#52Ancestors: Gualter MERWIN 1593/4 - abt 1642, England

Another post in the year-long challenge, #52Ancestors by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow. I am a little behind, but every post is another post! Today I am writing about Gualter MERWIN, the father of an early New England settler to Connecticut., Miles MERWIN, who arrived before 1648. Gualter, is an old version of spelling for Walter; Merwin has been found spelled with different first vowels: Merwin, Morwin, Murwin.

Much of the information I was able to glean online came from several books: (a) The English Ancestry of the Merwin and Tinker Families of New England, 1995, v.149; pp.301-302, Douglas Richardson; and (b) The English Ancestry of Miles and Elizabeth (Powell) Merwin, published by the Miles Merwin Association. Note, the 2nd book is available to download as a pdf from FamilySearch. 

First off, I need to say I have very few verified data points for Gualter MERWIN - which is not surprising as few paper documents survive from late 1500s in England. When I started researching this family, I joined The Miles Merwin Association which provided some genealogical information - very useful. The first unverified information I have is that Gualter was baptised in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England on 3 Mar 1593/94, naming his father as Nicholas MORWIN [variant spelling].  I have not as yet found the baptism register in Buckinghamshire online. St Mary parish church registers need to be examined.  

The  next point is Gualter's marriage in nearby New Windsor, Berkshire, England, on 12 January 1617/18, to Margaret TINKER, daughter of Robert TINKER & Ann/Agnes BERRINGTON. I found a transcription done by the Berkshire Family History Society showing the date, place, bride and groom, and the church:  St John the Baptist parish church image here is from early 1800s, before a complete rebuild in 1822.  This church is down the long road to Windsor Castle - yes, that Windsor Castle! 

Gualter and Margaret had 10 children that I have been able to find any information on, all of whom were born in New Windsor, Berkshire, England, not all baptisms found: 

    1.  Thomas, b. abt 1620, d. 28 Nov 1622

    2.  Benjamin [twin], bap 19 Nov 1621, d. 28 Nov 1622

    3.  Joseph [twin], bap 19 Nov 1621, d. 28 Nov 1622

    4.  Miles [ancestor], bap. 1 Feb 1623, d. 23 Apr 1697 Milford CT;
            m.1) abt 1647 to Elizabeth POWELL [d. 10 Jul 1664 CT], 7 children;
            m.2) abt 1664 Sarah Platt [d.15 May 1670 CT], 4 children; and, 
            m.3) 30 Nov 1670 Sara [unknown], no children.
    5.  Anthony, b. abt 1625, d. 8 Feb 1634 aged 9 

    6.  Rhoda, b. abt 1627-35

    7.  Nicholas, b. abt 1627-35

    8.  Mary, b. abt 1627-35

    9.  Sarah, b. abt 1630; m. 3 Feb 1649/50 to  John Rowlett 

  10.  Joseph, bap 20 Nov 1636, died infant.

Gualter apparently was buried 8 Feb 1642/43 in New Windsor, Berkshire.  His wife, Margaret, was buried a month later, 11 Mar 1642/43. The Prerogative Court of Canterbury Index [transcribed/typed] shows his eldest son Thomas as administrator of his estate, dated 11 March 1643.  I have not found any further information, nor his actual will, only this index. More research to be done... 

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If these are your ancestors, I am happy to share what little I have on these ancestors. And if there are errors, please do let me know, via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below and I will get back to you either by email or in the Comments. I appreciate the opportunity to correct any issues in these family trees.

Blogger - or my computer - is still not letting me "reply" to your comments, for some unknown reason. If I don't reply to your Comment, please know that I'm totally thrilled you came to read my post and commented!  You truly make my day!!

Margaret TINKER, 1598-1643, Windsor, Berkshire, England

My weekly #genealogy post for today, is on an early ancestor, my 9th great-grandmother. Both her son, Miles, her brother John, and her stepmother Mary, were early New England immigrants.

The church to the left, St John the Baptist, is an 19th century reconstruction and addition to the 12th century original church. Just a quick note: this is the main church in Windsor... yes, just a very short walk down the hill from the Windsor Castle where the Royals stay regularly. Photo by John Salmon, Creative Commons licence.

Margaret TINKER, the only daughter of Robert TINKER and Anne/Agnis BERRINGTON, was baptised February 5th, 1597/98. Margaret's mother died aged 32 yrs, in childbirth along with her 4th child; both were buried on Dec 5th, 1599. Margaret's father, Robert TINKER, took a second wife, Mary Merwin, January 26th, 1599/00, with whom he had 8 children. Margaret grew up as the eldest girl in this blended family, and married about a year before her youngest step-sister was born.

On June 12th 1617, Margaret married Walter [alternate spelling, Gualter] MERWIN in Windsor, after banns were called, in their church, St John the Baptist. After their marriage, they lived a mile away in the village of Clewer, Berkshire, where their first 4 children were baptised. Clewer was the original name for Windsor, but after the Windsor Castle was built, it became a small borough on the outskirts.

I need to be doing more searching for church records for their 9 children, as the only child I have details on is my direct ancestor, Miles MERWIN, the immigrant. Children of Walter and Margaret are as follows, not necessarily in order, although since Walter and Margaret married in 1617, Miles likely was the second or third child:
   1.  Thomas
   2.  Joseph
   3.  Miles [immigrant ancestor], bap 1 Feb 1622/23, Windsor, m. abt 1647 Elizabeth POWELL [d.10 Jul 1664 in CT], 7 children; m. abt 1664 Sarah Platt [d. 15 May 1670 in CT], 5 children; m. 30 Nov 1670 Sarah Youngs.
   4.  Benjamin
   5.  Nicholas
   6.  Anthony
   7.  Mary
   8.  Rhoda
   9.  Sarah

After 1634, they moved to New Windsor, less than 2 miles from Windsor. Walter seems to have been well thought of and twice served as Mayor of Windsor Borough. Some of these details are from The English Ancestry of the Merwin and Tinker Families of New England, as well as from the Miles Merwin Association. [click on the link at the bottom of this landing page, Miles Merwin bio, for more details]

Walter was an overseer to the will of his father-in-law, Robert TINKER, and also witnessed a codicil to that will dated 1624. Robert died June 2, 1624 in Windsor. Robert bequeathed to Walter and Margaret and their son Thomas, the unexpired term of the lease which Robert held in a tenement at Clewer which the Merwin family occupied at that time.  By 1634, Walter and Margaret were living in a house at New Windsor owned by Humphrey Collins and bequeathed to his wife Mary (Margaret's stepmother) to satisfy her dower rights to his estate.

In 1634, Walter witnessed the will of his uncle Anthony Merwin, Yeoman, of Clewer, as well as the will of his wife's stepfather, Humphrey Collins.

In 1640, their son, Miles MERWIN, emigrated from New Windsor to New England, settling in Dorchester Massachusetts, now a neighbourhood of Boston. He did well in New England and was a shipping merchant and tanner. I wonder if his parents heard from him after that time?

Two years later, Walter was buried on February 8th, 1642/43 in Windsor, aged 48 years. Administration of Walter's estate was granted to his son Thomas Merwin, on March 11, 1642/43, with the signed consent of his widow [rel = relict], Margaret.

However, Margaret died on that same day, March 11, 1642/43, aged 45 years. Perhaps there was a disease in the area which they both succumbed to, to die so close in time. Burial indexes or registers rarely ever gave the cause of death. I have not seen Walter's will, nor hers, nor abstracts, although wills are referred to in the book mentioned earlier.

Reading these old 1600s wills can be a challenge, with archaic terms, Latin and old English mixed together, formal sentences, random spellings and all.  I hope to find images of the wills this year using the Index of the Prerogerative Court of Canterbury, where it would have been sent. Perhaps I might find parish registers showing the deaths/burials of both Margaret and her husband, Walter.

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If you have more information or corrections to offer on this TINKER-MERWIN family, please contact me [at bottom of page]. I am always happy to hear from other 'cousins' no matter how far away.

Blooger has a glitch in it stopping me from replying to your comments, but please do know that I appreciate your comments very much. You make my day! Thanks so much for stopping by to read my family blog.   

52 ANCESTORS, 52 THEMES, No. 50, Deacon Richard MILES II, 1597-1667

This year's challenge by Amy Crow is another weekly blog based on Themes, although it seems not always relevant for me to use!  "Naughty" is the weekly theme, but I'm not following it.  None of our ancestors seems to have run off with someone's wife, or stolen anything, or... Good solid people. So here's one more of my very early immigrant ancestors, Deacon Richard MILES II, from England to New Haven, Connecticut. He is my 10th great-grandfather in my mother's lines.

Richard MILES II was the son of Richard MILES I and Alice CHERRYE, of Hertfordshire England, likely in the Wormley or Great Munden region.  He was born approximately 1597, in Great Munden, Hertfordshire.  Both his parents died about 1628, and he seems to have married shortly afterwards, certainly by 1632. He and his wife, with their first three children, immigrated to New Haven region, first to Milford, and then later moved to New Haven where he owned property by 1643.

His first wife is unknown; their six children are the following, "Herts" = Hertsfordshire:

1. Martha MILES [ancestor], b. abt 1633 Herts Eng., d. bef Dec 1662, East Haven CT; m. 20 Oct 1650 to George PARDEE, New Haven CT; 5 children [Mary PARDEE ancestor]
2. Mary, b. abt 1635 Herts, d. 12 Sep 1730; m.1/ 12 Dec 1654 ti Jonathan Ince; children; m.2/  22 Oct 1661 in Norwalk CT  to Rev Thomas Hanford.
3. Richard III, b. abt 1637 Herts, d. Boston MA; m. Experience Callicott
4. Samuel, bap 22 Apr 1640, New Haven CT, d. 24 Dec 1678; m. 9 Apr 1667 to Hannah WILMOT, 5 children; Hannah's 2nd marr. to Miles MERWIN II, 3 children [Elizabeth MERWIN ancestor]
5. Anna/Hannah, b. abt 1642, New Haven CT, d. 19 Jul 1730 West Haven CT; m. 3 Nov 1664 to Samuel Street; 7 children
6. John, b. Oct 1644, New Haven CT.

Note that Martha MILES Pardee is my 9th great-grandmother; Hannah WILMOT Merwin is my 7th great-grandmother; the lines braid.

In 1646, Richard married a second time to a New Haven widow, Katherine Elithorpe Constable, originally from Yorkshire, England. She had no children from her first husband, nor any with Richard.  He apparently was appointed deputy to the general court in 1651.

Richard died Jan. 7th, 1666/67 in New Haven, CT, having written his will December 28th, 1666.

Although a will is known of, and was probated by June 13th, 1667, six months later, I have not yet seen/found a copy of it.  His second wife, Katherine, died almost 20 years later Jan. 8th, 1687/88, at the apparent age of 96 years, in Wallingford, CT, approximately 14 miles north of New Haven.

Several resources provide information on the MILES family: Families of Ancient New Haven, History of the Colony of New Haven, and Families of Early Milford, are three useful texts, along with Genealogical and Family History of the State of Connecticut, Vol.III,  which had potted histories as well. American Ancestors website databases are also helpful in shedding some additional light. 

If you know anything more about any of the above individuals, I would be so pleased for more details. And if you wish more information on them, I'm happy to share. Contact me at my address at the bottom of the page, or in the Comments section.

Sometimes my Blogger account seems not to allow me to "reply" to your comments. Do know that I value your comments immensely. You make my day! Thanks for stopping by to read my personal genealogy posts.

52 ANCESTORS in 52 WEEKS, No 26: Elizabeth POWELL 1630-1664

Following the challenge of writing 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, issued by Amy Johnson Crow , here is my 26th installment, Elizabeth POWELL, continuing to research some of the early females in my lines.  Elizabeth is my 8th great-grandmother on my mother's lines.

Elizabeth is known mainly because she was the first wife of Miles MERWIN; the Miles Merwin Association has detailed genealogies of him and his descendants.  Of Elizabeth, I know little more than her birth and death details, plus the names of the seven children she and Miles produced.  After  she died, her husband went on to marry twice more, having 5 more children with the 2nd wife. 

Elizabeth POWELL, b. before 29 Apr 1630, in Exeter, Devon, England, was baptized 29 Aug 1630 at the tiny ancient church of All Hallows.  Her father was listed as William.  Not listed, her mother seems to be Dorothy SEARLE.  Two other baptisms at All Hallows show the same father, William:  Samuel, born before 23 Sep 1627, and Nathanell, born before 28 May 1629, d. 11 Oct 1629, and are likely her two younger brothers. 

There are notes online that Elizabeth immigrated to the New World aged about 12 years, in order to join her aunt's family after her mother's 2nd marriage in about 1642; Abigail and husband, John Branker, were a childless couple who had arrived in MA about a decade or so earlier; John Branker was made a Freeman in 1632.  I have not found the source of the  notes/details about Elizabeth's mother and Aunt.  However, I have found the marriage of Abigaill Searll and John Branker on 13 Jan 1629 at Honiton on Otter, Devon, England (FamilySearch).  This is a lovely clue which may indicate that Dorothy and Abigail were indeed sisters, giving credence to the assumption that Dorothy Searle is Elizabeth's mother.

There is another story online stating Eizabeth was married first to Theophilus Canfield, who died very shortly afterwards.  This seems somewhat unlikely as her baptism was in 1630 and she was married to Miles MERWIN either in 1647 (aged 17), or 'before' 1650 according to Torrey's published records, (aged 20).  In addition, the only Thomas Canfield/Campfield I found in Milford area, lived to 1689!  However, it is true that the Canfields later intermarried with at least 2 Merwin children. 

As mentioned above, Elizabeth married Miles MERWIN abt 1647 (definitely before 1650), possibly in Windsor, Connecticut.  Miles had emigrated from England in about 1640 with his uncle.  Miles' occupation was as a tanner, merchant/trader, and landowner in Windsor and later in Milford, Connecticut. 

Our MERWIN couple were early settlers in Milford, and apparently did quite well, as Miles had a tannery business which his son John later ran; plus a warehouse by the water for his trade, and owned ships in the trading business with Boston and the West Indies.

According to the Genealogical Dictionary of New England Settlers, Elizabeth and Miles had 7 children born in Milford, the last infant dying at 2 mos old:
1.  Elizabeth, b. 1648; m. possibly Samuel Canfield; d. 1711; at least 1 daughter Abigail
2.  John, b. 13 Jan 1650; on 12 Apr 1683  m. 1st  Mary Welch; on 6 Jan 1705 m. 2nd Elizabeth Canfield; d. 15 Jan 1728
3.  Thomas, b. abt. 1652
4.  Abigail, 1654; in 1670 m. Daniel Scofield; 8 children
5.  Samuel, 21 Aug 1656; m. 1st, 13 Dec 1682, Sarah Wooding or Woodin; 2nd, 9 Mar 1691, Hannah [wid.Beecher]; d. 22 Jan 1705 or 1706
6.  Miles [ancestor], b. 14 Dec 1658; 20 Sep 1681, m. Hannah WILMOT [wid. Samuel Miles]; d. 18 Sep 1724; 4 children
7. Daniel, 28 Jun 1661; d. 4 Aug 1661. 

Miles married a second time (after Elizabeth's death) to Sara Platt and had 4 daughters.

Elizabeth died 10 Jul 1664, in Milford, Connecticut.  She likely would have been buried in Milford Cemetery, Milford, New Haven, CT, as it opened in 1642.  However there does not seem to be a stone.  Her husband, Miles MERWIN, and his 2nd wife Sara, are known to be buried in the Cemetery, and a stone now lists them on the Founder's Memorial Bridge. No headstones are marked in the earliest burial ground. The Miles Merwin Association has placed a headstone for Miles Merwin.

If you have questions about this post, or further information of Elizabeth POWELL Merwin, please do not hesitate to contact me via calewis at telus dot net, or in the Comments below.  If you have details to correct, I would be very happy to update this post and my tree - with sources, of course.