Descendants of John Merrill

Generation No. 2

JOHN MERRILL (CAPTAIN BENJAMIN MERRILL and JEMIMA SMITH) was born 11 Dec 1750 in Jersey Settlement, Rowan, NC, and died 26 Oct 1838 in Monroe, Mississippi.  He married MARY CATHERINE WISEMAN 21 Jan 1773 in Rowan, North Carolina, daughter of ISAAC WISEMAN and MARY MARSHALL.  She was born 1753 in Oley, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and died 15 Apr 1819 in Franklin, Georgia.

Notes for JOHN MERRILL:

John Merrell was English, Scotch, & Welsh. In 1774 he was called to the Revolutionary War, leaving his wife Mary and 2 little children at home. He served as a private soldier for three years, re enlisted for five years or the duration, held several subaltern offices as Corporal and Sergeant, was promoted to Lieutenant and held that office for some time. Just before the war ended he was promoted to Captain of "Light Horses". He served his country to the end of war and was honorably discharged. After the war ended John and Mary moved to Sparta, Hancock County, Georgia. (possibly about 1778, or maybe by 1785) where he lived several years working at the blacksmith trade. John Merrell was the first Merrell of our line to come to Georgia. Jno. Merrell is listed in the reconstructed 1790 census of Georgia, Wilkes County, page 167 (The original 1790, 1800, and 1810 Georgia censuses were destroyed during the War of 1812) . John's son, Benjamin S. Merrell, was born and partly reared there at Sparta. Then John moved to Monroe County, Mississippi with some of his children (w/son James for sure) about 1818-1820. John lived to approximately 87 years of age. Mary lived to age 66. John, Pension No. S7223, applied for Rev. War pension November 10, 1832, from Monroe County, MS. He was living with son, James, in 1828. James had a wife & 5 children at that time. The State of Georgia gave John Merrell a Land Grant of 220 acres in Wilkes County, Georgia, on December 21, 1795, as listed in Grant Book VVVV, page 761. Washington, Georgia, is located in Wilkes County, which is located East of Athens near the Savannah River. This land was next to Sturks land on the Southwest, Stokes land on the Northwest, and on the other sides by Surveyed land. Betty Jones Cook has obtained (June, 2003) a copy of John's Revolutionary War record, No. S7223, from the U. S. Bureau of Pensions records. This record confirms much of what we knew of his past history. The record also shows that the last name was corrected from Merrill to Merrell on July 19, 04 (believe this may be 1904, since the form it is written on says "Arrangement of 1870"). He was born December 11, 1750, in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. He enlisted in 1776 or 1777 (his memory at age 78 is fuzzy on the dates) in the U. S. Army in Rowan County, North Carolina, and served about three years total, broken into skirmishes lasting 3, 4, 4, 3, 10, and 3 months (which totals 27 months service time, plus whatever gaps there were between skirmishes). He went to Mississippi in 1819 at about age 68. John made an affidavit May 15, 1828, in Monroe County, Mississippi, circuit court to apply for a Revolutionary War pension. The judge, Isaac R. Nicholson, actually administered the oath to John at Stephen Smith's tavern, where John was confined due to wounds from a fall and couldn't come to the court. The oath is certified by Stephen Cocke, Clerk of the circuit court on May 15, 1828. The oath mentions that John had no property except his wearing apparel and a bed, but that he had been a healthy old man who got his living by his own industry, but had become infirm in his old age. Also mentioned is the fact that Christopher Baker owes him about twenty dollars but had run away. There are other affidavits and letters of application for a pension dated November 10, 1832 (at age 82), August 26, 1833, and November 12,1833, all from Monroe County, Mississippi. There is a court record listed in Monroe County, Mississippi, for John Merrill, Private, North Carolina Militia, age 82. A pension was finally approved by the United States and John was inscribed on the roll of Mississippi at the rate of 80 dollars per annum to commence on the 4th day of March, 1831. The certificate of pension was issued the 2nd day of January, 1834, and sent to Stephen Cocke, Esq.at Athens, Mississippi, and was to be paid in arrears to the 4th of September, 1833, $200.00, plus $40 semiannual allowance to get it up to date. There is a notation at the bottom of the last page of this record showing "Stephen Cocke, Esq. Hamilton, Mississippi". I could not find Athens, Mississippi, on present maps, but did find Hamilton, Mississippi, (and Old Hamilton) located in Monroe County about 20 miles North of Columbus, Mississippi, on US 45, a couple of miles East of the Tombigbee River. Betty Cook has a copy of a deed where John Merrell sold 50 acres of land for $30 to Thomas Carter, both of the state of Georgia and of Franklin County, Georgia, on October 2, 1816. This land was part of a tract the state of Georgia granted to Benjamin Virmelon.The deed was witnessed by James Merrell, John's son, and was recorded September 27, 1817 by R. D. Gray, JP.

More About JOHN MERRELL:

2 May 13, 2006

Burial: Oct 1838, Monroe County, Mississippi (probably)

Census 1: 1790, Wilkes County, Georgia (Reconstructed)

Census 2: 1820, Monroe County, Mississippi

Census 3: 1830, Monroe County, Mississippi

Occupation: Master Blacksmith

JOHN MERRILL

An account of John, the second son of Captain Benjamin and Jemima Merrill, will be found in the chapter on "The Merrills of Georgia.'

He was a Lt. in the Revolutionary War.  He was a blacksmith and farmer.  He resided in Wilkes and Hancock County, Georgia.

He served several years in the Revolution and was a Lieutenant in a light horse company after 1780.  He was in Georgia by 1787, where bounty land for Revolutionary service was available in Wilkes County, then lived for a while in Hancock County and in Franklin County, Georgia, where his wife died about 1818.  He went with son James to Monroe County, Mississippi in 1819.  In 1828 John Merrill applied for Revolutionary War pension.

More About MARY CATHERINE WISEMAN:

Burial: Franklin, GA

Children of JOHN MERRILL and MARY WISEMAN are:

Child	Name	Birth Information	Death Information	Spouse Name	Marriage Information	Spouse Birth Info	Spouse Death Info
i.	JEMIMA MERRILL	Bet. 1773 - 1775, Rowan County, NC	09 Jan 1857, Mt. Zion, Hancock County, GA	ENO MERSHON	1795 Hancock County, Georgia	16 Apr 1766, Hunterdon County, NJ	13 Dec 1813, Hancock Cty, GA
ii.	JOHN MERRILL, JR.	1774, Rowan County, NC	13 Apr 1846, Calloway County, KY	JEMIMA BATTON	13 Dec 1798, Georgia	07 Apr 1781, Mercer, NJ
iii.	JAMES MERRILL	1778, Wilkes County, GA	1835, Oktibbeha, Mississippi		1815, Hancock County, GA
iv.	GEORGE MERRILL	Abt. 1782, Wilkes County, Georgia	Abt. 1821, Monroe County, MS or Franklin County, GA	REBECCA HOLDCRAFT	14 Sep 1804.
v.	RACHEL MERRILL	1786, Hancock County, GA		ROGERS
vi.	ELIZABETH MERRILL	1787, Washington, Wilkes County, GA	20 Nov 1876, McMinn County, TN	JAMES SMITH LINER	28 Jul 1806, Franklin County, GA	1786, Washington, Wilkes County, GA	23 Mar 1857, McMinn County, TN
vii.	BENJAMIN SMITH MERRELL	18 Apr 1792, Sparta, Hancock County, GA	29 Sep 1853, Carroll County, Georgia	MARTHA PATSEY CHANDLER	28 Feb 1813, Franklin, Georgia	04 Sep 1795, Granville, North Carolina	11 Sep 1879, Carroll County, Georgia.
viii.	THOMAS MERRILL	Abt. 1796, Hancock, Georgia		???	28 Feb 1813 Franklin County, Georgia.