Having two 3rd great grandmother’s whose maiden names were Pearce is both a blessing and a curse. It’s a blessing because it cuts down on the number of surnames once must scan in every database, magazine or book index. Although Pearce is sometimes spelled Pierce or Peirce, any Pearce, Pierce or Peirce who appears in said indexes might be related to one 3rd great grandmother or the other or both. It’s efficient research for sure but perplexing. I’m cursed because having only one surname to work with is limiting.There were only so many Pearce families living at that time near my 3rd great grandmothers. Harriet (Pearce) Boren and Matilda Jane (Pearce) Goodger were both born in Tennessee and lived most of their lives in neighboring counties in Mississippi. To boot, Matilda’s father, Daniel Pearce, was living in Lawrence County, Tennessee between 1820 and 1836. Lawrence County is also where Harriet Pearce married Absalom Boren in 1833. Logically that means that Harriet and Matilda were living in Lawrence County at the same time.
The curse becomes a complicated mess trying to figure out how they are related. There’s no question in my mind that they ARE related. But I don’t know how closely although I know for certain that Harriet and Matilda were not sisters. Thank goodness because that rules out the possibility that my 2nd great grandparents were 1st cousins. Ewwwwwwwwww. It’s possible that Harriet and Matilda’s father, Daniel, are siblings. Frankly, I am still coming to grips with that possibility. That would mean my 2nd great grandparents were 1st cousins, 1x removed. Less ew but still ewwwww.
Why must they be so closely related, you ask? Because there are only a handful at best of Pearce candidates in Lawrence County who could logically be Harriet’s father or Daniel’s father. Robert Pearce is the best candidate and he’s getting my vote for Daniel’s father. I am holding out hope that there’s another Pearce I haven’t discovered yet that is her father. But, it ain’t looking good!
Cast your vote for Robert Pearce as Daniel’s father. Here’s why:
- The 1850 and 1860 census tells us that Daniel was born in Virginia about 1794. Spencer Pearce, Robert’s opponent, was from North Carolina and came to Lawrence County in 1818 the year Daniel was married… Spencer gets a “no” vote from me.
- Daniel was married in 1818 in neighboring Maury County, Tennessee. Robert is living in Maury County, Tennessee in 1820.
Gosh. I thought there’d be more reasons to vote for Robert as Daniel’s father. This is why genealogy is tough: there’s limited data. He’s still getting my vote. Now on to Harriet…
Kenfolk: Trantham kenfolk
Relationship: 3rd great grandmothers
Common ancestors: Hmm. If I only knew.
Do you have any information on Harriet Pearce Boren? I’m trying to get information on her parents. I have no names or hints or anything.
luv2laf_lissa @ hotmail.com
Sorry, it’s taken me a while to respond to your question. Busy summer. Yes, I do have information on Harriet’s parents thanks to court records from Lawrence County, Tennessee. Harriet (Pearce) Boren and her siblings were named in a lawsuit filed in 1837 as the heirs of Spencer Pearce, deceased. Spencer died in Lawrence County, TN in 1826. Harriet’s mother, Neomi, died in 1831. I have not yet uncovered Neomi’s maiden name. It is from court records from Williamson County, Tennessee (1825) that I learned the identity of Spencer’s parents who were Charles and Elizabeth (Hackney) Pearce. Spencer, along with his siblings and cousins – the children of Robert and Lavinia (Hackney) Pearce – sued their grandmother, Jemima Hackney, over control of slaves that were not bequeathed to their respective mothers by their grandfather, Daniel Hackney who died in 1801.