Individual Details

William Merriam was born about 1525 at Goudhurst, Kent, England. He was probably the eldest son of Richard Merriam and his first wife. It seems that William first married a woman named Anne, who probably died in childbirth just before June 20, 1560, when she was buried in Goudhurst. The child also must have died soon after, for "a mayde of Wylliam Meriam" was buried there on July 18, 1560.

On October 13, 1560, he married Alice Apse in Goudhurst. Her name is difficult to make out in the transcript of the marriage. It is not known what he did for a living, but he was probably a yeoman farmer. William made an oral will on January 27, 1566 and must have died the same day, because he was buried in Goudhurst on Janauary 28, 1566, in the churchyard of St. Mary the Virgin Church in Goudhurst. The overseer of his will was John Horsemonden, the husband of William's sister Deonys.

William left two sons, only one of whom, William, lived to maturity. Alice, who was obviously still young, must have then married a man named Piper, because the 1616 will of Robert Pyper (step son of Alice) of Tonbridge mentions a William Merryam, "brother -in-lawe". That term was used in those days to mean step-brother as well.

Birth	18 Sep 1506	Goudhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Marriage	13 Oct 1560	Goudhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England - Alice Eppes
Death	27 Jan 1565	Goudhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Burial	28 Jan 1566	St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard, Goudhurst, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England

Spouse	Alice Eppes ( - 1580)
Child	William Merriam Jr. (1564 - 1635)

Father	Richard Merriam (1485 - 1548)
Mother	Jone Legatee (1478 - )