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Charles Stearns, son of Shuable and Mary (Martha) Stearns, is nephew (kinsman) to Issac Stearns of the Winthrop Fleet, it is thought the he and his brother, Nathaniel sailed at the same time as their uncle, 1630. Their parents died soon after arriving in.America and Isaac cared for the orphaned boys.
There are several accounts if the Stearns family, the following provides a clear summary:
Isaac Stearns (son of William Stearns and Emma Ramsford)36 was born Abt. 1600 in Suffolk, England, and died June 19, 1671 in Watertown, Mass.He married Mary Barker on May 20, 1622 in Naylands Parish, Suffolk, England, daughter of John Barker and Margaret Walter.
Includes NotesNotes for Isaac Stearns: Isaac and Mary (Barker) Stearns, immigrant ancestors, came to Massachusetts Bay Colony with the Winthrop Fleet in the spring of 1630.There is reason to believe they were on board the ship Arabella, in the company of John Winthrop and Sir Richard Saltonstall, who were the Governor and Assistant of the Colony. There is a tradition prevalent in Lynn, Mass., that three brothers, names Daniel, Isaac and Shubael Stearns, came from England to America in 1630, and settled near Watertown, Mass.; that Daniel died, unmarried; that Shubael and Isaac each brought their families with them; that soon after landing Shubael and wife both died, leaving two sons, named Charles and Nathaniel, eight or ten years of age, who were reared and cared for by their Uncle Isaac; this same account was given by John Peck Stearns (6822); that these sons afterwards married and each, as well as their Uncle Isaac, left a large family, from whom all of the name Stearns in America are supposed to have descended.It is noticeable that Isaac, Charles and Nathaniel all named their sons John, Isaac and Samuel. There is also a traditional anecdote of the first landing of the Stearns family as follows: "that on reaching anchorage in America, Isaac, like spies sent into Canaan, went forward and selected a place of settlement; soon after, an emulation arose between the two boys as to which should step on land first, and, as they sprang from the boat, Charles Stearns missed his footing and fell into the river which was therefore christened the Charles River."Nevertheless, the historian claims for the name a royal origin. From "Genealogy and Memoirs of Charles and Nathaniel Stearns, and their Descendants" By Mrs. Avis Stearns Van Wagenen 1901 "In March 1628, the Plymouth Company sold to a company of six gentlemen in England, the territory extending from a line three miles north of Merrimack River, to a Line three miles south of the Charles River, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.the number of joint proprietors soon became much enlarged and they assumed the title of "The Massachusetts Bay Company," choosing Matthew Cradock, a wealthy merchant of London, to be governor, and Thomas Goffe, also a merchant of London, to be deputy-governor.In June 1628, a company of emigrants was sent over, who landed at Salem and commenced the settlement of that ancient town.That a large number of settlers accompanied Sir Richard Saltonstall from Salem to Watertown is evident from the following consideration, that about forty men signed the covenant on the 30th of July, while the number of female members is not stated.Others, having large families, did not then sign the covenant, not being entitled to church membership.There is no record extant of any municipal transactions of Watertown earlier, in date, than 1634, four years after the first settlement, The Arabella Early in the morning of April 8, 1630, Isaac Stearns (Vol. 1, No. 1) and family, Sir Ritchard Saltonstall and family, Rev. George Phillips, Gov. Winthrop and many others embarked at Yarmouth, England, in the good ship Arabella, and arrived at Salem, Mass. on June 12, 1630.The ship Jewel arrived June 13; the ship Ambrose, June 18; the Talbot July 2. Isaac Stearns was a tailor and a planter.He acquired a large estate for the time, and left fourteen parcels of land, amounting to four hundred sixty-five acres, at the time of his death on 19 June 1671. More About Isaac Stearns: Fact 1 1: 1630, Came to Massachusetts Bay Colony with the Winthrop Fleet in Spring of 1630.. Fact 1 2: May 18, 1631, Admitted Freeman at Watertown which was the earliest date of any such admission.. Fact 2 1: They were Puritans.. Fact 2 2: He was a tailor and planter.. More About Isaac Stearns and Mary Barker:
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