William Pepperrell Sparhawk
1746 - 1816
William Pepperrell Sparhawk (1746-1816) was a Harvard College student in 1764 when Harvard Hall was destroyed by a fire. To help replace the lost scientific apparatus, his father, Nathaniel Sparhawk (1715- post 1779) gave a very fine Gregorian telescope to Harvard in his son's name. William graduated from the college in 1766.
Born William Sparhawk, William was the heir to the estate of his grandfather, Sir William Pepperrell Baronet (1696-1759), on the condition that he legally drop the name of Sparhawk and be known as William Pepperrell. He received a title in 1774, becoming the second Baronet.
Declared a royalist, William Pepperrell Sparhawk returned to England in 1775 at the start of the American Revolution. He remained there until his death, on December 2, 1816.
Here is the family tree:
Generation I
Sir William Pepperrell (1696-1759) and Lady Mary (Hirst) Pepperrell of Kittery, Maine.
---daughter, Elizabeth, b. December 29, 1723
---son, Andrew, b. January 4, 1726. (attended Harvard College)
Generation II
Elizabeth Pepperrell (1723-1797) married Nathaniel Sparhawk (b. 1715) in Kittery, May 1, 1742. They had 7 children, 5 live into adulthood, including:
---Son, William Pepperrell Sparhawk, b. 1746. (AB Harvard 1766)
Generation III
William Pepperrell Sparhawk (1746-1816) married Elizabeth Royall of Medford, Massachusetts, October 24, 1767.