# Reitz Family Geneology (Kenneth Robert Reitz) - Thomas MERRICK b. 1620 d. 09/07/1704

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# Thomas MERRICK b. 1620 d. 09/07/1704

# Thomas MERRICK b. 1620 d. 09/07/1704 - Notes

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1.

{{Puritan Great Migration|GM2|VI, R-S|497}} ==Disputed Origins==According to Robert Charles Anderson's "The Great Migration Directory", 2015, page 226, Thomas Merrick's origins are unknown. Anderson indicates that he immigrated in 1637, and there are records for him in Hartford and Springfield. Based on Anderson's information and WikiTree policy, Thomas Merrick's relationship to his parents [[Meyrick-4|John Meyrick]] and [[Bishop-985|Dorothy Bishop]], has been changed to 'Uncertain'. == Biography == Thomas Merrick, the immigrant ancestor of the Merrick family in America, was born about 1620, probably at Pembroke in Wales. He came to America on the James in 1636 with his three brothers and probably one sister.<ref>Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Meyrick Family of Massachusetts</ref> According to one family story, the brothers separated, one going to Eastham, one to Newbury and one remained in Charlestown. His putative sister, Sarah Mirick, married John Atkinson at Newbury in 1646. Thomas first settled in Roxbury, then moved to Hartford, then up the Connecticut River to Agawam by 1638;<ref>Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Meyrick Family of Massachusetts.</ref> Agawam soon became known as Springfield, Massachusetts. Thomas married Sarah Stebbins, the daughter of Rowland and Sarah Stebbins of Springfield, 14 Jul 1639. He and Sarah had 5 children:<ref name="beekman741">Beekman Patent, p. 741.</ref> # Thomas, , born 12 Apr 1641; died young.# Sarah, born 9 May 1643; married Eliakim Hitchcock of New York 4 Nov1667; died 1712. # Mary, born 28 Sep 1645; died 28 Jul 1646.# Mary, born 27 Aug 1647; married Samuel Foote of Hatfield, 30 May 1671. # Hannah, born 10 Feb 1649; married Benjamin Knowlton 30 Nov 1676. After Sarah's death, Thomas married second, Elizabeth Tilley, 21 Aug 1653 at Springfield.<ref>"Merrick... Thomas and Elizabeth Tilly, Aug. 21, 1653." and "Mirrick... [torn]mas [Thomas, written in a different handwriting] and Elisabeth Tilley, 21: 8m: 1653." Springfield Vital Records, Marriages, Book 1, p. 13</ref> It is not known to which of the Tilley families she belonged. Elizabeth and Thomas had 8 children:<ref name="beekman741"/> <ol start="6"> <li> Elizabeth, born 26 Aug 1654; died 11 Jan 1659.</li> <li> Miriam, born 1 May 1655; died 11 Oct 1684.</li><li> John, born 9 Nov 1658; married 1st, Mary Day, 11 Feb 1687; married 2nd Mrs. Rebekah Stebbins (widow), 14 Jan 1725; died 10 April 1748.</li><li> Elizabeth, born 4 Jul 1661; married Thomas Day of Springfield in 1685.</li> <li> Thomas, born 2 Jan 1664.</li><li> Tilley, born October 20, 1667.<ref>"Mirick... Tilly, s. Thomas, Oct. 20, 1667." Springfield Vital Records, Births, Book 1, p. 21 and "Mirick... Tilly, s. Thomas and Eliz:, Oct. 20, 1667."HR</ref></li><li> James, born March 2, 1669/70;<ref>"Mirick... James, s. Thomas and Elizabeth, Mar. 2, 1669/70." Springfield Vital Records, Births, Book 1, p. 22 and "Mirrick... James, s. Thomas and Elizabeth, Mar. 2, 1669/70." HR</ref>died September 8, 1765.<ref>"Merrick... James, Lt., a.95 y., Sept. 8, 1765." CR3 and "Mirick... James, Lt, Sept. 8, 1765."Springfield Vital Records, Deaths, Book 2, p. 57.</ref></li><li> Abigail, born 7 Sep 1673.<ref>"Mirick... Abigail, d. Thomas andEliz, Sept. 7, 1673." and "Mirick... Abigaill, d. Thomas, Sept. 7, 1673." Springfield Vital Records, Births, Book 1, p. 24.</ref> married Gershom Ferry, 5 May 1702.<ref>Source: [[#S407]] pp.266-269</ref></ol> Elizabeth Tilley Merrick died at Springfield 21 Aug 1684,<ref>"Mirrick... Elizabeth, w. Thomas, Aug. 21, 1684." and "Mirricke... Elizabeth,w. Thomas, Aug. 21, 1684." Springfield Vital Records, Deaths, Book 1,p. 51.</ref> and Thomas died there 7 Sep 1704.<ref>"Mirick... Thomas Senior, Sept. 7, 1704." Springfield Vital Records, Deaths, Book 1, p. 98.</ref><ref name="beekman741">Beekman Patent, p. 741.</ref> Thomas and his first wife, Sarah, were among the first settlers of Springfield; he is listed as a founder. Thomas was a prominent landownerand served in several public roles, from surveyor, to fence-viewer, to being on committees to build the church and allot public land; he was also sergeant of the town's militia. Thomas and his second wife, Elizabeth, are buried in the Springfield Cemetery.<ref>Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Meyrick Family of Massachusetts.</ref> === Name === : Alt names: Meyrick, Mirack, Mirick, Mirrick, Myrick === Birth === : Birth: 1620 Wales : Alt birth: St. David's, Pembrokeshire, Dyfed, Wales : Alt birth: Anglesey, Pembrokeshire, Wales === Immigration ===: 1636, on the ''James'', with his three brothers and one sister<ref>Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Meyrick Family of Massachusetts</ref> === Residence === : Residence, 1636: Roxbury, Suffolk, Massachusetts : Residence, 1637: Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut: Residence, 1638: Agawam (now Springfield), Hampshire (Now Hampden),Massachusetts === Death === : Death: September 7, 1704, at Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts : Alt death: 3 Dec 1719, at Westfield, Hampden, Massachusetts === Burial === : Burial: Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts == Research Note == :No probate or will available at Ancestry. == Sources == <references />* Frank J. Doherty. ''The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, Dutchess County, New York: An Historical and Genealogical Study of All the 18th Century Settlers in the Patent'', ten volumes. 1990–2003. Pleasant Valley, NY. (The Settlers of the Beekman Patent, V.1-8. Online database:AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2013), * Vital Records of Springfield, Massachusetts. * The First Century of the History of Springfield: The Official Records from 1636 to 1736, Volume 2. Henry Martyn Burt, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1899. pp. 30, 68-70, 166, 194, 246, 256, 273, [https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=oeAWAAAAYAAJ link] or[https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044011995750;view=1up;seq=44 see at hathitrust.com] * The Welsh Progenitors of the Merrick Family in America *Find A Grave Memorial# 47072606 * Savage.ged imported on 21 February 2011 * Beaman Family Tree.ged imported on 31 March 2011. * EBENSTEIN-GRANGER.GED imported on Aug 19, 2011 by [[Ebenstein-3 | Merryann Palmer]]. * Source: <span id='S407'>S407</span> Merrick, George B. ''Genealogyof the Merrick, Mirick, Myrick Family of Massachusetts'' <!-- Please edit, add, or delete anything in this text, including this note. Be bold and experiment! If you make a mistake you can always see the previous version of the text on the Changes page. --> ---- == Biography ==Thomas Merrick was likely born in Wales. His birthplace has been given as St. David's in Pembrokeshire. His birth year unclear - some sources say 1608 and others say 1620. 1620 is unlikely, because men had to be at least 21 to gain status as freemen, and most attained that status between about 25 and 30. Thomas could not have received land until he was a freeman. Since Thomas had married and received land by 1639, he had to have been born by 1618. He was also one of six men ordered toparticipate in a diplomatic mission to the Warranocke Indians "to know the reasons why they said they are afraid of us" in April 1638.<ref>Great Migration: Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume VI, R-S,p. 486.</ref>It is highly unlikely that this delicate of a task wouldhave been entrusted to a teenager. From the ''Genealogy of the Merrick Family of Massachusetts'':: "Thomas Merrick... came to America in the year 1636 with three brothers and probably one sister, Sarah Mirick, who married John Atkinson,at Newbury, 1646. The brothers separated, one going to Plymouth, later to Eastham, one to Newbury, and one remaining in Charlestown. ThomasMerrick is noted as having been in Roxbury in 1636... He was in Agawam [Springfield] on the 3rd day of January, 1638, according to the records of that plantation."<ref> ''Merrick genealogy'', p. 266.</ref> : "According to the records he was married to his first wife, Sarah, daughter of Rowland and Sarah Stebbins, July 14, 1639. She died after having borne him five children, and he married, 2d, Elizabeth Tilley, Aug. 21, 1653... By his second wife Thomas Merrick had eight children."<ref>''Merrick genealogy,'' p. 267.</ref> Elizabeth died on August 21, 1684 and Thomas died twenty years later on September 7, 1704. They are buried in Springfield.<ref>''Merrick genealogy'', p. 268.</ref> Children with first wife, Sarah (Stebbins) Merrick:<ref>''Merrick genealogy'', p. 268 and ''History of Springfield'', pp. 603-604.</ref> : 1. Thomas, born April 12, 1641; died young.: 2. Sarah, born May 9, 1643; married Eliakim Hitchcock, of New York [New Haven?] on November 4, 1667. : 3. Mary, born September 28, 1645; died July 28, 1646.: 4. Mary, born August 27, 1647; married Samuel Foote, of Hatfield onMay 30, 1671.: 5. Hannah, born February 10, 1649; married Benjamin Knowlton on November 30, 1676. Children with second wife, Elizabeth (Tilley) Merrick:<ref>''Merrick genealogy'', p. 268 and ''History of Springfield'', pp. 603-604.</ref>: 6. Elizabeth, born August 26 [or October 26], 1654; died January 11, 1659.: 7. Miriam [Merriam], born May 1, 1655 [or 1656]; died October 11 [or 4], 1684. : 8. John, born November 9, 1658, married Mary Day.: 9. Elizabeth, born July 4, 1661; married Thomas Day, of Springfieldin 1685. :10. Thomas, born January 2, 1664 [or 1663], married Hannah Dumbleton. :11. Tilley [Tilly], born October 20, 1667, married Sarah Cooley. :12. James, born March 2, 1670, married Sarah Hitchcock.:13. Abigail, born September 1 [or 7], 1673; married Gershom Ferry onMay 5, 1702. == Sources == * Ancestral File Number: MJP3-HW * [https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=2rU0AAAAMAAJ ''Genealogy of the Merrick-Mirick-Myrick Family of Massachusetts, 1636-1902'']. George Byron Merrick. Tracy, Gibbs & Company, 1902. * [https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=oeAWAAAAYAAJ ''The First Century of the History of Springfield: The Official Records from1636 to 1736, with an Historical Review and Biographical Mention of the Founders'', Volume 2]. Henry Martyn Burt, 1899. * Source <span id='S12'>S12</span> Repository: [[#REPO12]] Ancestral File (R), The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998. Repository <span id='REPO12'>REPO12</span> Family History Library, 35 N West Temple Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA. * <span id='S1'></span>Dexter, Franklin Bowditch. <i>[[Space:Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College|Biographical Sketches of the Graduates of Yale College]]</i> (Holt, 1885) [http://books.google.com/books?id=LektAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA431#v=onepage&q&f=true Vol. 1, Page 431]