THIRD GENERATION

11. Samuel PEIRSON was born on 22 Feb 1759 in Boston, MA. He attended Boston schools and excelled in writing, arithmetic and spelling and was therefore well qualified to be a merchant' clerk. He was thus employeed at the outbreak of the American Revolution. He voluntarily joined the New Hampshire line of troops and served for 5 1/2 months. During that time he was present at the battle of Saratoga and during one engagement, a fellow soldier was shot on either side of him. He was, for a short period of time, during the seige of Boston, one of General Washington's private clerks.

On leaving the military, he resumed commercial employment in Salem, MA. Soon after his marriage in 1783, he sailed to London as supercargo and general agent, but this being a disastrous period for American commerce found his employer bankrupt on his return. About 1785/86, he moved to Portland, ME and was employed as a merchant of some kind. It was in Portland that he became deeply religious and was led to change his beliefs to Unitarianism. As a member of a small group he started the first seperate association of this belief in the state of Maine by inviting the Rev. Thomas Oxnard, a reader in the First Parish Episcopal Church of Portland, to preach to them as Unitarians.

In 1792, he moved to Biddeford, ME where he purchased the home of a well known lawyer and merchant, Jeremiah "Jere" Hill (who was frequently called "Squire" Hill). The house was on a hill with a magnificant view just below the Falls (near the present intersection of route 1 and the river) between Hill Street and Pierson Lane and was one of the more imposing mansions with a long flight of stone steps leading up to it from Liberty (now Main) Street. The house was on the site of Major Phillips' garrison where a major battle with the indians took place in about 1675. (The area is currently occupied by low income/public housing units) After purchasing "Squire" Hill's house, he became known as "Squire" Peirson and it was his residence until near the end of his life when he lived in the estate of his second father-in-law, the Hon. Jeremiah Hill.

He had a store on Main St., just down the hill from his house. In March 1802, he became an original stockholder in the Saco Bank. He was its Cashier from its inception to 1825, and it's president from 1825 to 1833. He was a director of the Manufacturers' Bank from 1826 to 1830. He was instrumental in the founding of the Saco and Biddeford Savings Institution and was its secretary and treasurer from 1827 to 1843, and a trusteee of that institution from 1827 to 1833. He was the secretary and treasurer of the Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Saco from 1827 to 1838 and was the Biddeford representative to the Maine State Legislature in 1827.

He attended church in Saco, usually walking both to and from it. Although he wore to his end the old-fashoned continental army dress of the revolutionary war; cocked hat, knickers with large silver knee and shoe buckles, he kept abrest of the times in his thoughts. He died on 12 May 1852 in Biddeford, ME.

He was married to Sarah PAGE (daughter of Samuel PAGE and Elizabeth CLARKE) in 1783 in Salem, MA. Sarah Page was the sister of Abigail Page who married Abel Lawrence of Salem. One of Abigail and Abel's daughters, Harriett Lawrence, married Samuel and Sarah's son, Abel Lawrence Peirson, her first cousin. Sarah PAGE was born on 7 Oct 1755 in Medford, MA. She removed to Salem in 1775 with her father. She died on 29 Sep 1802 in Biddeford, ME. Samuel PEIRSON and Sarah PAGE had the following children:

15 i. Samuel Page PEIRSON was born on 5 Mar 1784 in Salem, MA. He died on 28 Nov 1805 in the straights of Singapore. Samuel was the second mate of the ship "Putnam" commanded by John Carton. He was murdered by the Malays while the ship lay at anchor off Bintang Island, near where Singapore now is. Samuel Page, Abel Lawrence and Nathaniel Bowditch were the owners of the vessel.
16 ii. Elizabeth Cox PEIRSON was born on 14 May 1786 in Falmouth, ME. She died in Mar 1787 in ?? -- probably Portland, ME.
17 iii. George PEIRSON was born on 5 Dec 1787 in Portland, ME. He died on 6 May 1797 in Saco, ME -- drowned with Thomas.
18 iv. Thomas PEIRSON was born on 17 Jul 1789 in Portland, ME. He died on 6 May 1797 in Saco, Me -- drowned with George.


19 v. Captain John PEIRSON was born on 3 Feb 1791 in Danvers, MA. the home of his mother's brother. He was a master-mariner. He died on 7 Sep 1826 in the Alantic Ocean. John was the master of the ship "Armadillo" and was lost at sea when the ship capsized
20 vi. Abel Lawrence PEIRSON was born in Jan 1793 in Biddeford, ME. He died in Oct 1794 in Biddeford, ME.
+21 vii. Doctor Abel Lawrence PEIRSON.
22 viii. Elizabeth PEIRSON was born in Dec 1796 in Biddeford, ME. She died in 1798 in ?? -- probably Biddeford, ME.
23 ix. Sarah Page PEIRSON was born on 23 Jun 1801 in Biddeford, ME. She died on 14 Oct 1891 in Biddeford, ME. On 1 Jan 1821 in Biddeford, ME, she was married to Captain Samuel White (b. 1789 in MA., d. 7 April 1871 in Biddeford). They lived in Biddeford where, just down the street from his father-in-law's house, Capt. White had a wharf and a marine railway for the repair of vessels. They had children (all locations are Biddeford, ME unless noted):
Samuel Peirson Hartley (b. 23 Oct 1821, d. 25 Mar 1824);
Sarah Page (b. 22 Aug 1823, d. 15 Jan 1887);
Samuel Peirson Hartley (b. 28 Aug 1825, d. 30 Jul 1915);
William (b. 24 Mar 1827, d. 23 Mar 1859);
James Orville (b 23 May 1828 in South Carolina, d. 27 Jun 1884);
Henry Lawrence (b. 11 Jul 1829, d. 24 Jun 1907);
John (b. 25 Nov 1832, d. 26 Jul 1920 in Boston);
James Orville (b. 9 Jan 1834, d. after 1907 in ??);
Mary Elizabeth (b. 20 Feb 1836, d. 20 Dec 1856);
Harriett Lawrence (b. 9 Sept 1838, d. 22 Dec 1861);
George Abel (b. 15 Jul 1842, d. 27 Jul 1861).

He was married to Sarah HILL on 10 Nov 1803 in Biddeford, ME. Sarah Hill was the daughter of Jeremiah Hill, the former owner of Samuel Peirson's house in Biddeford. Her father was the collector of Customs for the Saco district from 1789 to 1809, a member of the Legislature for six terms, an officer in the Revolutionary War, and received from Harvard in 1787, an honorary degree of Master of Arts. He died in 1820. Sarah HILL was born in 1776. She died on 24 Oct 1853 in Biddeford, ME. Samuel PEIRSON and Sarah HILL had the following children:

24 i. Jeremiah Hill PEIRSON was born on 22 Jun 1806 in Biddeford, ME. He died on 24 Jul 1886 in Biddeford, ME.
25 ii. Abigail Margaret PEIRSON was born on 21 Feb 1808 in Biddeford, ME. She died on 2 Jan 1860 in Saco, ME.
26 iii. George Washington PEIRSON was born on 15 Dec 1809 in Biddeford, ME. He was an "apothecary" in Biddeford. He died on 7 Nov 1860 in Biddeford, ME. On 2 Aug 1847 in Biddeford ME, he was married to Isabella Gordon (b. 1817 d. 1908 in Biddeford, ME.).
27 iv. Daniel Josiah PEIRSON was born on 18 Feb 1811 in Biddeford, ME. He died on 29 Jun 1826 in Biddeford, ME.
28 v. Elizabeth Mary PEIRSON was born on 4 May 1813 in Biddeford, ME. She died on 22 Aug 1876 in Saco, ME. On 6 Nov 1832 in Biddeford, ME, she was married to Samuel Frey Chase (b. 16 Dec 1805 in Biddeford, d. 18 Feb 1859 in Saco, ME.). They lived in Biddeford where Samuel Chase had a store right across the street from his father-in-law's house. They had children (in Biddeford):
Sarah Abby (b. 6 Sept 1833;
James Hall (b. 1 Aug 1835, d. 30 Jan 1837, in Biddeford);
Judge Samuel Frey Jr. (b. 21 Aug 1837, d. 5 May 1839 in ??).
29 vi. Thomas McCobb PEIRSON was born in May 1816 in Biddeford, ME. He died on 12 Jan 1865 in Biddeford, ME. During 1851, probably in Biddeford, he was married to Sarah Dunn (b. abt 1815). They had children: Isabella;
Harriett; and
Thomas.
30 vii. Harriett Lawrence PEIRSON was born in Jan 1818 in Biddeford, ME. She died on 21 Feb 1837 in Biddeford, ME.

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