Epes Sargent (July 12, 1690 – December 6, 1762) was an American soldier and landowner from
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and a ...
.
Early life and family
Sargent was born on July 12, 1690 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He was the seventh of fifteen children born to William Sargent II (1659–1707), who came to Gloucester before 1678, and Mary Duncan (d. 1724),
[Emma Worcester Sargent and Charles Sprague Sargent. Epes Sargent of Gloucester and His Descendants. Boston,] daughter of Peter Duncan and step-granddaughter of Samuel Symonds, deputy Governor.
His maternal grandparents were Mary Eppes (1629–1692) and Peter Duncan (1629–1716), who emigrated from England to Massachusetts. His paternal grandfather was William Sargent (b. c. 1610) from
Exeter, England
Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.
In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...
.
Career
Sargent was one of the largest landholders in Gloucester.
He served as a colonel in the Massachusetts militia before the
Revolutionary War and was a justice of the general session court for more than thirty years.
In 1744, he was selected as Gloucester's representative in the
General Court of Massachusetts
The Massachusetts General Court (formally styled the General Court of Massachusetts) is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the earliest days of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...
.
In 1760, two years before his death, he had his portrait painted by
John Singleton Copley
John Singleton Copley (July 3, 1738 – September 9, 1815) was an Anglo-American painter, active in both colonial America and England. He was probably born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Richard and Mary Singleton Copley, both Anglo-Irish. Afte ...
.
Personal life
On April 1, 1720, he married Esther McCarty (1701–1743), daughter of Florence McCarty, one of the founders of the first
Protestant Episcopal
The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
society in
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
.
Before Esther's death, she gave birth to:
* Epes Sargent (1721–1779), who married Catherine Osborne (1722–1788), daughter of Hon. John Osborne.
He was the great-grandfather of
Epes Sargent (1813–1880).
* Esther Sargent (1722–1745), who married Col. Thomas Goldthwaite (1718–1799).
* Ignatius Sargent (b. 1724).
* Thomas Sargent (1726–1727), who died young.
* Winthrop Sargent (1727–1793), who married Judith Saunders (1731–1793).
* Sara Sargent (1729–1792).
*
Daniel Sargent Sr.
Daniel Sargent Sr. (March 18, 1730 – February 18, 1806) was an American merchant in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and then Boston.
Early life
Sargent was born on March 18, 1730, in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He was the son of Col. Epes Sargent ...
(1730–1806), a successful merchant who was referred to as the "merchant prince". He married Mary Turner (1743–1813).
* William Sargent (1733–1736), who died young.
* Benjamin Sargent (b. 1736).
* Mary Ann Sargent (b. 1740), who died in infancy.
After Esther's death, Epes Sargent married Catherine (née Winthrop) Brown (1711–1781), the widow of Samuel Brown and the daughter of Ann Dudley and John Winthrop (1681–1747), on August 10, 1744 and moved to
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
. Catherine's maternal grandfather was Gov.
Joseph Dudley
Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...
and her paternal grandfather was
Wait Winthrop
Waitstill Winthrop (27 February 1642 – 7 November 1717) was a colonial magistrate, military officer, and politician of New England.
Early life
Winthrop was born on 27 February 1642 in Boston, the capital of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He wa ...
, son of Gov.
John Winthrop the Younger
John Winthrop the Younger (February 12, 1606 – April 6, 1676) was an early governor of the Connecticut Colony, and he played a large role in the merger of several separate settlements into the unified colony.
Early life
Winthrop was born ...
and grandson of Gov.
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...
, both
Governors of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Together, they were the parents of:
*
Paul Dudley Sargent
Paul Dudley Sargent (Baptized June 23, 1745, Salem, Massachusetts – September 28, 1828 Sullivan, Maine) was a privateer and soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Early life
Sargent was born in 1745 and baptized ...
(1745–1828), a noted Revolutionary War hero.
* Ann Sargent (1746–1747), who died in infancy.
*
John Sargent (1750–1824),
a
Loyalist
Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...
during the Revolution.
Sargent died on December 6, 1762 in Salem
and his remains were removed to Gloucester for burial.
Descendants
His grandchildren included
Daniel Sargent (1764–1842), a politician who was close friends with President
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...
,
Henry Sargent
Henry Sargent (baptized November 25, 1770 – February 21, 1845), American painter and military man, was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Early life
He was one of seven children born to Daniel Sargent Sr. and Mary (née Turner) Sargent (174 ...
(1770–1845), a painter,
Lucius Manlius Sargent
Lucius Manlius Sargent (June 25, 1786 – June 2, 1867) was an American author, antiquarian, and temperance advocate who was a member of the prominent Sargent family of Boston.
Early life
Sargent was born in Boston, the youngest of seven child ...
(1786–1867), a
temperance
Temperance may refer to:
Moderation
*Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed
*Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion
Culture
*Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...
advocate,
Judith Sargent Murray
Judith Sargent Stevens Murray (May 1, 1751 – June 9, 1820) was an early American advocate for women's rights, an essay writer, playwright, poet, and letter writer. She was one of the first American proponents of the idea of the equality of the ...
(1751–1820), a poet and advocate for women's rights, and
Winthrop Sargent
Winthrop Sargent (May 1, 1753 – June 3, 1820) was a United States patriot, politician, and writer; and a member of the Federalist party.
Early life
Sargent was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts on May 1, 1753. He was one of eight children ...
(1753–1820),
Governor of the Mississippi Territory.
The artist
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
is a descendant of Epes's son Winthrop.
See also
*
Sargent family
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargent, Epes
1690 births
1762 deaths
People from Gloucester, Massachusetts
People from Boston
American merchants