The MERRILLs of Shelburne, Massachusetts

Deane Merrill

15 March 2008

This document updates an earlier document entitled "The MERRILLS of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts",

which was published in the Merrill newsletter in July 1999.

It also updates an earlier article entitled "Merrills of Franklin County, MA",

http://www.merrill.olm.net/TMN/199805/deane.html,

which was published in the Merrill newsletter in May 1998.

In 1997 I purchased the home in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts which had been built in 1852 by my g-g-grandfather Moses Whitney Merrill 1817-1859. From 1998 until 2006 my wife and I operated Bear Haven Bed and Breakfast in the ancestral home. I became interested in the genealogy of my family and, later, of all the Merrills who had ever lived in the village of Shelburne Falls or the town of Shelburne.

By 1998 I knew that dozens of Merrills had previously lived in the town: a large clan descended from Thaddeus Merrill 1777-1855, and a smaller clan, my ancestors, who descended from Joseph Merrill 1773-1844. My father had guessed - correctly but without proof - that Joseph was a son of Daniel Merrill b.1729, and a grandson of John Merrill 1708/9-1741. Earlier authors had published various incorrect guesses for the ancestry of both Joseph and Thaddeus. My earlier documents reflected some of these incorrect assumptions. My later research proved the following relationships:

John Merrill 1708/9-1741 m. Lydia Gage

...Daniel Merrill b.1729 m. Eunice Fellows 1736-1817

......Joseph Merrill 1773-1844 m. Lucinda Whitney 1776-1857

...Nathaniel Merrill b.1731/2 m. Anna Baldwin b.1731/2

......Nathaniel Merrill b.1755 m. Anna Long 1758-1836

.........Thaddeus Merrill 1777-1855 m. Achsah Severance 1784-1872

For my research on Joseph's and Thaddeus' ancestry, respectively, see

"Who was the father of Joseph MERRILL who married Lucinda WHITNEY and died in 1844?"

http://merrill.olm.net/family/merrill/jos1844.html

and "Who were the parents of Thaddeus MERRILL 1777-1855?"

http://merrill.olm.net/family/merrill/thaddeus_merrill_father.html

In 1998 I was aware of other Shelburne Merrills whose relationship to Joseph and Thaddeus was unknown. My current knowledge regarding those relationships is given in a public RootsWeb database http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=dm_franklin. Source documentation is included. Information on living persons is censored for reasons of confidentiality. Please contact me directly to request private information.

To my knowledge, all the Merrills who ever lived in the town of Shelburne belong to one of the following clans:

1. The largest Shelburne Merrill descends from Nathaniel Merrill b.1732, who arrived in Shelburne around 1770. His last descendant there died in 1961. Many of those Merrills were stonemasons. They built many buildings and bridges in Western Massachusetts, and the tower at the summit of Mt. Massaemet.

2. The second largest Merrill clan is my clan. My ancestor Daniel Merrill b.1729 arrived in Shelburne around 1770. His last descendant there (prior to my arrival) died in 1940. Several of my ancestors were hotel keepers. I continued the tradition by converting the ancestral home to a B&B in 1998. This clan and clan #1 have the common ancestor John Merrill 1708/9-1741 of Haverhill, Massachusetts.

3. Cynthia Merrill 1786-1853 was born in Rowe and married William Ayers Whitney 1790-1872. They are both buried in Arms Cemetery. From the given names of her children, I believe that Cynthia was a granddaughter of Nathaniel Merrill b.1731/2 and therefore a member of clan #1, but proof is lacking.

4. Margaret E. Merrill 1903-2000 was a daughter of Martin Merrill of Lebanon, New Hampshire. She married Walter O. Loomis 1900-1987. They both died in Shelburne and are buried in Arms Cemetery. Martin's Merrill ancestry is unknown.

5. William Merrill b.abt.1909 was a teacher at Arms Academy before joining the US Army around 1944. He and his wife Esther (Moulton) Merrill b.abt.1915 had a son William Robert Merrill. After the war the family left Shelburne.

Furthermore, I believe that only Merrill descendant (of the Merrill surname or any other surname) still living in Shelburne is Ted Merrill. If I am incorrect, I would like to be informed.

In 2006 my wife and I sold the B&B and moved to Asheville, North Carolina. I continue to be interested in the genealogy of all families who ever lived in Shelburne. I welcome corrections and additions to what I have learned so far.

Deane Merrill

Asheville NC 28805

828-505-0763 (but email is preferred)

dwmerrill@charter.net

back to Shelburne Historical Society

back to Genealogy of Deane Merrill

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