On This Day : January 5

1626: Jacobina KIRN born in Egenhausen, Wurttemberg.  Jacobina was the daughter of Jacob KIRN and Barbara HAITZMAN.  She was my 9x great-grandmother.


1676: Elizabeth PIERCE born in Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Thomas PIERCE and Eliza ________.


1691: Judah HUTCHINSON married Mary BRIDGEMAN in Northampton, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.  Judah was the son of Ralph HUTCHINSON and Alice ________ (BENNETT).


1692: Joseph CLARKE married Dorothy MAXSON.  Joseph was the son of Joseph CLARKE and Bethiah HUBBARD.  Dorothy was the daughter of Rev. John MAXSON and Mary MAXSON.


1707: Stephen PIERCE married Esther FLETCHER.  Stephen was the son of Stephen PIERCE and Tabitha PARKER.


1726: Goodeth MAXSON born.  Goodeth was the daughter of John MAXSON and Hannah MAXSON.


1731: Hannah HEATON married Beriah WARE.  Hannah was the daughter of Samuel HEATON and Susan HAWES.


1737: Thomas DAVIS married Bethia MAXSON in Westerly, Washington County, Rhode Island.  Thomas was the son of William DAVIS and Elizabeth PAVIOR.  Bethia was the daughter of Joseph MAXSON and Bethia MAXSON.


1762: Johann Paul GONDOLF born in Battenfeld, Germany.  Johann was the son of Johann Conrad GONDOLF and Anna Elisabetha ROSE.


1768: Jerusha HURLBUT born in Woodbury, Connecticut.  Jerusha was the daughter of Israel HURLBUT and Jerusha ________.


1798: Barbara BYERS born in Warrington Township, York County, Pennsylvania.  Barbara was the daughter of Abraham BYERS and Mary STICKEL.  She was my 4x great-grandmother.


1832: Beulah DEACON died.  Beulah was the daughter of Robert HAINES and Rachel VENICOMB.


1874: Sarah Elizabeth BOYER married John Henry PROCTOR in Warrick County, Indiana.  Sarah was the daughter of Christopher Columbus BOYER and Nancy Ann McCOOL.


1878: Jesse WRIGHT born in Madison County, Indiana.  Jesse was the son of Joseph W. WRIGHT and Rebecca Ann HEATON.


1902: Leslie GROENENDYKE died.  Leslie was the daughter of Frank GROENENDYKE and Lydia ROHLS.


1915: Theodore DAVIS died.  Theodore was the son of Stillman Coon DAVIS and Keziah DAVIS.


2010: Thomas B. PIERCE died.  Thomas was the son of Maurice J. PIERCE and Bonnie Bell WEBB.

Fearless Females: Thirza

March 3 — Do you share a first name with one of your female ancestors? Perhaps you were named for your great-grandmother, or your name follows a particular naming pattern. If not, then list the most unique or unusual female first name you’ve come across in your family tree.


Probably one of the most unusual female names in my family history is Thirza SMALLEY (c1775-1861), who was my maternal 5th-great grandmother.  According to the website, Behind the Name, the name is the Dutch variation of the name TIRZAH.  Tirzah comes from the Hebrew meaning of 'favourable'.  It occurs in the Old Testament as the name of a daughter of Zelophehad; also as a place name for a residence of the kings of the northern kingdom.  I have seen the name spelled as both Thirza and Thirsa.


Thirza was born circa 1775, probably in Thetford, Worchester County, Massachusetts.  She was the daughter of Francis and Sarah (HUTCHINSON) SMALLEY.  Thirza married in 1796 in Thetford, Orange County, Vermont to Gordon PIERCE.  They had 5 children together, and she died in 1861 in Pitcher, Chenango County, New York.


My line of descent from Thirza is as follows :

Thirza SMALLEY m. Gordon PIERCE

Francis S. PIERCE m. Rebecca PAGE

Edmund G. PIERCE m. Catherine GROENENDYKE

William Francis PIERCE m. Clara PENISTEN

Edna Muriel PIERCE m. Virgil Lee WRIGHT (my great-grandparents)

Once again, in honor of National Women’s History Month, Lisa Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist blog presents Fearless Females: 31 Blogging Prompts to Celebrate Women’s History Month.

Today in my database : Gordon Pierce (b. August 31, 1773)

Today's featured relative in my database is my maternal 5th-great grandfather, Gordon Pierce.

Gordon was born August 31, 1773 in Hardwick, Worchester Co., MA, the son of Seth and Bethiah (Field) Pierce. Gordon married in 1796 in Thetford, Orange Co., VT to Thirsa Smalley, the daughter of _______ and Almira (Hutchinson) Smalley. Thirsa was born ca. 1775 in Thetford, Worchester Co., MA., and died 1861 in Pitcher, Chenango Co., NY. Gordon died February 7, 1875 in Pitcher, Chenango Co., NY.

Known children of Gordon and Thirsa (Smalley) Pierce are as follows:
i. Almina Pierce b. 1798 m. John Coy
ii. Austin Pierce b. September 2, 1799 Orange Co., VT, d. July 17, 1861 Villenova, NY, m. Mary Ann Sterling
iii. Minerva P. Pierce b. January 25, 1803 m. Jethro Hatch
iv. Francis S. Pierce b. June 8, 1806 Vermont, d. August 5, 1881 Wayne Co., IN., m. Rebecca Page
v. Royal S. Pierce b. January 8, 1812 d. March 6, 1845 Mina, NY, m. Juliet Morton

I descend from Gordon and Thirsa (Smalley) Pierce through their son, Francis, as follows :
Gordon Pierce and Thirsa Smalley
Francis S. Pierce and Rebecca Page
Edmund G. Pierce and Catherine Groenendyke
William Francis Pierce and Clara Pennisten
Edna Muriel Pierce and Virgil Lee Wright (my great-grandparents)