Bio under construction 8-3-23
John remains a mystery. He lived in Claiborne and Campbell Counties in East Tennessee for at least 35 years until his death, however, the 1830 census is the earliest census available in East Tennessee. I've not found any deeds, court proceedings, signed petitions, estates purchases, etc. There have been many diligent descendants spending hours upon hours hunting for anything pertaining to our ancestor. He is our brick wall. We are hopeful that the various DNA projects that some of us have contributed to will tumble that wall. John was born about 1772, so he was about 58 years old when we found him in the 1830 Claiborne County census. Where was he and what was he doing those first 58 years? We don't know.
From census of John and his children, we can make the assumption that he was born in North Carolina, Virginia, or even Tennessee, all states whose boundaries changed frequently over the early years of their formation. All researches do not agree on whether or not Martha was the mother of all of John's children. I'm with those who believe John had a wife before his marriage to Martha. Due to the ages of his three oldest children, Mary, James and William, we believe he was married before he married Martha Unknown. Otherwise, Martha Unknown would have been about 10 years old when she started having children. It wasn't unheard of back then for girls to marry and have children while still quite young. However, there's the fact that we don't know if James was even John's first born. Other children would have been adults by 1830 (the first census year in East Tennessee) and most likely establishing their own families and farms. We believe Martha to be the mother of Peter, Thomas and Jacob. Peter and Thomas were actually pretty close in years, with being born about 1817 and 1818. At times I've wondered if perhaps they were twins. Their brother Jacob had twin daughters, Peter's son Jacob had twin daughters, and Peter's grandson, James Pierce, had twin son and daughter. Jacob, John and Martha's last child, was born about 1827.
There are a lot of people on Ancestry who believe John had the middle initial "V" and that he was in the Civil War (when he was in his 80s). With a little research on Fold3, beyond the index card that was provided by Ancestry, I learned that there was indeed a soldier named John V. Pierce who lived in Severville Tennessee. He served in Co. K, Third Reg't East Tennessee Calvary and he was only 31. John of Campbell County does not have a middle initial "V" and he certainly was not in the Civil War. His middle name is unknown, as are middle names of his children.
There has been one huge issue resolved and that was whether or not Mary Finn/Fann was John's first wife. She was not. I've seen charts where researchers have actually changed her only known name, Mary Finn. Since they decided it was Campbell County's John Pierce who married this Mary in Greene County. For that assumption, I think you need to believe there was only ONE John Pierce in Tennessee. In order to agree with the only known name of John Pierce's wife in Campbell County, Martha, Researchers changed Mary Finn's name to either Mary Martha Finn/Fann or Martha Mary Finn/Fan in order to match the census and gravestone for Martha Pierce in Campbell County. The name for John's wife was never, never Mary. She was only known by the name Martha and that is her name on census and her grave stone.
As seen by this information from the Family Data Collection, the John Pearce/Pierce who married Mary Finn died in 1818. His death in 1818 is documented in the probate file of his mother, the last to die of his parents James and Margaret Dungan Pearce.
Family Data Collection - Individual Records about John Pierce
Name: John Pierce
Spouse: Mary Finn
Parents: James Pierce, Margaret Dungan
Birth Place: Greene Co, TN
Birth Date: 15 May 1776
Marriage Place: Greene Co, TN
Marriage Date: 19 Nov 1801
Death Place: Sevier, Co, TN
Death Date: 24 Feb 1818
One of the first pensions of a veteran of the American Revolution that I ordered from the National Archives was that of this James Pearce. That was when I learned his son John had died in 1818. Estate papers of this widow were included in the pension documents and they included information on John's death.
Notes of interest:
The Pierce DNA Project, Southern U.S., has proven that James Pearce of Greene and Sevier Counties and John Pierce of Claiborne and Campbell Counties, Tennessee, DO NOT have a DNA match.
Ancestry's DNA project has given us a match with a Hardy Pierce. I have a couple of matches to Hardy, however, his parents are different in both of the other trees and I do not have matches to them. The relationship of John and Hardy is being researched by several people
© 2016 Janet Deck on Find A Grave, Memorial 8052055
John remains a mystery. He lived in Claiborne and Campbell Counties in East Tennessee for at least 35 years until his death, however, the 1830 census is the earliest census available in East Tennessee. I've not found any deeds, court proceedings, signed petitions, estates purchases, etc. There have been many diligent descendants spending hours upon hours hunting for anything pertaining to our ancestor. He is our brick wall. We are hopeful that the various DNA projects that some of us have contributed to will tumble that wall. John was born about 1772, so he was about 58 years old when we found him in the 1830 Claiborne County census. Where was he and what was he doing those first 58 years? We don't know.
From census of John and his children, we can make the assumption that he was born in North Carolina, Virginia, or even Tennessee, all states whose boundaries changed frequently over the early years of their formation. All researches do not agree on whether or not Martha was the mother of all of John's children. I'm with those who believe John had a wife before his marriage to Martha. Due to the ages of his three oldest children, Mary, James and William, we believe he was married before he married Martha Unknown. Otherwise, Martha Unknown would have been about 10 years old when she started having children. It wasn't unheard of back then for girls to marry and have children while still quite young. However, there's the fact that we don't know if James was even John's first born. Other children would have been adults by 1830 (the first census year in East Tennessee) and most likely establishing their own families and farms. We believe Martha to be the mother of Peter, Thomas and Jacob. Peter and Thomas were actually pretty close in years, with being born about 1817 and 1818. At times I've wondered if perhaps they were twins. Their brother Jacob had twin daughters, Peter's son Jacob had twin daughters, and Peter's grandson, James Pierce, had twin son and daughter. Jacob, John and Martha's last child, was born about 1827.
There are a lot of people on Ancestry who believe John had the middle initial "V" and that he was in the Civil War (when he was in his 80s). With a little research on Fold3, beyond the index card that was provided by Ancestry, I learned that there was indeed a soldier named John V. Pierce who lived in Severville Tennessee. He served in Co. K, Third Reg't East Tennessee Calvary and he was only 31. John of Campbell County does not have a middle initial "V" and he certainly was not in the Civil War. His middle name is unknown, as are middle names of his children.
There has been one huge issue resolved and that was whether or not Mary Finn/Fann was John's first wife. She was not. I've seen charts where researchers have actually changed her only known name, Mary Finn. Since they decided it was Campbell County's John Pierce who married this Mary in Greene County. For that assumption, I think you need to believe there was only ONE John Pierce in Tennessee. In order to agree with the only known name of John Pierce's wife in Campbell County, Martha, Researchers changed Mary Finn's name to either Mary Martha Finn/Fann or Martha Mary Finn/Fan in order to match the census and gravestone for Martha Pierce in Campbell County. The name for John's wife was never, never Mary. She was only known by the name Martha and that is her name on census and her grave stone.
As seen by this information from the Family Data Collection, the John Pearce/Pierce who married Mary Finn died in 1818. His death in 1818 is documented in the probate file of his mother, the last to die of his parents James and Margaret Dungan Pearce.
Family Data Collection - Individual Records about John Pierce
Name: John Pierce
Spouse: Mary Finn
Parents: James Pierce, Margaret Dungan
Birth Place: Greene Co, TN
Birth Date: 15 May 1776
Marriage Place: Greene Co, TN
Marriage Date: 19 Nov 1801
Death Place: Sevier, Co, TN
Death Date: 24 Feb 1818
One of the first pensions of a veteran of the American Revolution that I ordered from the National Archives was that of this James Pearce. That was when I learned his son John had died in 1818. Estate papers of this widow were included in the pension documents and they included information on John's death.
Notes of interest:
The Pierce DNA Project, Southern U.S., has proven that James Pearce of Greene and Sevier Counties and John Pierce of Claiborne and Campbell Counties, Tennessee, DO NOT have a DNA match.
Ancestry's DNA project has given us a match with a Hardy Pierce. I have a couple of matches to Hardy, however, his parents are different in both of the other trees and I do not have matches to them. The relationship of John and Hardy is being researched by several people
© 2016 Janet Deck on Find A Grave, Memorial 8052055
Bio under construction 8-3-23
John remains a mystery. He lived in Claiborne and Campbell Counties in East Tennessee for at least 35 years until his death, however, the 1830 census is the earliest census available in East Tennessee. I've not found any deeds, court proceedings, signed petitions, estates purchases, etc. There have been many diligent descendants spending hours upon hours hunting for anything pertaining to our ancestor. He is our brick wall. We are hopeful that the various DNA projects that some of us have contributed to will tumble that wall. John was born about 1772, so he was about 58 years old when we found him in the 1830 Claiborne County census. Where was he and what was he doing those first 58 years? We don't know.
From census of John and his children, we can make the assumption that he was born in North Carolina, Virginia, or even Tennessee, all states whose boundaries changed frequently over the early years of their formation. All researches do not agree on whether or not Martha was the mother of all of John's children. I'm with those who believe John had a wife before his marriage to Martha. Due to the ages of his three oldest children, Mary, James and William, we believe he was married before he married Martha Unknown. Otherwise, Martha Unknown would have been about 10 years old when she started having children. It wasn't unheard of back then for girls to marry and have children while still quite young. However, there's the fact that we don't know if James was even John's first born. Other children would have been adults by 1830 (the first census year in East Tennessee) and most likely establishing their own families and farms. We believe Martha to be the mother of Peter, Thomas and Jacob. Peter and Thomas were actually pretty close in years, with being born about 1817 and 1818. At times I've wondered if perhaps they were twins. Their brother Jacob had twin daughters, Peter's son Jacob had twin daughters, and Peter's grandson, James Pierce, had twin son and daughter. Jacob, John and Martha's last child, was born about 1827.
There are a lot of people on Ancestry who believe John had the middle initial "V" and that he was in the Civil War (when he was in his 80s). With a little research on Fold3, beyond the index card that was provided by Ancestry, I learned that there was indeed a soldier named John V. Pierce who lived in Severville Tennessee. He served in Co. K, Third Reg't East Tennessee Calvary and he was only 31. John of Campbell County does not have a middle initial "V" and he certainly was not in the Civil War. His middle name is unknown, as are middle names of his children.
There has been one huge issue resolved and that was whether or not Mary Finn/Fann was John's first wife. She was not. I've seen charts where researchers have actually changed her only known name, Mary Finn. Since they decided it was Campbell County's John Pierce who married this Mary in Greene County. For that assumption, I think you need to believe there was only ONE John Pierce in Tennessee. In order to agree with the only known name of John Pierce's wife in Campbell County, Martha, Researchers changed Mary Finn's name to either Mary Martha Finn/Fann or Martha Mary Finn/Fan in order to match the census and gravestone for Martha Pierce in Campbell County. The name for John's wife was never, never Mary. She was only known by the name Martha and that is her name on census and her grave stone.
As seen by this information from the Family Data Collection, the John Pearce/Pierce who married Mary Finn died in 1818. His death in 1818 is documented in the probate file of his mother, the last to die of his parents James and Margaret Dungan Pearce.
Family Data Collection - Individual Records about John Pierce
Name: John Pierce
Spouse: Mary Finn
Parents: James Pierce, Margaret Dungan
Birth Place: Greene Co, TN
Birth Date: 15 May 1776
Marriage Place: Greene Co, TN
Marriage Date: 19 Nov 1801
Death Place: Sevier, Co, TN
Death Date: 24 Feb 1818
One of the first pensions of a veteran of the American Revolution that I ordered from the National Archives was that of this James Pearce. That was when I learned his son John had died in 1818. Estate papers of this widow were included in the pension documents and they included information on John's death.
Notes of interest:
The Pierce DNA Project, Southern U.S., has proven that James Pearce of Greene and Sevier Counties and John Pierce of Claiborne and Campbell Counties, Tennessee, DO NOT have a DNA match.
Ancestry's DNA project has given us a match with a Hardy Pierce. I have a couple of matches to Hardy, however, his parents are different in both of the other trees and I do not have matches to them. The relationship of John and Hardy is being researched by several people
© 2016 Janet Deck on Find A Grave, Memorial 8052055
John remains a mystery. He lived in Claiborne and Campbell Counties in East Tennessee for at least 35 years until his death, however, the 1830 census is the earliest census available in East Tennessee. I've not found any deeds, court proceedings, signed petitions, estates purchases, etc. There have been many diligent descendants spending hours upon hours hunting for anything pertaining to our ancestor. He is our brick wall. We are hopeful that the various DNA projects that some of us have contributed to will tumble that wall. John was born about 1772, so he was about 58 years old when we found him in the 1830 Claiborne County census. Where was he and what was he doing those first 58 years? We don't know.
From census of John and his children, we can make the assumption that he was born in North Carolina, Virginia, or even Tennessee, all states whose boundaries changed frequently over the early years of their formation. All researches do not agree on whether or not Martha was the mother of all of John's children. I'm with those who believe John had a wife before his marriage to Martha. Due to the ages of his three oldest children, Mary, James and William, we believe he was married before he married Martha Unknown. Otherwise, Martha Unknown would have been about 10 years old when she started having children. It wasn't unheard of back then for girls to marry and have children while still quite young. However, there's the fact that we don't know if James was even John's first born. Other children would have been adults by 1830 (the first census year in East Tennessee) and most likely establishing their own families and farms. We believe Martha to be the mother of Peter, Thomas and Jacob. Peter and Thomas were actually pretty close in years, with being born about 1817 and 1818. At times I've wondered if perhaps they were twins. Their brother Jacob had twin daughters, Peter's son Jacob had twin daughters, and Peter's grandson, James Pierce, had twin son and daughter. Jacob, John and Martha's last child, was born about 1827.
There are a lot of people on Ancestry who believe John had the middle initial "V" and that he was in the Civil War (when he was in his 80s). With a little research on Fold3, beyond the index card that was provided by Ancestry, I learned that there was indeed a soldier named John V. Pierce who lived in Severville Tennessee. He served in Co. K, Third Reg't East Tennessee Calvary and he was only 31. John of Campbell County does not have a middle initial "V" and he certainly was not in the Civil War. His middle name is unknown, as are middle names of his children.
There has been one huge issue resolved and that was whether or not Mary Finn/Fann was John's first wife. She was not. I've seen charts where researchers have actually changed her only known name, Mary Finn. Since they decided it was Campbell County's John Pierce who married this Mary in Greene County. For that assumption, I think you need to believe there was only ONE John Pierce in Tennessee. In order to agree with the only known name of John Pierce's wife in Campbell County, Martha, Researchers changed Mary Finn's name to either Mary Martha Finn/Fann or Martha Mary Finn/Fan in order to match the census and gravestone for Martha Pierce in Campbell County. The name for John's wife was never, never Mary. She was only known by the name Martha and that is her name on census and her grave stone.
As seen by this information from the Family Data Collection, the John Pearce/Pierce who married Mary Finn died in 1818. His death in 1818 is documented in the probate file of his mother, the last to die of his parents James and Margaret Dungan Pearce.
Family Data Collection - Individual Records about John Pierce
Name: John Pierce
Spouse: Mary Finn
Parents: James Pierce, Margaret Dungan
Birth Place: Greene Co, TN
Birth Date: 15 May 1776
Marriage Place: Greene Co, TN
Marriage Date: 19 Nov 1801
Death Place: Sevier, Co, TN
Death Date: 24 Feb 1818
One of the first pensions of a veteran of the American Revolution that I ordered from the National Archives was that of this James Pearce. That was when I learned his son John had died in 1818. Estate papers of this widow were included in the pension documents and they included information on John's death.
Notes of interest:
The Pierce DNA Project, Southern U.S., has proven that James Pearce of Greene and Sevier Counties and John Pierce of Claiborne and Campbell Counties, Tennessee, DO NOT have a DNA match.
Ancestry's DNA project has given us a match with a Hardy Pierce. I have a couple of matches to Hardy, however, his parents are different in both of the other trees and I do not have matches to them. The relationship of John and Hardy is being researched by several people
© 2016 Janet Deck on Find A Grave, Memorial 8052055
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