ISAAC STEARNS: Owings Stone Family Genealogy — 20,000+ ancestors and their relatives

Birth Abt 1595 Stoke Nayland, Suffolk Co., England [3]

Gender Male

Ancestor of /
Notable Descendants - President Richard M. Nixon (9th cousin of Catharen Buxton Webster)
- Robert Hutchings Goddard, rocket pioneer [4]

Death Note Isaac's will was dated June 14, 1671 and mentions wife Mary, sons John, Isaac, and Samuel, daughters Mary Learned (deceased), Sarah Stone, Elizabeth Manning, and Abigail Morse, grand child Isaac Learned, and kinsman Charles Stearns. It was witnessed by William Bond, Sr. and John Biscoe, Sr..[4/4:142] Apparently Isaac Stearns was a man of some affluence as his estate was appraised at 524.04.08 even after he had given sizable gifts to each of his seven children. The inventory was taken June 28, 1671 by William Bond, Sr., John Biscoe, Sr., and Henry Freeman and included 14 lots of land of 467 acres.[4/4:144]

The inventory of "Isaac Sternes, Sr., taken the 28th of 4th [June] 1671, who deceased the 19th the 4th [June] 1671," totalled £524 4s., of which £407 was real estate: "housin g and homestall of twelve acres," £100; four acres upland and two acres meadow, £18; eight acres upland, £26; six acres meadow land, £30; three acres marsh, £15; fourscore acres of upland, £60; twelve acres upland, £12; nine acres upland, £5; sixty acres upland, £15; fifteen acres upland, £8; four acres meadow land, £8; twenty-five acres meadow land, £60; one hundred ninety acres of meadow, £40; and one hundred five acres upland, £10 [ MPR 4:129-30; Bond 451, who provided the total, but misread the date of death]. [1, 2]

Education Signed his will [2]

Immigration 1630 England to Mass. with the Winthrop Fleet [2, 3, 5]

Occupation tailor [3]

Real Estate Isaac had extensive land holdings. The first inventory of grants and possessions in Watertown, taken in or before 1639, reveals he had 461 acres at the time. These included 1) a homestall of ten acres bounded on the west with the highway, east with Pequusset Meadow, north with John Warren, and south with John Biscoe; 2) ten acres of upland bounded south by John Biscoe, north by John Warren, east with Pequusset Meadow, and west with the way leading to Concord; 3) two acres in Pequusset Meadow bounded east by William Hammond, west with his own upland, north by John Warren, and south by Edmund James; 4) Two acres in Pond Meadow bounded east by John Page and south by Robert Lockwood. This land was bought from Richard Kimball; 5) four acres in little Plaine Meadow bounded north and east by John Whitney and south by John Page. Two of these acres were bought from John Thompson and Garret Church; 6) a homestall of three acres bounded east by William Paine, west by John Goffe, north with Pond lane, and south by the highway; 7) fifty acres of upland being a great Divident in the fourth division and the 15th lot; 8) twenty-seven acres of upland beyond the further plain, lot number 4; 9) twelve acres of plowland in the further plain, lot 67; 10) twelve acres of meadow in the remote meadows, lot 5; 11) ten acres of meadow in the remote meadows, lot 6, bought from Thomas Rucks; 12) sixty acres of upland being a great Divident in the third division, lot 25, bought of Thomas Rucks; and 13) a farm of 259 acres of upland in the third division.[6/1:22] Isaac may have disposed of some of his lands by 1644 when the second inventory was taken or they were left out as some others appear to have been. His homestall had increased to twelve acres, but possessions 4 and 11-13 were gone as were the two acres bought of Thompson and Church. Thomas Boyden had replaced Edmund James as the neighbor on the south of the two acres in Pequusset meadow and the 12 acres of plowland were described as bounded north with the highway, south with the river, east by John Kingsbury, and west by Miles Nutt.[6/1:7778] The list of his possessions in the third inventory, taken about 1646, only listed three lots totaling 72 acres.[6/1:117]

Died 19 Jun 1671 Watertown, Suffolk Co., Mass. [1, 3, 5]

Person ID I3220 Owings Stone Genealogy, Ancestry & Heritage

Last Modified 07 Dec 2007 00:00:00

Family MARY BARKER, b. Bef 1602, England

Married 28 May 1622 Stoke Nayland, Suffolk Co., England

Children

	1. child Stearns, b. Abt 1623
	2. Mary Stearns, b. Bef 6 Jun 1626, England, Suffolk, Stoke Nayland
	3. Hannah Stearns, b. Bef 5 Oct 1628, England, Suffolk, Stoke Nayland
	4. John Stearns, b. Abt 1630
	5. Isaac Stearns, b. 6 Jan 1633, Watertown, Suffolk Co., Mass.
	6. SARAH STEARNS, b. 22 Sep 1635, Watertown, Middlesex Co., Mass.
	7. Samuel Stearns, b. 24 Apr 1638, Watertown, Suffolk Co., Mass.
	8. Elizabeth Stearns, b. Abt 1640
	9. Abigail Stearns, b. Abt 1642, Watertown, Suffolk Co., Mass.

Family ID F2231 Group Sheet

Notes	In 1640 "Isaacke Sterne of Watertown in New England planter sometimes of Stoke Nayland in the County of Suffolke tayler and Mary his wife daughter of John Barker late of Stoke Nayland aforesaid clothier deceased" made a letter of attorney to Thomas Gilson of Sudbury, Suffolk, baker, to receive and recover from ____ Munnings of Gaynes Colne, Essex, the sum of five pounds due to Mary "by some bond covenant or agreement made by the said Munnings before or upon his marriage wth Margaret Barker mother of the said Mary". Source: “Note-Book Kept by Thomas Lechford, Esq., Lawyer in Boston”, Edward Everettt Hale, 1988, p. 2912 On April 8, 1630 Isaac Stearns and his family embarked at Yarmouth, England in the Arabella and arrived in Salem June 12, 1630. Isaac was in the company of Sir Richard Saltonstall, Governor Winthrop, Reverend George Phillips, and many others. Not satisfied with conditions at Salem, the company soon proceeded to Charlestown and Watertown. This is how Isaac Stearns came to be among the first settlers in Watertown, near Mount Auburn.[2/622] On December 5, 1638 he and John Page were fined five shillings for "turning the way about" (i.e. for diverting a highway). In 1647 he and John Biscoe were appointed by the Selectmen "to consider how the bridge over the river shall be built, and to agree with the workmen for doing it, according to their best discretion".[5/1:11] Isaac Stearns held several town offices. He was a selectman for Watertown in 1648,[5/1:10] 1659,[5/1:59] 1670,[5/1:95] and 1671.[5/1:102] He was a constable in 1652,[5/1:24] 1660,[5/1:65] and 1661.[5/1:72] Isaac was also surveyor of highways in 1663.[5/1:75] REF: [1] The History of Watertown - Henry Bond, 1860 (pgs.450-453) [2] The Warner-Harrington Ancestry - Frederick C. Warner, 1949 (pg.622) [3] Genealogy and Memoirs of Isaac Stearns and his Descendants - Mrs. Avis Stearns Van Wagenen, 1901 [4] Middlesex County Probate (First Series Docket 21239) [5] The Records of Watertown, 1894 [6] The Records of Watertown, 1894 (Lands, Grants, and Possessions) [7] Note-Book Kept by Thomas Lechford, Esq., Lawyer in Boston - Edward Everettt Hale, 1988 [8] Genealogy and Memoirs of Charles and Nathaniel Stearns and Their Descendants - Mrs. Avis Van Wagenen, 1901 [9] Records of Births Marriages and Deaths, First Book - Watertown Records, Vol. 1, 1894 This information was downloaded from the web site of Michael Roman (pw2.netcom.com/~mj_roman/index.htm) Savage says: ISAAC, Watertown 1630, came prob. with Sir Richard Saltonstall in the fleet, was adm. freem. 18 May of next yr. tho. he may have been drawn thither as much by regard for Winthrop, since he was not a dist. neighb. of the Gov. in their native ld. He was of Neyland, Co. suffk. where his two eldest ch. were bapt.; Mary, 6 Jan 1627; and Ann, 5 Oct. 1628. Here by w. Mary (tho. Dr. Cogswell in Geneal. Reg. I. 43, calls Sarah mo. of John) had John, b. perhaps the fist yr.; Isaac, 6 Jan. 1633; Sarah, 22 Sept. 1635; tho. this by Pulsifer in Geneal, Reg. VII. 159 is giv. careless, as ch. of I. and M. Storie; Samuel, 24 Apr. 1638; Elizabeth and Abigail. He d. 19 June 1671, and his will 14 of that mo. provides for w. Mary, for ch. of his s. John; for the ch. of his d. Mary, dec. besides special remem. of Isaac and Mary; for the ch. of ds. Sarah, Elizabeth and Abigail sever. ment. his kinsman Charles S. and makes his won s. Isaac, and Samuel excors. His wid. d. 2 Apr. 1677. Prob. he is the ancest. of near. all of his nam. sev. thousand in number, in Mass. but sure. Farmer should have qualif. his universality. He was on the first jury that tr. civ. cause in N. E. when large dams. were giv. against Endicott for assult on Thomas Dexter in May 1631. His d. Mary m. 9 July 1646, Isaac Learned, and d. bef. her f. Ann m. 25 Dec. 1650, Henry Freeman; Sarah m. 7 June 1655, deac. Samuel Stone; Elizabeth m. 13 Aprl. 1664, Samuel Manning; and Abigail m. 27 Apr. 1666, deac. John Morse. [5]

Sources

[S20] Bartlett, J. Gardner
[S480] The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, Anderson, Robert Charles, (NEHGR)
[S102] Winthrop Society
[S150] Roberts, Gary Boyd, (NEHGS)
[S106] Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England, Savage, James

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