Captain William Pierce

  General Notes:

The Pierces And Their Posterity p. 7: per American Genealogical Research Institute: "William Pierce died 1651; emigrated to the Jamestown Colony from England on board the Sea Adventurer in 1609; captain of the Governor's Guard in 1617, councilor, 1631-1648; member of the House of Burgerses; married to Jane."

Died in the West Indies at the hands of the Spaniards as he attempted to rescue some of his countrymen from New Providence.

==================================================================== ====================================== From B. L. Colby, "Thirty-one generations, a thousand years of Percy and Pierce": William. Born in England about 1595. Captain of the Mayflower on its second voyage to New England.

"The regard in which he was held is indicated by this excerpt from Bancroft's History of the United States: "The captain of the Mayflower (on its first voyage), named Jones, had agreed to take them (the Pilgrims) only across the Atlantic. He is said to have been bribed by Virginian and Dutch colonists not to bring the Pilgrims to Virginia or New Amsterdam. Capt. William Pierce would have landed them where they wished, and if he had commanded the Mayflower on that voyage New England might have been settled in Virginia or New York. The Pilgrims had planned to go to the Hudson river."

"Although it was not until her second voyage that he was captain of the famed Mayflower, Capt. William had more than his share of "firsts". He brought the first cattle to New England from England (ship Charity, 1624). He brought from the West Indies to New England the first cotton (1633) and the first sweet potatoes (ship Desire in 1636). He published the first bound book in English to be printed in North America - Pierce's (Peirse's) Almanac of 1639 calculated for New England and printed by Stephen Day, "an exceedingly illiterate printer," on a press brought to Boston in 1638 by the Rev. Mr. Glover, English clergyman."

"Although the first Thanksgiving Day is commonly considered to have been the celebration following the first Pilgrim harvest in 1621, it has been suggested that Captain William Pierce was instrumental in bringing about the first real Thanksgiving observance ten years later!"

"The winter of 1630-31 was severe, game was scarce, the corn supply was nearly gone, even acorns and ground nuts were concealed by heavy snows. Women of the Colony were set to digging clams; a ration of five kernels of corn a day for each person was ordered. The Colonists were on the verge of starvation and had designated Feb. 22, 1631, as a fast day of prayer."

"Governor Winthrop, anticipating a hard winter, had sent Captain Pierce to England for provisions in the ship Lyon the previous fall. Pierce was delayed when he came upon the ship Ambrose, dismasted, and towed her home to Bristol. The Colonists had about given up hope of his return when the Lyon was spied, in the words of Cotton Mather, "just as Winthrop was distributing the last handful of meal in the barrel."

"The Lyon was loaded with beef and pork, wheat, peas, oatmeal, cheese, butter, suet and lemon juice. The scheduled fast day was joyfully turned into a Thanksgiving day. Mary Lowe in Thanksgiving, edited by Robert H. Schauffer, calls this "the first Thanksgiving day of which any written record remains in the Colonial records of Massachusetts" and adds, "We may justly claim this as the origin of Thanksgiving day." Lincoln writes: "This appears to have been the origin of Thanksgiving day." W. deLoss Love, Jr., in Fast and Thanksgiving Days of New England, calls the 1621 celebration "a harvest festival....not a Thanksgiving at all....not a day set aside for religious worship, but a whole week of festivity." Mary Lowe agrees, stating many deny the 1621 celebration was the first Thanksgiving day and pointed out the lack of any religious service during this week of feasting."

"Described as the most celebrated master of ships to come into the water of New England during the Colonists' early history, Captain William was an intimate and confidant of both Gov. William Bradford and Edward Winslow, a founder of the Colony, thrice governor and later commissioner of the United Colonies of New England."

"According to Lincoln, Captain William was master of the Mayflower on nine different voyages. He certainly was captain was these ships: Paragon, 1622, (owned by brother John); Anne, 1623, third ship to arrive from England; Charity, 1624, carrying Winslow and the first cattle from England; Jacob, 1625; Mayflower, 1629: Lyon, 1630, with Roger Williams and wife; Lyon, 1631, with John Elliot and Governor Winthrop's wife; Lyon, 1632, with Winthrop; Rebecca, 1634; Narragansett, 1634."

"He was in the West Indies in 1635 and the same year rescued refugees from the Connecticut Valley. He sailed to Block Island in the Desire in 1636 and the next year took supplies from Boston to soldiers fighting in the Pequot war. He sailed the Desire from London to Boston in 1638 and the next year sailed her back to London in a record 23 days. In 1641 in the same ship he commanded an expedition carrying dissenters to the West Indies. The Spaniards were hostile and he turned back, stopped at New Providence, an island in the Bahamas, to bring away a congregation there."

"Says Colonel Pierce in his Pierce Genealogy: "Though finding the Spaniards already in possession he stood gallantly in, hoping to rescue his countrymen. When the enemy opened upon him with cannon, he sent his people into the hold for safety, retaining on deck but one man to aid in working the ship. While lying in the caboose watching the sails, the captain and this sailor were fatally wounded by the same shot (July 13, 1641). The Desire headed for home, her noble master finding a fitting grave in the blue sea upon which so much of his life had been spent. His death was much lamented in the two colonies, which had so long known him as a skilful navigator and a Christian gentleman.""

"One of the "two colones" referred to certainly was Massachusetts, and the other may be Virginia. Lincoln states that Pierce lived briefly (1623-4) at James City, Va., with his wife Jane and 34 servants and that he served as Burgess from James City to the Virginia general assembly, later moving to Boston. Colonel Pierce, however, gives as William's addresses only Bristol, England, Boston, and Providence in the Bahamas."
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http://www.cpinternet.com/~rootie/pierce2.html: In a letter of 1638, which has been preserved, is this language: "The ship Desire, Capt. William Pierce, returned from the West Indies after a 7-month voyage. The brought cotton, tobacco and negroes from Providence, [one of the West Indies islands,] and salt from Tortugas." And yea a historian of those days speaks of him as "A godly man, and a most expert mariner!" Doubtless he was a good man, for these things did not trouble men's consciences then. Pope in history says that up to 1640 Capt. William crossed the ocean oftener than any man then moving. He made many voyages between England and Virginia or to the West Indies. Twice he essayed to go to Plymouth, but each time had to put back because of a leaky vessel. This was in 1621 and 1622. In 1623 he came in the Ann, in the Charity in 1624, in an unregistered ship in 1625, in the Mayflower in 1629, and in the Lyon or Lyon's Whelp in 1630, 1631 and 1632, making seven voyages to Plymouth within ten years. He brought a great many of his kindred over in his ships, also Rev. Cotton, Roger Williams and other eminent men. At first he lived in Virginia, where he had a plantation of 200 acres at James City. Here his first wife, Mrs. Jone (Jane) Pierce, died. She left a daughter Jane, who married Hohn Rolfe, the widower of Pocahontas, the Indian princess who saved Capt. John Smith's life. In 1632 he removed to Boston. Here he was of great influence, and made for them their first Almanac in 1639. In 1641 he attempted to land a ship-load of colonists on the Island of Providence, one of the Bahamas. The inhabitants resisted the intrusion, and in the battle that followed he was shot, the 13th of May, 1641.
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Boddie, Colonial Surry, p51, states that "Captain Pierce's final end is not known." He was living on Mulberry Island in Warwich County as late as 21 Jan 1655. Warwick Co. Wills, Book I, p116. Unfortunately, the Warwick Co. records after that date have been destroyed.

Boddie, Colonial Surry, p50, says that wife Joan Pierce came to VA on the "Blessing"quot; in 1610. She was listed as a survivor in the muster taken after the 1622 Indian massacre. Cf. Hotten, Lists of Emigrants to America - 1600 - 1700, p224. She was also with Captain Pierce on a mission to London in 1629. She died shortly afterward in 1630. Boddie, Colonial Surry, p50.

Boddie, Colonial Surry, p60 refers to Captain Pierce's son "Thomas Pierce, and his grandson William Pierce (IV) living on Mulberry Island with him 21 Jan 1655. Thomas Pierce also had a daughter Jane (II)
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http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Village/9463/newlyon.html:
Of Captain William Peirce, her Master, more particulars are known. He had sailed to Plymouth in 1623 as Master of the Anne of London, bringing the last lot of passengers to the Pilgrim settlement.
He was then a resident of Ratcliffe, parish of Stepney, London, and at that date was about thirty-one years old. He made a voyage to Salem in 1629 as Master of the Mayflower (not the Pilgrim ship) and thereafter he was in constant traffic in passengers and merchandise across the Atlantic. He took up his residence in Boston in 1632 and was admitted freeman May I4, 1634. His wife, Bridget, joined the church February 2, 1632/3; perhaps a second wife, as a William Peirce, mariner of Whitechapel, was licensed in 1615 to marry Margaret Gibbs. Whitechapel and Stepney are adjoining parishes. He became a Town and Colony official and was engaged In coastwise shipping thereafter. He compiled an Almanac for New England which was the second issue in 1639 from the Daye press at Cambridge. In 1641 he was killed by the Spaniards while on a voyage to the island of New Providence, Bahamas Group, whither he was taking passengers for settlement.

  Noted events in his life were:

• Other-Begin. Captain of the Mayflower on it's second voyage

• Other-Begin, 1624. Brought the first cattle to New England from England (ship Charity)

• Other-Begin, 1633. Brought the first cotton to New England from the West Indies

• Other-Begin, 1636. Brought first sweet potatoes to New England (ship Desire)

• Other-Begin, 1638. Published the first bound book in English to be printed in North America - Pierce's (Peirse's) Almanac of 1639

• Alt. Death: Alt. Death, Jul 13, 1641. ¹⁶⁷⁵ New Providence, Bahamas (on way to West Indies but turned back)

William married Jane (Joan or Joane) ?.