Rev. Thomas Pierce, Jr.

1737 - 1775  (37 years)

• Name	Thomas Pierce  [1, 2, 3]
  Prefix	Rev.
  Suffix	Jr.
  Birth	11 Oct 1737	Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts   [3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Death	26 Jan 1775	Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine   [2, 3, 5]
  Burial	Black Point Cemetery, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine   [3]
  Person ID	I40830	Descendants of William Hascall of Fontmell Magna (1490-1542)
  Last Modified	7 Feb 2024

  
  

  Father	Thomas Pierce
  Mother	Abigail Frost
  Family ID	F21639	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Anna Haskell,   b. 18 Aug 1743, Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts
  Marriage	30 Nov 1762	Gloucester, Essex, Massachusetts   [1, 2]
  Children	1. Thomas Pierce,   b. 26 Oct 1763, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine d. Yes, date unknown   2. William Pierce,   b. Bef 23 Feb 1766, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine d. Yes, date unknown   3. William Haskell Pierce,   b. 1 Mar 1767, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine d. Yes, date unknown   4. Samuel Pierce,   b. 17 Jun 1769, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine d. Yes, date unknown   5. Abigail Frost Pierce,   b. 15 Aug 1771, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine d. 12 Mar 1855 (Age 83 years)
  Family ID	F14192	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Jun 2017

  
  

• Notes

  Ordination: 24 Nov 1762 at Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts Thomas was ordained "at the hands of the Boston Presbytery, ... a delegation from the [Scarborough] parish accompanying." First Church of Scarborough agreed to "adopt Presbyterian forms of worship" during Thomas' pastorate. _____ Thomas Pierce, A.B., A. M. 1762, Presbyterian clergyman, was born in Newbury, Massachusetts on , October 11, 1737, the son of Abigail and Thomas Pierce. Young Thomas matriculated at the College on September 20, 1755. During his years there purchased copies of the standard textbooks, such as Thomas Salmon's compendium, A New Geographical and Historical Grammar, and Robert Dodsley's The Preceptor, with its introduction by Dr. Johnson. After graduation Pierce studied theology. In 1759 the Congregational parson at Scarborough, Maine, William Tompson (Harvard 1718) had died. Although Tompson had joined other members of the Congregational Eastern Association of York County in denouncing itinerant New Light preachers, he with "much of uneasiness" permitted George Whitefield to preach three times from his pulpit. Some theological dissension apparently existed within the parish, for only after several other candidates had proved unsatisfactory did the Scarborough congregation settle in 1762 on Thomas Pierce as their new minister. Pierce accepted the all, but only on the condition that the church assume the Presbyterian form of ecclesiastical organization. The congregation agreed, and Pierce was ordained by the Presbyterians in his home town of Newbury. Settled in Scarborough, in 1762 Pierce married Anne Haskell. Pierce built his bride a fine two story house. The couple had two sons. Pierce died in Scarborough on January 26, 1775 and was buried beside his predecessor. His parishioners then abandoned the Presbyterian form of church organization and resumed the Congregational one. Princetonians 1748-1768 A Biographical Dictionary Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey, 1976 Pages 285,286

  
  

• Sources

  [S43658] Vital Records of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. [S27363] Genealogy of the descendants of William Haskell and Mary Tybott, (compiled by Marion S. Anderson for the Haskell Family Association). [S44827] Cemetery index, Black Point Cemetery, Scarborough, Cumberland, Maine, (Find-a-Grave). [S43702] Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the year 1850. [S43960] Ancestry.com, Pierce-Murch-Cooper-Taylor Family Tree, (Site provided by Beverly Pierce July 2016).