Faunce Family Collection
DAL.SMS.200

Scope and Content:
The Faunce Family Collection consists of seven land deeds (1819-1840) of the Faunce family of Kingston and Duxbury, MA, and one deed for a church pew. Also included are two Duxbury town warrants listing items to be voted upon in 1830 and 1838. Of special note are the two letters in the collection. One, written by George Chandler (b. 1792) to his sister and brother-in-law, Christiana and Sylvanus Prior of Duxbury, describes his illness, sadness in leaving Duxbury, and the placing of stones at his mother’s grave. The other letter, written by a teacher named N. Clark to Sylvanus Prior, describes incidents of teaching in Hingham, MA. Also included is the Civil War commission of George A. Faunce.

Biographical Note:
Two of the deeds in the collection are to Eleazar Faunce (1751-1837). He was born in Kingston, MA, the son of John Faunce and Hannah Bisbee. In 1779, he married Susannah Adams, and together they had six children: Eleazar (1780-1786), John (1782-1869), Zenas (1784-1854), Lucy (1788-1835), Eleazar (1793-1793), and Hannah (b. 1795).

Two of the deeds in the collection are to Zenas Faunce Sr, the son of Eleazar and Susannah Faunce. He was born in Kingston, MA, but later moved to Duxbury, where he worked as a blacksmith. In 1812 he married Jerusha Wadsworth, the daughter of Wait and Jerusha (Robinson) Wadsworth. Together the Faunces had four children: Zenas Jr. (1814-1883), George (b. 1818), Jerusha (1822-1850), and Martha (1825-1825).

The author of one letter is George Chandler (1782-1871), the son of Philip Chandler (1728-1801) and Christiana Phillips (1740-1820). He was born in Duxbury and in 1809 married Deborah Beal. By 1820, they had moved to Livermore, Oxford, Maine. His niece married Zenas Faunce Jr.

Both of the letters were written to Sylvanus Prior (1764-1835), who married Christiana (Chandler) Prior. Their daughter, Christiana Isadore Prior, married Zenas Faunce Jr.

A poem and a naval commission (1863) belonged to George A. Faunce (1837-1892). He was the son of Zenas Jr. and Christiana Faunce. As a young man, he was a mariner and served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. In 1869, he married Isabella N. Burnett in Boston. She was from New Orleans. George and Isabella eventually relocated to New Orleans as well. They had five children: Zenas, John, Sidney, and Annie.

A poem in the collection was written by 97-year-old Peleg Thomas (1736-1834) of Lebanon, CT, upon the death of his daughter, Sarah (Thomas) Wattles (1777-1833). Dr. Mary Ann Wattles Faunce, a descendant of Sarah (Thomas) Wattles, was married to Sylvanus Carroll Faunce, the son of Zenas Faunce Jr.