John Wright, of Plowland in Holderness tree top

His wife’s side however tracks to Edward lll. I’ve been working on sourcing her Ryther & their collaterals

Here’s that family connect to Percy

Martha Percy

Ok so you’re looking at descent from Martha Wright of the Gunpowder Plot & her husband possibly to America

Robert Percy

And this was an interesting connection I wanted to look at more

Robert Wilson, of Halifax has a descent to Massachusetts and a connect to the Plowland Wright’s

Private User this is the Eastern Shore Wright from Plowland origins

Rev. Francis Wright

@Erica Howton, Yes, I know the two families are different and I've spent time on both groups and I see no reason that they could not be connected. If Martha Wright Percy could move to the London area, there is no reason that other Wrights had not done so at other times. One even suspects that her choice to do so indicated that she had relations in the area. People certainly got around back then! And especially so under religious persecution.

Another interesting connection is the manufacture of gunpowder at Waltham Abbey.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2009/07/08/gunpowder_mi...

It would not be unreasonable to suggest that the gunpowder obtained for the Plot came by way of Wrights and others who worked in the Royal Gunpowder Mills located there.

Sure, I’m clearer now on what you’re thinking. Her brothers are executed, she’s probably a plotter herself, of course she’d relocate. Also it was mobile times.

Erica, most of them were mainside (Northumberland County is not on the Eastern Shore). They get into the Miles Files because Anne Wright, daughter of Capt. Richard Wright and granddaughter of Francis, married Lt. Col. George Nicholas Hack (of German ancestry, which is why he has a middle name, or is it a double-barrelled first name?) and settled down in Accomack County with him.

Uh-oh - it isn't clear that Waltham Abbey was a gunpowder manufacturing site as early as 1605: "The first record of gunpowder being manufactured didn't appear until 1665, where parish records showed two people had been killed by a powder mill." http://www.bbc.co.uk/essex/content/articles/2009/07/08/gunpowder_mi...

@Maven B. Helms. Yes, I read the article. I also noticed that it says that the FIRST record of the manufacture there was, apparently, a record of deaths at a mill. The article just notes that, but has no definitive information about when the manufacture began. This would probably be a problem to solve in gov archives. But if people are getting killed there in 1665, one might suppose that the operation has been going on for some time.

I'm going to paste in here what I extracted from the extracted parish registers of Waltham Abbey. You will notice that I only include Pierce, Dell and Wright/Write/Wryght here. The document would be unbelievably long otherwise.

What is notable is that the records begin in 1563 but no Pierce appears until Richard married Susan Write in 1642, so it is clear that this was an "incomer". Moreover, even after that, there are precious few other Pierces and Robert only appears for the first time as a father to a John in 1655. Robert is later listed as a deceased innkeeper in 1661. The last mention of Pierce is when Charles Morgan "died at Richard Pierces".

I include the Dells because of the clear connection between them and Richard and Susannah Pearce via the bequest reported in an earlier post. There aren't many of them either.

Finally, the Wrights under various spellings. So, here's the list:

Extracted FROM THE PARISH REGISTERS OF WALTHAM ABBEY.1563-1650*

The parish registers of Waltham Holy Cross (Waltham Abbey), CO. Essex, begin 1 June 1563. A description of them, with some of the more interesting entries and much antiquarian lore relating to this parish, may be found in Our Parish Registers, by W. Wintera. Waltham Abbey, 1885.

PIERCE

Marriages

1642 Richard Pierce and Susan Write 5 May.
1655 George Wilson and Martha Pierce 22 January [1655/6]

Births

1655 John son of Robert Pierce 22 January [1655/6].
1659 Charity daughter of Robert Pierce 6 April.

Burials

1661 Robert Pierce, innkeeper, 22 October.
1661 Charles Morgan died at Richard Pierces and was buried 19 November.

********************

DELL

Baptisms
1607 Ralph son of John Dell 13 September.
1611 Ralph son of John Dell 21 April.
1621 George son of John Dell 4 November.
1627 Elisabeth daughter of John Dell 20 January [1627/8].
1632 Margaret daughter of John Dell ____ August.

Marriages

1624 John Write and Mary Dell 22 April.
1625 John Dell and Bridgett Warer[?] 28 July.

Burials

1607 Ralph son of John Dell. 1 November.
1629 A nurse child of Bridgett Dell 21 November.
1634 Margaret daughter of John Dell - February [1634/5].

************************

WRIGHT

Baptisms

1563 Thomas son of Richard Wright 26 _____.
1564 Lawrence son of George Wright 7 May.
1565 Thomas son of Robert Wright 3 June.
1567 Jane daughter of George Wright 12 January [1567/8].
1567 Henry son of John Wright 5 March [1567/8].
1569 Robert son of George Wright 14 August.
1569 Thomas son of John Wright 30 August.
1570 Margaret daughter of John Wright 30 July.
1570 Robert son of Robert Wright 5 March [1570/1].
1572 Bridgett daughter of George Wright 2 April.
1573 Henry son of Henry Wright 30 August.
1574 John son of John Wright 24 January [1574/5].
1576 Robert son of John Wright 26 August.
1582 Magdalen daughter of John Wright 8 July.
1599 Elisabeth daughter of Thomas Wright _____ February [1599/1600]
1600 Robert son of Robert Wright 25 May.
1601 Philip son of Robert Wright 27 June. q
1601 Sarah daughter of Henry Wright 17 January [16012]
1603 Margaret daughter of Philip Wright 18 June.
1603 Mary daughter of Thomas Wright 17 August.
1603 Robert son of Robert Wright 28 August.
1605 William son of Robert Wright 12 July. 1
1605 William son of Thomas Wright - November.
1605 Catharine daughter of Philip Wright 2 February [1605/6].
1606 Frances daughter of Robert Wright 1 June.
1608 Frances daughter of Robert Wright 29 May.
1608 Sarah daughter of Hary Wright 30 July.
1610 Ann daughter of Philip Wright 29 July.
1624 John son of John Write** 20 February [1624/5].
1627 Susanna daughter of John Write 5 August.
1629 William son of William Wright 28 June.
1630 Henry son of Christopher Wright 20 May.
1631 William son of Robert Wright 22 January [1631/2].
1633 Ann daughter of John Write 29 August.
1635 Ralph son of John Write 26 September.
1637 Henry son of John Write 16 May.
1646 John son of William Wright - August.

Marriages

1568 Wright and Ellen Lightsent 27 June.
1569 John Wright and Margaret 26 May.
1569 John Wright and Agnes Pecock 15 August.
1574 Clement Basley of Sapwood and Agnes Wright 2 May.
1598 Henry Wright and Sarah Marble 6 November.
1599 Robert Wright and Alice Green 17 June.
1602 Robert Wright and Susan Cawell 18 July.
1602 Philip Wright and Mary Meghill 4 November.
1607 William Bellamy and Jane Wright 29 January [1607/8].
1617 Richard Stock and Katherine Wright 16 June.
1620 Anthony Benton and Jane Wright 5 November.
1624 John Write and Mary Dell 22 April.
1628 George Burton and Frances Wright 14 April.
1630 Henry Wright and Elisabeth Barker 14 July.
1636 Bazzell Bull and Jane Wright 1 September.
1642 Richard Pierce and Susan Write 5 May..
1642 Patrick Wright and Elisabeth Stock 20 October.

Burials

1568 Alley wife of John Wright 15 July.
1570 John Wryght, tanner, 20 December.
1573 George Wryght of leberts hell*** 20 January [1573/4].
1573 Jane [Wright], late widow, 28 February [1573/4].
1574 Henry son of Henry Wright 5 March [1574/5].
1577 William Wright 29 September.
1586 Alice Wright - March [? 1586/7].
1597 Catherine Wright 21 January [1597/8].
1600 Robert son of Robert Wright 30 May.
1603 Ellen wife of John Wright 11 September.
1603 John Wright 1 October.
1637 Susan wife of Robert Wright - January [1603/4].
1606 Robert son of Susan[?] Wright 9 October.
1610 Margaret daughter of Philip Wright 2 January [1610/11].
1611 Thomas Write of Surestone 26 March.
1626 John son of John Wright 30 September.
1626 Ann Wright 3 November. (Can’t be daughter of John and Mary Dell because she wasn’t born until 1633)
1629 Sarah wife of Henry Wright 19 February [1629/30].
1631 Robert Wright, butcher, 26 November.
1632 Nicholas Wright, a poor man, - May.
1632 Alice Wright, a widow, 15 August.
1632 Elyn daughter of John Write 5 November.
1634 Henry son of Christopher Wright 8 December.
1637 Mary wife of John Write of Surestone 23 February (Can’t be wife of John Write (Mary Dell) because she had a son on 16 May 1637!!)
1638 Amy daughter of John Write 4 June.
1640 Widow Write of Surestone 4 November. 1 (May be widow of Thomas Write of Surestone mentioned above.)
1640 Henry Wright 29 November.
1643 John Write 5 July.
1645 Ann wife of William Wright 4 August.
1645 Robert son of Christopher Wright 23 August.
1648 Margery wife of William Wright 13 April.

** The Wrights of Surestone (Sewardstone), a village near Waltham Abbey, were recorded in the Parish registers under the spelling Write.

*** That is, Lippets Hill.