Chelmsford’s Fabric

Welcome to the Chelmsford Historical Society’s Blog site. This blog is maintained by members of the Chelmsford Historical Society. Each post is a short story about the people, places or things that are a part of Chelmsford’s history. Collectively, these stories or threads make up the fabric of Chelmsford’s history.

Chelmsford’s Pierce Family in the Revolutionary War and Beyond

This story starts with Stephen Pierce Sr., a tailor, who arrived in Chelmsford in 1671. He and his son Stephen Jr. were appointed to a committee to divide Indian land, purchased by Thomas Hinchman and Col. Tyng in 1696, into subdivision lots. Stephen Jr. acquired two of the 50 lots in the Wamesit purchase. That land was annexed to East Chelmsford in 1729.

Stephen Pierce III, son of Stephen Jr., answered the call of the minute guns and church bells on April 19, 1775, marching to Concord with Capt. Oliver Barron’s Company. They made it in time to see some of the fighting at Concord Bridge, and Capt. Barron was injured there.

Stephen’s 17-year-old nephew Benjamin Pierce Jr. was working on another uncle’s farm field in East Chelmsford as his father Benjamin Sr. died at age 38 when he was only 7. While out plowing a field he heard gunfire and then reports of the battles in Lexington and Concord. Taking his uncle’s gun and equipment, he headed to Concord on foot, arriving after the British had retreated. He later enlisted in Capt. John Ford’s company and served in the Battle of Bunker Hill and with distinction in the Saratoga Campaign.

After the Revolution Benjamin moved to Hillsborough, New Hampshire, and constructed a stately home in 1804, the same year his son Franklin was born. In 1805 he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned command of the New Hampshire state militia. After serving terms as state representative, county sheriff, and governor’s council member, he became governor of the state for two non-consecutive terms between 1827 to 1830. His son Franklin served as president of the United States from 1853 to 1857, and the Pierce home in Hillsborough is now part of a state park and a historic site.

The Pierce farm in East Chelmsford that Benjamin Jr. worked on is now Powell Street in Lowell. The great-great grandson of Stephen Pierce Jr., Orrin Pierce, was the last in the family to own legacy Wamesit land in Chelmsford. He had an Irish farm laborer in his household since before 1860 named John McKennedy. In 1882 Orrin sold a 9.42-acre parcel to John and in 1895 John constructed a large Queen Anne style house there for his growing family. This home, at 62 Riverneck Road, remained in the McKennedy family until it was sold for development in 2012,

Sources:

Book, “History of Chelmsford Massachusetts” 1917, by Rev. Wilson Waters

Lowell Courier-Citizen, Wednesday, April 19, 1993

Website, Ancestry.com

Website, Chelmsford Historical Commission, State Inventory for 62 Riverneck Road

Website, Wikipedia.com

Website, WikiTree.com