According to F Edward Wright in his book Anne Arundel Church Records, William, son of William and Elizabeth Pearce, was baptized 20 Jun 1714 at St James Parish. I am certain that the younger William eventually moved to Baltimore County, the Towson area, where he died. Most people give 1783 as his date of death, for no valid reason I can find. I use “about 1780” as it is hard to be sure whether mentions of William after 1780 are father or son.

For me, the issue is how to show that William who died about 1780 in or near Towson was the William born about 1714 in Anne Arundel County to William and Elizabeth. Whether he moved directly from Anne Arundel to Towson, I don’t know, but his earliest mention in Baltimore County is clearly the William Pearce with links to that Anne Arundel family and then later mentions establish that William of Towson was the same man with those earlier conections.

Robert W Barnes in his book ”Baltimore County Families, 1659-1759” acknowledges the difficulty of sorting out the various William Pearce’s present in early Maryland records. He lists William Pearce who married Mary Grafford or Crawford on 3 Jun 1725 (I think this is a typo and was 1735 actually) and by 1750 owned 10 acres Molly’s Industry. But he doesn’t connect this William or this couple to any other people.

Barnes actually (mistakenly, I believe) suggests that the William Pearce baptized 20 Jun 1714 was probably the William Pearce who married Priscilla West.

There is a 31 Oct 1763 deposition of William Pearce, taylor, aged 50 years. He had a brother, John, born 10 Mar 1714. And his parents were married 5 Sep 1711, so the birth of William Pearce seems bracketed between late 1712 and mid-1713. He and John sold Pearce’s Folly on 11 May 1739 and in 1744, William bought Molly’s Industry.

1748 unpatented Priviledge Quantity resurvey of Mollys Industry

The following citations pertain to a man named William Pearce of Baltimore County.

In 1735, William Pearce married Mary Crawford (or Grafford) in Baltimore County.

In 1739, William and John Pearce, sons and heirs of William Pearce, late of Anne Arundel County, sold “Pearce’s Folly”. William was said to be a tailor of Baltimore County and John a shipwright of Anne Arundel County. William and wife Mary had sold this same land to the same man in 1737, so maybe this was redone since John too owned a share.

In 1745, William Pearce patented a tract of land he named “Molly’s Industry” in Baltimore County. Local historians today place Molly’s Industry in the heart of Towson. [The name was perhaps derived from his wife’s nickname -- Molly being a common nickname for Mary.]

In 1763, William Pearce of Baltimore County, tailor, made a deposition stating he was 50 years old. [A 1713 or so birth is implied.]

In 1763, William Pearce of Baltimore County patented a tract of land he named “Pearce’s Security to Molly’s Industry”.

In 1769, William Pearce, tailor of Baltimore County, deeded to his son Philip Grafford Pearce “Pearce’s Security to Molly’s Industry”.

In 1785, Ezekial Towson, proprietor of Towson’s Tavern, located in what is now the heart of Towson, put notice in the local newspaper that he had given bond to Philip Crawford Pearce. The bond was now paid off but Pearce was nowhere to be found.

So I think the logic of the proof that the William Pearce, baptized in Anne Arundel County in 1714 was the son of William Pearce who died there in 1719 and also the husband of Mary Crawford and eventually became a tailor and resided in or near what became the town of Towson -- really just flows and is obvious.

A DNA cousin descends from Palletia Pearce (1760-1834) who married Nathan Gorsuch, seems to have been William’s daughter.

I do not know who her parents were. Her name may have been Grafford, but I think it was most likely Crawford. I have a strong suspicion her father was named Philip Crawford and she named her son after him.

According to the Internet, Mary Crawford was born in 1715 in St. Paul’s Parish, King George County, VA. This seems to be based on the idea that her father may have been named Philip, hence the name of her son, and there was a Philip Crawford in King Gorge and/or Stafford County, Virginia and he did apparently have a daughter named Mary. The problem is she was born in 1738, much too late for our Mary. It just can’t be. It’s a case of mistaken identity.

I have found evidence of a Philip Crawford in Lancaster County -- but know nothing more about him.

In either case, I don’t know how Mary would have come to meet and marry William Pearce of Baltimore County.

The Internet says she died in 1770 in Reckorville, MD and was buried in Molly’s Industry, Towson, MD. Curiously, Marvin Pearce was able to learn nothing of her origins or even her date of birth.