Mysterious Martha
Identifying the
widow of
Edward Beck III
and Lovering Merritt
(St.
Paul’s Parish, Kent County, Maryland)
Mark
A. Merritt Ó
2001
In 1905, Johnston
wrote Lovering Merritt’s wife as Martha [1].
Shortly thereafter, Mackenzie identified Martha as the widow of Edward
Beck, of Kent County [2].
Later, Douglas Merritt’s seminal work on several MERRITT lines further
identified Martha as the mother of Edward Beck [3]. By
1939, her identity remained forgotten when Burke’s mentioned her only as Martha [4].
This paper will set
out the proof that has led me to identify her as Martha Davis, daughter of
James Davis and Penelope Reed.
Her identification
was accomplished in December 2000, in a series of emails between the author and
Christos Christou, Jr., who has researched BECK exhaustively, and was
responsible for locating much of the evidence critical to this proof. I am extremely grateful for his assistance.
Samuell Merritt
married Phebe Millward, daughter of Lovering Millward, 29 Nov 1708 in St.
Paul’s Parish, Kent Co., MD [5].
When Samuell passed in 1724, his widow married John Gilbert [6].
Samuell Merritt’s estate was distributed 19 Sep 1724 by John Gilbert [7]:
Samuell Merritt Liber 6.156 A KE £55.5.11 £19.7.5 19 Sep 1724
Payments
to: Brooke, Holland & Addison, Esq., C. Hynson, Gideon Pearce, Thomas
Reasin on account of estate of Edward Warner in hands of Samuell Merrett, James
Willson, Jr. Ann Huddlestone, Francis Bodean, James Wyate, John Macnemarra,
Henry Paremane, James Waggett, Charles Hynson.
Admin: John Gilbert.
John Gilbert died
before 4 Mar 1729 when his estate inventory was filed by Phebe Gilbert,
executrix [8].
While Gilbert’s will doesn’t mention his wife’s children by her first
marriage, the distribution of his estate eight years later by Fibee Lee, wife
of Arthur Lee, proves useful. Here we
note Phebe’s third marriage, as well her children by Samuell Merritt [9]:
Estate of John Gilbert
16.109 A KE £81.7.5
£22.1.10 4 Mar 1737
Payments to:
Ann Merritt, daughter of
Samuel Meret (dead)
Lovering Meret, son of
Samuel Meret (dead)
Henry Cully, Samuel
Wallace, John Earle, Charles Hynson, Edward Calvert, Esq. John Gresham, John
Gressham assinged from John Godfrey, Charles Hynson.
Mentions children John
Gilbert, Thomas Gilbert, Mary Gilbert.
Exec: Fibee Lee, wife of
Arthur Lee.
This provides the conclusive evidence for placing Lovering
Merritt as the son of Samuell Merritt and Phebe Millward.
Lovering Merritt wrote his will in Sep 1776 and died before 16
Apr 1777, when it was proved. In his
will, he mentions his wife Martha, as well as his daughter Sarah, wife of
George Vansant:
The will of Lovering
Merritt of Kent County, Maryland [10]
Whereas I have given my son Samuel all the negroes now in his
possession and employed on lands in Wolton (Worton), I now confirm to him in
lieu of my personal estate.
My son Lovering all the
lands I purchased of Gilbert Falconar and James Pearce as specified in their
bond to me and the horse called Tryall and £35 current money at the rate of
dollars at 7 sh and 6 pence.
Lands lying in Quaquir
Neck (Quaker Neck) unto to my two daughters Martha and Mary.
My wife to get my riding
chair and chair horse called Toby, over and above the 1/3 of my personal
estate.
I give unto my dau.
Sarah, wife of George Vansant, a negro girl named Bet which I lent her some
time ago and £500 in lieu of my personal estate.
My negroes to be divided
between my children Lovering, Martha, and Mary and my dear wife and the rest of
my personal estate, after wife's 1/3, to son Lovering, and two daughters Martha
and Mary.
Execs. my wife and my son
Samuel. Witnesses George Nusbury, James Brown Dunn Jr., John Rolf Jr., Thomas
B. Hands.
Martha Merritt gave bond for £2000 as executor 16 Apr 1777 [11].
The will demonstrates that Lovering owned lands in Quaker Neck and in
nearby Worton, both in St. Paul’s Parish.
The following will must be the will of Lovering’s widow,
because it mentions the same children, particularly Sarah, now married to Eli
Bostick (Bostwick) with a child named Lovering Vansant:
To Mary Dudley my dau.
wife of Joshua Dudley of Queen Anns Co my clock.
To my grandchildren
Edward Beck and Nancy children of my son Edward Beck 1/3 of remainder.
To my granddau. Mary
Everitt dau. of Hales Everitt and Priscilla his wife 1/3 part.
To Lovering Vansant and
Mary Bostick children of my dau. Sarah Bostick wife of Eli Bostick 1/3 part.
Estate to be given to the
children when they are of age, 16 for girls and 20 for boys.
My negro girl Sal be set
free at 20. My negro man Ben and my negro woman Sarah wife of said Ben and
their two youngest children to be set free.
Execs. my son Edward
Beck, Hales Everitt, Eli Bostick. Witnesses Daniel McCurtin, Bartus Wilkins,
Bartus Wilkins Jr.
Written Apr. 25, 1789
Proved Feb 25, 1790 p. 258
Renunciation
I renounce all claim to
administration Edward Beck Q.N.
I renounce all claim to
administration, Hales Everitt. Written Feb 25, 1790
These two wills taken together provide irrefutable evidence
that these two individuals were married, and had children Samuel, Lovering,
Mary, Martha, and Sarah Merritt.
It also demonstrates that Martha had a son, Edward Beck, and a
daughter, Priscilla, by a previous relationship(s) with [UNK] Beck.
Edward Beck, Jr.
was born 19 Nov 1684 in Kent Co., MD to John Beck and Mary Hoover. He was known as “Junior” to distinguish him
from his uncle, Edward Beck, who m. Ann Queeney [13].
Edward Beck, Jr.
married Mary Neeves by 4 Apr 1710 [14], and wrote his will 15 Apr 1740, which was
proved 23 Aug 1740 [15]:
Names son John and to get
Beck's Addition and 54 acres of Neeves
Choice;
to granddau. Elizabeth
dau. of son Alexander, 50 acres the other part of Neeves Choice;
unto the son and daughter
of my sons Edward Beck deceased and Martha his wife 12 lbs each;
to Elizabeth dau. of my
son Alexander and his wife Susanna and their unborn child 12 lbs.
This document shows that Edward Beck, Jr. had a son named
Edward Beck who died before 15 Apr 1740, and that his son Edward Beck had a son
and daughter by a wife named Martha.
I write the son of Edward Beck, Jr. (1684-1740) as “Edward Beck
III” so that he is not confused with the many other men named Edward Beck. However, he was most certainly known to his
contemporaries as Edward Beck, Jr.
Edward Beck III’s children were named in a deed dated 22 Mar
1744/5 specifying that they were to be paid at age 16 for girls and 21 for boys [16].
There were four children in all, and they included Priscilla Beck and
Edward Beck, who I write as Edward Beck IV.
Barnes and Wright
identify Edward Beck III as the same man who was found guilty of having
children out of wedlock in 1731 and 1732 [17],
[18]:
At August Court, 1731, Edward Beck, Jr., St. Paul's Parish,
planter, was found guilty of committing fornication on 10 Oct 1730 with
Elizabeth Maxwell and begetting a bastard child. He was fined 30 s.
At March Court 1732, Edward Beck, Jr. of St. Paul's Parish,
planter, was found guilty of committing fornication on June 10 1732 with Martha
Davis and begetting a bastard child. He
was fined 30 s.
To summarize, the
above records positively identify Edward Beck III as the father of a child with
Martha Davis in 1732. They also show
that he had four children, and that two of them were named Priscilla Beck and Edward
Beck.
Combined with the
will of Martha Merritt, showing her children of a prior relationship as Edward
Beck and Priscilla, it is clear that we must conclude that the widow of Edward
Beck III and Lovering Merritt was Martha Davis.
We are left with
the task of placing this Martha Davis.
James Davis married
Penelope Reed 27 Jan 1709 in St. Paul's Parish, Kent Co., MD [19]. He died by 16 Nov 1724 when his estate was
appraised. The inventory was filed 31
Jan 1724/5 [20].
James Davis and
Penelope Reed had two children: Martha Davis, born 1 Aug 1710 and Philip Davis,
born 23 Jan 171? [21].
These records place
this particular Martha Davis in the same place and time as Edward Beck III,
planter, of St. Paul’s Parish, who was born 25 Dec 1710 [22].
James Davis’ son,
Philip Davis, wrote his will 28 Oct 1767, mentioning a Martha Davis, but that
was his daughter [23].
The key information was recorded when his estate was appraised 10 Feb
1768 and distributed 25 Mar 1768 [24]:
Philip Davis 97.158
KE £263.12.11 10 Feb 1768
25 Mar 1768
Appraisers: Solomon Semans, Alexander Baird
Creditors: William
Semans, James McLachlan
Next of Kin: Martha
Merritt, James Burgin
Executrix: Ann Davis
This record shows that a Martha Merritt signed as next-of-kin
to Philip Davis, son of James Davis and Penelope Reed, in 1768.
I can only identify
three potential candidates for this Martha Merritt:
#1. Martha [UNK]
was the first wife of William Merritt (1726-1793). She died ca 1776. These
individuals are known to have lived at Ivingo, within sight of St.
Stephen’s Church in Shrewsbury [25], and not in Quaker Neck, where these
particular DAVIS, BECK and MERRITT families lived.
#2. William
Merritt’s mother, Martha Burgan, was the wife of Thomas Merritt. While I don’t have a death date for her, it
is unlikely that she was a signatory of an estate distribution in 1768; she was
possibly deceased by this time. Thomas
Merritt died in 1733, so his widow may well have remarried and would not be
using the name Martha Merritt in 1768.
Once more, these individuals lived in St. Stephen’s Parish and were not
local to the St. Paul’s Parish area.
#3. The only other
candidate that the author can locate is the deceased’s sister, Martha
Davis. The same Martha Davis who had
two children with Edward Beck III had been having children with Lovering
Merritt since 1737, and was known as Martha Merritt in 1768.
Of the three
plausible Martha Merritts, the one with the most obvious relationship (sister)
and the one who was closest, geographically, is the only individual who
conforms to all available evidence:
Martha (Davis) Merritt.
In summary, the
evidence shows that Martha Davis, daughter of James Davis and Penelope Reed,
was the widow of Edward Beck III and Lovering Merritt.
The following are
the known children of Martha Davis and Edward Beck III:
I write Edward
Beck IV as born ca 1732 based on the court record, and died after 25 Feb
1790 when he was executor of his mother’s estate. I have not found evidence of his wife’s name, but his children
Nancy Beck and Edward Beck are mentioned in his mother’s will.
I am searching for
the descendants of Nancy Beck and Edward Beck IV.
I write Priscilla
Beck as born before 1736, as her first son by Lovering Merritt was born ca
1737. As Priscilla’s grandfather’s will
mentions her mother as the “wife” of his son, it is possible that Martha
married Edward Beck III between 1732-1736 and that Priscilla was a “legitimate”
child. It is also possible that he
merely referred to her as his son’s wife, and that they were never
married. No marriage record has been
found. Priscilla Beck married Hales
Everitt, as evidenced from her mother’s will.
Priscilla Beck and
Hales Everitt are known to have had three children, Mary Everitt born 29 May
1773, Joseph Everitt born 20 Dec 1775, and Ann Everitt born 11 Dec 1778. They likely resided in Chester Parish.
Samuel Merritt is said to have been born 1739 [26], which conforms with other evidence. This is the Samuel Merritt who married Sarah
Miller, daughter of Arthur Miller, and it is via this connection to the Miller
family that the Merritt family came into control of Godlington Manor on
Quaker Neck.
I will treat this
Samuel, his descendants and the Godlington Manor land records in a
future article, and show how Barnes and Wright erred in their treatment of the
Arthur Millers out of Michael Miller, Sr., Gent.
Lovering Merritt is said to have been born 1739 [27]. He
never married, wrote his will 30 Dec 1780 and died before 14 Feb 1785 when his
estate was proved. He left his estate
to his sister, Mary [28].
Sarah Merritt is said to have been born 1741 [29].
There is also an LDS record placing her as the daughter of Lovering
Merritt and Phebe Millward, which is impossible, as Lovering was Phebe’s
son. Both her parents’ wills
demonstrate that Sarah was married to George Vansant, whose estate was valued
on 24 Apr 1775 (and signed by Samuel Merritt as next-of-kin, demonstrating that
this was the correct George Vansant) [30]. I
write this marriage as occurring before 1774, giving Sarah time to have her
son, Lovering Vansant, before her husband’s death.
I will treat this
marriage, and place this George Vansant in another article where I shall refute
another researcher’s position that Sarah Merritt was the mother of George Washington Vinsant, born 1780 in Kent
County. Maryland; died 1843 in Jacksboro, TN. She was not.
Sarah Merritt
married second, Eli Bostick (Bostwick) after Sep 1776, as evidenced by the
mention of this marriage in her mother’s 1789 will and the fact that her father
did not mention it in his will of Sep 1776.
I am searching for
descendants of Lovering Vansant, and Sarah and Eli Bostwick.
Mary Merritt is said to have been born 1743 [31].
Her mother’s will describes her marriage to Joshua Dudley, of Queen
Anne’s Co., MD. I believe him to be the
same Joshua Dudley who appears in the 1783 Tax Assessment of QA as the owner of
Sarah’s Portion on Kent Island.
I will discuss this land and its descent from the Winchester, Marsh and
Dudley families in another article.
I am searching for
Mary and Joshua’s descendants.
Martha Merritt is said to have been born 1743 [32] as well.
There is also an LDS record placing her as the daughter (born 1745) of
Lovering Merritt and Phebe Millward, which is impossible, as Lovering was
Phebe’s son. Martha Merritt married
Charles Ricketts [33]. We
can infer that Martha was married after Sep 1776, because her father failed to
mention the marriage in his will of that date (but did mention her sister
Sarah’s marriage in the same document).
I am searching for
Martha and Charles Ricketts’ descendants.
[1] Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Maryland, Pedigree of Paymaster William Alfred Merritt and Dr. Simon Wickes Merritt, Plate I, Ed: Christopher Johnston, MA, MD, PhD. (Baltimore: 1905), p.67
[2] Colonial Families of the United States of America, Vol I., George Norbury Mackenzie (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., 1907), p. 373
[3] Revised Merritt Records: Samuel Merritt of St. Pauls, Md. First Four Generations, compiled by Douglas Merritt (Rhinebeck, New York: 1916)
[4] Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry in North America (London, England: 1939), p.2824
[5] St. Paul’s Parish Records as cited in Maryland Eastern Shore Vital Records, Vols. 1-4, Vol. 1, F. Edward Wright (Familyline Publications, Westminster, MD, 1982), p.28
[6] Administrator's bond of estate of Samuel Merritt by John Gilbert and Phebe, his wife, in £200 {Testamentary Proceedings, 25,141}
[7] MWB: Maryland Will Book, Liber 6.156
[8] MINV: Maryland Inventories, 15:488
[9] PCA: Maryland Prerogative Court Abstracts, Vols. 1-38, V.L. Skinner, Jr. (Family Line Publications, Westminster, Maryland) Vol. 21, 1737-1744, Liber 16.109
[10] Christos Christou, Jr. cites: {p.2}
[11] Douglas Merritt cites: {Admin Bonds 6-17}
[12] Christos Christou, Jr. cites: {p.258}
[13] Beck genealogy attributed to a combination of information compiled by Christos Christou, Jr. and Elizabeth Burns.
[14] Maryland State Archives Marriage References cites: {INAC 31:55}
[15] Christou cites {MWB 22}
p.243
[16] Christou cites DB JS #20 p. 164f
[17] Colonial Families of Eastern Shore, Robert W. Barnes and F. Edward Wright (Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1996) Vol. 1, p.30 cites: S.{KECR JS#WK:227}
[18] Ibid., p.30 cites: S.{KECR JS#WK:350}
[19] Ibid., p.73 cites: {KESP}
[20] Ibid., p.73 cites: {MINV 10:302}
[21] Ibid., p.73 cites: {KESP}
[22] Ibid., Vol. 1, p.30
[23] MWB, 36:154
[24] PCA, 1766-1769, Liber 97.158, p.75
[25] DAR article proving William Merritt’s Revolutionary War service, Mary Elizabeth Appleby Abel (Church Hill, Maryland: 1994)
[26] Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day-Saints, IGI
[27] Ibid.
[28] Douglas Merritt cites {7,80}
[29] Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day-Saints, IGI
[30] Colonial Families of Eastern Shore, Robert W. Barnes and F. Edward Wright (Westminster, Maryland: Family Line Publications, 1996) Vol. 1, p.336 cites: {MINV 122:68}
[31] Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter-Day-Saints, IGI
[32] Ibid.
[33] Maryland State Archives, Marriage References, cites {Abstracts of Deeds, KE, 1:153}