Sarah (Goad) Merrifield (1649 - 1678)

Born 25 Mar 1649 in Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Wife of John Merrifield — married before 1665 in Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died 9 Dec 1678 at age 29 in Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kathy Heriford [send private message]

Biography

Miss Goad, daughter of Joseph Goad, was born by 1647 in Massachusetts Bay Colony; She married John, son of Henry Merrifield, in Dorchester, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony by 1665; Sarah died there, date information remains undiscovered.

Miss Goad's given name is uncertain, it is not disclosed in any record found to date. This name Sarah currently used is an artifact from a vital record for the 1649 birth of Sarah Goard, daught. of Richard. Thus Sarah, daugh. of Richard, would be only age 16 when John Merrifield was born.

John Merrifield, died in 1678 according to their entry in Torrey's.

• Sarah Goad was born about 1645 which is an estimate based upon the birth year of her first child. Author Clarence Torrey states she was the daughter of Joseph Goad ^[1]

• Sarah Goad's first child, John Merrifield, was born 10 Feb 1665 when she was likely at least age 18, placing her birth year to 'by 1647'.

Marriage

"John Merrifield (1645-1678) married 1st in 1665/6 Dorchester, Massachusetts _____ Goad, daughter of Joseph [Goad]." ^[1] In this record authoritative genealogical source Torrey indicates that the first name of John Merrifield's wife is _____ [unknown] but that she was the daughter of Joseph Goad.

Death

_____ [Unknown] (Goad) Merrifield must have passed away before 1690 because John Merrifield married 2nd at Boston, Massachusetts Sarah [Neale]?" the question mark being Torrey's standard annotation for uncertain LNAB. ^[1]

John Merrifield passed away 9 December 1678, Dorchester, Suffolk, Massachusetts. ^[2]

Children

The Children of John and ______ (Goad) Merrifield were:

1. John, b. 10 Feb 1665, Dorchester, MA. ^[2]
2. Mary, b. 26 Mar 1667, Dorchester, MA. ^[2]
3. Sarah, b. 14 May 1669, Dorchester, MA. ^[2]
4. Hannah, b. 6 Dec 1670, Dorchester, MA. ^[2]
5. Thomas, b. 1 Jan 1672, Dorchester, MA. ^[2]
6. Joseph, b. 6 Aug 1675, Dorchester, MA. ^[2]

Timeline

• 1647, by - born to Joseph Goad, likely in Dorchester, Norfolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony ^[1]
• 1665, by - married John Merrifield, likely in Dorchester ^[1]
• 1665, 10 Feb - birth of son John in Dorchester ^[3]
• 1678, 9 Dec - death of husband John Merrifield. ^[1], ^[2]
• 1683, 18 Sep - possible death date, found unsourced in user submission at Ancestry.

Research Notes

Originally, the gedcom upload for this profile used the birth information for Sarah, daughter of Richard Goard aka Gorde and wife Phebe (Hewes) Goard. [Sarah 'Goad' born 25 Mar 1649/50.]

Unfortunately, numerous family tree's show John Merrifield (1645-1678) of Dorchester, Massachusetts married to one Sarah Goad aka Gorde, daughter of Richard & Phebe (Hewes) Goade aka Gorde aka Goarde who were Puritan Great Migration arrivals (1620-1640 New England).

Author Clarence Torrey states definitively that which-ever Goad, daughter of Joseph, was John Merrifield's wife she was the daughter of Joseph, not Richard (the two men not proven to be related at this time).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Torrey, Clarence Almon "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" p.504. Pub. Baltimore, MD., USA: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 2004. Reprinted (subscription online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 16 Jul 2021.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} "Marriages, Births, and Deaths in Dorchester, Mass., 1648-1683" NEHGR Vol.16 (Apr 1862). p.154. Reprinted (subscription online db) Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Accessed 17 Jul 2021. https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/24974724?h=9b88dd
3. ↑ 1665 Birth for John Merrifield in "Massachusetts: Vital Records, 1620-1850 (Online Database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2016).Dorchester Births, Marriages, and Deaths to the End of 1825, pg. 15

• "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ62-BNL : 5 January 2021), Sarah Goard, 1649.
• "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F4L5-QPK : 20 May 2022), Sarah Goard, 25 Mar 1649; citing Birth, Roxbury, Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston; FHL microfilm 007009473.

See also:

• Sarah Goard FamilySearch