AYER, Moses (REVISED 9/23/2025)

The interior of Moses rustic log cabin would have
looked much like this one (that can be seen at
the Lumberman's Museum in Patten, ME.)

Moses Ayer was born  Apr. 14, 1747 in Haverhill, MA a s/o Simon Ayer and Mary (Webster) Ayer. Moses came to Winthrop before 1770 and settled lot #69 on the west shore of Chandler's Mill Pond (now called Lake Maranacook) on the road to Winthrop (route 41). He was one of the men who signed the petition to incorporate Winthrop in 1770 and in 1771 he married Sarah ___. A son, William was born to them in Winthrop Dec. 24, 1772. Moses enlisted in March, 1777 in the Revolutionary War. According to Stackpole's History of Winthrop, page 129: "Moses Ayer enlisted March, 1777 as a Marine on U.S.S. Hancock, Commodore John Manley; captured British frigate Fox and several merchant vessels; (Ayer) was captured by British ship Rainbow and brig Cabot, July 1777, carried prisoner to Halifax (Nova Scotia, Canada) and confined till November, 1777, when he escaped and returned to Boston. In March, 1778 Henry Wyman (of Winthrop/Readfield) was chosen constable in Winthrop ‘to collect the part of the State tax that would have been given to Mr. Ayers…for Mr. Ayer was in the service of the States at the time the tax was made.”

On 2/27/1782 Moses and Sarah MNU Ayer of Winthrop sold buildings and 200 acres of land - lot #69 - to Adam Couch of Vassalboro for 1,300 silver dollars (Kennebec Registry book8 page 446). Moses moved to Solon, ME where he died 2/2/1823 and is buried in the Pierce-Purington Cemetery, Embden, Maine. Sarah died in Solon in 1816. 

Children:

1. William b.1772 Winthrop; d.1791 by drowning; bur. Ayer Cemetery, Embden

2. Abigail b.1779 Winthrop; m. Charles Pierce; d.1864. bur. Pierce Cemetery, Solon

3. Moses, Jr. b.1781 Winthrop; m.1805 Sally Gray; d.1849 North Anson; bur. Sunset Cemetery, Anson

4. Stephen b.1784 Solon; m. Zelpha Eames d.1845 Winthrop; bur.unk

5. Martha b.1786 Solon; m.1807 Aaron Rice; d.abt.1865 Embden; bur. unk

6. Betsey b.1788 Solon; m.1807 William Thompson; d.1848; bur.Sunset Cemetery, Anson

7. Mary b.1792 Solon

References:

1. History of Winthrop, Maine by Everett Stackpole; pub. 1925; page 129 and 260

2. Kennebec County Registry of Deeds; deed dated 1782 book 8 page 446, Winthrop, Maine

3. 1800 U.S. Census,  Miscellaneous Gores and Settlements, Kennebec River, Maine (Seven Mile Brook Plantation)

4. 1810 U.S. Census, Solon, Maine 

5. 1818 Pensioners of the Revolutionary War

6. 1823 Pierce-Purington Cemetery, Embden, Maine; www.findagrave.com/memorial/92174190/

7. VRs of Haverhill, Massachusetts to the end of year 1849, Vol 1, Births, 1910, p. 20

8. FindaGrave.com for Moses Ayer

9. Fred Evans, a direct descendant of Simon Ayer and Mary Webster Ayer from Haverhill, MA, the parents of the Moses Ayer who was born in Haverhill in 1747.  Mr. Evans writes: Moses Ayer has "many DNA ThruLines matches at Ancestry with people who evidently are direct descendants of Moses. The procedure used to obtain these matches was to extend the reach of ThruLines for Moses by at least two generations using test trees. He also has the matches for his sister. The shared matches with the longest DNA segments and the main collection of ThruLines matches was for Moses' children Moses Jr. and Abigail. There was an intermediate level group of shared matches for Martha, and a few short segment matches were present for Elizabeth and Stephen. This is supporting evidence that Moses was born in Haverhill and that had children in present day Maine."