Subject: Re: Merrill family - Ransom Amos Merrill
Date: Sun, June 6, 2010 1:48a

Question: Barbara Merrill Fischer wrote:

I am looking for a list of children born to ranson amos merrill and clara ward merrill of the kankakee county area. they are my grandparents and nobody knows exactly how many children were born to them.

Answer: Barbara:

Let us introduce our selves. We are Howard and Jean Merrill For thirty 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 a 100,000 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.

From the 1920 and 1930 census we have the children of Ransom Amos and Clara (Bradley) Ward Merrill as Lucille, May, Douglas, Robert Louis, Alver M, and Francis C (male). The 1930 census is the latest available. Since Clara was only 30 in 1930, there probably are later children. Another correspondent states another child was Beverly June [1939-2001]. What do you know about these children of Ransom , their families and their Merrill surname descendants down to the present? Who were your parents?

Ransom Amos (10)'s lineage is Alver S (9), Amos A (8), Amos (7), Abraham (6,5,4), Jonathan (3), Abraham (2), immigrant Nathaniel (1). More details are available.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family - Seward B. Merrill
Date: Mon, June 7, 2010 2:21p

Question: Roberta Gilliam wrote:

Daniel D. Merrill [ B. Mar. 3, 1820 in Gorham, Maine] and Eliza A. R. [Elizabeth] Bartlett [B. Mar. 1822]. Their children were [1] Mary O. Merrill [B. abt. 1845] who married James Burrows of Massachusetts and [2] Seward B. Merrill [B. Feb. 1849 in Portland, Maine]. Looking for info on Seward B. Merrill. To whom he married etc. and who were his Merrill grandparents. You were able to help me several years ago and I look forward to your response.

Answer: Roberta:

In the 1850 through 1880 census, Daniel D's son is listed as Seward B. as he is in his death record, 1919 Feb 9.

But when we looked for him in the 1900 and 1910 census. we couldn't find him. He was there, but he was listed as Sewell, He m. Josephine Meader [no date] and had James Burroughs Merrill, 1882 Sep 15. By 1900 he was divorced and Seward and James were back living with his parents, David D and Eliza.

James B m. 1st Edith Meserve, who had a son Ernest W 1903 May 28 who apparently d before 1910, and she d. in childbirth [stillborn] 1904 Nov 26. He m. 2nd Grace E Meserve [sister?] They had Edith Eliza, 1908 ; Delwin Daniel, 1909 Charles Lindsey, 1911; Elsie May, 1913; and George, 1917.

Seward B (8)'s lineage is Daniel D (7), Seward (6), Daniel (5), John (4), Nathan (3), Abel (2), immigrant Nathaniel (1).

How do you connect to Seward?

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family - Leverett Bradbury Merrill
Date: Mon, June 7, 2010 9:01p

Question: Nicholas Anagnostis wrote:

Howard and Jean Merrill:

Leverett Bradbury Merrill became a member of The Harvard Musical Association in 1906. We do not have an ending date. He sang as a basso in some of our concerts. I have added the birth date you listed to our data base of Performer Members.

Nicholas Anagnostis, Chairman Commissions Committee

Answer: Nicholas:

We are sorry, but we don't have a d. date for Leverett Bradbury Merrill. We know he was still around in 1930, for he is listed in that census. A call to the Boston Globe, they may have an obit, or to the Boston Public Library may be able to help. The MA dept of Vital Records will have record of his death. Williams College in Williamstown MA may have his d. date. He graduated there in 1905.

Sorry we couldn't be more help,

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family - Lannie Victoria Merrill
Date: Wed, June 9, 2010 12:44a

Question: Holian Elizabeth Simpson Corley wrote:

Im really stuck!

I will start by telling you how I am related to the Merrill/Merrells. Real easy, My grandmothers maiden name is Lannie Victoria Merrell she was born 13 August 1910 and died 13 July 2001. (I would be glad to repeat storys I was told when little) Her Father is Sylvester Albert Merrell (I believe everyone called him Albert) He was born 27 February 1882 an died the 18 June 1940 He Married Hattie Mamie Wooten on 8 May 1907. My grandmother had 4 brothers, John, Benjamin, Henry, an Floyd. She was the only Girl. Sylvesters Father is Benjamin Franklin Merrill he was born 18 May 1845 and died 12 November 1927 He married Anna Victoria Whitley on 16 December 1879 they had four children all together Sylvester, Olinia, Allie, and Jessie. Benjamins Father is Josephus S Merrill born in 1817 and died in 1859. He married Naomi Mason on 17 July 1844 they had 6 children all together, Benjamin, Melissa, Micajah, Mary Ann, Virginia, and Josephus.

After this is where im getting stuck, I dont know if some things are true. The information I just typed I know to be true because I went to the court house and have some of the actual Birth, death and marriage certificates. I have some Census printed out at hand and printed sheets from the county census book that tells some storys and things about them. All of the people I just told you also are all from Beaufort Carteret County area. Now Josephus father is Arthur Jr Merrill born in 1785 an died in 1849. Arthur Jrs father is Arthur Sr. Merrill. I don't have anything else after this and I would love if you could help me.

I hope I was able to add to your collection of Merrills. I also have most the childrens birth death an some marriage dates, also spouses. All of this family is from Carteret county NC. I was born and rasied there an before moving away I was able to grab some information. I do go home an visit a lot and when I do I continue to visit the genealogy place. Once again I hope this helps an you can help me.

Holly Corley

Answer: Holly:

Thank you for your query and all the data you provided. Some of the data we had gleaned from the NC vital records and the census records. You provided enough data so we can break down your brick wall. Lannie Victoria (8)'s lineage is Sylvester A (7), Benjamin F (6), Joseph S (5), Arthur (4,3), Joseph (2), immigrant William (1). William (1), ca 1645, came to Somerset Co MD on Md's eastern shore as an indentured servant in 1666, worked off his servitude, m. Eliza (_?_) and left 9 sons and 4 daughters when he d. in 1710. We are pretty sure he came from England, but we don't know where, or anything about his ancestors there. More details are available.

Let us introduce ourselves. We are Howard and Jean Merrill. For thirty 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 a 100,000 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.

Who and when did Lannie Victoria M.? If you have information on Lannie Victoria's brothers, their families, and their Merrill surname descendants down to the present, we would greatly appreciate it.

Glad we were able to trace your Merrill lineage back to the original immigrant.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family - Henry R Merrill
Date: Sat, June 12, 2010 8:36p

Question: Kathy Merrill Dorset wrote:

Hi there, I am just starting to work on my father's geneology and in looking through my geneology that I recieved from my mother. All I have is Henry R Merrill, born in phillipsburg, Warren County, New Jersey, whose father is Joseph Merrill. Henry married Roseana Rush which we believe ties us to Dr. Benjamin Rush. I am related to their son, William Jason Merrill. I sure would appreciate any help you can give me. Kathy

Answer: Kathy:

Yours is a very knotty problem. We feel pretty sure that your Henry R is a descendant of William, ca 1652, immigrant to Staten Island ca 1680. He served on jury duty there in 1681 and bought land in 1683. He and his wife, Grace sold that land in 1687 before moving first to Middletown NJ, then in 1704 Hopewell, NJ where he d. 1724.

There are several problems when it comes to research in NJ. New Jersey probably has the worst vital records of any of the original colonies. Although all Federal census were taken in NJ, none of the first four census, 1790 thru 1820 for NJ, are available today. So the first census available is 1830. Birth records are practically non-existent, and particularly for the Hopewell Merrill family, who were mostly Baptists, which apparently did not believe in infant baptism, those few baptismal records are all adult baptisms, so there is no way to connect parent to child. A problem common to the period is they kept using the same given name over and over in each generation. Immigrant William had a William, a Benjamin, a Joseph and a Richard. William (2) had a William, a Benjamin, and a Thomas. Benjamin (2) had a Benjamin, a David and a John. Joseph (2) had a Joseph and a John. These are that we know about - there may be more, but even these we have dates for only a few. And this goes on and on.

By 1830, in Warren Co NJ, we have a David and a Joseph, believed to be sons of a David in Oxford [later Hope] Twp, and a Benjamin and John in Greenwich [now part of Phillipsburg], possibly the sons of an elder John [although he is listed as Merritt, often misread as Merrill]. There is also a Lewis in Mansfield [don't know what it is now called - not on current maps in Warren Co.]. It is the Greenwich family we are concerned about. In 1840 Benjamin and John are there and on the same page with Benjamin is Joseph. John [60-70] is already a widowed in 1840. Benjamin [50-60] has a wife [50-60]. From another correspondent we have Benjamin's dates are 1784 Mar 15 to 1847 July 30 in Greenwich. In 1850, Joseph, 36, and Nancy, 36, have among others, Henry [C], 9, and Margaret, 67, Joseph' mother, who must be widow of recently deceased Benjamin. In 1860, Henry, 19, and Margaret, 79 are still with Joseph. So we have pushed this line back another generation , from Henry to Joseph to Benjamin. But assumung 20-30 years per generation, we estimate that Benjamin has to be at least generation 5 and perhaps generation 6 from William (1). Even if we assume Benjamin's father was John [Merritt?] fron the 1830 census we are still missing at least one generation.

Do you have brothers or male Merrell surname cousins? DNA testing of a male Merrell in your line could confirm that you are descended from William in this Staten Island family. William (1) also had a brother[?] who came to Staten Island about the same time. Most of his early descendants stayed in SI but some did move to NJ, so that is a possibility we can't entirely rule out. DNA testing will NOT tell who these missing generations were, only who you are descended from.

We would be very interested in your Merrell line from Henry R down to the present day.

Sorry we couldn't give you a complete line but we did push back at least one generation.

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family - John Foster Merrill
Date: Mon, June 20, 2010 5:51p

Question: Linda Bailey asked:

I googled into your website, specifically the question below. I am a great grand-daughter of John Foster Merrill. I have a website at http://lindasgenealogy.org/ It is only 3 weeks old, so may have bugs and there is alot which i haven't posted yet. Reply to my email if you are interested. As for me - how can i get in touch with the one asking the question - John Gage?

Thank you. Linda Bailey

Subject: Re: Merrill family - John Foster Merrill Date: Sun, April 11, 2010 1:54p Question: John Gage wrote: Dear Howard and Jean, I am looking for possible living descendants, with .......

Answer: Linda:

We have sent John Gage your message and asked him to make contact with you.

We would be very interested in what information you have on the Merrill surname descendants of your John Foster Merrill down to the present day. Do you know of any living male Merrill surname descendants? We are also involved in the DNA testing of Merrill descentants. As of yet no Merrill male of this Yorkshire branch has been tested either in the US or in Yorkshire. The DNA associated with the male Y-chromosome is passed from father to son, essentially unchanged over many, many [tens or hundreds] of generations. So barring an adoption or other non-parental event the DNA pattern of today's male descent should match that of the immigrant [and much further back his line].

Howard and Jean Merrill

Subject: Re: Merrill family - James Merrill
Date: Thu, June 23, 2010 1:53p

Question: Phyllis Merrill Newman asked:

Hello,

My name is Phyllis and I am in search of the parents of James Merrill. He was born probably May 1829 in Tennesse. He married Margret Gobel about 1849 in Tennesse, and had migrated to Warrick County, Indiana by 1860 and then to Franklin County, Arkansas by 1870. My great-aunt claimed they were part of the New Hamshire Merrills, Jeremiah Merrill and Mary Ann George, but it looks like they never lived in Tennesse. Of couse my family was great story tellers and there was something about horse thieves, murder or and carpet baggers- but they have been blurred over the years until no one really knows the story.

Thank you for you time!

Phyllis

Answer: Phyllis:

Phyllis:

Your James Merrill is in our "Lineage Unknown" file because we don't know who his father was. He and Margaret are listed in the 1850 census in Lincoln Co TN. He is almost certainly descended, not from the New England branch that Jeremiah and Mary Ann George descends from, but from Capt Benjamin, pre-Revolutionary patriot of NC [original immigrant is William of Staten Island NY and later of Hopewell NJ] Families descended from two of Capt Benjamin's sons are in Lincoln Co TN in 1850. We think he is probably descended from son Jonathan (4) [Benjamin (3), William (2,1)], but we don't have the data to prove it. Five of the 8 Merrill families in Lincoln Co in 1850 are descended from Jonathan (4), one is descended from son Andrew (4) and two, including your James are as yet unidentified. The census records prior to 1850 identify by name only the "Head of Household". All other members of the family are listed by sex in age brackets. This good corroborative evidence, but hard to draw specific conclusions from, because the "family" may include hired help or other non-family members.

DNA evidence has shown that the New England family, headed by Immigrant Nathaniel of Newbury MA and the Staten Island family headed by immigrants William and Richard are in NO way related. A DNA test of a living Merrill surname male, brother, father, cousin could confirm your descent from the Staten Island family, but it would not tell you who James' father was.

We would be very interested in your Merrill line from James down to the present day.

We are Howard and Jean Merrill. For thirty 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 a 100,000 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