MERRICK, William

Notes:

William Merrick (15 SEP 1643-30 OCT 1732) m(1). Abigail Hopkins ( OCT1644-) on 23 MAY 1667 a t Eastham,Barnstable Co.,Massachusetts.
children:
1. Rebecca Merrick (28 NOV 1668-BEF 1732)
2. William Merrick ( 1 AUG 1670-20 MAR 1671)
3. Stephen Merrick (26 MAR 1673-11 MAR 1732)
4. Benjamin Merrick ( 1674-BEF 24 MAY 1749)
5. Nathaniel Merrick ( 1675-13 NOV 1743)
6. John Merrick (ABT 1680-18 APR 1753)
7. Joshua Merrick (ABT 1680-AFT 1726)
8. Ruth Merrick ( 1684- 1766)
9. Samuel Merrick (-BEF 6 APR 1714)
10. Hannah Merrick.m(2). Elizabeth Smith ( SEP 1648-AFT 8 JAN 1733) onAFT 22 APR 1691.

William married HOPKINS, Abigail 23 May 1667, Eastham, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. Abigail (daughter of HOPKINS, Giles and WHELDON, Catherine) was born Oct 1644, Eastham, Barstable County, Massachusetts; died Bef 1691, Eastham, Barstable County, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet]

1. MERRICK, Rebecca was born 28 Nov 1668; died Yes, date unknown.
2. MERRICK, William was born 1 Aug 1670; died Yes, date unknown.
3. MERRICK, Stephen was born 26 Mar 1673; died Yes, date unknown.
4. MERRICK, Benjamin was born Abt 1674; died Yes, date unknown.
5. MERRICK, Nathaniel was born Abt 1675, Eastham, Barstable County, Massachusetts; died 13 Nov 1743, Harwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts.
6. MERRICK, Hannah was born Abt 1677; died Yes, date unknown.
7. MERRICK, John was born Abt 1678; died Yes, date unknown.
8. MERRICK, Joshua was born Abt 1680; died Yes, date unknown.
9. MERRICK, Ruth was born Abt 1684; died Yes, date unknown.
10. MERRICK, Samuel was born Abt 1686; died Yes, date unknown.

Notes:

William Merrick, born in Wales 1601-5, the son of Rev. John Merrick, died 6 Mar. 1688 about 86 yrs. old. Three brothers came from Wales with him in 1636 -- John, James and Thomas. William married Rebecca Tracy, born between 1624-16 27. She was the daughter of Stephen Tracy and Tryphosa Lee, who were married at Leyden, Holland 2 Jan 1620/1. William was at Charlestown, MA 1636 and at Duxbury, MA 1640. Later removed to Eastham, MA. He married in 1642 at the end of six years of military service under Capt. Miles Standish as an ensign and later as a lieutenant. He certainly lived in Duxbury and Eastham within the decade from 1637 to 1647 as some of his children were born at Eastham during that time. [10 children listed]. In his will Dated 3 Dec 1686: "Ensigne William Merrick Senior of Eastham he being about Eighty Six years of Age..." Wife Rebecca to be sole executrix. "To my Eldest son William Mirick " he "paying five pounds to my Son Stephen." Inventory on 17 Feb 1688/9, Oath 6 March 1688/9 . He was probably the son of Ensign William Merrick who was probably early in Duxbury, and a proprietor of Bridgewater. See Freeman 1:365. Savage says: In Duxbury 1640, was one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater, early removed to Eastham. Hills II:66 says: b. Wales about 161 5, ... He seems to have been the oldest of the four brothers to reach Charlestown in the "James " in the spring of 1636, and was a soldier serving for six years in the Colonial Militia under Capt. Standish as an Ensign and Lieutenant. At the end of his service he married, very likely, in Eastham. He married late in life.
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William is an ancestor of Bing Crosby (the singer and movie actor) through his daughter Sarah.

William married TRACY, Rebecca Abt 1642, Probably Eastham, Barstable County, Massachusetts. Rebecca (daughter of TRACY, Stephen and LEE, Tryphosa) was born Abt 1624; died Aft 1689. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Stephen Tracy arrived in the Plymouth Colony just three years after the Mayflower, in 1623, aboard the "Anne". He is likely the Stephen Trace baptized 28 December 1596 at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England, son of Stephen and Agnes/Anne (Erdley) Tracy. He followed the dissenters to Leyden, probably coming frm the locality of Great Yarmouth, England, since here turned there. While in Leyden he was recorded as "Sayworker" from England. In March, 1652, Stephen Tracy, Francis Cooke and others acquired a large tract of land to the west, later called Dartmouth. These two men had one share each in the venture. For some reason about this time Stephen decided to leave the country. He returned to England before 1654, and signed a power of attorney in London directing his "loving friend" John Winslow of Plymouth to dispose of his property and divide it among his five children. He was one of the Separatists who had migrated to Holland to escape the persecution of the Puritans. It was there that he married his wife, Tryphosa Lee, on January 2, 1621. This is how their marriage record reads:
Leiden, Netherlands, January 2, 1621: "Steven Treas, sayworker, bachelor from England, accompanied by Anthony Clements his acquaintance, to Tryfoce Le, spinster, also from England, accompanied by Rose Jennings, her acquaintance." They had their first child, Sarah, in Leiden, Holland in probably late 1621 or in 1622. Tryphosa then became pregnant again. At this juncture, the young couple makes a decision that must have been very difficult to make. Stephen is to come to Plymouth by himself (although he may have brought Sarah with him) leaving the pregnant Tryphosa to have her baby without him and come later. Stephen arrived in the Plymouth Colony on July 10, 1623 and was given three acres of land when the land first was first available for private ownership. This means that two other people should have been with him, as the deal was an acre per person. The identity of those two people is unknown, but one might have been Sarah. At any rate, Tryphosa, Jane (the second child), and possibly Sarah, if she didn't arrive with her dad, followed in 1625 on the "Jacob . He settled in Duxbury, a settlement near Plymouth. Late he is included in the records of the Plymouth colony as: Freeman: In "1633" Plymouth list of freemen, before those admitted on 1 January 1632/33; in list of freemen of 7 March 1636/7. In Duxbury section of 1639 Plymouth Colony list of freemen (with his name lined through).
Offices he held were:
Duxbury representative on committee to lay out highways, 1 Oct 1634;
Plymouth colony committee to assess taxes, 3 March 1634/5, 1 March 1635/6;
Coroner's jury, 2 March 1635/6;
Duxbury representative to committee on the "nearer uniting of Plymouth & those on Duxburrough side," 14 March 1635/6;
Grand jury, 7 March 1636/7, 2 June 1640;
Committee to apportion hay grounds, 20 March 1636/7;
Duxbury constable, 5 March 1638/9, 4 June 1639;
Arbiter, 7 September 1642.
In respect to his name in connection with property records:
In 1623 Plymouth land division, granted three acres as passenger on Anne In 1627 Plymouth cattle division, "Stephen Tracie, Triphosa Tracie, Sarah Tracie, Rebecka Tracie" were the fifth through eighth names in the tenth company. Assessed 18s in Plymouth tax lists of 25 March 1633 and 27 March 1634. He appears to on the list of purchasers. Permitted to mow "within his own ground", 1 July 1633; Assigned mowing ground, 14 March 1635/6, 20 March 1636/7, granted eighty acres with some meadow additional, at the North River. Stephen Tracy returned to England , as early as 1643, but at least by 1654. Stephen Tracy is not included in the 1643 list of men able to bear arms, and is not seen in any later Plymouth Colony records. It should be noted that during this period of time Cromwell was rising to power and King Charles was beheaded. Perhaps this change in climate towards a pro-Puritan government beckoned him. Whatever reason beckoned his return to England, his kids were old enough to fend on their own, and decided to stay in the Colony. On 20 March 1654/5 ,while in London, Stephen Tracy "at present of Great Yarmouth in old England" made his will, in the form of a power of attorney to JohnWinslow, disposing to: son John "what land and houses I have there in Duxburrow" (along with some cattle to "my daughter Ruth Tracy one cow and one two year old mare," and "what cattle I have more (Marye' s two cowsbeing cast in amongst them) to be equally divided among my five childrenliving in N ew England," noting that some of his children are married withchildren, and others are unmarried. He died after 20 March 1654/5, the date of his will. We don't know for sure if his wife, Tryphosa, died in America or England, but speculate she died before Stephen, as she was not mentioned in his will. His children, according to the Great Migration Begins, were:
1. Sarah, b Leiden about January, 1623; m Plymouth, November 1638, George Partridge.
2. Rebecca, b Plymouth say 1625; m 1645 William Merrick.
3. Ruth, b say 1628; living unmarried 1655
4. Mary, b say 1630, living perhaps unmarried 1655
5. John, b say 1632, married about 1661 Mary Prence, daughter of Thomas Prence.

Stephen married LEE, Tryphosa 2/02 Jan 1620/1621, Leyden, Holland. Tryphosa (daughter of LEE, Joos and HUNGERFORD, Ann) was born Abt 1597; died Yes, date unknown. [Group Sheet]

Stephen — ERDLEY, Agnes. [Group Sheet]

Joos — HUNGERFORD, Ann. [Group Sheet]