| Notes |
- William Merrick was born in Duxbur, Wales in 1602. He was the oldest of the four brothers who reached Charlestown on the good ship "James" in the spring of 1636.
Nothing is recorded of his early life. After reaching the Colony in 1636, he was a farmer by occupation. He was inclined toward the military life, as he served for six years under Captain Myles Standish, first as an Ensign and later as a Lieutenant.
He married in 1642 at Eastham, Massachusetts to Rebecca Tracy, born 1623/1624 in Plymouth, Maine, daughter of Stephen Tracy. They had ten children. He died in Eastham, Maine, in his will, proved March of 1688, he was described as 88 years of age.
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Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation.
Lieutenant William Merrick, the eldest of the four immigrant brothers, was born in Wales in 1603, and came to Charlestown, Massachusetts in the ship "James" in the spring of 1636. Nothing is known of his early life; he was a farmer after arriving in Massachusetts. He served six years after his arrival in the colony, in the colonial militia under Captain Miles Standish, and is mentioned in the records as an ensign, and later as a lieutenant. "That he gave all his time and attention to his military duties seems to be indicated by the fact that he was not married until 1642, which was at the end of his six year term of service. He appears to have had property both at Eastham and Duxbury. He was probably married at Eastham, but the destruction of a part of the book of records of that town renders it impossible to determine this fact definitely. He certainly lived in both Eastham and Duxbury, within the decade between 1637 and 1647, as some of his children were born at Eastham during that time, and yet he is reported as being a citizen of Duxbury in 1636, when he was allotted five acres of land "Next the Glade at Powder Point." In 1637 he was allotted another twenty acres at Great Head. He was one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater. He was surveyor of highways in 1646, and constable in 1647. May 22, 1655, he became a legal voter in Eastham, and took up his permanent residence there. Paige, in his history of Hardwick says: "William Merrick, the father, was a lieutenant, residing in Eastham. In his will, dated December 3, 1686, and proved March 6, 1689, he is described as about 86 years of age, by which it would seem that he was about fourty-three years old when the first of his ten children was born, and he might seem to be the grandfather of this family rather than the father, were it not that he names his wife Rebecca and his children, Stephen and William, in his will." Source:Mayflower Descendant, p. 10:8, also mentions "My Grand Child Ruth ffreeman".
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References
↑ William Merrick of Eastham, in Merrick, George Byron. Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Myrick Family of Massachusetts, 1636-1902. (Madison, Wis.: Tracy, Gibbs, & Co., 1902)
pg. 13-93.
P. 13: 'William Merrick, the oldest of the four brothers who reached Charlestown in the good ship "James" in the spring of 1636, was born in Wales in 1603.'
It appears to be 'family tradition' that he came from Wales.
Merrick Genealogy (2).
Tracy Genealogy of Plymouth
p. 25.
↑ 4.0 4.1 Ferris, Mary Walton. Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines: A Memorial Volume Containing the American Ancestry of Rufus R. Dawes; and A Memorial Volume Containing the American Ancestry of Mary Beman (Gates) Dawes. (Milwaukee, WI: Cuneo Press, 1931-1943)
2:581, 584.
'William Merrick, born [citing Mayflower Descendant, X, 7-8] about 1600-3, perhaps in Wales, is said to have come to New England [citing Merrick Genealogy, G.B. Merrick, 1902, pp. 13-8] with the usual "three brothers" in the "James" in the spring of 1636. While proof of this statement has not been found, he was certainly here before October of that year, at which time he received a grant of land in Plymouth and answered an action in Court there [citing Plymouh Colony Records, I, pp. 44-5].'
'His will, dated December 3, 1688, and changed to 1686, gave his age as about eighty-six, ...'
↑ Stearns, Ezra S.; William F. Whitcher; and Edward Everett Parker. Genealogical and Family History of the State of New Hampshire: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. (New York: Lewis Publishing Company, 1908)
p 889-890.
"(I) Lieutenant William Merrick, the eldest of the four immigrant brothers, was born in Wales in 1603, and came to Charlestown, Massachusetts in the ship "James" in the spring of 1636. Nothing is known of his early life; he was a farmer after arriving in Massachusetts. He served six years after his arrival in the colony, in the colonial militia under Captain Miles Standish, and is mentioned in the records as an ensign, and later as a lieutenant. "That he gave all his time and attention to his military duties seems to be indicated by the fact that he was not married until 1642, which was at the end of his six year term of service. He appears to have had property both at Eastham and Duxbury. He was probably married at Eastham, but the destruction of a part of the book of records of that town renders it impossible to determine this fact definitely. He certainly lived in both Eastham and Duxbury, within the decade between 1637 and 1647, as some of his children were born at Eastham during that time, and yet he is reported as being a citizen of Duxbury in 1636, when he was allotted five acres of land "Next the Glade at Powder Point." In 1637 he was allotted another twenty acres at Great Head. He was one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater. He was surveyor of highways in 1646, and constable in 1647. May 22, 1655, he became a legal voter in Eastham, and took up his permanent residence there. Paige, in his history of Hardwick says: "William Merrick, the father, was a lieutenant, residing in Eastham. In his will, dated December 3, 1686, and proved March 6, 1689, he is described as about 86 years of age, by which it would seem that he was about fourty-three years old when the first of his ten children was born, and he might seem to be the grandfather of this family rather than the father, were it not that he names his wife Rebecca and his children, Stephen and William, in his will." Source:Mayflower Descendant, p. 10:8, also mentions "My Grand Child Ruth ffreeman".
↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692, on the Basis of Farmer's Register. (Boston: Little, Brown, and Co, 1860-1862)
3:198.
WILLIAM, Duxbury, 1640, was one of the orig. proprs. of Bridgewater, early rem. to Eastham, by w. Rebecca had William, b. 15 Sept. 1643; Stephen, 12 Mar 1646; Rebecca, 28 July 1648; Mary, 4 Nov. 1650; Ruth, 15 May 1652; Sarah, 1 Aug. 1654; John, 15 Jan. 1657; Isaac, 6 Jan. 1661; Joseph, 1 June 1662; and Benjamin, 1 Feb. 1665; was an ens. and d. a. 1688. Mary m. 23 May, 1667, Stephen Hopkins.
↑ 7.0 7.1 Probate Records (AmericanAncestors.org database), in Hinckley, Gustavus Adolphus, and Robert J. Dunkle. Records of Barnstable, Massachusetts [1600s-1800s]. (Boston, Massachusetts: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001, c2001)
1:24-25.
'The last will and Testament of Ensigne William Merrick Senior of Eastham he being about eighty six years of Age ...'
The will is signed 'William Mirick'.
'The above sd. John Freeman and Joshua Bangs made oath ... March the 6th 1688:9 that they saw the above sd. William Mirick Snr. signe and seal and heard him declare this to be his last will and Testament.'
'An Invintory of the Estate of Ensigne William Mirick of Eastham late deceased ... 17th of February 1688:9.'
William and his son both held the title of Ensign, and each is sometimes referred to as "Ensign William".
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1603 - 1689 (86 years)
