The Pierce/Pearce Brick Wall

  This Brick Wall has to do with the Pierce/Peirce/Pearse/Pearce, etc. name – and, of course, that is part of the problem right there!

   My third-great grandmother was Sarah (Salley) Pierce with a birth date stated as 07 Dec 1787, most likely in RI (each census and child says RI, (one daughter said NH – where the father was born). Salley died in MI (14 Jan 1852) where she and her husband, Peter Hazelton, and seven children came after leaving the Genesee County area of NY about 1836. 

  My great grandmother (Salley's granddaughter) Mary Ella Hazelton Childs, was a genealogist. I have many of her papers in my possession. I also have copies of pages from the Hazelton Bible, which is in the possession of a cousin. Mary Ella gives the above birth date for Salley and the Pierce spelling of her name, most of the time. Mary Ella never mentions Salley’s parents, but leaves a few possibilities.

  Peter and Salley’s first son’s name was Pierce Richardson Hazelton. Most of the children seem to have ‘family’ names, but I am not sure to which family member they belong. (See my Hazelton family blogs for details). When Salley and Peter were married (probably June 1817 in NY), Salley is said to be “of Gains” NY. This does not mean she was born there.

Boston Transcript – Jan. 23, 1922: #9437 (Query of Ella Hazelton Childs)

PEARSE/HAZELTINE: 

"Wanted the parents and grandparents of Sarah (Sally) Pearse born Dec. 7, 1787, married Peter Hazeltine, also the place of marriage and the place of birth of Peter Hazeltine, born Jan 7 1793. He was son of Ballard and Sally (Noyes) Hazeltine, grandson of Joseph and Elizabeth (Abbott) Hazeltine. Family record states that Peter Hazeltine and Sally Pearse of Gaines, Orleans County, New York were married June 1817. The family removed to or near Hastings, Barry Co. Michigan about 1836-37. Peter died 1846, Sally died in Homer [Calhoun Co] Michigan 1852. Their children all born in Orleans and Genesee Counties, New York were:

Nancy Jane        b. 1819

Pearse Richardson b. 1821

Aaron Carter      b. 1823

Peter Clark       b. 1825

Mary Ann          b. 1827

Brooks Bowman     b. 1829

Jeannette         b. 1834

Sally Pearse said to be a cousin of Franklin Pierce, the President [DOUBTFUL!! jbmb]. She had sisters, Mary, who married a Ransom, Clarissa, and a brother Reuben. The father of these children died while they were quite young. and the mother married second _______ Bassett, and had: Hiram and Naomi."   

  Searching the names of Bassett and Ransom – so far – have not led to an answer or connection.

  A distant cousin from CA (now deceased), I corresponded for several years, did a great deal of research on this question, she even hired a RI researcher, Bertram Lippincott III, in 1995, to verify the ancestry of Salley Pierce Hazelton. He came to no definitive conclusion. He does strongly suggest that most likely she is the daughter of James and Phebe (Wood) Pearce, of RI (and later NY).  But their daughter, Sarah, married Timothy (?) Jaynes, according to one of the Pierce Books, and research I did during that time.

   To corroborate the Jaynes marriage, I ordered and received a full copy of the will for James Pearce (as opposed to the abstract where Sarah is NOT mentioned) with his wife and children listed. Sarah does indeed appear as “Sarah Janes.” James Pearce’s will is dated 12 March 1820, and probated 12 Oct 1820 in Sempronious, Cayuga, NY, where this family had moved. The dates of the will make it very unlikely this is OUR Salley.

    Any insight into the above BRICK WALL would be appreciated.

WHICH NANCY JANE WAS MARRIED TO ALEXANDER?

NOTE: the Hazelton name can be spelled many ways, mostly in this family it is either Hazelton or Hazeltine. I will use Hazelton.

Was Alexander Cummings married to Nancy Jane Hazelton, daughter of Ballard and Sarah (Noyes) Hazelton, OR Nancy Jane Hazelton, daughter of Peter and Sarah “Salley” (Pierce) Hazelton?

Alexander Miller Cummings was born on 18 October 1819 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia, Canada, one of nine children born to John Cummings (1794-1862) and Lettice (Barnhill) Cummings (-1854). Alexander died sometime after the census for 1891 was taken on 30 April, in Middle Londonderry, Colchester, NS, where he is listed as a widow and living alone. No record of his death or burial has been found to date. Nancy Jane (Hazeltine) Cummings died in Glenholme, Colchester, NS on 13 Mar 1886. Her tombstone can be seen on FindaGrave.com #47637621. Note: her age at death does not match her documented birth date. Fudging her age seems to be a theme in her life and adds to this confusion.

Nancy Jane Hazelton was the ninth and last child of Ballard and Sarah and was born on 24 Sept 1812, in Concord, Rockingham, New Hampshire. On 22 Jul 1855, she married Alexander Cummings in Boston. On the marriage record, he gives his age as 33 (1822) and she gives her age as 30 (1825), with fathers, John and Ballard. On the Massachusetts State Census of 1855,  in Boston, Suffolk, they are both listed in a boarding house. This census appears to have been taken in June of 1855, so they are not yet married. His age is given as 33, her age is 40.  

Alexander had moved to Massachusetts sometime before 1855. This couple is then listed back in Canada on the 1861 Census in Colchester, NS, and in the 1871/1881 Censuses in Upper Londonderry, Colchester, NS. This couple had no children.

The secon Nancy Jane Hazelton (b. 17 Sep 1819), was born in Marengo, Calhoun, MI, the first child of Peter and “Salley. Peter is Ballard’s oldest child and brother to the first Nancy Jane, which makes this second Nancy Jane a niece to the first. It is interesting to note that Peter and Salley had seven children, four of them boys, who were given unique names. Two of the three girls were given names of sisters of Peter – Nancy Jane and Mary Ann. The niece, Nancy Jane (dau. of Peter), spent most of her life in Michigan, but died in Big Bend, Republic, Kansas on 25 Dec 1891. She was living with her daughter, Lelia and her family, at the time.  Nancy Jane (niece) never married although she had daughter, Lelia Luella, out of wedlock on 24 Feb 1850, in Marengo, Calhoun, MI. We are still looking for Lelia’s father.

There are a few Ancestry trees who credit THIS second (niece) Nancy Jane (b. 1819) as the wife of Alexander Cummings. But I think we can see, that this is in error.

 

Olivet College Spring Break

NOTE: the picture on the left, at the top of this blog.

In 2008, on the website Roosweb.com (no longer usable, but still has some information “read only”) a notice appeared on one of their ‘Archives’ mailing lists with the name Hazelton in the subject line. It was from someone who had a picture that she had “rescued.”  On the back it indicated that it was taken at the Crispell Studio in Battle Creek, Michigan (owned by Theron Crispell and in business from 1873-1883) and dated April 3, 1876. It was a group of students (calling themselves “Odette of the Shrug”) on vacation from Olivet College. The six students listed were: Ella Hazelton of Hartford, MI, Frankie Hazelton of Hartford, MI, Belle Mather of Detroit, MI, May Smith of Somerset, MI, Frank Green of Olivet, MI and Sherman Upton of Big Rapids, MI. Mary Ella (my great-grandmother) and her sister, Frances Ann (Frankie) are on the right. The woman who found the picture had done some initial research on the students in the picture which was included on the mailing list. I contacted her and she generously sent the picture to me. 

What a treasure to have been found it, done the initial research and then to reach out and give to a family member. Genealogists are such a fun, interesting and giving community.

Sears Timeline

   I haven't been very active on this blog for awhile, except for a recent post about a brick wall in my Hitchcock/Sears line. I have had a website:  www.relativesintheattic.com for over 10 years, but it is time to close it down. My domain name will expire in early October, so please visit it before it goes away.

   The demise of the website is the reason I am going to be more active on this blog. So, to start with, please note my published articles from over the years in various publications. It should be easy enough to access most of them, but if you want to see something and can't get to it, let me know. I know some of them are linked and I will try and get the rest of them linked as well.

 

Please read my articles:

Ypsilanti Gleanings (Winter 2010, Winter 2011 and Fall  2020)
 on the Halstead, McDougall, Muir and Hazelton families can be found at:
http://www.ypsilantihistoricalsociety.org/publications/gleanings.html

Desert Tracker  (West Valley Genealogical Society, Sun City, AZ)
"Early Settlers of Augusta and Superior Townships"  Fall 2010, Vol. 31, No. 2
"The Second Wife" Fall 2011, Vol. 32, No. 2
"Who was Mickey" Fall 2012, Vol. 33, No. 2
"The Court Family" Fall 2013, Vol. 34, No. 2
"One-Room Schoolhouse" Spring 2016, Vol. 37, No. 1
"Hitchcock Brick Wall Ancestor" Spring 2020, Vol. 41, No. 1

Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly Vol. 46, No. 4, Winter 2014
"Water: Both Life and Death to the Beckington Family"

The Connecticut Nutmegger, by the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc.
"John Chapman (1751-1814) of Sharon, Connecticut and New Marlborough, Massachusetts: Confusion and Errors Surrounding His Family" Vol. 55, No. 2, Spring 2023

 SAMUEL HITCHCOCK-SARAH SEARS BRICK WALL

   Samuel Hitchcock - b. 28 Feb 1731 (documented) in New Milford, Litchfield, CT, d. 19 Feb 1801 in Sheffield, Berkshire, MA. He leaves no will/no grave/no evidence of actual death date, except in my great-grandmother’s notes. He is on the 1790/1800 censuses for Sheffield, with the appropriate family members. When my great-grandmother was researching this (early 1900s), the Pittsfield Town Clerk, Berkshire Co., MA, said there was a letter in their files of Elizabeth (Samuel’s widow) responding as to why she didn’t probate his estate. Her answer - nothing to probate. When I called several years ago, they could find no such letter. He did have land that she later sold.
   Marriage #1 - Abt. 1766 in Middletown, Middlesex, CT, to Sarah Sears (no proof for any of this).  Sarah was b. abt. 1746 (some say to Joshua and Rebecca (Mayo) Sears, in Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA) and d. aft. 1771, prob in New Marlborough (again, no proof). She (and brother Thomas) are listed in the Samuel P. May book Sears Genealogy, with the Mayo/Sears couple – but she and Thomas are not in the birth records with the other children. In May’s book it states she is “married to a _____ Hitchcock.” She has no marriage/death/burial records nor records for births of children (prob in New Marlborough):
   Ebenezer Hitchcock (b. 23 Nov 1767)
   Reuben Hitchcock (b. 1769)
   Jerusha Hitchcock (b. 27 Mar 1771)**
New Marlborough has great b,m,d records covering this time period, but THIS Hitchcock family is not mentioned.

   Marriage #2 – abt. 1773 in New Marlborough, to Elizabeth "Betsey" Sears (b. 19 Jun 1738, Yarmouth, Barnstable, MA (sister of Sarah) and d. abt 1809, (prob) in Herkimer, NY. Child:  Silas Hitchcock,(prob) b. 13 Aug 1779 in New Marlborough.

   Betsey Sears, is listed in the May book with the same family and it reads: “m. Samuel Hitchcock.”  Mr. May leaves no sources, but his book seems credible and quoted in the Mayflower Descendants book for William Brewster.

   There is a division of land in 1757 for Joshua after his death on 27 Sep 1753, (no will) and Thomas and Sarah are not mentioned. Their oldest daughter, Rebeckah, is married to a Thomas Sears (which of the many Thomas Sears is he?) 
   Samuel was a Revolutionary War Soldier from MA, served in 1777 from Sheffield.

   I have spent YEARS (off/on) researching these people, have a 33-pg Research Log (which includes gen. info), have looked at more than 150 films (FHC), written Town Clerks/Berkshire area entities/NY Historians – you get the idea. HELP!
   Samuel P. May, 1890: The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass (1638-1888).

   Mrs. Edward Hitchcock, Sr., of Amherst, Mass, 1894: The Genealogy of the Hitchcock Family (lists Samuel’s children (Silas out of order) but no wife/mother).

 SOMEONE TRIED TO STEAL OUR HESTER HALSTEAD!

OUR great-great-grandmother, Hester (Jane?) Halsted/Halstead, was born in Olcott Beach, Niagara County, New York, on 4 February 1824. She was the daughter of Benjamin and Anna (Wisner) Halstead and the last of 11 children, two of whom are unidentified and probably died at or near birth. I use the Halstead spelling. The children were:

            Sarah Ann  b. 1803

            Charles  b. 1805, d. 1894

            David Wisner  b. 1808, d. 1860

            Ransom  b. 28 Nov 1809, d. 30 Nov 1883

            James  b. 25 Jan 1812, d. 10 Jun 1869

            Morris  b. 15 Aug 1815, d. 08 May 1895

            Mary A.  b. 24 May 1820, d. Aug 1910

            Joseph  b. 1823, d. 07 Sep 1873

            Hester  b. 04 Feb 1824, d. 31 Jan 1914

 

Both Hester’s paternal and maternal grandfathers (Benjamin Halstead and David Wisner) served in the Revolutionary War, and it appears her maternal great-grandfather (Thomas Wisner) may have. I researched this family several years ago, but when DNA began to give me more family members to research, the Revolutionary War connections appeared. Since these would be the first on my paternal side, I was excited. These will give me twelve patriots for NS DAR.

Hester Halstead Fowler

 

One Halstead Family: A Root of Our Family Tree by John W. Harrold (1975) does an excellent job with at least the familiar part of the family. Also, it gives a comprehensive history of the areas of New York where the Halstead family lived during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. There is a timeline of the movements of Benjamin and Anna including their life before and after marriage in Romulus Township, in an area which eventually became Cayuga County, New York. They married there in 1802. The county boundaries changed again, and by 1810 Romulus was in Seneca County where Benjamin and Anna completed a transaction for selling land. Eventually, life found them in Olcott (that area having gone through several name changes also), Niagara County, New York. During that time, Benjamin served in the War of 1812 on two separate occasions.

Not one to stay long in any one place, in 1830 Benjamin moved his family to Michigan and eventually settled in Superior Township, Washtenaw County. He died in Michigan on March 11, 1834 and is buried in what may have been known as the Cross Cemetery, next to St. John’s Cemetery and Highland Cemetery in Ypsilanti. His widow, Anna, returned to the Niagara Co. area with several of her unmarried children, having family that had remained in that area. She died there in 1876, at the age of 91 and was survived by five children, including my great-great-grandmother, Hester.

Doing further research on this family, I began running into numerous Ancestry trees with a Hester (Ann?) Halstead, born in New York about the same time as OUR Hester, but eventually settling in Hillsdale County, Michigan, with a husband and children. Hillsdale is about 60 miles from Superior Township, in Washtenaw County. This Hester was given the same parents, Benjamin and Anna Wisner Halstead. I had done enough research and had records to make me confident I had the correct information on OUR Hester. Contacting people online responsible for those trees proved mostly fruitless. But one man in Indiana did answer. He said he had a box of papers and pictures from his grandmother and he would go through it to see what he could find to help clear up this confusion.

 

In the meantime, I continued digging for additional information. FAN (Family/Associates/Neighbors) work, in particular for all Hester’s brothers and sisters was done. One of the problems was that on Hester’s death certificate, issued in Washtenaw County (a clue that she is OURS) lists her father’s surname as “Bailey” with the mother’s name unknown. An additional clue was that the informant was a Chas. H. (Charles Henry) McDougall. This is Hester’s daughter Delphine’s husband’s brother (!!) Unfortunately, the family sent as informant a man (!!) and one who was related by marriage only (!!), AND who obviously didn’t know the answers to the questions!! Since most of the family still lived in that area, why Charles? Hester had three daughters who probably would have known that information. As it turns out, Bailey is the married name of one of Hester’s sisters, Mary A. Another clue – that she is OURS!! 

There had to be a second Hester and many less-than-thorough researchers had mixed them up. And it really wasn’t that difficult to figure out! The man in Indiana eventually sent a picture of some family members labeled by his grandmother. The picture had a man listed on the back, as “my great-uncle Smith Halstead.” That made him a brother to this man’s grandmothers’ grandmother, Hester Halstead. This is the family in Hillsdale County. So, I went back to Ancestry to research a Smith Halstead. Even though there was more than one, there weren’t many. It turned out that he was part of a Halstead family from Yates County, New York. Smith Halstead had been married three times – thank goodness! Because his third marriage record was on Ancestry and listed his parents’ names as Jacob Halstead and Betsy Reynolds. A couple of trees did have Hester born in Yates County, so one of my searches was to find out if there were any Halstead families in Yates County about the time of OUR Hester’s birth in 1824. The 1830 census had two: Qaieb and John Halstead. If you view the image of the census, it clearly says Jacob not Qaieb (those transcribers are inventive). Jacob had two daughters under the age of 10 – one could easily be this other Hester. I gave my fellow researcher this information. He agreed with my assessment – and that OURS was the daughter of Benjamin and Anna Wisner Halstead.

OUR Hester was named after her father’s sister and Hester’s sister, Mary A. Halstead Bailey, named a daughter, Hester. OUR Hester (married to George W. Fowler in 1839) had twins: Sarah Ann and Mary Ann (born 12 August 1842). OUR great-grandmother, Delphine, was born 4 May 1851 in Washtenaw County. The names of the twins certainly fit. There are no Jacobs or Johns in OUR Halstead family, at least in the generations I have followed.

 

George W. Fowler

 

 And a recent find -  Hester’s husband, George, died in 1893 and her sister, Mary A.’s husband, Almon Bailey died in 1891. They are found living together on the 1905 New York State Census in Newfane, Niagara County, New York. I would guess that Hester was visiting Mary A. for an extended stay and, thankfully, they are recorded together during the census takers visit. They are listed as Mary A. Bailey, 84, and Hester Fowler, 81.  Mary A. died in 1910 and Hester in 1914.

                                                PLEASE!! Watch those trees!

 

HALSTEAD/FOWLER Family (from New York to Michigan):

Richard Halstead (1701-1785) and Hester Oldfield (1707-1784)

   Benjamin Halstead (1740-1801) and Ruth Howell  (1748-1800)

      Benjamin Halstead (1775-1834) and Anna Wisner (1784-1876)

         George W. Fowler (1817-1893) and Hester J. Halstead (1824-1914)

            Children of George and Hester (Halstead) Fowler:

            Albert D. Herrick (1834-1925) and Mary Ann Fowler (1842-1920)

            Andrew John Huston (1835-1902) and Sarah Ann Fowler (1842-1926)

            John A. McDougall (1843-1920) and Delphine E. Fowler (1851-1941)

 

 

NOTE:  The picture of "Hester Halstead Fowler" is labeled "Mrs. Hester Halstead" and came from the Ypsilanti Historical Society's collection. I am making an assumption that this is OUR Hester, since I am not sure who else would be Mrs. Hester Halstead. The picture of George W. Fowler also came from their collection.