The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-13


1852. With his wife Jane he took up his
abode in Boston and later in Salem He
WAS the most celebrated aster of ships
that came into the waters of New Eng
land and was warm friend of Winslow
and Bradford. The first record extant
referring TO him dates 1622. when he was
master of the ship Paragon. the owner
of which was his brother. John Pierce
of London. The next year he brought
over the ship Anne to Plymouth and In
1874 ne brought over the ship Charity with
Governor Winslow on board. The ship
Charity carried In her hold the first cat
tie introduced into New England. In 1929
he commanded the Mayflower on one of
her later voyages. In 1888 Winthrop tells
us that Pierce presented him with an ''ali-
gator'-obviously the alligator was then
an unusual animal 10 the New England
settlers. That year he sailed between Bos-
ton and the West Indies, whence he
brought a few negro slaves 10 New Eng
land.
It is said that Pierces almanac for
1883 was the first thing in book form
printed in the English colonies. In 16ti
he carried a party of dissenters to set
tie In the West Indies. but owing to
the hostility of the Spaniards he turned
back with his passengers. He put in
at New Providence. one of the islands
of the Bahamas. TO carry away con-
kFCkdtioH Oh pGTStCutc0 Wlio
had been living there. He found the
Spaniards in possession there. but, hop
ing to rescue his countrymen, he con-
tinued on toward the colonists
But at last he realized that hts posi-
ton was untenable. Seeing the danger
which faced them. he ordered all his
passengers into the hold. save only one
man, whom he kept on deck, to help
him. This man and Captain Pierce were
MORALLY wounded by the Sapiards, but
the shipload managed to escape with
out further hostilities. They buried their
| faithful commander at sea.
! One of the many things for which
Captain Pierce is remembered is the in
PRODUCTION of sweet potatoes into this
country from the West Indies In 1885.
He brought is tons to New England,
which he sold at twopence pound. He
| also introduced cotton into New Eng
| land. In 1888
| The children of Captain Pierce were
as follows: Edward, born in 1898, "a
most affectionate and useful preacher,
| who was elected from ST. Margaret's,
Westminster London. under the act of
uniformity, and who found refuge in
New England; James who was born and
| died in England. and William, who was
born in England and resided in Boston
Mass
A family of Pierces settled in Ports
| mouth, r. l., In the early days. Richard
Pierce of Bristol, England, was the
first known ancestor of this line. His
son, Richard, of Portsmouth, was born
| in 1915 and died in 1878. He married
Susanna Wright and their son, Will
liam Pierce was the founder of the
Pierce family of Musketa Cove. Long
Island, N. Y. Descendants of William
Pierce settled In Pleasantville, NJ 40
as we'll as in Long Island.
MI IF n
Newburg, Mass, was Daniel Pierce, a
blacksmith, who came from Ipswich,
Suffolk county, England, in the Eliza
beth In 1894, and settled at Watertown
| His eldset son, Daniel who was prom
inent in the community, is remembered
with the following epitaph:
Here lies inferred a soul indeed
Whom few or more cxcelled.
| YIN grace If any him exceed
| He'll be unparalleled.
| Still another branch of this large Pierce
/ PIERCE connection was founded by hoe-
ert PIERCE. born in England. who came
| to this country probably in the ship Mary
and Holm with a man named Greenway,
who was later Peirce's father-la-laW'
PIERCE married Ann Grenway.t or Green
away, in Dorchester after he had settled
in the new country,
| Pennsylvania family of Pelrces was
settled in this country by Edward Peiree,
who was born in Dublin in 170l and mar
| ried Frances Bassington.
| There is much confusion about the spell
| ing of the names Pierce and PIERCE,
though there is no doubt that they are
| really identical. At the present time the
descendants of Thomas Pierce, the fam
| lily of the President usually use the Pierce
| spelling, whereas the family settled by
| John PIERCE, who came from Norwich,
| England, and settled at Watertown,
| Mass, in 1857, as well as the family of
| Robert and Ann Greenaway. usually use
| the PIERCE spelling
| The name originates in the given name
| Peter-which means a stone. The fam
| GUS poem of Pliers Plowman" was en-
| titled simply Peter the Plowman," ac-
! cordng to the language of the day in
England.
| The family OF President Pierce, as
well as many others, pronounced the
name as If It were spelled Purse, al
though at present 1t is almost universally
| pronounced with short 'i' sound
| The coat Of arms here illustrated is
blazoned: Argent, a Jesse humette gules
between three ravens rising sable The
| crest is dove with an olive branch in
the beak The motto, quoted above, ID
| ''Dixit ct Fecit."