The Merrill Newsletter - Volume 7, Number 1 - October, 2001 - Page 4
QUERIES AND ANSWERS
by Howard and Jean Merrill
Query: Patricia Castle wrote: I am searching for information on Robert Leslie Merrill, b. 11-25-1898 Mobile, AL who married Helen Sadie Parker b. 3-28-1916, b. Escawtawpa, MS. Robert Leslie Merrill's father was Robert Merrill married to Isabel. Robert Leslie died April 1975 Grand Bay, AL. Helen S. Parker died Independence, MO July 1997.
Answer: We looked in the 1870 census for AL and MS for a likely candidate for Robert, Robert Leslie's father. The only young Robert was in Crenshaw Co, AL, and we know he was NOT the father of Robert Leslie. We have not yet read the 1880 census where we would really expect to find Robert Leslie's father as a child. The 1900 census or Soundex for Mobile is where we would start, if we were going to do a search for him and work back from there.
In our files there is a Robert L b. 1873 [probably in Hopkins Co KY] that has roots in AL that we know nothing about. We have been unable to locate his father, Chapman N, in the 1850, 60, or 70 census. Chapman was b. in Limestone Co AL in 1843, but his widowed mother moved, first to Lincoln Co TN, then to Hopkins Co KY, after the 1849 death of her husband, William Roland, of illness contracted earlier in the Mexican War. Chapman m. both his wives in Hopkins Co KY and d. there in 1903. We do not even know if this Robert L survived to marry. We hesitate to suggest that he might be the father of your Robert Leslie, for we have nothing but name similarity, approximately correct age, and a remote AL connection to imply a possible connection. But trying to prove it wrong might lead us to the truth. Chapman N (8)'s lineage is William R (7), John (6), Benjamin (5), Andrew (4), Capt. Benjamin (3), William (2,1).
Query: Chuck Merrill wrote: I'm just getting started with this research. I have several documents, one of which is quite detailed, particularly on the branches. I'm listing my lineage ( starting with Nathaniel in the thought that it may be interesting to you.
Generation Name Information
1 Nathaniel Merrill Born in 1601. Emigrated to America in about 1633
2 Daniel Merrill Son of Nathaniel. b. August 20, 1642.
3 John Merrill Son of Daniel. b. October 7, 1674.
4 Thomas Merrill Son of John. b. December 18, 1708, Salisbury, MA
5 Samuel Merrill Son of Thomas. b. August 4, 1728.
6 Abel Merrill Son of Samuel. b. June 6, 1748.
7 Abel Merrill Son of Abel. b. May 26, 1775 in Buxton, ME
8 Thomas Abel Merrill Son of Abel. b. April 14, 1810.
9 Abel Monroe Merrill Son of Thomas Abel. b. May 2, 1847 Turner, ME
10 Charles Sumner Merrill Son of Abel Monroe. b. January 4, 1879 Grinnell, IA
11 Charles Sumner Merrill, Jr. Son of Charles Sumner b. Sept. 5, 1912 in Craig CO
12 Charles Sumner III Son of Charles Sumner b. Oct. 18, 1941 N. Y., NY
There you have it - a simple version. How can I help get all the rest of the information that I have in the hands of anyone who may be interested?Answer: Thanks for sending your line. Just the other night we downloaded IA Cemetery Records, and among them was the record of Thomas (8)'s death, 1885 Jan 10, in Grinnell IA; Also his wife and his brother, Samuel [who was Gov. of IA]. We also have the census records of this family down through 1870 where we found Abel Monroe, 23, and wife Anna (__?__),22, in Bloomfield, Winneshick, IA. We haven't read 1880 yet. We would appreciate a Gedcom of the descendants of Thomas Abel.
Query: Stephanie Sampson asked: I'm looking for the identity of the second spouse of Mariah Southard whom I know to be only "Mr. Merrill." The couple lived in Blair, Somerset Co., Maine. It is documented that Mariah Southard married a [Mr.] Merrill, but I know nothing more about him than his last name. Mariah Southard was born between about 1845-1855 in Somerset Co., Maine (probably Ripley, St. Albans or Norridgewock). She was a daughter of John Southard and Louisa Sampson. John Southard's second marriage was to Louisa Sampson, his first having been to Fannie Gulliver/Gullifer. Mariah had 23 siblings between his father's two marriages and her father, John Southard, died at age of 103. Mariah's mother, Louisa Sampson, was a daughter of Noah and Ruth Sampson; Noah is thus far the earliest known patriarch of this Sampson line.
Mariah Southard would probably have married Mr. Merrill around 1870 or so and begun having children shortly thereafter. I'd like to know whether Mariah Southard and Mr. Merrill had any children and their descendants as well, if possible. I'm looking for any connections to any of the above individuals and hopefully to identify this elusive "Mr. Merrill."
Answer: We do not have record of Mariah Southard's 2nd m. to a Merrill in ME. Who did she m. 1st? In the vital records, she would be listed by her first husband's surname. In ME the recording of b., m., & d. was not required until 1892, so records before that are spotty, some towns sent in very good records, while others sent in none at all. After 1892, even the bride and grooms parents are listed, but that doesn't help much for a m. ca 1870. We do not have a m. from the ME vital records which lists the wife as Mariah anything.
Do you know when and where Mariah died? The death record might give both her parents name and her Merrill spouse. It doesn't always give the spouse's name if she was a widow at the time of her death.
In the 1870 census we found a Mariah, 25, and husband, Joel, 23, but they were in Andover, Oxford Co, ME, not Somerset Co, so we question if this is your Mariah. This is Joel L (8) and the vital records give her name as Hannah M Marston at their m. 1868 Dec 19 in Rumford. They had at least 3 children 1888 - 1893 in Andover.
We do have a Mary Southard who m. a George Arthur Merrill in 1880, and Mary d. in 1883. This doesn't look like your Mariah, because George, 14, was in Rutland VT in 1870, and the family later moved to St. Paul, MN. We do not know where George and Mary m.
We haven't yet read the 1880 census, where we would expect to find Mariah and her husband and any children.
Query: Richard Swymeler wrote: My grandfather was Daniel William Merrill was a Marine Corps Warrant Officer for 30+ years and the father to my Mother, Gloria. I have been slowly going back generation by generation, collecting as much information I can find. Right now this is what I can verify through Census Records, Birth & Death Records.
Richard - Me
+Gloria Merrill - 1930 -
+Daniel William Merrill 1904-1969 (Wier City, KS - San Diego, CA)
+William Merrill 1868 - 1929 (Paris, IL - Yates Center, KS)
+Israel Merrill (ca. 1843, Harrison, Ohio - 1909 Gridley, KS) [Israel was a volunteer in the I Company 5th Cav Reg. of Ohio. Enlisted 23 Aug. 1864, Mustered out at Raleigh, NC June 26, 1865]
+ James Merrill ( Found on 1850 Census Harrison, Hamilton, OH, age 35, b. NY )
This is the extent of my research. I am wondering if you have any information of Merrill Family from NY that migrated to OHIO??
Answer: We also have your James in the 1850 census and unfortunately he is in our Lineage Unknown file. In 1860, he is still in Harrison OH; James, 45; Mary, 42; Israel, 16; William, 10; Margaret, 8. We do not know what has become of sons, David and James.
We think we found his widow, Mary, 52; James, 24; William, 20; and Mary M [Margaret?], 18, in Oskaloosa, Mahaska, IA in 1870. Apparently James Sr has d., but we do not know if it was in OH or IA. We have not found son Israel in 1870 - maybe we [or the census indexer] missed him in Paris IL. There is a David still in Harrison, OH [a horse doctor], but he only claims to be 24, whereas son David should be 31 from the 1850 census. We have not yet read any of the 1880 census.
We do not know who James's parents were. There were so many Merrills that came through NY in the early 1800s, and the NY records for that period are so sparse. We really need to know where in NY he was b. for the census records to be any help in determining his parents. Perhaps if we knew where and when he d., there might be a will or an obit that would give his birthplace. There were 11 James Merrills from OH in the Civil War - perhaps he d. in the war, since we know he was gone by 1870. It would be interesting if one of these James' enlisted from the same place as son Israel. Two of the James were also in the Cavalry, but in different units than Israel. If James d. in the war, wonder if Mary filed for a pension?
Query: Jane Pratt of Dover MA asked: Could you refer me to a record of Abel Merrill, b. in Newbury, MA, who married Priscilla Chase, b. 1648. Their son, James, b. 1688, married Mary Adams, b.1700. I am working on the Merrill and Adams connections. Susanna Merrill, b.1739, married Moses Adams, b. 1737. I have become very confused on all the Merrill-Adams connections and am hoping for some help! I could also use information on Abraham Merrill b.1637, (Abel's brother). Did Abraham have a daughter Sarah, B. 1677, who married Benjamin Morse b.1668?-- or, is it James daughter, Susanna, b.1673, who married Benjamin? My gggrandfather, Silas Merrill Adams b. 1809, is the son of Moses Adams, Jr. Thank you .
Answer: You have the Merrill-Adams connections correct. We are sending you family group sheets for immigrant Nathaniel, sons Abraham and Abel, and grandson James.
We don't follow the Merrill daughter's after they marry, but A Merrill Memorial [the best reference for the early Merrills] does give Susanna's and Moses Adams' children, including your Moses Adams jr. [1776 Apr. 16 - 1859 Nov. 26] who m. Sarah Skillings - four children [not listed]. Moses Adams sr. was the son of John and Elizabeth (Morse) Adams.
Query: Denise Carter wrote: I am originally from Hopewell, NJ. My ggggrandfather was Charles Merrill (27 Sep 1800 - 29 Nov 1874) who married Sarah Ann Christopher (8 Aug 1804 - 23 Feb 1881). Their son W(h)estley Burroughs Merrill (31 Jul 1826 - ?) was my gggrandfather. He was a blacksmith in Mount Rose (and later Hopewell), NJ. During the Civil War he was commissioned as a captain and his job was to recruit and train troops. He remained at home and we have many wonderful letters his men wrote to him. Several of the letters were addressed to "Blackbird". Westley married Mary Ellen Sutphen (25 Oct 1829 - 21 Mar 1865). They had the following children: Charles Emmet (24 Jul 1850 - ?), Emily Josephene (27 Apr 1852 - Oct 1867), Mary Anna (18 Jul 1854 - ?), James Buchanan (16 Oct 1856 - ?), Willie Gray (b and d Dec 1859), Harriett Van Winkle (7 Sep 1863 - 22 Oct 1863) and finally my ggrandmother Kate
Christopher (7 Nov 1864 - 17 Mar 1955).Obviously, I would like to know - who was Charles' father? I wonder if it could have been William (30 Mar 1769), son of Thomas (19 Apr 1732 - 12 May 1798)? The dates, places and occupations seem to fit. Any help, hints or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Answer: Thank you for sending your query on Charles. You included a number of details that we did not have on him and his son Westley.
It is indeed unfortunate that the early census [1790-1820] for NJ are not available. That data would likely have shed some light on the possible parents of your Charles. We really don't have proof positive of his parents, but we had tentatively assigned him as the son of Benjamin [ca 1770 - 1847] and Rebecca Titus [b. 1772 Dec 12, d/o Samuel and Rebecca (Johnson) Titus]. In the 1830 census, the only Merrills still in Hopewell are Benjamin and your Charles. Blacksmithing seems to have been a family trade - Benjamin, Charles, and Westley B were all blacksmiths.
While we can't rule out the William [1769-1833] and Jane Anderson [1774-1859] you referred to, they were in Amwell in 1830 and both d. there. We have 7 children for them - we don't have dates for them all, but the m. dates for two of the girls, 1818 and 1820 suggest birth dates that might be in conflict with Charles's 1800 birth.
Even if we are correct in our assignment of Benjamin and Rebecca Titus [m. 1796 Mar. 9] as Charles's parents, it doesn't help a great deal, because we don't know who Benjamin's parents were. There appears to be two generation gap back to immigrant William (1) where we just don't know what the connection is. William (1) and brother Richard (1) came to Staten Island ca 1680. William bought land there in 1683 and with wife Grace [probably Staats] sold in 1687, moved first to Middletown NJ, and then in 1704 to Hopewell where he d. in 1724.
William (1) had four sons, William, Benjamin, Joseph and Thomas. William (2) had three sons; Benjamin, William, and Thomas Stout. Benjamin (3) and William (3) went to the "Jersey settlement" in Rowan Co NC where Capt. Benjamin (3) was hanged for opposing the tyrannical policies of Gov. Tyron. Thomas Stout (3) [1732 Apr 19 - 1798 May 12] was in Amwell for the Rev. census in 1776 and on the tax list there in 1780, but he died in Montgomery Co NY. At least two of his sons, Isaac and John are known to gone with Thomas Stout to Montgomery Co NY, but son William [1769] stayed in Amwell.
Much less is known of the other three sons of William (1). Benjamin (2) inherited half of his fathers estate in 1724, he was on the tax list in 1722 and was still on the land in 1764. He d. 1786 in Hopewell and [presumably son] John was the administrator of the estate. Other possible sons were Benjamin and David, who were listed in the 1st Regiment of the Hunterdon Co Militia. It is possible that the Benjamin who m. Rebecca Titus is the son of Benjamin (3), but this is pure speculation. Thomas (2) was m. and an established farmer by 1722 and he or his son Thomas may be the Thomas mentioned by Ege as having a blacksmith shop in Hopewell in the 1760's. Joseph (2) was not m. by 1722, but must have m. soon thereafter. He settled on the other half of his fathers estate. He was a Constable in Hopewell in 1733, a freeholder in 1741, but by 1746 had moved to Bethlehem Twp. and was still there in 1757. It is clear from the records that these sons had families and their children had families. By the Revolution there were numerous Merrills in Hunterdon Co, but by 1800 most of them had moved away. There are lots of Merrills listed in the 1700-1800 records, but little to indicate how they were related. Bob Davidson has done the most thorough study of these early records. Much of his work is posted on Pat Paterson's homepage at www.patpnyc.com/davidson.shtml
Sorry that we've rambled on so, probably an indication that we really don't know the answer, but maybe we have shed a little light on the subject. We would be interested in any further info you may have on the MERRILL surname descendants of Charles.
Query: My great grandmother, Dorothy Edith Merrill (1898-1983) was the daughter of Judson Ulysses Merrill (1873-1934) and Olive Clapp. Judson was the son of Myron E. Merrill (1845-1920) and Emily Linwood. Myron's father was (I believe) Noble Merrill and Jane Corning.
Much of what I thought I knew, I have found to be UNtrue while researching. For instance, I believed that Myron was from Springfield, MA, but it seems that he was actually born in Canada. One of his children was born in Canada, the next in Vermont and the last in Canada (again). My great grandmother was definitely born in West Springfield, MA.
Anyway, Noble (possibly from New York) is the farthest back I have been able to go. I would be happy to share my more recent genealogy finding with you if you are interested. And if you have ever heard of my Noble Merrill, I'd love to hear back.
Answer: Thank you for your Query to the Newsletter. The data you sent has provided the links that allowed us to pull several from our "lineage unknown" file and put them in our "lineage known" file along with your Noble.
We found your Noble (7) in the 1871 census of Compton, Quebec, Canada: Noble, 49; Jane, 47; Polly, 19; Harry, 21; Harriet, 16; Alice, 13; Emma, 16, all b. Quebec except Jane, b. US. We didn't find Noble in either the 1851, 1861, or 1881 census of Compton, but they may have been in some other small town in the area. We were very limited in our search time in Ottawa, and only got to look at the census for Stanstead, Compton and Eaton. Myron E , at 26, was already m. and out of the family group by 1871. We are curious about Myron's wife Emily Linwood's name. Could Linwood be her middle name, not her surname? We have from the VT vital records, the m. of Myron E, who resides Compton Quebec, and Emily L Merrill, 1867 July 21 in Middlebury, Addision Co, VT. The m. record does not give their ages. The West Springfield, MA records indicate Myron was b. 1845, and Emily in 1837. In 1860, we find an Emily, 22, schoolteacher, in Derby, VT, right across the border from Stanstead, Quebec. If this is the Emily who marries Myron [she is the only Emily of the right age in VT], why would they go all the way to Addision Co to get married, unless that is where her folks are? In 1850, in Weybridge, Addision Co VT, we find Emily, 14, and her siblings with her parents, Solomon (7), 36; and Clarissa Kingsley, 35. If our lineage designations are correct, Solomon (7) and Noble (7) are brothers, which would make Myron E and Emily L, 1st cousins. In 1871, Solomon is living next door to Noble in Compton Quebec.
There is not specific data that ties Noble and Solomon to their father, John Carver Jr (6), but we feel pretty confidant, despite a lot of missing data because these folks went back and forth across the border seemingly at will. Both John Carver Sr (5) and Jr (6) went by John, or Carver, or John Carver which makes for great confusion in the records. We will try to lay it out as we see it so it won't be too confusing.
John Carver Jr was b. in Bath NH ca 1784 [dates from census go from 1781 to 1787] to John Carver Sr and Ruth Cleveland. We don't know the name of his 1st wife, but they were m. ca 1808. In 1810 they were listed in Bath [both 16-26] with 1 son [under 10]. We do not know when they left Bath for Canada. The 1820 Grafton Co NH census burned so we don't have the Bath census for that year, but they may have already been in Canada. We know they were in Canada at least from 1822 [Noble's birth] to at least 1835 [Martha's birth]. The next census in which we find John Carver Jr is 1840 in Stockholm, St. Lawrence Co NY: Carver, [50-60]; wife, [40-50]; 1f [under 5]; 2f [5-10]; 1m,1f [10-15]; 1m,1f [20-30]. Apparently Noble at 18 is already working out of the household. In 1850, in Stockholm, we find Carver, 63, b. NH; his 2nd wife, Harriet, 43, b. VT; Jane, 18; Martha, 15, both b. Canada. In 1860, still in Stockholm, Carver gives his age as 79, Harriet as 53. We haven't read 1870 NY yet.
The children we have for John Carver Jr are: Benjamin, ca 1809, Bath; Nelson B, ca 1811, Bath; Solomon, ca 1813, Bath; Polly; David, [dates and location unknown]; Noble ca 1822, Quebec; John; Cynthia, [dates unknown, probably Quebec]; Jane, ca 1832, Quebec; Martha, ca 1835, Quebec. The 1840 census indicates there may be at least one more girl. Apparently all the children are by the first wife.
John Carver Sr (5) was b. 1746 May 7 in Haverhill MA, s/o Joseph and Ruth Corliss. He m. Ruth Cleveland, 1771 Aug 22 in Haverhill, MA. They are listed in the census in Bath in 1800 and 1810, The children we have for them are: Joseph ca 1782; John Carver Jr, ca 1784; Ebenezer, ca 1786; Ruth, Nancy, [dates unknown], all b. Bath. The rest of the lineage is pretty straightforward, Joseph (4), Nathaniel (3,2,1).
We would be interested in any more details you have, dates, locations, spouses, children, siblings, etc. from Noble down through Dorothy Edith or any other Merrill surname info you may have uncovered in your search. We don't follow the daughters after we get them married. We realize their kids are just as much Merrill as the sons kids, but with info on over 40,000 Merrill males plus wives and daughters, we had to draw the line somewhere and chose to stick to just the Merrill surname.
Hope this helps. Maybe with someone else working on this line we may find confirmation of this lineage. Sure would be nice to find the will of John Carver Jr.
Query: Lynne Welch of Los Angeles CA wrote: Nathaniel Merrill (b. 1823 Bartlett, NH) and Harriet A. Thomas (b. 1831 NH) are my great grandparents. Apparently they were m. Aug 1857 in Conway, NH. Need death places as well as information on their respective parents.
Answer: Nathaniel (7) m. Harriet A Aug. 26 1857 in Conway NH [We read Harriet's surname as Thorns in the NH vital records but that could very easily be Thomas, handwriting being as it often is]. Nathaniel is the son of Samuel and Dorcas Eastman and his lineage is Samuel (6), Nathaniel (5), John (4,3), Nathaniel (2,1). More details are available.
We do not have their death places, but in the 1860 and 1870 census they were in Tehama Co CA. From these census, they had Frank, ca 1858; Mary A, ca 1861; Catherine A, ca 1862; Nathaniel E, ca 1864. We have not read the 1880 or later census.
Query: Mary Hetzel asked if we knew where in Ohio, Albert MERRILL b. Aug. 20, 1804 in Freeman, Somerset, ME. lived at the time of his son, John's birth. John was born March 16, 1836, perhaps near Dayton, Ohio. This family later lived in Switzerland Co., Indiana.
Answer: We don't know where Albert was in 1836. In 1830, he was in Columbia, Hamilton Co,
OH, but we have been unable to locate him in 1840. In 1850 he said all his kids were b. OH, but we don't know where.
Query: Vicky Linke wrote saying: Pearl Margaret Merrill, daughter of Alonzo Merrill and Lilly June Moore, was born in Kirklin, Clinton County, Indiana September 15, 1899. This was my grandmother on my father's side. She married Jesse Wilton Kellar January 8, 1916. I have been told by my Grandmother that her grandfather, William B. Merrill, was born about 1847 and was the son of John Merrill and Sarah. I just know William married there in Clinton Co IN in 1868, Sarah Clow or Cole.
Answer: We looked in our 1860 census compilation of Merrills looking for a 13 year old William in IN. There actually were a couple of Williams in IN whose father was John, but their mother was not Sarah. Then we started looking in other states, who might have moved to IN after 1860. We found in Augusta, Bracken Co, KY, the family of John, 45; and Arminta, 42; Sarah A, 17; Levin, 15; Richard, 14; William, 13; Zacariah, 11; Henry, 11; John S, 7; Nancy H, 2; Permelia T, 2 mo. [in the light of the first daughters name, Sarah A (Arminta?), the mother's name could also have been Sarah Arminta, but we have only found it as Arminta]. John m. 1838 Nov 20, Arminta Bell, in Brown Co OH.
When we visited the Allen Co Library in FT Wayne in 1997, we copied a newly published [1996] book by cousins of yours, Stan and Sharon Merrill, called Merrill - Cloe Families. This 75 page book details the descendants of John's parents, Samuel and Nancy (Payne) Merrill, right down to the present day on some lines. Your grandmother, Pearl Margaret, her m. to Jesse Wilton Keller, and four children Buelah Gail, Jesse Kenneth, Warren Francis, Marvin Stanley are listed.
Samuel and Nancy Payne came to Bracken Co KY from MD's eastern shore. The original immigrant for this line is a William [ca 1645-1710], who came to Somerset Co MD in 1668 as an indentured servant, worked off his servitude, m. Eliza (__?__) and left nine sons and four daughters when he d. in 1710. While we don't know the intermediate generations between William (1) and Samuel, we know Samuel is a descendant of immigrant William.
Note: Subsequent communication with Sharon Merrill revealed that she has since discovered the lineage of Samuel (5) [and Nancy Payne] to be William (4), Joshua (3,2), William (1). There is still some question as to whether there are two Joshua's, father and son, or whether there is only one, who m. twice [both times to Marys], and his family was by the 2nd wife. The early MD records are sparse and they used the same given names over and over.