Deacon John Merrill, (immigrant)

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1657, Hartford Co, Connecticut
• Other-Begin: 14 Jul 1674, Hartford Co, Connecticut
• Other-Begin: 3 Sep 1674, Hartford Co, Connecticut

Notes:

Christened:
Baptismal records show that John was baptized on 16m 1635/36 in Lawford, Essex, Co., England

Residence:
John(2) Merrill (Nathaniel(1) one of the older sons of Nathaniel went to Hartford, CT before 1657, while still a minor and it is said was adopted by Gregory Wolterton. Savage, in his "Genealogical Dictionary" said that Gregory Wolterton "had good estate, large tan works, and no children." Gregory Wolterton made his will 17 Jul 1674, and died soon after, leaving legacies to a number of persons, including relatives in Ipswich, England. Savage adds: "Most of his estate was given to John Merrills, because he hand adopted him." The same statement of adoption is repeated in the "Memorial History of Hartford County."

These facts lend plausibility to the theory that Gregory Wolterton was a brother of Susanna Merrill. It was a long journey from Newbury to Hartford; means of communication were meagre, and both communities were in their infancy. It seems unlikely that John, as a very young man, would have made such a journey, seperating himself from a lifetime from home and kin, unless to make a home with other kin in the place where he went to live.
http://www.jmerrill.net/NEWBURY.HTM

Other-Begin:
Will of Gregory Wolterton (who adopted him)
"And moreover I give unto John Merrells, and his heirs forever, booth my houseing & Tan Yard (all that I leave and all my Land that I have not disposed of), whome I ordayne and appoint Executor to this my last Will & Testiment"

Other-Begin:
Court Record, pg 143--3
September 1674
Mr. Samuel Collins, in behalfe of the widow Waller, pretending to make claym to the Estate of Gregory Winterton, & desiring liberty to prosecute the same the 2nd Wednesday in November next, John Merrells engageth not to alienate the Real Esate bequeathed to him by the sd. Wolterton till the sd. Court.

John married Sarah Margaret Watson on 23 Sep 1663 in Hartford Co, Connecticut. Sarah was born about 1643; died after 1675. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Sarah Merrill was born on 19 Sep 1664 in Hartford, Hartford Co, Connecticut; died in 1719.
2. Daniel Merrill was born on 15 Jun 1673 in Hartford Co, Connecticut; died on 7 Aug 1750 in Hartford Co, Connecticut.
3. Isaac Merrill was born on 11 Mar 1682 in Hartford, Hartford Co, Connecticut; died before Dec 1742 in West Hartford, Hartford Co, Connecticut.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Immigration: 1635, The Hector, Ipswich, Essex Co, Massachusetts
• Immigration: Between Dec 1638 and Feb 1639, Newbury, Essex Co, Massachusetts; return

Notes:

He was first married to Susan Jordan who probably died before 1630. Nathaniel and Susannah immigrated to America 1633 or '34. (This date has been revised since a daughter was baptized in England in 1638. It seems Nathaniel came in 1633/4 and returned to England, coming back in 1638 with his family.
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Settled, Newbury, Mass. 1638-9. The newly found records show that Nathaniel Merrill's daughter, Susanna, was not baptised until Dec 12, 1638 in Lawford, Essex, Co., England. This tells us that Nathaniel had not left for America with his family until late December 1638 or early 1639. In 1638 the English Government started restricting its citizens from freely immigrating to the new continent with its abundance of land for all, something unknown in England. The fact that brother John arranged for a home site of four acres in Newbury for his unnamed "brother" would indicate that the brother was not there by 23 July 1638 but was arranging to come. Ship records, the Hector, show that Nathaniel and John did arrive in Ipswich, Mass. in 1635. Nathaniel must have returned to England to get his wife and his four children and returned in 1638-39.

From "A Merrill Memorial" by Samuel Merrill, Cambridge MA 1917-1928
Nathaniel(1) Merrill was one of the earliest settlers in Newbury, MA in 1639. He was the ancestor of the vast majority of those who now bear the Merrill name in this country: it is believed, indeed, that less than one percent of the Merrill's in America can trace their pedigree to any other emigrant ancestor.
Nathaniel Merrill and his older brother John were born in England. The registers of Wherstead, a parish lying three miles south if Ipswich, in Suffolk County, England, contain the following entries:
1599, August 16. John Merrell son of Nath! Merrell & Mary his wife was baptised.
1601, May 4. Nathanaell Merrell son of Nath! Merrell & his wife Mary was baptised.
There are reasons for believing that these entries are the record of baptism of John and Nathaniel Merrill of Newbury.
It is supposed that Nathaniel Merrill was married before leaving England. No record is found of his marriage in America. If the marriage took place here it was probably at Ipswich, in the short time before the settlement in Newbury. His wife's name was Susanna. Savage, in the "genealogical Dictionary of New England" (published in 1861), says that Nathaniel Merrill married Susanna Jordan. In this he was no doubt following Coffin's "History of Newbury" (published in 1845), and the statement has been frequently copied. Ed note, Nathaniel Merrill did marry Stephen Jorden after Nathaniel's death in 1655.
Nathaniel was probably a farmer and is ancestor to all the Merrill's in the U.S.A. His brother John and wife had a daughter but no sons.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16887378
also
http://www.jmerrill.net/NEWBURY.HTM
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From A Merrill Memorial - His will was dated 8 March, 1654/5, and was probated 27 March 1655. It is not to be assumed from the fact that the testator signed with his mark that he had not learned to write. He lay on his death bed, and died eit days after executing the instrument. John Merrill, his brother, signed the will as a witness, and there is no reason to doubt that Nathaniel had enjoyed equal advantages of schooling.


Christened:
The registers of Wherstead, a parish lying three miles south if Ipswich, in Suffolk County, England, contain the following entries:
1599, August 16. John Merrell son of Nath! Merrell & Mary his wife was baptised.
1601, May 4. Nathanaell Merrell son of Nath! Merrell & his wife Mary was baptised.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16887378

Immigration:
Ship records, the Hector, show that Nathaniel and John did arrive in Ipswich, Mass. in 1635. Nathaniel must have returned to England to get his wife and his four children and returned in 1638-39.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16887378

Immigration:
Notes for Nathaniel *Merrill:
Settled, Newbury, Mass. 1638-9. The newly found records show that Nathaniel Merrill's daughter, Susanna, was not baptised until Dec 12, 1638 in Lawford, Essex, Co., England. This tells us that Nathaniel had not left for America with his family until late December 1638 or early 1639. In 1638 the English Government started restricting its citizens from freely immigrating to the new continent with its abundance of land for all, something unknown in England. The fact that brother John arranged for a home site of four acres in Newbury for his unnamed "brother" would indicate that the brother was not there by 23 July 1638 but was arranging to come. Ship records, the Hector, show that Nathaniel and John did arrive in Ipswich, Mass. in 1635. Nathaniel must have returned to England to get his wife and his four children and returned in 1638-39.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16887378

Nathaniel* married Susannah* Wolterton, (immigrant) on 23 Sep 1633 in Wherstead, Suffolk, England. Susannah* (daughter of Stephen* Wolterton, (immigrant) and Susannah* Peabody or Sheppard, (immigrant)) was born in 1610 in Wherstead, Suffolk, England; died on 25 Jan 1673 in Newbury, Essex Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Immigration: Between Dec 1638 and Feb 1639, Ipswich, Suffolk Co, Massachusetts

Notes:

(spelling could be Wellerton or Willerton)

It is supposed that Nathaniel Merrill was married before leaving England. No record is found of his marriage in America. If the marriage took place here it was probably at Ipswich, in the short time before the settlement in Newbury. His wife's name was Susanna. Savage, in the "genealogical Dictionary of New England" (published in 1861), says that Nathaniel Merrill married Susanna Jordan. In this he was no doubt following Coffin's "History of Newbury" (published in 1845), and the statement has been frequently copied. Ed note, Nathaniel [sic - Susannah] Merrill did marry Stephen Jorden after Nathaniel?s death in 1655.
Susannah ........, also known as Susannah Wolterton, was the wife of the emigrant, Nathaniel Merrill. For many years she was thought to be the sister of Gregory Wolterton of Hartford, Conn. Later research shows that she probably is the daughter of Gregory's wife, Susannah (Unknown) by a previous marriage.
From "A Merrill Memorial" by Samuel Merrill, Cambridge, MA 1917-1928.

The conjecture has been advanced, and it has even been stated as a fact, that the wife of Nathaniel Merrill was Susanna Wilterton (or Wolterton.) Therefore until proven difference I will have Nathaniel's wife as Susanna Wolterton.

After the death of Nathaniel Merrill his widow married Stephen Jordan (or Jourdain). Nathaniel Merrill, son of Nathaniel and Susanna Merrill, gave a deed, under date of 16 Aug 1661, to Peter Godfrey of Newbury, in which the phrase occurs, "after the decease of my mother Susanna Jordan," and out of this fact the error regarding the maiden name of Nathaniel's wife grew.

Gregory Wolterton(Wilterton) of Hartford was childless: Susanna Merrill of Newbury was a widow with five sons and a daughter, most of them in their minority. It would have been natural for Gregory Wilterton under these circumstances to write to his kinswoman in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and offer a home and modest fortune to one of the boys. From "A Merrill Memorial" by Samuel Merrill, Cambridge, MA 1917-1928
More About Nathaniel Merrill:
Record Change: May 31, 2004

More About Nathaniel Merrill and Susannah Waltherton:
Marriage: Wherstead, Suffolk, England Or Newburyport Essex MA.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16887378


Immigration:
Notes for Nathaniel *Merrill:
Settled, Newbury, Mass. 1638-9. The newly found records show that Nathaniel Merrill's daughter, Susanna, was not baptised until Dec 12, 1638 in Lawford, Essex, Co., England. This tells us that Nathaniel had not left for America with his family until late December 1638 or early 1639. In 1638 the English Government started restricting its citizens from freely immigrating to the new continent with its abundance of land for all, something unknown in England. The fact that brother John arranged for a home site of four acres in Newbury for his unnamed "brother" would indicate that the brother was not there by 23 July 1638 but was arranging to come. Ship records, the Hector, show that Nathaniel and John did arrive in Ipswich, Mass. in 1635. Nathaniel must have returned to England to get his wife and his four children and returned in 1638-39.
https://familysearch.org/photos/artifacts/16887378

Nathaniel* married Mary* Blackwell on 27 Feb 1593 in Belstead, England. Mary* was born on 1 May 1574 in England; died on 1 May 1624 in Whersted, Suffolk, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

(or Blacksoll)

Other Events and Attributes:

• Emigration: Abt 1633, Whersted, Suffolk, England
• Immigration: Abt 1633, Massachusetts (probably)

Stephen* married Susannah* Peabody or Sheppard, (immigrant)England. Susannah* was born about 1574 in Whersted, Suffolk, England; died in 1662 in Hartford, Hartford Co, Connecticut. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Emigration: Abt 1633, Whersted, Suffolk, England

John* married Prudence* Bird about 1569 in Whersted, Suffolk, England. Prudence* was born about 1549; died about 29 Dec 1609 in Belstead, England. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]