Jacob Sheafe, died 1791 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire - Tombstone Tuesday

 This tombstone was photographed at the Old North Cemetery, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

This Stone is erected

in Memory of

JACOB SHEAFE ESQUIRE

who died June 26th 1791

in the 76th Year of his Age.

His useful life was deservedly esteemed

And his death sincerely lamented.

As a man,

He was humane, just and generous.

As a merchant, 

which business he followed for upwards of fifty years, 

he was ever esteemed for his honesty and punctuality. 

His conduct in private and public life,

Will erect the best statue to his memory. 

Jacob Sheafe, son of Sampson Sheafe and Sarah Walton, was born 21 October 1715 at New Castle, New Hampshire, and died 26 June 1791 in Portsmouth.  He married Hannah Seavey, daughter of James Seavey and his wife Abigail Pickering.  They had eleven children:

1. Matthew Sheafe, shipmaster, born 13 August 1741, died at sea, married Abigail Hart

2. Abigail Sheafe, born 26 April 1744, died 10 December 1805, married John Pickering

3. Jacob Sheafe, IV, merchant, b. 6 September 1745, died 25 January 1829, married Marcy Quincy

4. Sarah Sheafe, born 1 August 1748, died 8 June 1839, married John Marsh

5. Hannah Sheafe, born 24 April 1750, died 1 September 1845, married first Hugh Henderson and married second William Hart. 

6. Thomas Sheafe, merchant, born 16 April 1752, died 4 September 1831, married first Mary Bell, ad second Mary Hale.

7. Mary Sheafe, born 22 November 1753, died 6 March 1826, married Joseph Willard (President of Harvard College).

8.  James Sheafe, merchant, born 16 November 1755, died December 25, 1829, married first Sarah Merserve, and second Sarah Fisher.

9. William Sheafe, merchant, born 11 September 1758, died 1839, married Anna Wentworth.

10. Mehitable Sheafe, born 12 April 1760, died 4 September 1843, married Eben Smith.

11.  John Sheafe, born 13 July 1762, died 24 January 1812, married Elizabeth Bunbury.

Jacob Sheafe was a successful merchant in Portsmouth, like his father and grandfather before him.  He had a large house which formerly stood near the southwest corner of Market and Deer Streets. When he died he left each of his ten surviving children a house and a farm. The family warehouse (built about 1705 by his grandfather Sampson Sheafe) still stands on the waterfront next to Prescott Park.  

Sheafe Warehouse, photographed 2013

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Jacob Sheafe, died 1791 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire -  Tombstone Tuesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted September 13, 2022, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2022/09/jacob-sheafe-died-1791-in-portsmouth.html: accessed [access date]).