Ephraim Meriam (1764 - 1803)

Born 26 Jan 1764 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Brooks) Swan — married 9 Feb 1792 (to 10 Jul 1803) in Lincoln, Middlesex, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 10 Jul 1803 at age 39 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts

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Biography

Ephraim was born at Concord, MA on Jan. 26, 1764, the son of Nathan Meriam and Abigail Wheeler. ^{[1] [2]}

He married at Lincoln, Mary Brooks, daughter of Timothy and Elizabeth (Jones) Brooks, on Feb. 9, 1792. ^[1] She was born at Lincoln on Mar. 6, 1772. ^[3]

He died at Concord on July 10, 1803. His estate was administered first by his brother Amos till his death. Edward Flint was appointed guardian to the children on April 11, 1806, and on Oct. 7, 1812, William Swan took his place as guardian. ^{[1] [2]}

He is buried at the Old Hill Burying Ground in Concord. His inscription reads: Erected in memory of Mr. Ephraim Meriam who died July 10, 1803 Aetat 40 Now I am dead, & in my grave when all my bones are rotten, And this you see, remember me, Let me not be forgotten. ^[4]

After his death, his widow Mary married William Swan. She died May 9, 1847, aged 75. ^{[5] [3]}

Children

Mary born Oct. 13, 1793; married Nehemiah Ball on Sept. 11, 1821. ^{[1] [2]}

Ephraim born Nov. 26, 1785; died April 7, 1843. ^{[1] [2]}

Nathan born Aug. 1, 1798 ^[2] ; died before June 12, 1855 when his estate was administered by Nehemiah Ball; left no widow and no children. Removed to Newport, ME. ^[1]

Marshall born March 28, 1801 ^[2] ; married first, Sarah Shook of Pennsylvania, who died at Reed's Ferry, NH on July 27, 1861. He married second Phebe Butman of Bradford, NH, daughter of Ebenezer and Mehitabel Butman. She died at Derry, NH on Feb. 25, 1873. He married third at Lawrence, MA his sister-in-law Nancy Butman on Feb. 10, 1874. ^[1]

Rufus born March 28, 1801 ^[2] ; died March 3, 1870; unmarried. ^[1]

• Births, Marriages, Deaths

Concord Births

MERIAM, Ephraim, s. Nathan and Abigil, Jan. 26, 1764. (p. 216)

Children: MERIAM

Mary, d. Ephraim and Mary, Oct. 13, 1793. (p. 268)

Ephraim, s. Ephm and Mary, Nov. 26, 1795. (p. 269)

Nathan, s. Ephraim and Mary, Aug. 1, 1798. (p. 270)

Marshall, s. Ephraim and Mary, Mar. 28, 1801 [Twins]. (p. 275)

Rufus, s. Ephraim and Mary, Mar. 28, 1801 [Twins]. (p. 275)

Concord Marriages

Meriam, Mary, and Nehemiah Ball, Sept. 11, 1821. (p. 373)

Concord Deaths

MERIAM, Ephraim, h. Mary, July 9, 1803 [a. 40 y. GS] (p. 325)

Meriam, Ephraim, Apr. 7, 1843, a. 47 y. (p. 355)

Mary Swan, aged 75 y., widow of William, May 9, 1847. (p. 411) ^[2]

Lincoln Marriages

Meriam, Ephraim of Concord, and Mary Brooks, Feb. 9, 1792. (p. 124)

Lincoln Births

BROOKS, Mary, twin d. Timothy and Elizabeth, Mar. 6, 1772. (p. 23) ^[3]

Burial: Old Hill Burying Ground, Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts ^[6]

^[7]

• See also: ^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Merriam Genealogy in England and America: Including the "Genealogical Memoranda" of Charles Pierce Merriam, the Collections of James Sheldon Merriam, by Charles H. Pope, Boston, 1906
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Concord Massachusetts Births, Marriages and Deaths, 1635-1850, George Tolman, T. Todd Printers, Printed by the Town
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Vital Records of Lincoln Massachusetts to the Year 1850, Published by NEHGS, Boston, 1908
4. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 119706115
5. ↑ Genealogy of the Descendants of John White of Wenham and Lancaster, Massachusetts, by Almira Larkin White, Chase Brothers, printers, 1900
6. ↑ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=119706115
7. ↑ Entered by Chris Hoyt, Mar 31, 2012
8. ↑ Memoirs of Members of the Social Circle in Concord: 2nd. ser., from 1795 to 1840, Riverside Press, Concord, 1888

Ephraim Meriam was 24 years old when he bought out his brother Amos in 1788. Amos was still living in Concord in 1788 according to the deed, although the location of his residence is not known. It is possible that he and his family were still living in the Meriam House. Amos's family in 1788 consisted of his wife, Deborah Brooks, whom he wed in 1783, and his two-year-old daughter Phebe. It certainly appears from the genealogical record that there would have been room in the house for such an arrangement. Six of Amos and Ephraim' s brothers and sisters had married and established households of their own by this time. Sister Abigail, who married neighbor Nathan Stow in 1780, lived just down the street and across the road—not far from Meriam's Corner. Sister Hepzibah had married Aaron Wright just the month before, in February 1788. Two sisters and a brother had also died by this time—Mehitable in 1754, David in 1755, and Dorothy in 1766. The only residents of the house in 1788 were therefore Ephraim, his widowed mother Abigail (then about 61 years old), and possibly Amos's growing family. Both Amos and Ephraim were listed as “yeomen” in the 1788 deed. Later property deeds dated 1791 and 1803 also cite Ephraim as a “yeoman,” suggesting that he continued to make his living as a small farmer. Amos, on the other hand, is referred to in a later probate document dated 1803 as a “gentleman.” 63 Ephraim married Mary Brooks, a cousin of Amos's wife Deborah, on February 9, 1792. Together they had five children: Mary (1793), Ephraim (1795), Nathan (1798), and twin sons Rufus and Marshall (1801). Ephraim's mother, Abigail, died on May 29, 1796, less than a year after the birth of Ephraim's namesake. She had presumably continued to occupy the west half of the house until her death, as specified in her late husband's will of 1782. Amos's family, which consisted of five children by 1796, may have removed to Princeton, New Jersey by this time. 64 How long they lived at the Meriam House, if at all, is not known for certain. No major renovations are known to have been made to the Meriam House during the ownership of Ephraim Meriam

http://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/mima/meriam.pdf