Pierson, Pearson, Porsune, or Person, Abraham, Branford, was of Yorksh. came to Boston 1640, join. the ch. 5 Sept. of that yr. when he is call. "a studient," of wh. we may doubt the meaning, as we kn. he was bred at Trinity Coll. Cambridge, where he took his A. B. 1632, and he is in Mather's first Classis as a min. bef. coming over, tho. this may well seem incorrect; bec. min. of the ch. gather. in Lynn Nov. 1640 to go to sett. at Southampton, L. I. thence a. 1647 went to Branford, and thence in the autumn of 1667, with a part of his congreg. to Newark, N. J. See his letter to John Winthrop, 3 Mass. Hist. Coll. X. 69 and 84. He had Abraham, b. at Lynn 1641, H. C. 1668; Thomas, John, and Abigail, bef. his rem. from S. and at B. were b. Grace, 13 June 1650; Susanna, 10 Dec. 1652; Rebecca, 10 Dec. 1654; and Theophilus, 15 Mar. or May 1659; beside Isaac; and Mary. Abigail m. 27 Nov. 1663, John Davenport the younger; Susanna m. 1672, Jonathan Bell of Stamford, as his sec. w.; Grace was sec. w. of Samuel Kitchell; and Rebecca m. Joseph Johnson, and d. 8 Nov. 1732. But much of the details belong to Newark. He d. 9 Aug. 1678. Descend. are in Conn. N. Y. and N. J. of wh. Farmer says twelve had in 1829, been gr. at the coll. of those three States. Lechford, in Plain Dealing, 43, calls him Pridgeon. Of his will, I have large abstr. furnish. by Samuel H. Congar, Esq. It bears date 10 Aug. 1671, provides out of good est. for four s. Abraham, Thomas, Theophilus, and Isaac; four ds. beside his "choice and precious d. Davenport," so that we may be sure John was d. bef. that date.
