Pierce is used to split the family line into "Before" and "After" because my line be traced back to him via registration certificates that not only prove the relationships 100% but put him living at Ballinastraw, Co.Carlow. This farm is a mile from Aghade church where Thomas Tennant and his wife Judith Butler were buried. The name Pierce is an anglified version of the Norman French name Piers and is very common in the Butler family. About the time Pierce was named in 1783, Major Pierce Butler from the local Butler family was becoming famous in the USA where he helped create the constitution, became a Senator and refused nomination as V.President.

An alternative source for the name Pierce might be if it was his grandmother Judith Butler who is the person recorded as marrying Dean Pierce in 1780 (presumably after the death of her first husband Thomas). Source Page 8 the book "Carlow to Lanark" (C2L) ref.14.

Pierce's Death Certificate (Photo Copy to Hand), Registered in the District of Tullow, states:-

Fifth Day of May 1864, Ballinastraw, Pierce Tennant, Male, 81, Farmer, Old age. Three months bedridden, no medical advice, uncertified, Informant:William Tennant son of Deceased, Ballinastraw.

From this we can calculate he was probably born in 1783. The Baptism record in C2L Old Register does not list Pierce. This may have been due to absence of a minister or an oversight in the search of the Old Register for Tennant records or less likely that he was born in another parish. The original registers are at Aghade but the relevant volume has gone missing since the time of creation of the book C2L.

Children: