The first edition of the Sears genealogy gave what purported to be the English Ancestry of the family, but the second edition by Samuel P. May, in 1890, shows that the ancestry was conjectural and erroneous.  The parentage and ancestry of Richard Sears, American immigrant, have yet to be established.  The surname, spelled Sares, Seares, Sayer, Seers, and Seir, in this country, and many other variations in England are to be found in the records.  The surnames Sawyer and Sayer furnish almost identical variations in spelling and make the work of the genealogist very difficult.  There is a belief in the famly that the Sears family is of Norman origin.  The eastern parishes of London and vicinity had many families of this name about 1600.  The name is common in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, from which many emigrants came with the early settlers at Marblehead [Essex Co., MA] and vicinity.

(I) 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.

(II) Captain Paul, son of Richard Sears, was born probably at Marblehead, Massachusetts, in 1637-38, after February 20, and died at Yarmouth, February 20, 1707-08.  He took the oath of fidelity in 1657.  He was captain of the militia at Yarmouth, and was in the Narragansett war.  He was one of the original proprietors of Harwich, which was laid out between Bound Brook and Stony Brook as Wing's Purchase.  He married, at Yarmouth, in 1658, Deborah Willard, baptized at Scituate, September 14, 1645, died May 13, 1721, daughter of George Willard.  Her mother was probably Dorothy Dunster.  Children:  Mercy, born July 3, 1659; Bethia, January 3, 1661-62, died July 5, 1684; Samuel, January, 1663-64, mentioned below; Daughter, 1666, perhaps Lydia, who married Eleazer Hamblin; Paul, June 15, 1669; _____, October 24, 1672, probably Mary, who married Colonel John

(III) Captain Samuel, son of Captain Paul Sears, was born at Yarmouth in January, 1663-64, died January 8, 1741-42.  He was one of the earliest inhabitants of Harwich.  His first house there was just over the line that separates the part of Harwich, which is now West Brewster, from East Dennis.  It stood until after 1800 and was occupied by his sons.  His will was dated April 7, 1740.  He was constable in 1702, lieutenant 1706, and later captain.  He married Mercy Mayo, born 1664, died January 20, 1748-49, daughter of Deacon Samuel and Tamsin (Lumpkin) Mayo, and granddaughter of Rev. John Mayo; children:  Hannah, born July 1, 1685; Samuel, September 15, 1687; Nathaniel, September 23, 1689; Tamsen, November 13, 1691, died July 17, 1761; Jonathan, September 3, 1693; Captain Joseph, July 15, 1695; Joshua, May 3, 1697; Judah, October 29, 1699, mentioned below; John, July 18, 1701; Seth, May 27, 1703; Benjamin, June 16, 1706.

(IV) Judah, son of Captain Samuel Sears, was born October 29, 1699, died at Rochester, Massachusetts, about 1776.  He lived in Harwich, now West Brewster, and his house was standing recently.  He removed to Rochester and joined the church there in 1769, and was tythingman in 1764-67.  His will was dated February 5, 1773, proved September 2, 1776, his son Judah being executor.  He married, at Yarmouth, in November, 1731, Mary Paddock, born 1714, daughter of Judah and Alice (Alden) Paddock, granddaughter of David Alden and great-granddaughter of John and Priscilla (Mullens) Alden, who came on the "Mayflower."  Children:  Ann, born March 31, 1733; Judah, November 19, 1734; Mary, baptized November 7, 1736, died young; Alden, born February 24, 1738-39; Nathan, Jun 18, 1741; David, May 10, 1744; Richard, June 8, 1746; Mary, April 15, 1750, married, at Rochester, November 13, 1766, Jonathan Hatch, of Falmouth, his son, Alden Hatch, had a daughter, Mary Sears (Hatch) Johnston, whose daughter, Annie M. Johnston, married Aaron C. Goodman (see Goodman VI); Elizabeth, baptized July 8, 1752; Alice, married Charles Church; Sarah, baptized March 30, 1755.