5 Annotations

First Reading

Paul Brewster  •  Link

Per L&M Companion: a friend or relative of James Pearse, the naval surgeon. His association with Mountagu dated back to at least 1656. He was purser of the Naseby 1657-60 and the Royal Charles 1666. In 1667 he (or a namesake) was purser and captain of the fireship, "William and Susan".

Charlezzzzz  •  Link

Pierce the Purser: "... was purser of the Naseby 1657-60 and the Royal Charles 1666.
Lucky man, he must have been off the Royal Charles when de Ruyter came up to the Medway, cut her out, and carried her off to Holland in 1667. She was, I believe, the greatest ship in the fleet with some 800 men in her crew...wch meant that Pierce was able to pocket large sums: pursers were notorious for enriching themselves. She was built for the new model navy and named the Naseby; renamed when she went across channel to bring back the restored king. You can see fine pictures of her -- a great and beautiful ship -- by googling.

melinda trapelo  •  Link

Pierce the Purser:
Does anyone know if "Pierce" was pronounced "Purse" at this time & place?
I have friends who had relatives named Pierce in northern New England who were always called "Purse."

Kimberley Pierce  •  Link

I'm a "Pierce" pronounced "Purse" from Northern New England, and we've always wondered why our name is pronounced this way. I've met other "Purses" in Boston. If anyone has insight on this it would be greatly appreciated.

Second Reading

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References

Chart showing the number of references in each month of the diary’s entries.

1660

1661

1665