Moses and Epgraim Stearns Families from Walpole As It Was and As It Is (1880)

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Surname: STEARNS
Source: Walpole As It Was and As It Is by George Aldrich, 
        The Claremont Manufacturing Co., Claremont, N.H., 1880, pages 361-365

STEARNS, MOSES. Isaac Stearns, the American ancestor of the Stearns family in Walpole, came 
from England in the ship Arabella, and landed at Boston in the summer of 1630, and subsequently 
settled in Watertown, Mass. He was of the old Puritan stock which might be inferred by the Bible 
names given to the family for more than eight generations. The line of descent from Isaac to Moses 
Stearns, who settled in Walpole, is as follows; a son of Isaac was Samuel, who married Hannah 
Manning; 2d, John, who married Abigail Fisk and had thirteen children; of these the fifth was Abigail 
who married Col. Benjamin Bellows, the founder of Walpole. The fifth son, David, was for many years, 
a pastor at Lunenburg, Mass., while the first son, John jr., was the father of Moses, he being the fifth 
generation from Isaac, and a nephew of Benj. Bellows. Moses Stearns married Ruth Houghton, June 
13, 1754, and settled in Westminster, Mass., on a farm at the base of Wachusett mountain. He and his 
son Ephraim came to Walpole, and purchased the old Stearns place of Col. Benjamin Bellows--the 
deed bearing date Feb. 1773. The land had been previously occupied by Constantine Gilman, who 
took it up in 1759, and was probably one of the first settlers in town. He built a house on the opposite 
side of the road from the old Stearns dwelling, near the brook, on the place now occupied by the old 
orchard, and brought his family to Walpole in 1760; from Newmarket; and lived there four years, when 
his wife died and he returned to Newmarket. On his way thither he stopped over night at an inn in 
Peterborough, kept by the granddaughter of Gen. James Wilson, of Keene, and there left his daughter 
Molly, a child then four years old, where she remained till she was eighteen, when she returned to 
Walpole, her father, who was then living on the George Jennings place, having previously returned.

STEARNS, EPHRAIM, married Molly Gilman, Dec. 30, 1781. Coon after the battle of Bennington 
he joined the American army; but whether as a regular soldier or a "minute man" is not known. He was 
stationed at Fort Edward to prevent the retreat of detachments of Burgoyne’s army. Here he had a 
narrow escape, it being brought about by having a skirmish after dark, with a party of Hessians, when a 
bullet discharged from one of their guns cut the skin of his throat, and as he used to tell the story, "he 
thought it cut the jugular vein; but in putting his hand up to stop the out-pouring blood, he found it was 
dry. It was in a bateau taken from the Americans that night that Lathwood, the father of aunt Sally, so 
well known to the older citizens of the town, was captured. He, (Stearns) served one year under 
General Thomas, in the Canada campaign, at Montreal and Quebec, where he had the small pox. When 
he returned to Walpole he settled town on the old Stearns farm, where he lived until his death, which 
occurred Oct. 19, 1843, aged 88; Mrs. Stearns died Oct. 27, 1850, aged 90. Ephraim’s father, 
Moses, died Sept. 24, 1808, aged 80 years; his wife, Ruth, died Feb. 27, 1815, aged 82. Ephraim was 
a man of genial disposition, fond of company and enjoyed in his old age living his life over again, in 
telling his youthful exploits. In stature, he was about five feet five inches, and in the times of cider and 
cider brandy, turned the beam at 206 pounds, but after he abstained from the use of alcoholic drinks he 
weighed about 150 pounds. Ch. of Moses and Ruth Stearns:
I. Ephraim m. as above stated; ch. 1st, Simon, b. Feb. 26, 1783; m. Sarah Noyes, in 1815. 2d, 
Calvin, b. Jan. 24, 1794; m. Deborah Allen; d. Apr. 27, 1840. 3d, Stephen, b. April 27, 1786; 
m. first, Harriet, dau. of Deacon Jonas Hosmer, and had one child, Josiah W., b. Aug. 15, 
1823; m. Abby Martin, Apr. 25, 1850. . Ch. (1) Henry C., b. May 11, 1851, graduated at 
Union College, Chicago, in 1876; the first in his class, and has recently (1879) been admitted to 
the bar in the state of Illinois. (2) Harriet H.; b. Nov. 4, 1857, 3d, Martin P., b. Mar. 4, 1862. 
Stephen Stearns was born, lived and died on the old homestead. He was one of the old, solid, 
reliable and much esteemed citizens of the town. He was a member of the legislature in 1839, 
and again in 1842. He buried his first wife, aged 31, Dec. 20, 1827, and married widow Lora 
Burroughs, Apr. 27, 1830. He died Jan. 28, 1855; she survived him fifteen years, and died Jan. 
22, 1870. Josiah W. abandoned the old homestead in 1863, which had been held by the 
Stearns family 90 years, and went west, and now lives in Watseka, Ill. 4th and 5th, Ephraim and 
Molly, b. June 2, 1788; Molly d. in infancy; Ephraim was drowned in Connecticut river, under 
the following circumstances. He and Avery Ware were in the river, bathing, and young Stearns 
from some cause required assistance, being in imminent danger of sinking. Ware swam to his 
rescue, and was seized and discommoded with so firm a grasp that he could not swim; when, in 
order to save himself, he had to strike poor Stearns a violent blow upon his head, which stunned 
him to that extent that he loosened his grasp and sunk, and Ware saved himself. The Stearns 
family, although the death of their son and brother was a severe blow to them, thought that 
Ware acted wisely. 6th, Polly, b. Aug. 16, 1790; m. Zephaniah Kidder, July 7 1823. (See 
Kidder.) 7th, Lyman, b. Aug. 13, 1792; d. Mar. 27, 1803. 8th, Curtis, b. Jan. 23, 1794; m. 
Rebecca Baron, of Alstead. He d. May 2, 1868: she d. Aug. 30, 1874, aged 69 years. Ch. (1) 
Mary, b. 1831, d. 1852. She was endowed by nature with more than common abilities, and 
possessed a gentle and lovely disposition and grace of person seldom seen. She possessed also, 
a poetic genius, and many of her effusions are kept treasured in the family. (2) Frances A., b. 
Mar. 25, 1839; m. Silas M. Bates, and has two children, a son and a daughter, Edward and 
Mary. (See Ap.) Mrs. Bates and her children are all that remain in town of the numerous 
descendants of Moses Stearns, who settled here more than one hundred years ago. They have 
made their entrance, acted their little part on life’s stage, and passed into the shadow, like the 
dim dissolving scenes of a magic lantern. Such is life! 9th and 10th, Willard and Wilder, b. June 
6, 1796. Wilder m. Hannah Wier, Feb. 5, 1823, and Willard m. Harriet P. Mitchell. 11th, 
Elijah, b. July 27, 1798; m. Sarah Blanchard; d. Sept. 29, 1828. 12th, Harvey, b. June 3, 
1800; m. Rebecca Brown. 13th, George, b. May 10, 1802; m. Mrs. Gibson, and is the only 
one of the family now living. (1879.)
II. Esther, b. Apr. 11, 1757; m. James Eastman, and removed to Newfane.
III. Reuben, b. Sep. 11, 1757; went to Shrewsbury: d. Apr. 26, 1791.
IV. Relief, b. Mar. 8, 1762; m. Simon Farmer, of Herkimer, N.Y.
V. Elizabeth, b. Sep. 9, 1764; m. John Adams, of Walpole.
VI. Lois, b. Aug. 1776; m. James Knapp, Nov. 26, 1789.
VII. Benjamin, b.Oct.11, 1768; m. Esther Simonds, of Kingsborough, and removed to 
Trumbull, La.
VIII. Lucy, b. Jan. 14, 1771; d. Nov. 29, 1796.
IX. Abigail, b. Feb. 27, 1775; m. Isaac Gibson, of Grafton, Vt.
The old Stearns homestead has been under cultivation 120 years, and the original part of the house now 
standing, was built in 1774; the east and west part have been added since.
STEARNS, AARON, was a brother of Moses, and lived in Walpole "Valley." There is but little 
known of the family. He had seven children, but where most of them went is unknown. Probably the 
family removed from town. Ch:
I. Zenas, died in Vermont. 
II. Levi, died in Acworth.
III. Jesse, lived in town some forty years ago, and is remembered as a lame shoemaker. He had a 
family of children, one of whom, Lyman, b. Mar. 11, m. Rhoda Ann, dau. of Anson Graves, 
and was also a shoemaker. He had another son, named William, b. July 1,. 1810.
IV. John.
V. Lydia.
VI. Esther, m. Simeon Mead, of Langdon.
VII. Rhoda.