Morrills in Massachusetts; Morrills in New Hampshire?

Question

I've been working on some collateral lines of my own family and have found a family that is either a duplicate of the family I'm working on or an incredible collection of doppelgangers. The profile I started working on today is Aaron Morrill (linked to this question), who got married in the usual way to one Joanna (Dow) Heath or Joanna (Heath) Dow, and went on to have several children with her. She died in 1735 or 36 and he married a second time, to Ebenezer Jones, and had another two children.

I hunted for sources and found them. I'm inclined to think that Joanna's LNAB was Dow, because I found a birth source for a Joanna Dow, daughter of Henry and Mary, and her marriage record to Aaron says her father's name was Henry. And I found sources for all the weddings and births, and even for Aaron's death in 1760.

The trouble is that all of my sources say this took place in Massachusetts, and mostly in Salisbury. There's another profile, however, for an Aaron Morrill (Morrill-385) married to a Joanna Dow (Dow-919), with a child of the same, very unusual name (Theodate), as one of the other Aaron's children. These other Morrills and Dows are all from New Hampshire. The profiles have no sources other than a page number in The History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire, written in 1892 by one Joseph Dow. There are a couple of sources for the New Hampshire Aaron, but they're all sources I found for my Aaron and all are from Massachusetts.

I left a note on the profile of the other Aaron, but I was hoping that someone who knows more about this line could tell me if my hunch is correct and these are duplicates. I would like to add Joanna Dow Heath Morrill to Aaron's profile, but I don't want to create a duplicate.

Comments

Hampton NH and Salisbury MA are contiguous towns, so quite possible to live in one and marry in the other.

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I did wonder about that. I looked on the map, and they're seven miles apart, so no great distance. Joanna Dow's family were prominent in Hampton, so I think that might be the source of the confusion. It looks like she left the hometown and settled in Salisbury after she married Aaron Morrill.

Answer 1

You are correct that the two Aaron's are the same person. Whenever dealing with Salisbury or Amesbury, MA, Hoyt's "Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury" is an excellent source. It is generally quite reliable. Hoyt's entry for Aaron Merrill, son of Jacob Merrill of Salisbury, is fully consistent with your information. https://archive.org/stream/cu31924025963772#page/n267/mode/2up The only inconsistencies between the two profiles for Aaron are his DOB, POB and POD. From Hoyt, it appears that there is no birth or baptismal record for Aaron, so his DOB and POB are just guesses. The May 2, 1689 DOB appears clearly incorrect, since that is the DOB of Aaron's brother Jacob. Based on gaps in his siblings' birth dates and the fact that Joanna Dow was born on Oct 4, 1696, a DOB sometime in 1691-4 seems most likely. I'd go with "about 1692" or "about 1693." For POB, since Aaron's family seemed to live in Salisbury, I'd go with Salisbury uncertain as his POB. Aaron's death is recorded in both Amesbury vital records and Salisbury vital records. His estate records, however, refer to him as "of Salisbury" so Salisbury should be his POD. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB515/i/13788/18780-co6/30416765

Comments

Thanks for the tip. I've found sources for Joanna's birth that are identical except that one says Salisbury, Massachusetts and the other says Hampton, New Hampshire. The only one that has an image is one from Hampton, New Hampshire, so I guess I'll have to take its word for it. I did notice that her family seemed pretty settled in New Hampshire, so maybe that's where the discrepancies started. If she was born in Hampton and then moved to Salisbury after she married Aaron, that would make more sense. Also, Hoyt answers the question of who Joanna's first husband was.

I got a note from the PM of Joanna's profile. She says she adopted the profile as is and doesn't know where the info came from, and gave me the go ahead to change any info to reflect the sources.

Hoyt suggests that Ebenezer was a transcription error for Eleanor, but there are no sources for this person that say her name was Eleanor. She's Ebenezer in her birth record, her marriage record and the records of her children's birth. Maybe her parents were a bit unconventional, or maybe they really, really wanted a boy?

Answer 2

Aaron Morril married Joanna Dow on 21 Nov 1718 at Amesbury, Essex, MA.Aaron's father's name is Jacob and Joanna's father's name is Henry."Massachusetts Mariages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch

Aaron Morrill married Eben-Ezer Jones on 13 Jun 1741 at Salisbury, Essex, MA. "Massachusetts Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch.

Answer 3

Findmypast 

Optional keywords-First name(s)Eben-EzerLast nameJonesSexFemaleFather's first name(s)-Father's last name-Mother's first name(s)-Mother's last name-EventMarriageYear1741Event date13 Jun 1741LocationSalisburyPlaceSalisbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United StatesCountyEssexStateMassachusettsCountryUnited StatesSpouse's first name(s)AaronSpouse's last nameMorrillSpouse's sexMaleSpouse's marital statusMarriedSpouse's father's first name(s)-Spouse's father's last name-Spouse's mother's first name(s)-Spouse's mother's last name-FamilySearch film number000877468Record setUnited States MarriagesCategoryLife Events (BDMs)SubcategoryCivil Marriage & DivorceCollections fromAmericas, United States