Stephen Merrill (1706 - 1785)

Born 2 Sep 1706 in Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Kezia (Hardy) Merrill — married 27 May 1731 (to 18 Jan 1783) in Amesbury, Essex County, Massachusetts

Descendants

Died 19 Aug 1785 at age 78 in Boxford, Essex County, Massachusetts Bay, British Colonial America

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Biography

Stephen Merrill was born in 2 Sep 1706, to Stephen Merrill and Dorothy Straw, prior to their intention of marriage. (See Parents below) ^[1] He married Kezia Hardy of Bradford, in 1731.^[2] The couple settled initially in West Haverhill, where they recorded 3 children, before moving to Boxford for the rest, as follows:

1. Asa, b. 30 June 1732 (Haverhill)
2. Timothy, b. 4 Feb. 1733/34 (Haverhill)
3. Elizabeth, b. 24 Oct. 1736 (Methuen); d. 1822
4. Jesse, bpt. 7 Jan. 1738/39 (Boxford); d. 1816
5. Richard, bpt. 9 Dec. 1744 (Boxford); d. 1799
6. Stephen, bpt. 25 June 1749 (Boxford), and
7. Mehitable, b. 14 June 1753 (Boxford).

In 1746, Stephen purchased a house in Boxford, then owned by a Mr. Knowlton. He would live there for the rest of his life.^[3]

Stephen lost his wife when she died in Boxford in early 1783. He would also pass away about 2 1/2 years later, in 1785 at Boxford, in his 79th year.^[4]

Notes

Note that the Merrill Memorial document referenced below, presents Stephen as a child of Nathanial Merrill and Sarah Woodman. However, an examination of the 1738 WIll of Nathaniel Merrill (viewable on ancestry) shows that his wife Sarah and every single living child are explicitly mentioned in that Will, except for Stephen. Furthermore, unlike Nathaniel and Sarah's other children, Stephen's birth does not appear on the Haverhill records. Stephen does however appear on the birth records of Amesbury in 1706 as son of Stephen Merrill and Dorothy Straw. This corroborates Stephen's death record showing he was in his 79th year at death in 1785. This death record is the correct Stephen, given the proximity of place and time with the death of his wife Keziah. It is for these reasons that Stephen has now (Jan. 2020) been removed on Wikitree from Nathaniel and Sarah, in spite of hundreds of online trees to the contrary. There is some debate as to whether Stephen and Dorothy are his correct parents, since Stephen had a second son Stephen in 1713. If someone has information to challenge this conclusion, please feel free to weigh in. (See Name below)

Parents - Att A Generall Sessions of ye peace holden at Salem November 26th. 1706 ...
Dorothy Straw being bound over by Justice Woodbridge for ye Crime of fornicac̃on appeared & Confest ye fact Its Considered by ye Court that she pay a fine of 40s & Costs & stand Comitted till performed
Stephen Merril of Salisbury being Complained off by Dorothy Straw of Amesbury for getting her with child Illegally. Sd Merrill appeared & pleaded not Guilty but owned before ye Justice yt he had Carnal Copulac̃on wth her Its considered by ye Court that hee is ye reputed father of sd Bastard Child. & that hee pay unto ye said Dorothy Straw Two shillings & 6d p weeke in money from ye birth of said Child towards ye Maintenance thereof untill further order & that he give 50li bond with Sureties for performance of ye same, and bearing ye [ _____ _____ ] & stand Comitted till performed
Stephen Merrill pciple William Morss of Newberry John True of Salisbury Sureties in 50^[5]

Name - There are many instances where a child born to a second marriage using the same name as a child from a previous marriage or in this case there was no marriage.

Sources

1. ↑ Vital Records of Amesbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (The Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1913)Page 170
2. ↑ Vital Records of Amesbury, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (The Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1913)Page 421
3. ↑ The Dwellings of Boxford, Mass.., by Sidney PerleyPage 213
4. ↑ Vital Records of Boxford, Massachusetts, to the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield Historical Society, Topsfield, Mass., 1905)Page 249
5. ↑ Essex County, Massachusetts, Court of General Sessions of the Peace; Court records 1692-1719: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSMW-9961-Z

See Also:

• Family Search | Stephen Merrill
• A Merrill Memorial An Account of the Descendants of Nathaniel Merrill (Cambridge, Mass., 1928) | Part 2, Page 221
• The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury Massachusetts (Providence, Rhode Island, 1897)| Volume 1, Page 245