FROM THE SCRAPBOOK
July1996
By Dr. Bill Randall
The Piercy Clan Gathering
It is exciting to think that this year Harvey will host another family reunion, on the first week-end in August. The Piercy Clan Gathering.
I am pleased to have been invited to share in a part of the activities, and I would like to tell you what I expect to do, and thereby share with some of you, who may not be able to attend, a bit of the interesting history of the first generations of Piercy’s.
I will be directing bus tours at 1 P.M., 2 P.M. and 3 P.M. leaving from the Elementary School. Our first stop will be in front of Walter Jewett’s business area, and we will look across the road to an area which was originally (1837) the home of William Grieve and also the site of another house which was the home of the widowed Mary Piercy Grieve. Mary was born the 8th of May 1831, (Mauve) the daughter of George Piercy and Ann Winter. She married 1st of July 1851, Patrick Turnbull Grieve and they lived beside the Magaguadavic River until Patrick died in 1860 leaving Mary with six children, and pregnant with the seventh. She then came to live near her father-in-law, William Grieve.
It is not the intention of this tour to pursue the subsequent generations but resources for this information may be available if you ask Jocelean Swan Hall, who will be available at the school.
With our bus in the same location, I will direct your attention to another area just west of the Grieve home site, which was originally (1837) the home of David Cessford and his wife Margaret (Peggy) Piercy (dark green) and their four young children. The youngest of which was born on the “Cornelius of Sunderland” the vessel that brought them from England. After arriving in Harvey, two more children were born.
Next stop will be beside the St. Andrews United Church of Canada, the site for this Church (an earlier structure was destroyed by fire) was donated by Matthew Piercy and his wife Agnes Moffitt. Matthew was the son of Thomas Piercy and Mary Henderson and with his parents and four siblings were among the 1837 settlers.
With the bus in this same location I would direct you to note that just down the road to the west there is a country store. It was on this site that Matthew Piercy established a store, but with his family, left Harvey in 1875 and went west. If you are wearing a yellow marker you are of that family.
Next stop will be in front of the Knox Presbyterian Church where we will look at the cemetery. You may wish to tour the cemetery on Sunday.
You will see a road sign, the McCullough Road, Isabella Piercy, daughter of Thomas Piercy and Mary Henderson married a Peter McCullough and lived in Charlotte County, but her son William with his family settled in that location.
We will turn from #3 Highway to the Swan Road and we will stop near the site of the home of Ann Piercy and Robert Burrell. Ann (light blue) was the daughter of George Piercy and his wife Ann Winter. Also near where we will turn was the home of Mary Piercy and George Coburn (pink). Mary was the daughter of Thomas Piercy and Mary Henderson.
We turn into the Tweedside Road to the homesite of Thomas Piercy 1784-1865 and his wife Mary Henderson 1786-1868 (colors yellow, white, pink, orange, mint green). Thomas’s son Walter and his family lived on this original homestead. Thomas’ daughter Elizabeth married and lived in Fredericton.
We drive around the square and our second right-angle turn will be near the home of Margaret Jane Piercy and Andrew Moffitt (light brown). Margaret Jane Piercy was the daughter of George Piercy and Ann Winter.
Next stop will be near the present occupants Harold and Ruth Piercy (royal blue), a descendant of George Piercy and Ann. Harold and Ruth may be the only Piercy’s still living at the site of the original settler.
We stop at the Little Monument and turn east on Highway 3, pausing to be aware of a tip of a diamond shaped property which was owned by Thomas Piercy and Margaret Tait (color red). Tom was known as Black Tom, to be distinguished from other Toms. He also owned property on the Patterson Road, but we are not sure that he ever lived there.
Permission to use this material has graciously been given by the Piercy Reunion Organizational Committee who with me gratefully acknowledge the assistance we have received from Jocelean Hall.
Source: Rev. Bill Randall’s “From The Scrapbook Vol. One.”
