Young Spencer, who was the next to own the land and who may have begun the construction of this house, was a careless, improvident man. He soon became involved in pecuniary troubles and sold the farm in small lots, eventually getting rid of the entire property. His uncle, Daniel Pierce, a village blacksmith, bought part of the land in 1651 with the proviso that any time within the next seven years, if Spencer wished, it could be repurchased on the same terms. This transaction was through the old ceremony of "turf and twig," the transfer being supplemented by a deed. It was a blind transaction, there being nothing to ascertain the worth of the place. Pierce was a thrifty man, and tradition relates that he kept all the money he possessed tied up in an old stocking that was hung up in his shop. Through Mr. Coffin, the historian of Newbury, we learn that the house was not built until 1666 to 1670, but no matter how carefully we trace the records, we find it impossible to determine the accuracy of this fact. Nowhere in the Pierce family is there a tradition that it was built by any of their ancestors, and even the oldest inhabitants failed to swerve from their assertions that the Spencers were the first occupants of this stone house. The only fact that points to its presumable erection by a Pierce is that Daniel Pierce, who was a member of Governor Carteret's first Council, and who with others founded the town of Woodbridge, two years later returned to his native place with a well-lined purse. We read how he valued his estate highly and desired to entail it in his will, saying: "It shall never be sold nor any part divided." Whatever his intentions were, they were never carried out, as is shown later on. Pierce supported the cause of the pastor in the famous Parker controversy, and died in 1677 at the age of sixty-six years. His son Daniel was his sole executor, and he was asked to do for his brother Joshua's children as he thought best. The will also has a singular provision, allowing that his wife Anne, according to his marriage agreement, should have "twenty pounds a year and all the proper necessaries of which she stands in need, and during her life to enjoy her former liberties in the house." Daniel Pierce, Jr., or Colonel Daniel Pierce, was the next to live in the house. He was most prominent in military and civil affairs, marrying Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas and Anne Millwood, who was only sixteen years of age at the time of her marriage. He was considered the most important man in town, as is shown by an extract from the town records, where is found a statement that the minister's wife's pew shall be built close to the pulpit stairs and that Daniel Pierce shall have the first choice of pews. This was a difficult and delicate matter, as the seats were assigned according to age, dignity, and deafness.