User:Lrsears/sandbox

Richard Sears (abt 1610 – 26 Aug, 1676). He is a very interesting character who appears in the colonies at Marblehead, MA in 1633. Although there is no information on who his parents are or even where or when he was born historians do know that he has amassed over 20,000 descendants who have had a significant impact on not only the British Colonies but the United States and the world.

Life
Looking at the genesis of the genealogies of this individual points up some interesting facts. The first genealogy work appears to be “Memoranda of the Sears, from Minutes collected by J. Hawes and William Colman to 1800,-- and continued by Richard Sears of Chatham to 1840.” There are evidently some errors in this work.

"About the year 1845, the late Mr. H. G. Somerby was employed to collect data regarding the Sears family in England, and a pamphlet was issued, entitled ‘Notices of the Sears Family, from Sir Bernard Burke’s Works, and Somersby’s Collections in England, etc.’ The manuscript of his collection is in the library of the Mass. Hist. So., Boston."

"In 1852, Sir Bernard Burke published the first volume of 'Visitations of Seats and Arms,' which contains at p. 52 of Part II. an account of the family, claiming that by right of primogeniture the Chatham branch is the 'Head of the American Sears Family.'  This was followed in 1863, in the 3rd series of 'Vicissitudes of Families,' by a sketch entitled 'A Pilgrim Father.' "Sir Bernard Burke now repudiates the articles, and [informed me (S P May) that they would be] left out of later editions. In 1884, he wrote me [S.P. May] that he received the material from Mr. Somerby, but had since made investigation, and found 'that the details were not only not proven, but also incapable of proof, if not altogether wrong, and opposed to fact.'

"In 1857, Rev. E. H. Sears published 'Pictures of the Olden Time,' to which was added in a later edition for private distribution, a Genealogy of the family. [p. 20] In his preface he states that he derived his facts mainly from Burke’s 'Visitation of Seats and Arms,' and from 'family papers,' etc.

Jul 1886, Samuel P. May published “Some Doubts Concerning the Sears Pedigree” in the N.E. Hist. Gen. Soc Register.

About 1889, Samuel P. May was commissioned by the family to update the genealogy of the Sears family.

In 1890, Samuel P. May, published his book "The Descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass 1638-1888 with an appendix containing some notices of other families by the name of Sears" which included an updated and expanded view of the mistakes made by H.G. Somerby.

About 1913, Samuel P. May created a typescript of what I believe to be the precursor to a second edition of "The Descendants of Richard Sares…" I believe May died about 1915.

May's sister, Mary Ann Newell, wrote a small book (subject unknown) in 1910.

Legacy
Sears has many thousands of descendants in the United States.