SPM p.151(No 222) Elkanah Sears lived in the east precinct of Yarmouth, now East Dennis.
Was a soldier in Lt Micajah Sears' Co., and marched on alarm at Dartmouth and Falmouth, 6 Sep 1778; was on duty 3 days.
In the fall of 1819, Elkanah Sears with his son William, set out some cranberry vines at Flax pond (now called Scargo lake), in Dennis, and was the pioneer in the large and profitable business of cranberry raising.
Some years later Henry Hall of Dennis, having a marshy lot which produced some very fine berries, was led to follow the experiment of transplanting some of the vines to another portion of the same swamp, and the experiment proving a success, he and others continued their efforts in the same direction. But it took years of careful study, and laborious and costly experiment to ascertain the processes, soil and conditions necessary to success.
In 1888, the shipments of cranberries from Cape Cod were 80,128 barrels and 13,463 boxes.
In 1677, to appease the wrath of Charles II, who was angry with Massachusetts Colony for coining "pine-tree shillings," the General Court ordered a present to be sent him of "ten barrels of cranberries, two hogsheads of samp, and three thousand codfish," luxuries which it was thought would soften the ire of an angry monarch.BURIED: Ancient Sears Cemetery - No 117
SACRED
to the memory of
Mr ELKANAH SEARS
who died
Jun 1 1836 AEt 78
Farewell my wife & children dear
I leave you all below
O may you serve the Lord while here
That home to glory you may go.Dennis, Cape Cod, p 298, Over the next few years the family of Elkanah Sears on Quivet Neck experimented in {cranberry} cultivation.
DVR, p 35-6 a record of the births and names of their children; p.123, b., d.; p 152 [another] record of their children
24 Jan 94 - Notes by Lelia Brownscombe, grandaughter of Elkanah H Sears, copied by Ray Sears from a box of letters, notes and Isaac Sears's autograph book owned by M. Sabra Martin, Sep 1990.
Elkanah had a house on the corner of South and School streets (supposedly the SW corner) in East Dennis. [That one burned and so]He built 51 School St in 1805. Later Katherine and Edmund lived there. In 1913 Elkanah H. added a bathroom and dormer window upstairs and the screen porch. The kitchen or room across the back of the house had a beautiful brick wall with fireplace, built in oven. One time Edmund and Katherine found several barrels of very old dishes stored in the barn. Cranberry barrels were still being made when I (LJB) was a little girl. Later cranberry boxes. Elkanah H used to travel to Wisconsin to buy wood for barrels.
The house is built on huge granite stones which has kept it in such good condition. William Sears [Elkanah's son] owned a salt works which was located between
BURIED: Ancient Sears Cemetery
married by Rev. Timothy Alden [189]
filed intentions 19 Feb 1791 [189]
poss desc of Edw Gray of Plymouth
or John Gray of Yarmouth
25. Rebecca Betsey Ann Harriman
m. 20 Jun 1822 [190]