Subject: Re: Merrill family Merrill Memorial
Date: Sat, March 8, 2008 8:55p

Question: Dawn Merrill wrote:

Is Merrill Memorial sourced yet? Getting those original town records Samuel was reading is a bit tough wading even at FHL microfilms here in Salt Lake. (Fun seeing Abraham Merrill interacting with the Websters WHartford) Do you have the ship name for Nathaniel in 1639. Thought he was buying land with bro John in 1635 little neck Mass, looking for sourse now.

Answer: Dawn:

Samuel Merrill used what was passed down to him by his father, Rev Gyles, and the research of Rev Samuel Hill Merrill which Rev Gyles had rescued from oblivion [Read chapter 1 of AMM]. Samuel was a prolific letter writer back before stamps were 3 cents, and corresponded with Merrills across the country. In two notebooks supplementing AMM [on file at NEHGS], on each family group sheet he indicates from whom he got the info. To our knowledge, none of the actual correspondence still exists. You have to take what he gives you at face value. It isn't sourced and it is unlikely that it ever will be. In twenty eight years of collecting Merrill info we have found very few errors in AMM.

It is assumed Nathaniel came in the spring of 1639. His daughter was bapt. in Lawford, Essex, England in Dec 1638 and he probably came as soon as mother and child were able to travel. Brother John did come earlier, but we know of no records that show Nathaniel came before 1639. Nathaniel was in Lawford to conceive his first four children all which were baptized there 1634-1638. Early in 1638 John applied for a house lot next to his "for his brother". This implies that Nathaniel was not there yet but was expected. We do not know what ship he came on.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family Web Site Kudos
Date: Wed, March 12, 2008 4:04p

Question: Gail Spiess wrote:

Hello Howard and Jean,

Thank you for this website. It has been very informative. I discovered my husband is a descendent of Abraham Merrill and Abigail Webster's daughter Sarah Merrill. I googled Nathan Noble Lovejoy to find your site. I'm sure I will be returning to check dates when I transfer info to genealogy sheets. You have sparked a renewed interest for me to dig further.

Gail Spiess New Mexico

Answer: Gail

Kudos for the excellence of the web site should properly go to Steve Merrill who designed and maintains the web site <Steve@merrill.org>. We try to give support to Steve's efforts by trying to answer queries sent to the "Ask the Experts" link We have a very large database with info on over 60,000 Merrill/Merrell males plus their wives and daughters that we use strictly to try and help folks solve their Merrill questions.

It seems that your Merrill line branches off very early, but if we can help in any way, we will be gad to try. If you have any info on recent Merrills, or know of folks that do, we would be interested in that info.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family Charles M Merrill
Date: Mon, March 17, 2008 6:31p

Question: Betty Kay Ott wrote:

Hi again.

We were in contact about a year ago. I was trying to find the birth parents of Charles M. Merrill. Ureka!!! I got his death certificate. On it Mark Merrill from Maine is listed as his father. Sarah Leming from (unknown) is his mother. Is it possible this Mark Merrill is the son of Charles V. Merrill and Catherine Staples?

The Leming name has many spellings - one being Leaming. Charles M. Merrill was raised by Thomas Leaming and Huldah (Merrill), daughter of Charles V. Merrill. If this Mark Merrill really is son of Charles V. Merrill, could you give me the ancestral line back to Nathaniel? I have most of that information but it gets really 'slim pickins' in the later generations. Thank you for your previous assistance and thank you in advance. If this information is helpful to you, maybe both of us have gained a little something.

Answer: Betty:

Mark F is the son of Charles Vaughn (7). If Charles M is the son of Mark and Sarah Leming, then Sarah must be his first wife and she is probably also the sister of Thomas Leming who m. Huldah Merrill and who raised Charles M. If so he was raised by the sister of his father and the brother of his mother. Quite possibly Sarah d. at or shortly after Charles's b. and Huldah took over his care. In 1850 Charles is the only child with Huldah and Thomas. By 1850, Mark has remarried a Mary J and is living in Cass Co MI with a 2 year old daughter, Emily. In 1860, he is back in Fulton Co OH with two sons. He d. 1867 Mar 25.

So this makes the lineage Charles M (9), Mark (8), Charles V (7), Levi (6,5), James (4), Thomas (3), Abel (2), Nathaniel (1). We will attach a Genealogy Report from Nathaniel down to Charles M. Out of curiosity, how do you connect to Charles M?

Jean and Howard Merrill

Ancestors of Charles M (9).rtf - 44Kb

Subject: Re: Merrill family Phebe Merrill (8) Hodge
Date: Sun, March 23, 2008 7:27p

Question: Michelle Roy wrote:

I have a journal of family records, 1875, from Phebe A. (Merrill) Hodge. She is the daughter of Samuel W. Merrill and Martha Green. Siblings include Mehitable, Samuel W., Silas, as well as others. Not too sure of her grandparents or on in the Merrill line. Let me know if you'd like a transcribed copy.

Answer: Michelle:

Thank you for your kind offer. We would be very interested in the family records from Phebe Merrill Hodge. We have Phebe and her parents in our database. Her lineage is Phebe (8), Samuel W (7), Amos (6), Thomas (5), John (4), John (3), Nathaniel (2), immigrant Nathaniel (1), More details are available.

We are Howard and Jean Merrill. For twenty five years we have been trying to database the Merrill/Merrell family nationwide from the original immigrants down to the present day for all immigrant lines. So far we have info on over 60,000 Merrill males plus their wives and daughters in our database, but we estimate there have been well over a100,000 so we have a long way to go, and need and appreciate all the help we can get, particularly with the later generations. We use this database strictly to try and help folks trace their Merrill roots. Be assured that no info on living individuals will become internet accessible from us.

While our database is not internet searchable, we will be glad to search it for anybody and share what we find at no cost. All we ask is that folks share their Merrill data with us so that we can expand our database and do a better job of helping solve Merrill lineage problems.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family Thomas (4) Merrill
Date: Mon, March 24, 2008 12:52a

Question: Jessi Merrill wrote:

HI,

My question is about Thomas Merrill's(1715-1755) wife named Martha Wood(1717-1783) I have her parents down as Obadiah Wood(1709-1792)& Mehitable Webster(1714-1770) and my aunt has only Jonas Wood(abt1715-?). I have read you only research the Merrill line which I'm sure is a HUGE unde! rtaking. I thought since this was such an early Merrill relation you might know something of it. Thanks for offering help to so many Merrill's out there finding our roots. This is a wonderful site! Jessi

Answer: Jessi:

We have that Thomas (4) Merrill, 1715 - 1814, m. Martha Wood, 1755 Oct 5 in W. Hartford.

His lineage is Abel (3), John (2), Nathaniel (1). We have from a World Family Tree submission, [we have not separately confirmed this] that Martha was the daughter of Obediah and Mehitable (Webster) Wood. Perhaps this submission, WFT 20-1551, was yours??

We would be very interested in your Merrill line from Thomas down to the present [we notice your name is Merrill]. Start with just the line, then we can ask for the details for what we don't have, probably the most recent generations. That will save a lot of typing, unless you have it in a genealogy program. In our database of the known descendants of immigrant Nathaniel, we have over 157,000 individuals, and that does not include the Merrill daughters's children [non Merrill surname]. We use this database strictly to try and help folks trace their Merrill roots. Be assured that no data on living individuals will become internet accessible from us.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family Daniel and Rebecca Lee
Date: Mon, March 31, 2008 9:32p

Question: Kristin Blomquist wrote:

Sarah Maria Merrill is my Great Great Great Grandmother. She was born between 1829-1831 (most likely 1830) in New York. She married Charles Hatfield in 1848 in NY, and died in NY in 1872. It is believed her parents were Daniel Merrill (b: approx 1792) and Rebecca Lee (b 1794)married in! 1814 in Bergen NJ. I am completely stumped here. I can find no record of Daniel in the Merrill tree though I have spent hours trying. The only thing I can find is a document on their marriage. One genealogist (that a long lost relative had hired 2 years ago) said that Daniel is the son of Abraham and Ann Merrill but I can't find anything to confirm this. Note the below documents their marriage (see page 407) http://books.google.com/books?id=FBQCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA407&lpg=PA407&dq=abraham+merrill+staten+island&source=web&ots=x1GffjD69f&sig=U8ROeFCLaEfiTgoz7yuUOK_TvYQ&hl=en#PPA407,M1 We are 100% stumped on this branch of our tree. I so hope that you can help us!!! Thanks, Kristin

Answer: Kristin:

This one had us stumped for a long time.  Daniel A and Rebecca have seven children, all d. young, buried in the Merrill cemetery on Staten Island [b. 1814-1827; d. 1817 -1829]. Then Daniel A and Rebecca seemed to disappear.  But we did finally find them in New York City in 1840. It turns out that  he was in dry goods and d. 1841 Jan 27 in Baltimore while on a business trip of Cholera.  So his body could not be brought back to NY for fear of spreading the disease. But his will, #434, book 2, pg. 121, is very instructive.  It gives his widow's name, Rebecca Lee; three minor children, Sarah, Daniel, and Rebecca Ann; his mother,. Ann Merrill;  brothers, Abraham A., Cornelius, and William; and sisters Amy and Nancy.  From this information we determined Daniel A (6) was the son of Abraham (5) and Annie [m. 1790 Oct 3]. While Annie was listed as Ann Merrill at Daniel's death, we are not sure of her maiden name [It could have been Merrill -There was another Abraham (6) Merrill, b. ca 1788, who m. before 1812, an Anna (5) Merrill].  Your Sarah Maria, Rebecca Ann, and widow Rebecca (Lee) are all buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn.

Abraham (5)'s parents were John (4) [or Iyon, or Yon - all three names show up in various records - same person] and Sarah Egberts. Lineage goes back John (3) and Elsie Bennet, John (2) and Gertrude Simonson, immigrant Richard (1) and Susannah Wells.

Do you have a m. date of Sarah Maria?

Howard and Jean Merrill