Deane Merrill, dwmerrill@charter.net
for Capt. Benjamin Merrell Reunion, Lexington NC
12 June 2010
There are about 40,000 Merrells and Merrills living in the United States today. That is about one person out of 750. That ratio has remained fairly constant since around 1800.
The Merrell/Merrill difference in spelling is not significant for genealogical purposes. Even in a single family both spellings are frequently found. There are also Murrells, who may or may not be related to Merrells and Merrills.
There are two main Merrell/Merrill families in the United States. Captain Benjamin Merrell, born in 1731, was a grandson of William Merrell, who was born in Warwickshire, England around 1652 and arrived in Staten Island, New York around 1680. Another Warwickshire emigrant was Richard, born in 1642, who arrived in Staten Island about the same time. We know from DNA tests of William's and Richard's descendants that they were closely related, but we cannot tell whether or not they were brothers. Neither DNA nor the historical records can answer the question at this time. William and Richard's earliest known ancestor was William Merrell, born about 1550, also in Warwickshire, England.
The second large Merrell/Merrill family in the U.S. descends from Nathaniel Merrill, who was born in 1601 in Wherstead, Suffolk, England and arrived in Newbury, Massachusetts in 1634. Most of Nathaniel's early descendants lived in New England, and most of them used the Merrill spelling (I not E). The first five or six generations were published in 1928 by Samuel Merrill in a volume called A Merrill Memorial. Nathaniel is believed to descend from Thomas Meryell, who was baptized in Wherstead in 1444, in a chapel which is still standing today.
DNA analysis tells us that the Staten Island family and the New England family are unrelated, despite having the same surname. "Unrelated" means that having the same surname is purely a coincidence. The common ancestor must have lived more than 40,000 years ago; in England, surnames were not in common use until around 1400 A.D.
The most useful DNA test for genealogical purposes is a Y-chromosome test, for males only. So far about 90 male Merrells and Merrills have been tested. Of the persons tested so far, about one-quarter each are from the Warwickshire line and the Wherstead line. These ratios are not necessarily the same as those in the general U.S. population. There are three smaller families, unrelated to the first two, with about five tested persons in each group. The other Merrells and Merrills who have been tested are not known to be related to other Merrell/Merrills outside their immediate family.
Back to Merrill/Merrell Genealogy
Deane Merrill, 72, Asheville NC
http://merrill.olm.net/family/merrill.htm
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6/19/10
http://merrill.olm.net/family/merrill_dna/other_merrells.htm