Joseph Meriam (1709 - 1797)

Born 16 Sep 1709 in Concord, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Ruth (Hunt) Meriam — married about 1733 (to 17 Aug 1749) in Massachusetts Bay

Husband of Hannah (Paul) Meriam — married 26 Dec 1754 in Grafton, Worcester, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 5 May 1797 at age 87 in Grafton, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Joseph Meriam was born at Concord, Massachusetts on September 16, 1709, son of Joseph Meriam and Dorothy Brooks. ^{[1] [2]}

He was one of the first settlers of Grafton, Massachusetts on land purchased for him by his father slept the first night of his stay in the cleft of a rock still pointed out on the old ancestral farm. He served at Deacon for fifty five years and was the last of the original setters to die. ^[3]

Grafton Offices

• 1742: November 25: Elected Deacon, First Parish. ^[3]
• 1742: Constable. ^[3]
• 1745: 51: 56: 60: School Committee. ^[3]
• 1744: 1748-54: 1758-59: 1763-1764: Elected Selectman. ^[3]
• 1763: 73: 74: Assessor. ^[3]

Military

• 1757: French & Indian War: Alarm Soldiers who remained in town on duty or who could be called together in case of necessity by Rev Mr Hutchinson; Joseph Merriam. ^[3]

Spouses

He married first in 1733, Ruth Hunt who was born May 13, 1714, daughter of John and Mary Hunt and sister to Simon. She died in August 17, 1749 at Grafton, age 36. ^{[2] [4] [3] [5] [6]}

He married second on December 26, 1754 at Grafton, the widow Hannah (Paul) Wadsworth. ^{[2] [5]} She was born at Dorchester on May 17, 1718, daughter of Ebenezer and Hannah (Atherton) Paul. ^[7]

Hannah died at Grafton, on August 30, 1794, age 77. ^{[5] [8]}

Death

He died May 5, 1797 ^{[2] [5]}. He and his wives are buried in the Old Oak Street Burial Ground, Grafton. His inscription reads: In Memory of Deacon Joseph Meriam/ who died / May 5th 1797 AEtatis 88^[9]

His will was written on February 9, 1795 and submitted to court on June 6, 1797. In it he names: ^[10]

• four surviving daughters Hannah Grout, Ruth Harrington, Mary Batchelor, Lucy Adams
• Daniel Stow, the only surviving child of my daughter Elizabeth Stow, deceased, when he reaches age 21: not to dispose of any of the money without consent of his three uncles, Jonathan Stow, Joseph and Timothy Meriam
• eldest son Joseph Meriam
• youngest son Timothy Meriam ^[10]

Children

by wife Ruth

1. Joseph born September 19, 1734; married Sarah Wadsworth at Grafton on December 8, 1763. ^{[3] [5]}
2. Ruth born August 29, 1736; died September 18, 1740. ^{[3] [5]}
3. Hannah born April 17, 1738; married Jonathan Grout of Westborough on January 20, 1762. ^{[3] [5]}
4. Mary born August 8, 1740; died September 19, 1740. ^{[3] [5]}
5. Ruth born October 13, 1741; married Joseph Harrington of Westboro on May 29, 1764. ^{[3] [5]}
6. Mary born October 5, 1743; married Perley Batcheller at Grafton on November 21, 1771. ^{[3] [5]}
7. Timothy born December 20, 1746; married Sally Putnam June 21, 1775 at Sutton. ^{[3] [5]}
8. Elizabeth born January 16, 1747; died on July 6, 1776: married Abner Stow Jr. on January 20, 1768. ^{[3] [5]}

by wife Hannah

1. Lucy born December 30, 1755; married Andrew Adams on June 7, 1775. ^{[3] [5]}
2. Anna born July 24, 1758; died November 28, 1758. ^{[3] [5]}

Research notes

Concord Births

MIRIAM, Joseph, s. Joseph and Dorothy, Sept. 16, 1709. (p. 73)

HUNTT, Ruth, d. John and Mary, May 13, 1714. (p. 84) ^[1]

Dorchester Births

Hannah & Priscillah, Daughters of Ebenezer & Hannah Paul, Boath Born at one Birth on the 17th day of May 1718. (p. 65) ^[7]

Grafton Marriages

MERIAM, Dea. Joseph [Joshua in CR] and Hannah Wadsworth, Dec. 26, 1754. (p. 251)

Adams, Andrew Jr. and Mrs. Lucy Meriam, June 7, 1775. (p. 157; p. 251)

Meriam, Elizabeth and Abner Stow [?How] Jr., Jan. 20, 1768. CR (p. 251)

Meriam, Hannah and Jonathan Grout of Westboro, Jan. 20, 1762. CR (p. 251)

Meriam, Joseph Jr. and Sarah Wadsworth, Dec. 8, 1763. (p. 251)

Meriam, Mary and Perley Batcheller, Nov. 21, 1771. CR (p. 251)

Merriam, Timothy and Sarah Putnam, of Sutton, June 21, 1775. In Sutton. (p. 251)

Harrington, Joseph of Westboro and Ruth Merriam, May 29, 1764. CR (p. 221; p. 251)

Grafton Births

MERIAM, Joseph s. Joseph and Ruth, Sept. 19, 1734. (p. 91)

MERIAM, Ruth d. Joseph and Ruth, Aug. 29, 1736. (p. 91)

MERIAM, Hannah d. Joseph and Ruth, April 17, 1738. [Mirriam in CR]. (p. 91)

MERIAM, Ruth d. Joseph and Ruth, Oct. 13, 1741. (p. 91)

MERIAM, Mary d. [Dea in CR] Joseph and Ruth, Oct. 5, 1743. (p. 91)

MERIAM, Lucy d. Joseph [Dea. in CR] [and Hannah Dec. 30, 1755. (p. 91)

MERRIAM, Elisabeth [Meriam in CR] d. Joseph and Ruth, Jan. 16, 1747/8. (p. 91)

MERRIAM, Anna [Meriam in CR] d. Joseph [Dea. Joshua in CR] and Hannah, July 24, 1758. (p. 91)

MERRIAM, Mary d. Joseph and Ruth, Aug. 8, 1740. (p. 92)

MERRIAM, Timothy [Miriam in CR] s. Joseph [Dea. in CR] and Ruth, Dec. 20, 1746. (p. 91)

Grafton Deaths

MERIAM, Ruth w. Dea. Joseph, Aug. 17, 1749. In her 36th year GS. (p. 352)

MERIAM, Hannah w. Dea. Joseph, Aug. 30, 1794. a. 77 GS. (p. 352)

MERIAM, Dea. Joseph, May 5, 1797. a. 88 and 55th of his office. GS (p. 352)

Merriam, Anna d. Joseph, Nov 28, 1758. (p. 353)

Merriam, Mary d. Joseph and Ruth, Sept. 19, 1740. (p. 353)

Merriam, Ruth d. Joseph and Ruth, Sept. 18, 1740. (p. 353)

Stow, Elizabeth, w. Abner Jr., July 6, 1776, a. 28. (p. 365) ^[5]

Entered by Chris Hoyt, Friday, April 24, 2015

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Tolman, George compiler. Concord, Massachusetts Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1635-1850, Printed by the Town, T. Todd Printer, Beacon Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1891
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Pope, Charles H. Merriam Genealogy in England and America: Including the "Genealogical Memoranda" of Charles Pierce Merriam, the Collections of James Sheldon Merriam, Boston, Massachusetts, 1906
3. ↑ ^{3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17} Pierce, Frederick C. History of Grafton, Worcester County, Massachusetts: From Its Early Settlement by the Indians in 1647 to the Present Time, 1879. Including the Genealogies of Seventy-nine of the Older Families, Charles Hamilton, Worcester, Massachusetts , 1897
4. ↑ Wyman, Thomas Bellows Jr., compiler. Genealogy of the Name and Family Hunt, John Wilson & Son, Boston, Massachusetts, 1862-3
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14} Vital Records of Grafton, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849, Franklin P. Rice, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1906
6. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 27560063
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the End of 1825, Rockwell and Churchill, city printers, Dorchester, Massachusetts, 1890
8. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 27560064
9. ↑ Find A Grave Memorial# 27560061
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} Case 40512: p. 1-8: Worcester County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1731-1881, Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015. (From records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.)

See also:

• Collections of the Worcester Society of Antiquity, Volume 7, The Society, Worcester, Massachusetts, 1888
• "Merriam family deed for land in Grafton." Manuscript. June 18, 1756. Digital Commonwealth, [1] (accessed May 25, 2019).