Individual Details
George Meriam
(Abt 1603 - 29 Dec 1675)
Came to America in May 1635. Brought family later in 1638 with families of his two brothers. Settled in Concord, MA.
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p7 Some Meriams:
Tradition says that George had sailed for America in May, previous to the death of his father. If so, it is quite evident he did not bring over his family till layer, probably in 1638, as the births of the following children are recorded in Tunbridge, Kent, where he married Susan Raven October 16, 1627; viz.: Mary, born and died 1628; Mary, born 1630; Elizabeth, born 1635; and Joseph, born 1637, who all died young. Mary, the one named in her grandfather's will, died August 10, 1646; and the first birth recorded in Concord, Mass., where the three brothers settled, was Elizabeth, born November 8, 1641, who died in infancy.
According to the Charlestown records Robert seems to have first located there, as in 1638 he owned lands there with "house, storehouse, &c.," and record says "removed to Concord." Moreover, from the Note-Book of Thomas Lechford, Esq., recently published by the American Antiquarian Society, it is positively known that Robert and Joseph were in England in the spring of 1638, and that Joseph, and probably Robert and the families of the three brothers, with their household effects, sailed from London in April, in the ship Castle of London, which arrived at Charlestown in July of that year. Joseph, Thomas Rucke, and William Hatch were joint undertakers for this voyage, and the two former entrusted the whole matter to Hatch, who, in the final settlement, seems not to have been quite honest, for out of it arose two suits at law, as shown by the depositions of Robert and Joseph Meriam, and Thomas Rucke, taken by Govenor Winthrop in June, 1639.
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p.8
The town of Concord, Mass., was incorporated Sept 3, 1635, and the first settlement made in the fall of that year. "The first houses were built on the south side of the hill from the publick square to Merriam's Corner, and the farm lots laid out extending back from the road across the 'great fields and great meadows,' and in front across the meadows on Mill brook. Huts were built by digging into the bank, driving posts into the ground, and placing on them a covering of bark, brushwood, or earth. The second year homes were erected."
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p 10
Besides the five children of George and Susan (Raven) Meriam previously mentioned, they had six others, viz: Samuel and Hannah, twins, b. 14:5:1642; Elizabeth, b, 21:5:1643; Susanna, b Nov 3-8 or 11, 1645; Abigail, b. 25:5:1647 and Sarah b. 17:5:1649. Samuel married Elizabeth Townsend.
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p. 12 Some Meriams:
Joseph took the freeman's oath Mar 14, 1638-9, the day after his bro. Robert, while George did not take it till Jan 2, 1641.
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p7 Some Meriams:
Tradition says that George had sailed for America in May, previous to the death of his father. If so, it is quite evident he did not bring over his family till layer, probably in 1638, as the births of the following children are recorded in Tunbridge, Kent, where he married Susan Raven October 16, 1627; viz.: Mary, born and died 1628; Mary, born 1630; Elizabeth, born 1635; and Joseph, born 1637, who all died young. Mary, the one named in her grandfather's will, died August 10, 1646; and the first birth recorded in Concord, Mass., where the three brothers settled, was Elizabeth, born November 8, 1641, who died in infancy.
According to the Charlestown records Robert seems to have first located there, as in 1638 he owned lands there with "house, storehouse, &c.," and record says "removed to Concord." Moreover, from the Note-Book of Thomas Lechford, Esq., recently published by the American Antiquarian Society, it is positively known that Robert and Joseph were in England in the spring of 1638, and that Joseph, and probably Robert and the families of the three brothers, with their household effects, sailed from London in April, in the ship Castle of London, which arrived at Charlestown in July of that year. Joseph, Thomas Rucke, and William Hatch were joint undertakers for this voyage, and the two former entrusted the whole matter to Hatch, who, in the final settlement, seems not to have been quite honest, for out of it arose two suits at law, as shown by the depositions of Robert and Joseph Meriam, and Thomas Rucke, taken by Govenor Winthrop in June, 1639.
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p.8
The town of Concord, Mass., was incorporated Sept 3, 1635, and the first settlement made in the fall of that year. "The first houses were built on the south side of the hill from the publick square to Merriam's Corner, and the farm lots laid out extending back from the road across the 'great fields and great meadows,' and in front across the meadows on Mill brook. Huts were built by digging into the bank, driving posts into the ground, and placing on them a covering of bark, brushwood, or earth. The second year homes were erected."
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p 10
Besides the five children of George and Susan (Raven) Meriam previously mentioned, they had six others, viz: Samuel and Hannah, twins, b. 14:5:1642; Elizabeth, b, 21:5:1643; Susanna, b Nov 3-8 or 11, 1645; Abigail, b. 25:5:1647 and Sarah b. 17:5:1649. Samuel married Elizabeth Townsend.
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p. 12 Some Meriams:
Joseph took the freeman's oath Mar 14, 1638-9, the day after his bro. Robert, while George did not take it till Jan 2, 1641.
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Events
| Birth | Abt 1603 | England |  | ||
| Marriage | 16 Oct 1627 | Turnbridge, Kent Cty, England - Susan Raven | |  | |
| Death | 29 Dec 1675 | Concord, MA | |
Families
| Spouse | Susan Raven ( - ) |
| Child | Mary Meriam (1628 - 1628) |
| Child | Mary Meriam (1630 - 1646) |
| Child | Elizabeth Meriam (1635 - ) |
| Child | Joseph Meriam (1637 - ) |
| Child | Elizabeth Meriam (1641 - ) |
| Child | Samuel Meriam (1642 - ) |
| Child | Hannah Meriam (1642 - 1696) |
| Child | Elizabeth Meriam (1643 - ) |
| Child | Susanna Meriam (1645 - 1707) |
| Child | Abigail Meriam (1647 - ) |
| Child | Sarah Meriam (1639 - 1681) |
| Father | William Miriam ( - 1635) |
| Mother | Sara ( - ) |
| Sibling | Joseph Meriam (1600 - 1641) |
| Sibling | Susan Meriam ( - ) |
| Sibling | Margaret Meriam ( - ) |
| Sibling | Joane Meriam ( - ) |
| Sibling | Sara Meriam ( - ) |
| Sibling | Meriam ( - ) |
| Sibling | Robert Meriam (1610 - 1681) |
Notes
Birth
Merriam Genealogy in England and America, Charles Pierce Merriam, 1900:p 32
Marriage
Merriam Genealogy in England and America, Charles Pierce Merriam, 1900:p 36
Death
Merriam Genealogy in England and America, Charles Pierce Merriam, 1900:p 37
Endnotes
1. Rufus N. Meriam, Some Meriams and Their Connection with Other Families (Worcester, Mass: Private Press of Franklin P. Rice, 1888), p 7.