Clement Meserve, c1678-1746, Scarborough, Maine

Clement Meserve, son of the immigrant Clement from the Isle of Jersey, is the easiest of the Meserve clan to document because he (thankfully) left a will and marriage records can be found for most of his children.

For those who are researching this family, AmericanAncestors is a great resource and, for Maine records, the Scarborough town minutes, digitized on FamilySearch, will supply many early birth and marriage dates.

Clement Meserve married (1) Elizabeth Jones on 26 September 1702 in Dover, Strafford, New Hampshire and (2) Mrs. Sarah Stone, 14 August 1738 in Scarborough, Maine. I have not found any record of his marriage to Sarah, but Clement did name his wife Sarah in his will.

Clement Meserve was a joiner, or a carpenter, which would certainly have been a useful occupation in the wilds of New Hampshire in the late 1600s and early 1700s.

He lived in Newington, New Hampshire until 1727 when he removed to Scarborough, Maine, where he had purchased 100 acres of land.

Clement died in Scarborough in 1746. His will was written on 18 February 1739/40 and proved on 5 November 1746.


Transcription of the will of Clement Meserve,
Source: AmericanAncestors

Clement was the father of nine possible children, although only seven were named in his will. The children were all likely born in New Hampshire, probably in Newington.

Children:

  1. Clement, called the eldest son in his father’s will; married Sarah Decker, 13 October 1726, Newington, Rockingham, New Hampshire. Births of two children were recorded in Scarborough – Elizabeth, born 7 October 1730 and Clement, born 2 September 1733. There likely were other children.
  2. Nathaniel, married Jane Libby, 16 December 1725, Greenland, Rockingham, New Hampshire. They had at least one child, Elizabeth, born 26 February 1742, Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire.
  3. Elizabeth, married James Libby, 29 December 1726, Portsmouth, Strafford, new Hampshire. They had at least two children – Clement, born 23 October 1729 and Arthur, born 19 August 1734, both in Scarborough.
  4. Johnmarried Jemima Hubbard of Kingston, 2 September 1732, Scarborough, Maine. John and Jemima were the parents of eight children – Dorothy, born 13 October 1733, Abigail, born 21 February 1735, John, born 7 December 1738, George, born 21 December 1740, Mary, born 19 November 1742, William, born 26 October 1744, Clement, born 6 July 1746 and Joseph, born 1 November 1748, all in Scarborough.
  5. Abigail, married Lt. Samuel Libby, 29 February 1727/28; died 10 November, probably 1733 as her death is recorded with no year but immediately following the birth of Clement Meserve on 2 September 1733. They had at least two children –  Asa, born 6 September 1731 and Amine, born 10 August 1733. However, neither Abigail nor her children are mentioned in her father’s will.
  6. George, reportedly married Elizabeth Ham, 17 February 1737, Portsmouth, Rockingham, New Hampshire. No further record.
  7. ?Peter, not in his father’s will, but George, Peter and Joseph Meserve were all baptized at the Newington Church on 19 January 1724. If he was a son a Clement, then he predeceased his father. Some say he married Sarah Hond? in 1737, but I haven’t found that record and there are no children recorded for them in Scarborough.
  8. Daniel, married Mehitable Bragdon, 24 January 1738 in Scarborough, Maine. They were the parents of at least four children – Sarah, born 27 June 1745, Nathaniel, born 20 April 1747, Gideon, born 31 January 1749 and Elizabeth, born 5 January 1754, all in Scarborough.
  9. Joseph, named in his father’s will, but no marriage record has been found for him, nor have I found mention of him elsewhere.

Here ends the family sketch for Clement Meserve, son of the immigrant Clement. Tomorrow, we will look at possibilities to connect Joseph Meservey, father of Lavinia Mesrvey Chadwick with his ancestors.

 

2 thoughts on “Clement Meserve, c1678-1746, Scarborough, Maine”

  1. No Meserve family ended up living on Burnham Road just Avenue old County Road. The first house that you will see on Burnham Road is the house on the right is a very very large home with a ban cars pigs chickens. That was a small farm. Just down the street on Burnham Road is a cemetery that was their family cemetery Meserve is buried there include shelves Meserve Nathaniel Meserve and others. The Meserve‘s were very frugal and I missed a small fortune and use part of that small fortune to buy 1000 acres from the Indians that went into Scarborough marsh. Olivia family reserve a prominent family also. They had also amass a small fortune also. The Longfellow library in Portland right next to the Longfellow home has amassed much genealogy on the Meserve family. I have the complete Meserve genealogy book that my husband and I have put together in the early 2000s..

  2. Thank you for this post-I’ve not seen the Meserve Genealogy Book, but wondered if this google search hit upon it?
    I’ve found this (google books search “snippet”) in researching my ancestor, Thomas Tripp’s 2nd m. to Susan MESERVEY 11 Mar 1818 in Searsmont,ME (residing in Appleton 1840 US Census)- some of their children resided in St. George, but no gravestones or death records found for them:(

    ,New Hampshire families in the eighteenth century
    https://books.google.com/books?id=ZmYjAQAAMAAJHenry Winthrop Hardon – 1991 – ‎
    Snippet viewFOUND INSIDE – PAGE 106
    16 Nov. 1729. MESERVEY CLEMENT 2, MESERVEY (Clement1), of Newington, 1713, Scarboro, Me., 1727 (Dover Landmarks, p. 97), Gorham, Me., and Standish, Me., m. (1) 24 Sept. 
    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
    Clement Meservey, III
    BIRTH 1703 Portsmouth, Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA
    DEATH 1772 (aged 68–69)Standish, Cumberland County, Maine, USA
    BURIAL Black Point Cemetery
    Scarborough, Cumberland County, Maine, USA 
    MEMORIAL ID 131491043 · (Findagrave.com)

    Clement Meserve III was the son of Clement Meservey II and Elizabeth Jones Meservey.
    He was born about 1703 in Portsmouth, Rockingham County, NH and died approximately 1772 in Standish (Pearsontown), Cumberland County, Maine.

    He married Sarah Decker in Newington, Rockingham County, New Hampshire on 13 Oct 1726 and subsequently moved to Scarborough, Cumberland County, Maine where they had several children including John W, Elizabeth, Clement IV, Hannah, Joseph, Margaret, and Benjamin.
    They may have also had a son Nathaniel (1748-1825).
    I cannot find his exact burial details but I have placed him in the Black Point Cemetery where other members of the family are known to have been buried.
    (Note that if I list his burial as unknown then his memorial will not come up on searches of Maine burials) Parents
    Elizabeth Jones Meserve
    1680–1730
    Siblings
    Daniel Meserve
    1715–1803
    Children
    Benjamin Meserve
    1744–1822

    >I’m missing the name of this genealogist 🙁

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