Samuel Merrill, 1928, reprint 1983

Some Eighteenth Century Migrations - Chapter XI, pp125-152

Plymouth, NH

    The charter of Plymouth, N.H., was granted in 1763. On the original copy are engrossed the names of sixty-two grantees, including Moses Merrell and Thomas Merrell.

   Thomas⁵ Merrill (John^4,3, Nathaniel²) was described as of Pembroke, N.H., at the time of the grant. He sold his rights under the charter in 1765, and settled in Conway, N.H. (See page 128.)

   Moses⁴ Merrill (Moses³, Daniel²) was born in Salisbury, Mass., and lived at different times in Haverhill, Mass., and New Gloucester, Me. He also disposed of his right, without becoming a resident of Plymouth. (See page 262.)

   Jacob³ Merrill, son of Moses⁴, was born in Salisbury, Mass., and lived as a young man in Newbury. (See page 360.) Both towns lay at the mouth of the Merrimack, and, as was quite natural, young Jacob for a time followed the sea. But to his young wife the unknown hazards of life with her husband in the great northern wilderness were less terrible than the perils of the ocean, and he was persuaded to undertake the life of a backwoods farmer. He lacked experience in husbandry, and he and his growing family suffered many privations through the first years of their agricultural experiment.

   In 1764 and 1765 settlers had been arriving in Plymouth, and early in 1766 Jacob Merrill joined the colony. It is said that his third child (and eldest daughter) Elizabeth was born there, 15 April, 1766. His homestead was beautifully situated in the northern part of the town, on the northern shore of Baker River, a mile above the point where Baker River flows into the Pemigewasset.

   In July, 1766, the first town government was organized. Little is known of the life of Jacob Merrill as a pioneer. In 1768 he was a member of a committee of the town charged with the duty of building a meeting house, and in 1778 he was chosen a member of the board of selectmen. The same year he was appointed a member of the Committee of Safety - - - the perils of the Revolutionary period making such a committee necessary. For many years he held a commission as a justice of the peace, and was known as 'Squire Merrill when such a title carried weight in the community.

   "Jacob Merrill of Newburyport" bought an "original right" of Dr. John Brown in 1766, and by subsequent purchases he extended his landed possessions up Beech Hill, and northward into Campton. This land furnished farms for several of his children. In 1903 five of these farms, in Plymouth and Campton, were occupied by his descendants, the home farm of Jacob5 being owned by Deacon Alfred Cook, a great-grandson.

   Twelve of Jacob⁵ Merrill's thirteen children married and left descendants, the number of his grandchildren bearing the Merrill name being sixty-two. The family has been noted for its musical ability, and the members in succeeding generations were prominent in church choirs and as instrumentalists in Plymouth and vicinity. (*)

* Stevens⁷ Merrill (Joseph⁶, Stevens⁵, Abel^4,3,2) was born in Warren, N.H., in 1790, but removed to Plymouth in 1813, where his eleven children were born. He was a lumber merchant, and lived at different times in Boston, in California, and in Burlington, Iowa, where he died in 1863. (See page 565) Many facts concerning the Merrills of Plymouth and Campton are given in Stearns' excellent "History of Plymouth," (1906), vol. II, pp. 442-457.

Warren, NH

   If you have further information on the book, "A Merrill Memorial" and would like to share it with others, please contact me.