Individual Details

William Merrick, the oldest of the four brothers who reached Charlestown in the good ship 'James' in the spring of 1636, was born in Wales in 1603. Of his early life nothing is known. He was a farmer by occupation after reaching the colony; what trade or avocation he had followed in Wales is not known. That his instincts and tastes inclined toward a military life appear in the fact that he served for six years, after his arrival in the colony, in the colonial militia under Captain Miles Standish. He was spoken of first as an Ensign, and later as a Lieutenant. That he gave all his time and attention to his military dueits seems to be indicated by the fact that he was not married until 1642, which was at the end of his six years' term of service. He appears to have had property both at Eastham and Duxbury. He was probably married at Eastham, but the destruction of a part of the first book of records of that town renders it impossible to determine this fact definitely. He certainly lived in both Eastham and Duxbury, within the decade from 1637 to 1647, as some of his children were born at Eastham during that time, and yet he is reported as being a citizen of Duxtury. The records relate that he was a citizen of Duxbury in 1636; was alloted 5 Acres of land 'next the Glade at Powder Point;' in 1637 he was allotted another 20 acres at Great Head; he was one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater. He was Surveyor of Highways in 1646, and Constable in 1647. He married at Eastham in 1642, Rebecca, whose surname is not known. He became a legal voter in Eastham May 22, 1655, which is the time when he took up his permanent residence in that town, his other visits having probably been with his wife's family. He had ten children born to him by Rebecca, who died in 1668 at Eastham. `Paige, in his history of Hardwick, dwells upon the fact that he was so old as to seem rather the grandfather than the father of his own family. He says: 'William Merrick, the father, was a Lieutenant, residing in Eastham. In his will, dated December 3, 1686, and proved March 6, 1688/9, he is described as 'about 86 years of age,' by which it would seem that he was about 43 years old when the first of his 10 children was born, and he might seem to be the grandfather of this family rather than the father, were it not that he names his wife, Rebecca and his children, Stephen and William, in his will.' '

Ancestry - The Welsh Progenitors of the Merrick Family in America

That the Merricks of America are descended from the purest Celtic stock, is established upon the best of authorities, to-wit, Burke's Perrage. "The Meyricks are of the purest and noblest Cambrian blood, and have possessed the same ancestral estate and residence at Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales, without interruption above a thousand years.

They have the rare distinction of being lineally descended both from the sovereign Princes of Wales of the Welsh royal family, and from King Edward I., whose eldest son was the first Prince of Wales of the English royal family.

"Cadvan (Catamanus), descended from a long line of regal ancestors, was King of North Wales at the end of the 6th century, and had his palace at Aberffraw. He fought at Bangor Iscoed, and is supposed to have been killed there, and buried at Bardsey.

His grandson - "King Cadwaladr, a chivalrous and illustrious Prince, founded the church of Llangwaladr, A. D. 650 - the parish church of Bodorgan, which is still the family seat, near Aberffraw, which became a sanctuary. He removed thither the romains of King Cadvan, which were reburied in a stone coffin. The lid of the coffin with the following original description, still legible, is now affixed to the wall inside the church. - "Catamanus Rex, sapientissimus, opinatissimus omnium Regum;" i.e. ......

Birth	15 Sep 1603	Anglessy, Saint David's, Pembroke, Wales
Military	From 1636 to 1642	in the Colonial Militia under Captain Miles Standish
Emigration	1636
Marriage	Ca 1642	Rebecca TRACY
Burial	1689	Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts
Death	6 Mar 1689	Eastham, Barnstable, Massachusetts Bay, British America

Spouse	Rebecca TRACY (1624 - 1686)
Child	Mary MERRICK (1650 - 1692)
Child	William B. MERRICK (1643 - 1732)
Child	Stephen MERRICK (1646 - 1705)
Child	Rebacca MERRICK (1648 - 1668)
Child	Mary MERRICK (1650 - 1692)
Child	Ruth MERRICK (1652 - 1680)
Child	Sarah MERRICK (1654 - 1696)
Child	John MERRICK (1656 - 1706)
Child	Isaac MERRICK (1661 - )
Child	Benjaman MERRICK (1664 - 1753)

Father	Reverend John Sion MEYRICK (1578 - 1650)
Mother	Dorothy BISHOP (1570 - 1650)
Sibling	Sarah MARRICK HITCHCOCK (1608 - 1687)
Sibling	William MERRICK (1610 - )
Sibling	James MEYRICK(MIRICK) (1612 - 1708)
Sibling	James MYRICK (1612 - 1708)
Sibling	John MERRICK MYRICK (1614 - 1679)
Sibling	John MYRICK (1614 - 1706)
Sibling	Thomas MERRICK (1617 - 1704)

Notes