PIERCE, Thomas, Captain 1820 US Census Readfield 1-1-2-1

Section of the 1856 map of Readfield that shows Church Rd.
and the location of the Thomas Pierce property. In 1839 the
Church Road was referred to as "the road that leads
to the Captain Thomas Pierce house" on an old deed.

Thomas Pierce was born 1785 in Falmouth, ME s/o Thomas and Elizabeth (Storer) Pierce. He came to Readfield [i] about 1810 where he was listed as serving in the Readfield Regiment during the War of 1812 as a Musician.[ii]  In 1813 he married Betsey Pitts of Readfield.[iii] She was born 1796 d/o Cromwell and Thankful (Norcross) Pitts[iv] and granddaughter of Seth Pitts of Readfield. The same year Thomas Pierce and Betsey Pitts were married Thomas was deeded property in Readfield by David Hunton.[v] The Pierces’ lived on Church Road[vi] - which was referred to in an old 1839

Overlooking the property that was settled by
Captain Thomas Pierce. Here his purebred
Shorthorn Cattle once grazed. The house
burned in the 1940s and a new one was
built by Fred Piper.

Kennebec County deed as "the road leading to the farm of Captain Thomas Pierce".[vii] Interestingly his land abutted that of Robert Cornforth.[viii] Both men introduced high quality Shorthorn Cattle to Readfield in 1829-1830 and became the foremost cattle breeders in western Kennebec County.[ix] Pierce’s bulls were named Uranus and Gold-Finder.[x] Pierce and Cornforth both contributed significantly to the improvement of the herds in our area. In 1841 Capt. Thomas Pierce served as a selectman in the town of Readfield[xi] and in 1848 in the Maine State Legislature.[xii] He was a farmer, a cattle breeder and contributed to local and state politics. He must have been a very energetic and ambitious person for at age 71yrs his occupation was listed as mason on the US Census.[xiii]

Gravestone of Capt. Thomas Pierce, his wives and

some of his children at Readfield Corner Cemetery.

 

Thomas Pierce's brother Charles married Betsey's sister Harriet Pitts and they also lived in Readfield. Thomas and Betsey Pierce raised their six children in Readfield. She died 12/15/1862 and seven months later Captain Thomas married a woman thirty-one years younger – Mrs. Aurella Caldwell of Readfield.[xiv]  By 1870 Thomas was listed as “retired farmer”. His property value had doubled from $1,500 to $3,000 in those ten years. Aurilla also had property valued at $2,800. He died 12/31/1871 and Aurilla continued to live at the Pierce homestead. She died in 1886 and her estate was signed over to Abner T. and George Rollins in 1889.[xv] Thomas, Betsey and Aurilla Pierce are all buried at Readfield Corner Cemetery.[xvi]

 Children of Thomas and Betsey (Pitts) Pierce born in Readfield:[xvii]

1. Thankful Pitts b.2/18/1814 d.4/6/1859 m. William Caldwell
2. Lewis b.2/5/1816 d.6/8/1837 New Orleans, LA
3. Almira b.9/29/1818 d.2/12/1842 m. Miles Williams
4. Betsey Jane b.11/16/1821 d.unknown m. Simeon Ryder
5. Thomas S. b.9/12/1827 d.7/28/1832
6. Miriam Webster b.1/9/1830 d.8/21/1919
   

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[i] 1800 US Census Falmouth, ME; 1820 US Census Readfield, ME

[ii] History of Kennebec County by Kingsbury; published 1892; chapter on military history page 117

[iii] To Those Who Led the Way: Readfield VR’s 1768-1913; self-pub Dale Potter Clark; pg 108; wwwreadfieldmaine.blogspot.com

[iv] Stackpole’s History of Winthrop, Me with Genealogical notes by Keene and Young; pub. 1992 by Heritage Books Inc. Bowie, MD; pages 799-800

[v] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds; Book 23 Page 536; 12/24/1813

[vi] 1856 and 1879 maps of Readfield, ME

[vii] http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~mecreadf/thomascraig.htm accessed 7/1/2013. The Pierce farm was located on the land owned in the 20^th century by Charles Brisbin then Fred Piper then Gordon Poole then Paul Picard. It burned when owned by Brisbin and Piper built another on that site around 1948.

[viii] Lot #211 on 1791 map of Readfield.

[ix] History of Kennebec County by Kingsbury; published 1892; chapter of agricultural history page 205

[x] Annual Report of the Secretary of the Maine Board of Agriculture, Issue 19

[xi] History of Kennebec County by Kingsbury; published 1892; page 906

[xii] ibid page 89

[xiii] 1860 US Census Readfield; 1870 US Census Readfield

[xiv] To Those Who Led the Way: Readfield VR’s 1768-1913; self-pub Dale Potter Clark; pg 178; wwwreadfieldmaine.blogspot.com

[xv] Kennebec County Registry of Deeds

[xvi] Readfield, ME Cemetery Inscriptions 1771-1981; in possession of Dale Potter Clark 2013

[xvii] To Those Who Led the Way: Readfield VR’s 1768-1913; self-pub Dale Potter Clark; pg 37; wwwreadfieldmaine.blogspot.com