Zerviah (Newcomb) Bearse (abt. 1698 - 1789)

Zerviah was born in 1698/9. She is the daughter of Andrew Newcomb and Anna Bayes.

Married Nov 2 1716 Josiah Bearse, a native of Barnstable MA, farmer, b. Mar 10 1690, son of Joseph and Martha (Taylor) and grandson of Austin or Augustine Bearse, who left Southampton, England, Apr 24 1638, "in the good shipp the Confidence of London", for NewEngland and settled soon after at Barnstable. Josiah Bearse resided at East Barnstable, but was dismissed from the church there Dec 29 1734 to the church at Greenwich CT, to which place he moved soon after. In 1738 they removed to New Fairfield CT where he d. Aug 31 1753. The inscription on his wife's gravestone reads: "In memory of Zerviah Bearss died Sep 5th in the 91st year of her age 1789". Oct 31 1743 they sold her nephew, Bayes Newcomb, all rights on Martha's Vineyard.^[1][2][3]

Children

1. Anna b. July 11 1719;
2. Josiah b. Feb 3 1720/1;
3. Eunice b. Jan 2 1723, d. Apr 6 1727;
4. Jonathan b. Nov 22 1724, d. Dec 2 1731;
5. Lois b. July 17 1726, m. Thomas Knapp;
6. b. Mar 10 1728/9 m. Jan 1 1754 Abigail Pickett of Danbury CT. she d. Feb 7 1756 and he m. 2nd Dec 9 1756 widow Esther (Lyon) Smith of Redding CT, she d. 1797 and he m. 3rd Aug 1801 Miss -- Pickett, who d. Feb 20 1842. he d. Dec 29 1814;
7. Eunice b. Feb 13 1732/3;
8. Joseph b 1734/5;
9. Benjamin b. 1736/7 m. Prudence -- and d. Mar 8. 1802;
10. Martha b. June 26 1738;
11. Mary b. May 8 1741.

Partial Analysis of Myth

Just some of the comments from Donald Lines Jacobus, and the analysis:

"Now it is true that Otis in "Barnstable Families," vol. 1, pp. 55, 59, states that Josiah Bearse married first, 2 Nov. 1716, Zerviah Newcomb of Edgartown, and second, Mary --, and that he had no children by his first wife. Whether or not this was one of the numerous errors of Otis, the Newcomb Genealogy (1874) by John Bearse Newcomb gives a different account which is repeated in the revised edition of this work (1923), p. 21 in both volumes."

"According to this account, Zerviah Newcomb. Daughter of Lieut. Andrew and Anna (Bayes) Newcomb, married 2 Nov. 1716, Josiah Bearse. He resided at East Barnstable but was dismissed from the church there 29 Dec. 1734 to the church at Greenwich, Conn., to which place he soon after moved. In 1738 they removed to New Fairfield, Conn., where he died 31 Aug. 1753. The inscription on his wife's gravestone reads: In Memory of Zerviah Bearss died Sept. 5th in the 91st year of her age 1789." The eleven children are then given, born between 1719 and 1741. No mention is made of an alleged second wife, Mary, and the children are all attributed to Zerviah."

Jacobus mentions the actual discharge date, of 1734. That the family received their discharge to Connecticut, in 1734, is extremely important. Some might be inclined to give Franklyn the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he just accidentally inverted the last two numbers? No. Franklyn's entire Mary Sissell story hinges on the date being 1743, instead of 1734. He did this on purpose.

This date is so important, because the actual date of 1734 creates an impossibility, for Franklyn. It is absolutely impossible for Mary to have died giving birth to Josiah's last child, in Massachusetts, after which Josiah and sterile Zerviah repaired their relationship and moved to Connecticut ... when the last 4 children are born after this date.

"The vital and land records of New Fairfield were unfortunately destroyed. However, the Danbury Probate records (vol. 2, pp. 43, 45 and files at the State Library) afford quite conclusive evidence:- 1 Oct. 1753. "Josiah Bearss & Zurviah Bearss are appointed Administrators on the Estate of Josiah Bearss late of Newfairfield in sd District Deceised." 3 Dec. 1753. ".Joseph Bearss son to Josiah Bearss Late of Newfairfield in sd District Decesd Being of Lawfull, age to Chouse his Gardian and having maid Choise of his mother Zurviah Bearss to be his Gardian the Court Doth allow and approve thereof ."

"Distribution of the estate was not made until I July 1791, in other words after the death of the widow (Zerviah Newcomb). This distribution of "the Estate of Josiah Barss late of Newfairfield decest"; was made to "the heirs of Josiah Decst who was the eldest son of the Decest"; "Thomas Barss the second son of the Decst"; "Martha"; "Anna late wife of Benjamin Stevens her heirs"; "Mary the wife of Gideon Beardsley"; "Josep the third son of the Decst"; and "Benjamin Bars the fourth son of the Decest."

Franklyn lies about all the records. According to records, Josiah married Zerviah. According to records, Zerviah is listed as the mother of all 7 children, born before the move. According to records, she is listed as mother, in court documents. According to records, she is still Josiah's wife, when he dies. Period, end of story. There is absolutely zero evidence, except for a random, unsupported, comment from Otis, of another wife or mother.

"The children of Josiah and Zerviah (Newcomb) Bearse honored their mother by names which were bestowed on the next generation; "Zerush Bearse" and "Newcomb Bearss" both, married at Danbury in 1778 [Danbury Vital Records, 1-442, 406)."

There are also grandchildren Zerviah Knapp and Newcomb Knapp.

"So! Are we to believe that the legal wife and widow served as co-administrator on Josiah's estate with his eldest son by a concubine? Are we to believe that one of the younger sons by the concubine chose the legal wife for his guardian, calling her "his mother," and that Zerviah and the Court accepted the choice? And are we to believe that distributors, appointed by the Court, distributed Josiah's estate after his lawful widow's death to his illegitimate children? Such preposterous conclusions are forced upon us if we accept the statements made in Mr. Bearse's manuscript, 'Who Our Forefathers Really Were.'"

Remember too, that we are not just meant to believe that the Puritan community, at large, ignored all of Josiah's wrongdoings, we are also supposed to believe that Zerviah's prominent Puritan family, which included 14 siblings who married into other prominent Puritan families, that supposedly didn't like Josiah, all decided to just sit idly by for a decade, instead of taking him to court. Go ahead and insult our daughter, sister, sister-in-law, aunt, family, and Puritan way of life...for a decade...while we do absolutely nothing about it. Nonsense.

Franklyn's story goes against our understanding of Puritan law. It goes against the fact that Zerviah had a huge Puritan family. It goes against records. And, it contains an element of impossibility. Mary Sissell is just another of Bearce's fabricated connections, and Zerviah Newcomb is the true mother of all Josiah's children.