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Samuel
Merrill, 1928, reprint 1983
Nathaniel1
of Newbury and His Sons - Chapter VII,
pp 66-101
Nathaniel2
Merrill - pp 74-77
It is assumed that Nathaniel2
Merrill was the eldest son Nathaniel1.
All persons in the Colony more than sixteen years of age
were, in 1678, required to take the oath of allegiance.
The oath was administered in Newbury in September of that
year, and the list for that town is on file at Salem with
the Essex County court papers, vol. 30, leaf 56. In this
list appear the names of Abraham Merrill, age 41; "Nathaneel,"
age 40; Daniel, age 34; and Abel, age 32. There is no
apparent reason why accuracy in stating the precise ages
of the men who took the oath should have been considered
much more important than accuracy in spelling their names.
Nathaniel1
Merrill, in making his will in 1655, named Nathaniel2
as executor. From this fact it may be inferred that Nathaniel2
had then attained his majority, in which case he was born
prior to 1635. (See page 163) If
this assumption is correct, he was at least forty-four
years of age when he took the oath in 1678. In other instances
also, in the same list, the ages of men seem to have been
incorrectly stated.
Little
is to be learned, from the town records of Newbury, or
from other sources, to show that Nathaniel2
Merrill was prominent in town affairs. He died before
reaching the age of fifty years, but was prosperous, and
amassed a comfortable property by the standards of his
time.
Norfolk
Records, book 3, leaf 124
A
deed is recorded in Salem by which Nathaniel Merrill of
Nubery bought an acre of meadow in Haverhill from Daniel
Lad, paying therefor "£ 3 & a flitch of
Bacon." The date of this deed, on the record, is
19 April, 1628, an error which is seemingly copied
from the instrument itself. The conveyancer's added statement,
"annoque Renni Regis Caroly secundi xxx,"
would place the date about half a century later than 1628.
Another purchase of Haverhill real estate by Nathaniel
Merrill is shown by the deeds of Peter Green and Thomas
Duston, the latter deed bearing the date 15 March, 1677/78.
The land in question comprised fifty acres, and it is
to be presumed that this is the same property which, in
the inventory of Nathaniel Merrill's estate, in 1682,
was appraised at £ 120. (Norfolk Records, book 3,
leaves 76 and 124.)
Nathaniel2
Merrill's Will
The
will of Nathaniel2 Merrill was executed just
a month before his death. This instrument, and the inventory
of his estate, were in the handwriting of Tristram Coffin,
and both disclose some original ideas in phonetic spelling.
In the copy given below I have indicated by a diagonal
line / the end of each line in the will as originally
written.
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Inthe
name of god amen: I Nathanuel Marrill of newbury /
in masathusith: newingland: being sensabel of my owne
mortallity and / haveing att this time my Rationall
undarstanding and memory dou / make this as my last
will and testament: com- |
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5
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miting
my sole to god / and my body to the dust: in hopes
of a Joyfull Resarection: and as for my / worldly
goods I despose of them as folloeth: I giue to my
belovid wife / gone: all my dwelling howsing and barne
with all my upland and me/ddow: and marshlands that
I haue with in the township of newbury/ and my fre
howld: and priuilidgis in all commans et: as allso |
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10
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all
my / stok of cattell and shep: and swine: and howssald
goods: with all: / other mowfabels: all which to be
for the benefet of my wife duoring / her widdohowd:
but if my wife marry again: then: she shall have no
/ Right to all aboue said gieuen her: but onely har
thards as the law / douth a low: or thre pound ayear
to be peaid har as by this my |
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15
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will
/ appoyentid: Item: Igeve to my son John marrill:
my dwelling / howssing and barne and orchard: and
all my lands: bouth meddows and / upland: with my
fre howld: and Rights and priuilidgis: in all comon
/ lands liing and being with in the township of newbury:
to him and / his lawfull eares of his owen boddy lawfully
begotten: to be the lawful / in |
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herytance
of my son John and to be posesid of it at his mothars
/ death: or at the day of har marriage: if she marry
again: and then / my will is that my son John peay
to his mothar yearly: thre pound / a year duaring
har life: prouidid my wife Renowns har thards / Item
Igeve to my othar tow sons: |
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nathanuel
and petar: all my land / and meddow and priuilidgis
thar unto belongin: the which: is / and lieth with
in the town and bownds of hauerhill: equally / to
be deuided betwen them: Itam I geve to my tow daftars
twenty pound / a peces to be paide by my son John
marrill within fieue yeares aftar / he douth in hearrit
his portion geuin him by this my will: |
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30
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all
soo / I geve my tow daftars the one halfe of my howsald
goods: at the deth / of my wife: or when my wife shall
marry again: and the othar half / of my howsald goods:
I leue with my wife for she to despose of to / to
my children as she shall se mete allsoo I dow appoyent
/ my wife: gone marrill to be the executor of this
my will: to pay all / my debtes |
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and
Reseue all my debtes:and to tak care that this my
will/ be parformid: soo far as it can be duering har
life all so my / will is that if ethar of my tow daftars
dy be fore thear portion is due to har / as by this
my will geuen: then the othar which saruiee shall
haue the hoal / geuen to boath of them: allso if my
son John dy without Isshue: that then that/ |
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by
this my will geuen to him: shall be the in heritance
of my sons that saruiee / and I dou hear by declear
this to be my last will and testament as witnis /
my hand and seail: this furst day of desembar 1682 |
witnisis
to the sining and seailing the
mark
hear of of
nathanul maril
Tristram Coffin
Aquila Chase
This will was sealed with a device
suggesting a bunch of grapes. It was proved in court at
Ipswich 10 April, 1683. The christian name of the testator's
wife is spelled "gone" in the seventh and thirty-fourth
lines of the instrument. This indicates the monosyllabic
pronunciation of Joan.
Deacon Tristram Coffin, tailor,
was born in England in 1632, and died in Newbury in 1704.
He was several times a representative to the General Court.
The house in which he lived was occupied for many generations
by his descendants, one of whom, Joshua Coffin, was living
in it when he compiled his "History of Newbury,"
which was published in 1845. Sergt. Aquila Chase, born
1652, died 1720, was a farmer in Newbury. He was brother-in-law
of Abel2 Merrill, and father-in-law of Daniel3
Merrill (Daniel2).
The
Inventory
The inventory of the estate was filed
in court at Ipswich by "Joane merrill Relict &
executrix to the last will of Nathaniell merrill,"
30 April, 1683. It begins as follows: Inuintory of the
estate of nathanuel marril latate of newbury taken this
18: dy of Jeneary: 1682 by us the subscribars
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lb
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s
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d
|
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21 akars of upland and housing and frehould |
100 |
00 |
0 |
to
12 akars of marsh: 72lb: to ten shep: 3lb-10s-
0d- to a mare:
and 7 swine |
080 |
10 |
0 |
to
2 oken and fowar cowes and tow steares: 34lb:
to 3 cattell and
a calf |
042 |
00 |
0 |
| to
pork 40s: to land and orchard at hauerhil 120lb-0s-0d |
122 |
00 |
0 |
Among the other articles enumerated
are: 2 guns, 40s; "a sward and bulits and powdar,"
9s; "a parsel of wowlling cloth," 40s; "yearne,"
40s; a warming pan, 13s; "a sas pan and a cettell,"
5s; "12 pare of shetes and 8 napkins," 13lb
2s; "13 pillocasis," 4s8d; "3 towils,"
3s; "2 blinkets," 25s; "a fathar bead,"
6lb; "2 pillos," 12s; "waring aparrill,"
51b; "carpendars tules and a ax," 18s; "barly
and indean corne," 16lb; "a saddell and Pillion
and Pillion cloth," 21b 5s.
The
total of the inventory was £ 520.7s. The debts chargeable
to the estate amounted to £ 46.9s.8d.
JOHN2
If
you have further information on the book, "A Merrill
Memorial" and would like to share it with others,
please contact
me.
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