Indian Land
This story starts with Stephen Pierce Sr., a tailor, who arrived in Chelmsford in 1671. Thomas Hinchman and Col. Tyng purchased the Wamesit land from the Indians in 1696. The town appointed Stephen Pierce Sr. and his son Stephen Jr. to a committee to divide Indian land into subdivision lots. Stephen Jr. acquired two of the 50 lots in the subdivision. East Chelmsford annexed the Wamesit land west of the Concord River in 1729.
Revolutionary War
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 reached Concord Bridge in time to witness some of the fighting, during which Capt. Barron was injured.
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.
President Pierce
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, authorities promoted him to brigadier general and gave him 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.
McKennedy Farm
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. The McKennedy family owned this home at 62 Riverneck Road until they sold it for development in 2012.
Sources:
Book, “History of Chelmsford Massachusetts” 1917, by Rev. Wilson Waters
Newspaper, Lowell Courier-Citizen, Wednesday, April 19, 1933
Websites, Ancestry.com, Wikipedia.com, WikiTree.com
Chelmsford Historical Commission, State Inventory, 62 Riverneck Road