Subject: Re: Merrill family George W Merrill
Date: Sun, November 28, 2004 6:14 pm
Question: Sue Brassel wrote:
I am helping a friend research her family. I am looking for Edward J Merrill born after 1930. Father: George W Merrill DOB 1904 - MA Mother: Emily DOB 7/12/1904 - MA Brother: George W Jr. DOB 9/21/1929 Beverly, MA Sister: Barbara DOB 1925 Berverly, MA In 1951 the family owned The Hitching Post Inn at 56 Lothrop St Beverly, MA and Merrill Stationers 146 Cabot St Beverly, MA I need any information you have on Edward. Especially his birth date if available. Thank you for any help you can give me. Sue
Answer: Sue:
Almost all our vital record information from MA is pre 1900, so we do not have that info on either George W or on his son, Edward J. We did find in the SSDI, the death record of two George Merrills b. 1904 who got their SS# in MA. The most likely candidate is one who d. Mar 1976, last known address, Marblehead, MA [right next to Beverly]. His b. date was Apr 8 1904. The less likely candidate was b. May 31, 1904 and d. May 1981 [last known address, Seabrook, NH, death payment to St. Petersburg, FL]. We don't know if either of these was your George W, for SSDI does not give middle initials. The state Registrar of vital records, room 103, McCormick Bldg., 1 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108, will have record of these births and that record will give the child's bp., parent's names and probably their place of b.
Do you know when and where Edward J died, or is he still living?
If we had George's parents, there is a good chance we could tie him into the Merrill line that goes back to the original Merrill immigrant, Nathaniel, b. 1601, who came to Newbury MA in 1639.
It is possible that we might find George W as a child in Beverly in the 1910 census [if he was b. in Beverly]. The 1910 census index is only a head of household index, so George W won't be listed in the index, but we could look at the Merrill families in Beverly to see if there was one with a George W ca. 6. This wouldn't work if he was b. somewhere else - just too many possibilities. We tried, but couldn't make connection with Heritagequest online tonight, but couldn't make connection.
We are trying to database the Merrill/Merrell surname nationwide from the original immigrants right down to the present day for all the immigrant lines. So far we have over 60,000 Merrill males, plus their wives and daughters in our database, but we estimate that there are well over 100,000 so we have a long way to go, and we 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. We would be very interested in any info you have on the Merrill surname descendants of George W down to the present.
We write the query column for the MERRILL NEWSLETTER published by Lil Hall Welch. Check out the Newsletter homepage at <www.merrill.org/genealogy/tmn>
Sorry we could not be more help,
Howard and Jean Merrill |
Subject: Re: Merrill family John and Joseph
Date: Tue, November 02, 2004 2:01 pm
Question: Mouraine Baker? wrote:
John and Joseph Merrill of what is now West Virginia. Is it possible they came form Maryland? I find others from Maryland arriving about the same time.
Answer: Mouraine:
Glad we now have your email so we can correspond directly. Yes we believe that John and Joseph who m. the Batton sisters probably came to what is now WV from western MD, but they may not have been b. there. Although we don't have proof, we believe they are possibly the sons of Andrew (4), Nicholas (3), Philip (2), Richard (1), immigrant to Staten Island in 1680.
Andrew was a Revolutionary war vet, serving in the NJ Line. In 1831, at age 77 he applied for his pension from Clark Co KY. In his application he details his movements since the war. "He went to Loudon Co VA in 1783, was there and in Frederick Co, VA two years, then to Washington Co MD two years, returned to Loudon Co VA and lived there and in Hampshire Co VA [now WV] for 10 years, then moved to Clark Co KY in 1797-98."
At the time Andrew was there Washington Co MD included all of what is now Washington Allegany and Garrett Co.s MD, and Hampshire Co VA contained the contiguous VA Counties across the Potomac. In this same time period Andrew's brother Philip appears in what is now Allegany Co MD. There is also record in Loudon Co VA of a Mathias, Andrew's brother, and also a Nicholas [Andrew's father? or an unrecorded brother?],. but little further is known of them.
So it seems this whole family is present in this region.
While he gives a detailed account of his travels, he gives no such details on his family. Andrew is the only Merrill we know of that was documented in WV before 1800. We know those children who went with him to Clark Co, by who was there in later census, mentioned in court documents, or m. of his daughters. But did he leave behind John and Joseph who m. the Batton sisters? We can't be sure. But we feel they are most likely descended from someone in Andrew's family.
Howard and Jean Merrill |
