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- Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut: A Record of the Achievements of Her People in the Making of a Commonwealth and the Founding of a Nation
The first edition of the Sears genealogy gave what purported to be the English ancestry of the family, but the second edition by Samuel P. May , in 1890 , shows that the ancestry was conjectural and erroneous. The parentage and ancestry of Richard Sears , American immigrant, have yet to be established. The surname spelled Sares , Seares , Sayer , Seers and Seir , in this country, and many other variations in England are to be found in the records. The surnames Sawyer and Sayer furnish almost identical variations in spelling and make the work of the genealogist very difficult. There is a belief in the family that the Sears family is of Norman origin. The eastern parishes of London and vicinity had many families of this name about 1600 . The name is common in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey , from which many emigrants came with the early settlers at Marblehead and vicinity. (I) Richard Sears , immigrant ancestor, was a taxpayer in Plymouth colony as early as 1632 . He removed to Marblehead , where he was a landowner in 1637 , but returned to the Plymouth colony about 1638 , and settled at Yarmouth . He took the freeman's oath June 7, 1653 . Commissioners were appointed to meet at his house, on Indian affairs, October 26, 1647 . He was one of the settlers and founders of Yarmouth . He was buried August 26, 1676 . His widow Dorothy was buried March 19, 1678-79 . Children: Silas , died at Yarmouth , January 13, 1697-98 ; Paul , born 1637-38 , mentioned below; Deborah , born at Yarmouth , September, 1639 , died August 17, 1732 .
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1590 - 1676 (86 years)
[1] 
