580. Richard Sears Hon. (Daniel , Daniel , Paul , Richard ) was born 30 Jan 1749 in Chatham, MA. He died 13 May 1839 in Chatham, MA and was buried in , 278.
S.P. May p.165 Richard Sears' father died when he was eleven years of age, and
two years later his mother married Samuel Ballard of Boston, removed with her
childrento that town, and lived on the corner of Common st. and Turnagain lane,
now known as Tremont st. and Temple place.
Richard soon returned to Chatham, and was brought up there, receiving a
common school education, and, arriving at the age of manhood, settled upon the
old homestead farm, and devoted himself to its cultivation. He spent seven
years of his youth in the family and store of Gen Joseph Otis of Revolutionary
fame.
He became the largest real estate owner in Chatham; carried on his farm on an
extensive and liberal scale, having a farmer to superintend, and a number of
farm hands always employed; kept considerable live stock; a goodly number of
cattle and sheep, which were pastured on the downs.
He kept a variety store next his house, which was on the Main street just left
of teh soldier's monument; engaged in the manufacture of salt; and to some
extent in shipping, in connection with his brother David of Boston.
The old house, supposed to have been built by his grandfather, Daniel Sears,
was taken down in 1863, having, after the death of his widow, been occupied by
various parties, and allowed to become dilapidated.
He was appointed Coroner in 1781;Session Justice for the county in 1814, and
to qualify civil officers; Jusitce of the PEace, quorum unus, 1801; Represen-
tative 1780,1781,1783,1785,1786,1792,1796,1806,1809,1813,1814; Seantor, 1804,
and town treasurer and Clerk, 1775, 1776.
Was in 1st Co. of Chatham, in 2d Regt Militia, Revolutionary war, date and
service not given.
Mr Sears was tall, and of great dignity in manner; calm in speech and action;
civil and attractive in his intercourse with his fellows.
He was a conscientious Christian man, and a strong supporter of the church.
His dress, up to a very short time before his death, was of the late Revolu-
tionary period; he wore long hose, shoe and knee buckles, ruffled shirts at all
times, and his iron-gray hair brushed over and tied in a cue with a black ribbon
Mrs. Sears, "Grandma," as she was called by her intimates, was, by nature, a
courtly lady, capable of gracing any position, and uniting with her husband in
practical religion, she was ever doing good, especially among children, aiming
to instill into their minds the lesson: "Remember now thy Creator in the days of
thy youth."
The "Squire," as he was called, would frequently invite his city friends to
Chatham for fishing and gunning, and many distinguished men, as Webster, Otis,
Quincy and others, have enjoyed the comforts and agreeable society of that
hospitable roof.
The clergy ever found a home there, and always made it their stopping place
when in town.
Most of the travelling, 80 or 90 years ago, from Chatham to Boston, was on
horseback.
During the many years that the Squire represented the town in the Legislature,
he was in the habit of riding all the way to Boston, where he remained during
the session, the guest of his brother David, at his residence on Beacon street,
enjoying its luxurious appointments and the cultured society to which he had
access, returning to his quiet home in the spring, ready and eager to resume his
country life and the duties connected with it.
The day before his death he waas engaged in superintending his out-of-door
business; but in the afternoon came in from a drive to the shore, complaining of
a pain in the region of the heart, walked through the house to his bed-room, and
lying down never rose again; he died the next forenoon, very calmly and peace-
fully gliding out of existence, aged 90.
At the time of Mrs. Sears' death, a maid in the house was quite ill, and a
nurse from the village was in attendance; hearing a movement during the night in
Mrs. Sears' bedroom below stairs, she went down and found her sitting up and
looking from the window. In reply to the question, "Are you not feeling well,
Grandma?" she said, "O, yes, only restless and wakeful. I often get up and sit
at the window when the moon shines, and think." She was persuaded to go to bed,
and was soon sleeping, but breathing rather strongly; from this sleep she never
awoke. She, too, gently departed this life; at 3 o'clock the next afternoon she
no longer lived, and th eold house was desolate then.
The family were originally buried in the family cemetery on the hill where is
now the Methodist church; but after the death of Daniel Sears in 1854, their
remains were removed to the Congregational cemetery.
The will of Richard Sears is dated 15 Oct 1833, and mentions beloved wife,
Mehitable Sears, and son Daniel; grandson Charles M Briggs, and son-in-law
Charles Scudder, trustees and executors; gr-dau Mary Prichard, widow of Gilman
P; gr-sons George Briggs, Marshall S Scudder and Charles W Scudder, and
"reserving forever the burying-ground as fenced for a family burying place,
together with a convenient way to the same for the purpose of a burial place,
and my will is that a fence be kept in good repair under the care and direction
of my executors."
Richard married Mehitable Marshall on 25 Nov 1778 in Framingham, MA. Mehitable was born 27 Oct 1758 in
They had the following children:
+ 1873 F i Sarah Sears 1874 M ii Richard Sears Capt was born 29 Oct 1781 in Chatham, MA. He died 28 Nov 1830 in Chatham, "Of Consumption", MA and was buried in , 696.
S.P. May p.164 Richard will,dated 5 Oct 1828, and codicil 5 Oct 1830, were
proved 9 Feb 1831; mentions sisters-in-law, Rebecca and Elizabeth Marshall;
nephew Charles M Briggs; and gives to bro. Daniel his watch and chain. Charles
Scudder of Boston, Execr.
In early life he sailed as supercargo and master, and after retiring from the
sea, kept a store on the beach where the salt-works were, in partnership with
Isaac Hardy, father of the late Hon. Alpheus H.,of Boston.
In connection with his father-in-law he built a foundry, and also a saw-mill
on the Sudbury river.
His residence was next to his father, on the old homestead. He was very
fine looking extremely gentlemanly and courteous in manner, resembling his
father in many ways.
Was appointed Justice of the Peace, 1822; chosen Town Clerk, 1827; and
represented the town in State Leg., 1826,27. Was Aid-de-Camp, etc.
Richard married Alathena Marshall, daughter of Gilbert Marshall and Jane Jones, on 18 Mar 1815 in Chatham, Pub.. Alathena was born 28 Mar 1792 in . She died 1839.
S.P. may p.164 Her will proved 1839; inventory, $3410
1875 M iii Daniel Sears was born 4 Dec 1783 in Chatham, MA. He died 10 Oct 1854 in Unm. and was buried in , 697.
S.P. may p.164 Daniel was the last of the line in Chatham. He was plain in
feature, and much deformed, owing to an accident in childhood. His mother was
driving with friends, when the horse became frightened, the carriage was over-
turned, and the person who held him, fell upon him, causing internal injuries.
It was for a time supposed that he could not live, and gradually this deformity
came upon him.
He died three years after his mother, of heart disease; he had driven to
Yarmouth on a very cold day, returned much chilled, and died in two days.
1876 F iv Hetty Sears was born 4 Dec 1783 in Chatham, "gemini". She died 1 Aug 1814 in Boxford, MA and was buried in , 698. Hetty married Isaac Briggs Rev., son of Ephraim Briggs Rev. and Rebecca Waterman, on 4 Nov 1813 in , By Eph. Briggs. Isaac was born 26 May 1775 in Halifax, MA. He died 22 Feb 1862 in Morrisania, NY.
S.P. May p.162 Isaac grad. Brown University, 1795, and was settled in York, ME
1797; at Boxford, MA 1803-33; and Chatham, 1834-36. He rem. to N Rochester, MA
and lived there till 1852, when he went to reside with his dau., Mrs John J
Crane of Morisania, NY, and died there 22 Feb 1862, ae 87; "a good man, and a
faithful minister."
1877 M v Ebenezer Marshall Sears was born 24 Nov 1788 in Chatham, MA. He died 10 Aug 1810 in Havana, Cuba and was buried in Chatham, gr-st.
S.P. May p.164 Ebenezer was a clerk in Boston, and went to Cuba on his
employer's business
+ 1878 F vi Fear Sears
581. David Sears (Daniel , Daniel , Paul , Richard ) was born 29 Nov 1752 in Chatham, Barnstable, MA. He died 23 Oct 1816 in Boston, MA and was buried in , 279.
S.P. May p.167-8 Mr. Sears removed to Boston with his mother in 1763, and was brought up by his step-father, Samuel Ballard, who lived on Common st., now Tremont st., between Mr. Cole's and Mrs. Swan's houses, being the third house from Winter st., nd corner of Turnagain lane, now Temple place.
He became one of the most successful merchants in Boston, having his counting room on Central Wharf.
In 1775 he sailed for London in company with Daniel Greene and others, ( who desired to avoid the troublous times consequent upon the outbreak of the
Revolution,) traveled upon the Continent during several years, and made his
business connections useful to his country.
Upon his return, he narrowly escaped capture by an English frigate.
He engaged to some extent in privateering, and in the summer of 1779 fitted
out the "Mars," of 22 guns, under command of Capt. Ash.
During the Presidency of the elder Adams, he was chairman of a Com. of the
Citizens of Boston for building a frigate, the "Boston," at their private
expense, to be presented to the Federal government, himself subscribing $3,000.
He was in favor of Jay's treaty, and suffered considerable loss by French
spoliations prior to 1800.
Mr. Sears was an able financier, and Director of the First Bank of the United States from its commencement to its termination; was often a referee in intricate cases of equity and mercantile usage, and his whole career was marked by incorruptible integrity.
That large tract of land in Maine, known as the "Waldo Patent," having been
confiscated by the government, was sold; three-fourths to Gen. Knox, his wife
owning the remaining fourth, and by him mortgaged to his sureties, Gen. Lincoln, and Col. Jackson, who assigned the mortgage to Israel Thorndike, David Sears and William Prescott of Boston, who foreclosed it.
The territory was originally 30 miles square, and included all the islands of Penobscot Bay, the sites of the towns of Searsmont, Prospect, Knox and Searsport Our institutions do not readily lend themselves to the maintenance of a great absentee proprietor, in remote parts of the country.
It was not an easy matter to secure a competent agent, and still less to deal with refractory tenants, or with that numerous class of settlers who persuade themselves that they ought to be allowed to occupy, rent free, the soil they have begun by appropriating.
It is therefore to be wondered that the heirs availed themselves of
opportunities for selling this estate, and the only portion now remaining un-
alienated is the well known Brigadier's (now Sears)Island.
Mr. Sears was a benevolent man, and a contributor to many charities.
He was founder of the "Widow's Fund," in Trinity Church, in which he was a
worshipper, and in which he was honored as a benefactor.
A too copious indulgence in that favorite repast of the olden time, a a
"Saturday salt-fish dinner," brought on serious indigestion, followed by a
congestion which proved fatal.
He fell dead as he was getting into his carriage, in front of his residence
on the upper corner of Beacon and Somerset streets, 23 Oct 1816.
Dr. John Sylvester John Gardiner, then Rector of Trinity Church, preached his funeral sermon from the test: "There is but one step between me and death," in allusion to the fact that Mr. Sears had fallen on the step of his carriage in a fit of apoplexy.
His wife, Ann Winthrop, was a dau. of John Still Winthrop, by his first wife Jane Borland, and a lineal descendant in the fifth degree of the old first Governor, and was an elder sister of Lieut.-Gov. Thomas Lindall Winthrop.MARRIAGE: Marriage notices, 1785-1794, p 109 from the Mass Centinel; Sears,
David at Providence Mr D.S. of this town, merchant to Miss Winthrop, dau of
John Stille Winthrop, Esq of New London (W 21Jun 1786)Mayflower Index: No.29,921 David; spouse Ann Winthrop; mother Fear Freeman
David married Ann Winthrop, daughter of John Still Winthrop and Jane Borland, on 6 Jun 1786 in Providence, RI. Ann was born about 1756 in
They had the following children:
+ 1879 M i David Sears Hon
582. Fear Sears (Daniel , Daniel , Paul , Richard ) was born 1754 in Chatham, MA. She died 2 Nov 1797 and was buried in , 280.
Fear married William Colman. William was born 1750 in
They had the following children: