A biographical sketch of JOSEPH MERRY (1) the ancestor of this family, may be found in Vol. II, Annals of W. T., pp. 58-60, and nothing has since been found to add further knowledge of him or his antecedents. [*He was related to Phillip Wollidge of Salisbury, Mass. whom he galled "nephew" and possibly to Henry Monday of the same town, who also called Woollidge his nephew. Henry Smith of London, gent. in his will 1647 made a bequest to his "nephew" Henry Mundy. These relationships may be clues to Joseph Merry's antecedents.] The name is very rarely found in English records of his time except in the southwest counties, particularly in Gloucestershire, but no connection has been established between him and his home in England prior to migration. He m. MARY _____, who d. 4 Apr. 1657; (2) Mrs. ELIZABETH (Parkhurst) HILLIARD abt. Dec. 1659 (wid. of Emanuel) HILLIARD of Hampton, N. H. dau. of George and Phebe Parkhurst of Ipswich, England, where she was bapt. 18 May 1628. [Priscilla Haines <phaines@pacificrim.net> adds, "George and Phebe (LEETE) Parkhurst; Joseph md Elizabeth (Parkhurst) Hilliard, md 14 Dec 1659; Elizabeth chr. 18 May 1628 at St. Mary le Tower, Ipswich, Eng.; Son Joseph (of Mary .....) b. in Hampton, Rock., NH. My source is 50 Colonial Immigrants by John B. Threlfall."] The date of her death is unknown. He d. a centenarian 15 Apr. 1710 being, as his gravestone states, "103 years old." and it further amplifies his advanced years by the following legend: "That being verified in him Psalm 92, v. 14: They shall briny forth fruit in old age," which is not an exact quotation, nor is the reference correct. ["They also shall bring forth more fruit in their age". (Psalm 92, v. 13.) The claim of fruitfulness in old age is not strikingly illustrated in this case as he was but 62 when his last child was born.]
2. MARTHA b. (1647); m. (1) ANDREW RANKIN; (2) PHILIP FROST. Her dau. Mary Rankin m. Paine Mayhew (41).
3. JOSEPH, b. 19 Dec. 1654. (No further record.)By Second Wife
4. HANNAH, b. 29 Nov. 1660; m. BENJAMIN SKIFF (9) 20 Feb. 1679-80.
5. ABIGAIL, b. 19 Oct. 1662; m. JOHN PEASE (61).
6. BATHSHEBA, b. 16 June 1665; m. THOMAS PEASE (56).
7. SAMUEL, b. 16 Nov. 1669.
7. SAMUEL MERRY, (Joseph,1), b. 16 Nov. 1669; res. C., (Chickemmoo), farmer; m. REMEMBER LUCE (3) abt. 1688, who was b. abt. 1670 and d. 31 Jan. 1739. [She is buried at West Tisbury Village Cemetery.] He d. 6 Oct. 1727 and his will 11 Sept. 1727 was pro. 5 Mch. 1727-8. [He is buried at West Tisbury Village Cemetery.] He served as Constable, Selectman and Surveyor of town lands.
10. JOHN, b. 17 Sept. 1689.
11. HANNAH, b. 10 June 1692; m. HENRY LUCE (13).
12. MARY, b. 23 Dec. 1694; m. BAYES NORTON (411) 16 Mch. 1716-17.
13. ELIZABETH, b. 15 May 1697; d. 28 Jan. 1732-3, unm. [She is buried at West Tisbury Village Cemetery.]
14. ABIGAIL, b. 14 June 1700; m. SAMUEL COTTLE (33) 23 Oct. 1724.
15. SAMUEL, b. 18 Dec. 1702.
16. MIRIAM, b. 8 Apr. 1705; m. BENJAMIN SKIFF (44).
17. JOSEPH, b. 17 Jan. 1711.
10. JOHN MERRY, (Samuel,2 Joseph1), b. 17 Sept. 1689; res. T., farmer; m. MEHITABLE HILLMAN (11), who was b. 1693 and d. 18 May 1771. He d. 4 Oct. 1771.
20. ANN, b. 5 Aug. 1712; m. ELEAZER LUCE (100) 21 Mch. 1731-2.
21. MALACHI, b. 23 Oct. 1714; m. RHODA HILLMAN (131) 26 June 1766; no issue.
22. BENJAMIN, b. 16 June 1716; m. (1) HANNAH SKIFF (80) 23 Oct. 1740; (2) ELIZABETH FOSTER (50) 24 Dec. 1761; no issue.
23. HANNAH, b. 15 May 1718; m. ROBERT LUCE (102).
24. JOHN, b. 28 Mch. 1720.
15. SAMUEL MERRY, (Samuel,2 Joseph1), b. 18 Dec. 1702; res. T., husbandman; m. (1) ELIZABETH STEWART (25); (2) ELIZABETH COTTLE (54). He was Constable 1739, fence viewer 1745 and was living 1748 but nothing further is of record concerning him or the issue of his two marriages and the following children who were born, married and died in the Chickemmoo settlement are assigned to him as the only possible parent available:
30. TIMOTHY, b. (1732); m. CATHERINE RAND (40); prob. no issue.
31. JONATHAN, b. (1735).
32. MARGARET, b. (1738); m. LOT CROSBY (11) 11 Nov. 1760.
33. DAVID, b. (1741).
34. BATHSHEBA, b. (1744); m. SILAS NORTON (175) 6 Dec. 1764.By Second Wife.
35. MIRIAM, b. Aug. 1748; d. 26 Mch 1766.
36. JOHN, b. 1750; d. 1773.
37. WILLIAM, b. 14 Oct. 1751.
38. PETER, b. (1753); m. JANE DUNHAM (252) 23 Dec. 1779.
39. ZACHARIAH, b. (1755); m. _____ but issue, if any, unknown.
17. JOSEPH MERRY, (Samuel,2 Joseph1), b. 17 Jan. 1711; res. T., husbandman; m. MARY COTTLE (36) abt. 1732, who was b. abt. 1715 and d. 7 Oct. 1784. He d. 12 Nov. 1789 and his will 10 Oct. 1789 was pro. 11 Dec. 1789. He served as Constable, Surveyor of Highways, and held other small offices in the town. The following named children were born to them:
40. REMEMBER, b. (1733); m. GEORGE LUCE (110).
41. SUSANNA, b. July 1735; m. WILLIAM WEEKS (121) 3 July 1760.
42. MATTHEW, b. (1738).
43. MARY b. (1741); m. THOMAS COTTLE (110) 27 Mch. 1777.
44. JOSEPH, b. (1744); m. Mrs. MARY (Chase) (165) KETCHUM (wid. of Nathaniel) 18 June 1778. He d. bef. 1789, prob. s. p. [She died 26 Aug 1843 of "diarhea" and is buried at Crossways Cemetery.]
45. JUDITH, b. (1747); m. SAMUEL COTTLE (61) 13 Dec. 1781.
46. ELIZABETH, b. 16 July 1751; m. DANIEL LUCE (471) 1 Jan. 1769.
47. HANNAH', b. 1755; d. 1793 unm.
24. JOHN MERRY (John,3 Samuel,2 Joseph1), b. 28 Mch. 1720; res. T.; prob. rem. to Kent, Conn. where he was admitted to church 1744 and later rem. to Pittsfield, Mass. 1782, where he d. after 1790. By wife, SARAH _____ who was b. 1723 the following children are credited to him on the church and town records of Kent: [Bernice Schiller writes, "Somewhere I got the name Bush for Sarah. Don't know where that came from, but got her father as Ebenezer Bush...mother??? Got her dying 1-7-1812 in MA. John also died in Berkshire Co. MA 6-5 1792, so they must have moved back there from CT."]
50. EBENEZER, bapt. 25 Mch. 1744. [Bernice Schiller writes,"Ebenezer Merry went to NY and married Elizabeth Hunt in Dutchess Co. His son Ambrose moved to OH and started the first orchard there." Contact Bernice (Merry) Schiller <BSchil6192@aol.com> for more information about this family.]
51. HANNAH, bapt. 30 Mch. 1746.
52. SARAH, bapt. 29 May 1748.
53. ELIZABETH, bapt. 8 Apr. 1750.
54. REBECCA, bapt. 10 May 1752.
55. RHODA, bapt. 5 May 1754.
56. SAMUEL, b. 22 Feb. 1756; Revolutionary soldier.
57. MARY, b. 29 Nov. 1757.
58. JOHN, b. 24 Feb. 1760.
59. ANN, b. 14 Feb. 1762.
60. BATHSHEBA, b. 14 Sept. 1764.
61. LOIS, b. 7 Feb. 1767.
31. JONATHAN MERRY, (Samuel,3-2 Joseph1), b. abt. 1735; res. T., m. JANE DAGGETT (102). Nothing further known except that he was living in 1810 and his wife or widow was alive in 1821. He served in Sea Coast Defence.
70. JANE, b. Nov. 1761; m. TRISTRAM DAGGETT (180) 11 Sept. 1785.
71. SAMUEL, b. 1771; d. 19 Jan. 1794.
72. REBECCA, b. 1773; m. (l) NATHAN SMITH (486) 4 Jan. 1798; (2) JOHN PEASE (670) 1802; (3) JOHN CROSBY (53) 8 Mch. 1807.
73. DANIEL, b. (1775); m. Mrs. PRUDENCE (Butler) (194) NORTON.
74. TIMOTHY, b. 2 June 1777.
75. MARY, b. 23 May 1783; d. unm. ["Polly" died of pneumonia on 30 Jun 1869 in Tisbury.]
33. DAVID MERRY (Samuel,3-2 Joseph1), b. abt. 1741; res. T., husbandman; rem. to New Vineyard, Me. abt. 1794, where he d. 8 July 1815. He served in various minor town offices during his residence in T. and was Sergeant in Sea Coast Defence 1776. He m. Mrs. EUNICE (Chase) (130) CHASE 29 Dec. 1761, (wid. of Valentine Chase (56) ); she was b. 4 Aug. 1738 and d. 6 Aug. 1797. [See The Merry Family of Industry, Maine by William Collins Hatch for more information about David Merry and his descendants.]
80. CATHERINE, b. (1762); m. CHARLES LUCE (647) 13 Oct. 1784.
81. MARY, b. 8 Mch. 1767; m. HERBERT BOARDMAN 4 Dec. 1788.
82. ASA, b. 1 Jan. 1770; m. SALLY BARTLETT Apr. 1793. [Asa Merry was one of the original settlers of New Vineyard, Maine in 1791, and in 1794 brough his parents and his two youngest sisters Margaret and Rhoda to New Vineyard. They had thirteen children, including Benjamin, Jonathan, Asa, David (b. 1805), Charles (b. 1808), Joseph (b. 1810), and William (1815-1880). For more information about this family, see A New Vineyard by Dorothy Cottle Poole (Dukes County Historical Society, 1976.)] [See The Merry Family of Industry, Maine for more information about this family.]
83. LEONARD, b. (1772); m. POLLY DAGGETT (217) 18 June 1794; rem. to Lyons, N.Y.
84. JOSEPH, b. (1774).
85. MARGARET, b. Oct. 1776; m. BENJAMIN C. NORTON (602).
86. RHODA, b. 10 Dec. 1779; m. PETER BUTLER (480) 10 Dec. 1798.
37. WILLIAM MERRY, (Samuel,3-2 Joseph1), b. 14 Oct. 1751; res. T.; rem. to Lenox, Mass. (1775), where he remained abt. seven years, returning to T. bef. 1783. While in Lenox he served as private in the Revolution. He m. SARAH CHASE (220) 27 Oct. 1774, who was b. 9 Sept. 1753 and d. 3 Aug. 1826. He d. 4 May 1836.
90. WILLIAM, b. 12 Jan. 1776 [in Lenox]; m. WAITSTILL LUCE (505) 16 Oct. 1800. [He died "suddenly, while eating his breakfast" on 1 Feb 1856 in West Tisbury of heart disease. He appears in the 1850 Tisbury census as a mason. They had a son John Merry who was born 27 Dec 1811 in Tisbury, died of typhoid fever in Tisbury on 16 Dec 1866, and buried at Crossways Cemetery. He married Keziah Crowell.]
91. JOHN, b. 20 July 1777; d. 14 Aug. 1784.
92. ELIZABETH, b. 18 May 1779 [in Lenox]; m. TIMOTHY MERRY (74) 10 Dec. 1797.
93. LOTHROP, b. 18 Apr. 1780 [in Lenox]; m. ABIGAIL PEASE (873) 20 Dec. 1805. [He died of "old age" on 7 Sept 1855 in Holmes Hole. The 1850 census calls him a trader; his death record calls him a merchant. Abigail Merry died 1 Oct. 1827. He had a daughter Amanda Merry, born 16 Sep 1815 in Tisbury, who married David Smith 24 Sep 1836. For more information on this family, see The Descendants of Deborah (West) Smith.]
94. BENJAMIN, b. 14 Mch. 1783.
95. JOHN, b. 14 Aug. 1784; d. y.
96. JOHN, b. 5 Feb. 1786.
97. SHUBAEL, b. 24 Mch. 1791; m. REBECCA ROBINSON (124) 9 Aug. 1822. [He died 17 Nov 1857 in West Tisbury. The 1850 Tisbury census calls him a farmer, but his death record calls him a cordwainer. Rebecca was born 3 Apr 1790 in Chilmark. Their children included Abigail R. Merry (1823-1823); Ann R. Merry (1824-1824)]
98. HEMAN BASSETT, b. 29 Oct. 1793; m. JOAN LOOK (186) 12 Sept. 1816. [She died a widow of typhoid fever in Tisbury on 22 May 1866, aged 67.]
42. MATTHEW MERRY, (Joseph,3 Samuel,2 Joseph1), b. abt. 1738; res. T., farmer; m. ELIZABETH CHASE (161) 24 Dec. 1767, who was b. 1740 and d. 2 May 1818. He d. Feb. 1783.
120. SUSANNAH, b. (_____).
121. MARY, b. (______). [Did she marry Tristram Chase (225)?]
122. DELIVERANCE, b. (_____).
123. ELIZABETH, b. (_____).
124. MATTHEW, b. abt. 1783; m. BETSEY NORTON (662) 20 Apr. 1815.
74. TIMOTHY MERRY, (Jonathan,4 Samuel,3-2 Joseph1), b. 2 June 1777 [in Tisbury]; res. T., pilot; m. ELIZABETH MERRY (92) 10 Dec. 1797, who was b. 18 May 1779 and was living in 1850. He d. 14 June 1857 [in Holmes Hole.] [She died of "chronic diahrea" on 30 Jan 1858 in Holmes Hole. He is listed as a mariner in the 1850 Tisbury census.]
150. REBECCA, b. (1798); m. JAMES FOSTER (80) 1 Aug. 1822.
151. WILLIAM, b. 29 Nov. 1800; m. (l) HARRIET MANTER 19 May 1822; (2) ALICE B. WORTH 30 June 1839. [He probably died before October 1856, when probate notices appeared in the paper regarding him. He appears in the 1850 Tisbury census as a mariner with his wife Alice and children Sophronia Merry (1825), William C. Merry (1831); Alice W. Merry (1840); and Henry P. W. Merry (1848).]
152. ELIZA, b. 23 May 1802; m. ELISHA DEXTER (47) 24 May 1824. [She died 3 Jan 1874 in Tisbury.]
153. SARAH, b. 12 Sept. 1804; m. ALBERT WEST (279) 27 Mch. 1823. [She died 28 Aug 1858 in Tisbury.] [For more about this family see Albert C. West, Sarah C. Merry, and Elizabeth A. Luce.]
154. JANE D., b. 7 Feb. 1807; m. JAMES W. WINSLOW (82) 28 May 1828.
155. BENJAMIN, b. 31 Jan. 1809; m. REBECCA ROBINSON (152) (int.) 26 Apr. 1835. [He died in 1884. Rebecca was born 16 Feb 1813 in Chilmark and died 1893. Their children included John R. Merry (born 23 Apr 1839 in Tisbury, died in Tisbury 10 Jul 1864); Albert W. Merry (born 31 Mar 1843 Tisbury and died of Yellow Fever on 4 Jul 1865); Benjamin Merry (born 25 Feb 1846 Tisbury, drowned 31 May 1866); Matthew B. Merry (b. 26 Sept. 1848 in Tisbury); and George Augustus Merry (born 10 Apr 1852 in Tisbury; for more information about George Augustus Merry, see The Descendants of William West.)
156. MARY, b. 17 July 1811; m. JAMES FOSTER, JR. (120).
157. EMELINE, b. 8 Dec. 1814; m. JESSE LUCE (1183) 5 May 1832.