The Earle family : Ralph Earle and his descendants

42 THE EARLE FAMILY [Fourth
[89-9]. Robert4 Earle (Ratyh? William? Ralfl/1 1
), son
of Ralph and Mary (Hicks) Earle, b. March 2, 1706, in
Freetown, Mass.; m. 1st, Mary Newhall {b. Nov. 5,
1704), dau. of Thomas Newhall,* of Leicester, formerly
of Maiden, by whom he had ten children ; and 2d, March
23, 1756, Hepsibah Johnson, of Worcester, Mass., by
whom he had two children. He d. in 1796.
At the age of eleven years he removed with his father to Leicester,
Mass. Upon his attainment of the age of twenty-one years his father
gave him by deed, dated March 9, 1727-S, O. S., and without con-
sideration other than " love, good will and affection," two tracts of
land. Upon one of them, containing eighty acres, he erected a
dwelling, on the corner of Earle and Mulberry streets, in which he
resided during all his married life. On the nth of April, 1792, he
conveyed the place to his grandsons, Pliny and Jonah Earle, in con-
sideration of JC300. In the next following year Pliny removed the
dwelling to the opposite (East) side of the road, and erected upon
the old site the house which, with some additions, is still standing.
Here Robert passed the remainder of his days in the family of his
grandson Pliny.
He had a strong constitution and retained his vigor and activity in
a remarkable degree until very near the close of his life. After the
ninetieth anniversary of his birth, he went alone and on horseback
to visit his sons in Chester, now Vt. On his return, he arrived home
at night, having ridden fifty miles on that day. On the following
morning he said he could ride to Boston on that day, without feeling
fatigue. Once at least, he rode in one day from Leicester to New-
port, R. I., to attend the yearly meeting of the Society of Friends,
of which Society, as heretofore mentioned, he was a member.
Some years before his death, he was returning from Worcester in
company with his brother William [S1-1], both on horseback,
when upon "Potash-plain," they tried the speed of their horses,
both of them pacers, when Robert's horse fell, threw him, and so
injured him that he never fully recovered from the consequent lame-
ness.
* Son of Thomas, who was the first white child born in Lynn, Mass., and
was son of Thomas (d. May 25, 1674) and Mary (d. Sept. 25, 1665) Newhall,
who came from England.