Monday, March 16, 2015

Martha Pearse (1736 - 1798 or 1802)

52 Ancestor Challenge - Challenge 11

Blake, King, Coleman, Pearce, Farmer, unknown, Lambden, Sarah (unknown), Knight, Ellis, Knight, Vincent, Butt, Durnford, Arnold, Molton, Cotterel, Bartlett, Alderman, Ann (unknown), Sherwood, unknown, Habberfield, Collings, Rawlings, Tanner, Dove, Morgan, Lywood, Canham, unknown, Peck, Pincombe, Charley, Rowcliffe, Pearse, Rew, Moggridge, Siderfin, Kent, Gray, Hilton, Cobb, Sproxton, Routledge, Tweddle, Routledge, Routledge, (unknown) Buller, unknown, Beard, Hemsley, Welch, Brockhouse, Cheatle, Woodcock, unknown Taylor, unknown, Harborne, Lewis, Roberts, Croxall, Lawley, unknown

Martha Pearse, my 4x great grandmother, married Philip Rowcliffe 9 Apr 1760 at South Molton and their daughter Betty (baptism) and Elizabeth (as an adult) was baptized  20 May 1777 at Bishops Nympton and married Robert Pincombe 7 Jun 1803 at Bishops Nympton. Martha had three siblings all male Philip (baptism unknown) but married to Joan Rock 2 May 1803 at Mariansleigh and their son John Rowcliffe married Eliza Brown at Mariansleigh with their eldest daughter Elizabeth marrying Richard Pincombe (from Beaford, Devon) 4 Dec 1851 in Usborne Township, Huron County, Ontario, Canada). A descendant of that family wrote to me asking how her Pincombe line fitted into mine but I am still working on that (father of Richard was William and mother Mary but thus far I have not found any linkage). It turned out we were related through the Rowcliffe family! George Rowcliffe, the second brother was baptized 9 Jul 1774 at Bishops Nympton and buried at South Molton 11 Oct 1849 and is said by some to be the father of Philip Rowcliffe who married Susanna Brown 16 Sep 1828 at Kennerleigh. Their son John died in Victoria British Columbia 6 Mar 1921. However the death duty index of 1849 has John (likely brother of George) as executor. The third brother William does not appear in the Parish Registers of Bishops Nympton with a baptism but he is likely the William Rowcliffe buried 6 Dec 1854 at South Molton. It is unknown whether he married.

Martha was the daughter of Philip Pearse and Grace Hobbs who married 7 Apr 1728 at South Molton. They had five children:

Philip baptized 19 Jan 1728 at South Molton
Grace baptized 19 Feb 1730 at South Molton
Philip (twin) baptized 8 Jul 1733 at South Molton
Martha (twin) baptized 8 Jul 1733 at South Molton and buried 7 Jul 1734 at South Molton
Martha baptized 23 Jan 1736 at South Molton.

There are two Martha Rowcliffes buried at South  Molton 7 Jan 1798 and 26 Mar 1802. Perhaps now several years since I found this information I can determine which one is my Martha. But it is still impossible to tell which one is my Martha. Philip Rowcliffe was buried 22nd Mar 1802 at South Molton.

Philip Pearse (father of Martha) was baptized 12 Nov 1703 at South Molton the son of John Pearse and Martha Quythers. All of this information to follow I extracted from the Parish Registers of South Molton which I have on fiche.  John Pearse and Martha Quythers were married 9 May 1686 at South Molton. They baptized six children at South Molton:

Roger 2 Oct 1686
Hannah 31 Jan 1687/88
Alice 22 Apr 1690
Mary 9 Mar 1692/93
Elizabeth 21 May 1700
Philip 12 Nov 1703

I have not made any attempt to follow the other children through the Parish Registers to date but will have a quick glance at Find My Past.

Roger likely buried 11 Jan 1694/95 at South Molton
Hannah possibly married (2 marriages at South Molton in the 1720s - a mite late but perhaps)
Alice possibly buried 7 Jun 1691 at South Molton
Mary possibly buried 28 Mar 1694 at South Molton or possibly married in the 1720s
Elizabeth nothing particularly found

John Pearse (married 1686 at South Molton) is likely the John Pearse baptized 14 Apr 1660 at South Molton and the son of Robert Pearse and unknown. This Robert Pearse is likely baptized Mar (no date given) 1631 at South Molton and the son of Robert Pearse and Elizabeth Dickes who were themselves married 13 Jun 1629 at South Molton. This Robert is possibly the son of John Pearse baptized 25 Jun 1602 at South Molton. There is a notation after John's name in the register "glovier." There is a marriage which I just found of Johannis Pearce and Anna Powle 6 Jul 1601 at South Molton. Missed my first go through the register about 6 years ago.

But I am still unable to find the marriage of a Robert Pearse father of John Pearse baptized 14 Apr 1660. However this is the time when Parish Registers are often missing information for instance births were recorded in this register during the Commonwealth but no marriages found yet by me.

The likely ancestry of Martha Pearse:

1. Elizabeth BLAKE
2. Helen Louise PINCOMBE (b 18 Oct 1916) - Westminster Township Middlesex County Ontario Canada
3. John Routledge PINCOMBE (b 10 Sep 1872)- Lobo Township Middlesex County Ontario Canada
4. William Robert PINCOMBE (b 11 Jun 1837)- Molland Devon England
5. John PINCOMBE (b 5 Jul 1808)- Bishops Nympton Devon England
6. Elizabeth (Betty) ROWCLIFFE (b 20 May 1777) - Bishops Nympton Devon England
7. Martha PEARSE (b 23 Jan 1736) - South Molton Devon England
8. Philip PEARSE (b 12 Nov 1703) - South Molton Devon England
9. John PEARSE (b 14 Apr 1660) - South Molton Devon England
10. Robert PEARSE (b Mar 1631) - South Molton Devon England
11 Robert PEARSE (b 25 Jun 1602) - South Molton Devon England
12 John Pearse

Noted on my webpage the following information re the Pearse family in this part of Devon:

 There is a John PEARSE on the Protestation Returns for Bishops Nympton in the 1640s (this would need to be John Pearse b 28 Apr 1605 if it is him). The 1723 Loyalty Oaths list: Benjamin Pearse at Lapford, Edward Pearse of Combe Martin, Samuel Pearse of Ashwater, Jonathan Pearse of Warrington, Edward, John and Gideon Pearse of Holsworthy, John Pearse of Chittlehampton, John Pearse of Morebath, John Pearse of Northam, Richard Pearse of Hartland, Michael Pearse of Chulmleigh, Philip Pearse of Bickleigh, Robert Pearse of Hartland, William Pearse of Shebbear, and William Pearse of Broadclyst. The Pearse family is very large in Devon (I have only listed a few of the members signing the Loyalty Oath in 1723).

A redo of the lookups in South Molton proved to be interesting and I remain rather convinced that this is my line of Pearse. Finding the marriage of Robert circa 1650s would be interesting as I have managed to locate all the wives for this family other than the wife of Robert baptized 1631. My mother did know of Martha Pearse although I can not now remember what she may have said about Martha just that the mother of Elizabeth Rowcliffe had been Martha Pearse.







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