Richard Sears was born 1585 in Netherlands and died 26 August 1675 Yarmouth, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States of unspecified causes. He married Dorothy Jones (1603-1678) .
Research Notes
Old False Entry
Richard Sears was born in 1590 to John Bourchier Sayer (or Sears) and Marie Van Egmond. Both of his parents were born in England but had moved to Holland during the Protestant Reformation and were married in Holland in 1585. They returned to England on or before 1590 when Richard Sears was born.
After coming to North America about 1630, Richard Sears married Dorothy Thatcher in 1632.
Richard Sears, immigrant ancestor, was a taxpayer in Plymouth colony as early as 1632. He removed to Marblehead, where he was a landowner in 1637, but returned to the Plymouth colony about 1638 and settled at Yarmouth. He took the freeman's oath Jun 7, 1653. Commissioners were appointed to meet at his house, on Indian affairs, October 26, 1647. He was one of the settlers and founders of Yarmouth. He was buried August 26, 1676. His widow Dorothy was buried March 19, 1678-79. Children: Silas, died at Yarmouth, January 13, 1697-98; Paul, born 1637-38, mentioned below; Deborah, born at Yarmouth, September, 1639, died August 17, 1732.
The above entry is entirely erroneous and was categorically disproven by Samuel Pearce May in his definitive 1890 genealogical work, The descendants of Richard Sares (Sears) of Yarmouth, Mass., 1638-1888. Richard first appears in the tax records of Plymouth Colony in 1633; nothing is known about him prior to that date, not his parents, and not his date or place of birth.
The connection to the Bourchiers and Egmonds was created in a 19th century genealogy commissioned by a wealthy descendant of Boston, David Sears, and was widely copied in genealogical writings of the time. But there is no evidence whatever to support it, and much to discredit it (see the above-mentioned work by May, as well as "Some Doubts concerning the Sears Pedigree." The New England Historical and Genealogical Register 40: 261-268).
Marriage & Family
Further, Richard married Dorothy Jones (1603-1678) of Dinder, England date unknown—not Dorothy Thacher/Thatcher.
Today, over 20,000 people, including Sir Evan Fritzenkotter, can trace their lineage to Richard Sears. These people have had an impact on not only the British Colonies but the United States and the world. Today, many thousands of those descendants live in the United States alone.
Children
| Name | Birth | Death | Joined with |
| Knynet Sears (1635-1686) | |||
| Paul Sears (1636-1707) | 1637 Marblehead, Essex County, Massachusetts, United States | 20 February 1707 Yarmouth, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | Deborah Willard (1645-1721) |
| Silas Sears (1637-1697) | |||
| Deborah Sears (1639-1732) | |||
Siblings
Descendants