rince⁴ Landers (Amos³, Richard², Thomas¹), born about 1734, died, probably in Falmouth, after the 1820 Census was taken.

He married 4 March 1756 Mary⁵ Rowley ("both of Falmouth" - Falmouth Town Records), daughter of Elnathan and Mary Rowley, born 26 Jan. 1733, living in 1820.

The will of Amos³ Landers gave to his son, Prince three-eighths of the Real Estate (the other half of the three quarters to go to Prince’s brother, John), and one-quarter of the father’s dwelling house (the other quarter going to John and the remaining half-interest to their sister, the spinster Abigail). It must be remembered that Amos³ Landers made his will in 1764 and did not change it, although he evidently lived until 1781. We believe that Amos Landers, Jr., and the unmarried sister, Abigail, probably lived in the parents’ house, perhaps until Prince Landers’ family grew large enough to require a seperate building. There can be little doubt that if the deed records had not been destroyed, one could have traced the development of this family group with little trouble. However, in the absence of deeds, birth records for Prince Landers’ children, and church records which might refer to them, it is necessary to set up a hypothesis until further data comes to light.

Prince Landers signed as a witness to the marriage of his brother John⁴ Landers 4 Oct. 1765 (Sandwich Friends’ Monthly Meeting Records). He was living at the date of the accounting on his father’s will, 13 May 1783, but he was not named in it. However, there is the deed referred to above, dated 9 June 1788, by which Freeman⁴ Landers of Lewiston [Maine] transferred land to Prince Landers. The judge of probate, Jude Eldredge, in a memorandum dated 15 Aug. 1789, refers to the "reading (of) it to Reuben Landers, Prince Landers, John Landers".

In attempting to put together the picture from the evidence of the 1790 Census, we find that four heads of families surnamed Landers were listed at Falmouth. We can identify, and thus eliminate, two of these: Savory Landers, son of Recompense, and Abigail⁴ Landers, the spinster sister; the third was Reuben⁴ Landers (above). Finally, there remains Nicholas Landers with a family of three males over sixteen, two under 16 and three females. We suspect that two of the males over sixteen were Nicholas’ brothers and that the two under sixteen were his sons. If this be so, the other sons (whom we believe to have been sons of Prince⁴ Landers) had moved away, or were apprenticed and living in other households, or were living with families elsewhere.

It is a fact that seven young Landers married in Falmouth between the years 1780 and 1802. We submit that all seven were almost certainly grand children of Amos³ Landers. We know that they were not children of Amos⁴ Landers, who died s.p. Freeman⁴ Landers seems to have taken his children with him when he moved to Maine. We think that John⁴ Landers had but one son, Levi. Since Reuben⁴ Landers married in 1746, the marriages of the eight referred to would have been very late if they were Reuben’s children. By this elimination, we believe that the marriages would have been consistent with such facts as have come to light, if all were children of the subject Prince⁴ Landers, as we shall show below. [Lydia B. (Phinney) Brownson and Maclean W. McLean, "Thomas¹ Landers of Sandwich, Mass.," NEHGR 124:269-270]

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