Abigail (Hopkins) Merrick (1644 - abt. 1690)

Born Oct 1644 in Yarmouth, Plymouth Colony

Ancestors

Wife of William Merrick Jr. — married 23 May 1667 in Eastham, Plymouth Colony

Descendants

Died about 1690 at about age 45 in Eastham, Barnstable, Province of Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

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Abigail (Hopkins) Merrick was a descendant of Mayflower passengers Stephen Hopkins and Giles Hopkins. Stephen was her grandfather and Giles was her father.

Biography

Abigail Hopkins was born in October 1644^[1] in Yarmouth, Plymouth Colony, the daughter of Giles Hopkins and "Cathorne" Wheldon. Her birth, and that of her siblings, was recorded in the Eastham town records, but her father was residing in Yarmouth until shortly after a 28 October 1644 deed was recorded.^[2][3]

On 23 May 1667, Abigail Hopkins and William Merrick were married in Eastham, Plymouth Colony.^[4][5][6][7] William was born September 15, 1643 probably in Duxbury, Plymouth Colony, the son of William and Rebecca (Tracy) Merrick.^[2]

Abigail is often erroneously said to have died on 22 April 1691,^[8] but this is simply the date that her husband's second wife Elizabeth Snow swore to her deceased husband's estate inventory.^[9] Abigail likely died in Eastham, but the exact year is not known. Also, there is no marriage record of her husband's re-marriage, but was likely around 1691. There are no birth records of Abigail's later children to clarify her death, but she would have died sometime after 1683 because her daughter Ruth was in her "83rd yr" when she died 13 Feb 1766 (per headstone). Therefore, her death date has been rounded to about 1690 until a better date is found.

The following is from her husband's will of 1723/1729,^[10] which references his second wife, Elizabeth: The will of William Myrick of Harwich, yeoman, dated 5 May 1723 with codicil of 29 Aug. 1729, both proved 29 Nov. 1732, mentioned wife Elizabeth and the `estate she brot with her'; four sons `living at Harwich,' vis. Benjamin, Nathaniel, Stephen and Joshua; Stephen's wife Deborah; son John; father-in-law Giles Hopkins; children of deceased dau. Rebecca Sparrow; dau. Ruth Sears; daughter-in-law Mercy Witherel, and daughter-in-law Rachael Hugens.

The children of William and Abigiail (Hopkins) Merrick, the first two recorded Eastham, all from probate records:^[10][2]

1. Rebecca (Merrick) Sparrow (1668-bef.1723)
2. William Merrick, b. 01 Aug 1670; d. 20 Mar 1670/1 Eastham
3. Stephen Merrick, b. 26 Mar 1673; d. 11 Mar 1731/2 Harwich
4. Benjamin Merrick (1674-bef.1749)
5. Nathaniel Merrick (1675-1743)
6. John Merrick (abt.1680-1753)
7. Joshua Merrick (abt.1680-bef.1740)
8. Ruth (Merrick) Foster (abt.1684-1766)
9. Samuel Merrick (abt.1686-bef.1714)

The following 1741 land deed between children helps establish relationships:^[11][12]

"By deed of 3 Feb. 1741/2 Benjamin Mirrick and Nathaniel Mirrick, yeomen, and Chillingsworth Forster, blacksmith and Ruth, his wife, seamstress, all of Harwich, conveyed land in Eastham to Jonathan and Joseph Sparrow, both of Eastham, husbandmen, as intended by Mr. William Mirrick, late of Harwich, he being grandfather of grantees and father of grantors."

Research Notes

Witt-1888 20:26, 22 March 2022 (UTC): Mass. birth records show Abigail as born Oct 1644 recorded in Eastham; however, it was not settled until 1644; incorporated in 1651. Also note that Barnstable County was formed June 1685; and in 1691 the Plymouth Colony and Mass. Bay Colony were merged into the Province of Massachusetts Bay. Source: Wikipedia.

Sources

1. ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZDF-DRH : 15 January 2020), Abigail Hopkins, 1644.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} John D. Austin, Mayflower Families Through Five Generations, Vol 6, Stephen Hopkins Plymouth, Mass.: General Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2001 [3rd edition], Pages 9, 23-25.
3. ↑ Bowman, George Ernest. "Eastham & Orleans, Mass., Vital Records." The Mayflower Descendant. Vol. 7:236.
4. ↑ "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910, 1921-1924", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FC4F-56Y : 28 July 2021), Abigail Hopkins in entry for William Merrick, 1667.
5. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPCZ-2YQ5 : 19 April 2021), William Merich and Abigail Hopkins, 23 May 1667; citing Marriage, Orleans, Barnstable, Massachusetts, United States, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007010725.
6. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP8G-1LJC : 19 April 2021), William Merrick and Abigaill Hopkins, 23 May 1667; citing Marriage, Plymouth, Plymouth Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009308.
7. ↑ Births, marriages, deaths, 1649-ca.1840; intentions of marriage, 1700-ca.1905, database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L979-9X3Y : 28 September 2022), FHL microfilm 007009735, image 119, Eastham, Massachusetts, Volume 2, Births, & Deaths, 1654-1797, Page 30.
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34163816/abigail-merrick : accessed 21 March 2022), memorial page for Abigail Hopkins Merrick (12 Oct 1644–22 Apr 1691), Find A Grave: Memorial #34163816; Maintained by Linda Mac (contributor 47062703) Burial Details Unknown. [No headstone or source of information, so of little value. Death date is known to be incorrect.]
9. ↑ Bowman, George Ernest. "Abstracts of Barnstable County, Mass. Probate Records." The Mayflower Descendant. Vol. 12:39. 'Lieut Jabez Snow's Inventory'.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Barnstable County Probate Records, Vol. 5:33, Will of William Myrick
11. ↑ Bowman, George Ernest. "Unrecorded Barnstable County Deeds." The Mayflower Descendant. Vol. 15(1913):203-4 'Myrick and Foster to Sparrow'.
12. ↑ Austin, John D., Mayflower Families in Progress: Stephen Hopkins of the Mayflower and his descendants for four generations General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Plymouth MA, 1988.

See also:

• Merrick, George B. Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Myrick Family of Massachusetts. Madison, WI: Tracy, Gibbs, & Co (1902). p.14-15, 18-20. Available for download at: https://ia803401.us.archive.org/1/items/genealogyofmerri00merr/genealogyofmerri00merr.pdf.
• Ferris, Mary W. Dawes-Gates, Ancestral Lines: A Memorial Volume Containing the American Ancestry of Rufus R. Dawes, Volume 1. Privately printed, 1943.
• DeForest, L. Effingham and Anne Lawrence DeForest, Moore and Allied Families: The Ancestry of William Henry Moore, published online by Ancestry.com, The Generations Network, Inc., Provo, UT., 2005; original publisher: The DeForest Publishing Company, N.Y., N.Y., 1938.
• Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and her passengers, (Indiana:Xlibris Corp., Caleb Johnson, 2006)
• Roser, Susan E., Mayflower Increasings, Second Edition, 2001, Genealogical Publishing Co., Icc. 10010 N Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21202

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