Martha's
Vineyard has always held a certain fascination for me. I must confess,
however, that I never took the time to learn much about it. There were
always other things to do. That changed in February when my
daughter, Marisa, told me she was going there on a four-day business trip in May. A
couple days later, I asked if I could join her.
I
had several reasons to make this trip, not the least of which was Marisa and I would be able to spend some time together. We both looked forward to exploring the island, but I was particularly excited about being able to visit the West Tisbury Village Cemetery. Overall, the trip would give me the nudge I needed to dig into my ancestors who lived on the island over three centuries ago.
− THE PIVOT −
Going to Martha's Vineyard was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was already
in the midst of doing research for a mid-June trip to Massachusetts with my cousin. Our six-day trip would include finding ancestors in at least a dozen cemeteries and visiting historic sites. In
order to make the most of my time on Martha's Vineyard, I quickly
changed my focus from mainland Massachusetts ancestors to the Luce and Merry families I discovered on the island many years ago.
− THE DISCOVERY OF THE MERRY & LUCE FAMILIES −
When
a husband (or wife) is found, sometimes the spouse isn't named, or the
name is incomplete. [See Urana and Desire on the chart below.] After finding my
7th great-grandfather, Henry Luce, I was pleased to see that his wife, my 7th great-grandmother, Hannah Merry, was identified. That led me back to her grandparents, our immigrant ancestors in the Merry and Parkhurst lines.
The Merry and Luce families are connected through marriage in two generations−my 7th and 8th great-grandparents. Other marriages between the families are found in the siblings, cousins, and descendants of these great-grandparents. Because of this intertwining and the size of the Luce family, I'll write about them in a separate post.
− THE MERRY FAMILY −
Joseph Merry (1607-1710)
Elizabeth Parkhurst (1628-1727)
maternal 9th great-grandparents
The story of the Merrys of Martha's Vineyard begins with English-born Joseph Merry. The exact time of his arrival in the colonies is unknown. A carpenter by trade, he
is first found in Haverhill, Massachusetts in 1640, where he married
Mary (last name unknown) by 1646. By 1647, they moved to the coastal town of
Hampton, Massachusetts (now New Hampshire) where both their children
were born−Martha in 1647 and Joseph in 1654. Given the seven-year gap between Martha and Joseph, it's possible there were one or two children born in that time period who did not survive. Mary died in Hampton in February 1657.
Ten months after Mary's death, Joseph bought a house and ten acres of upland (elevated
land) in Hampton. When he and Elizabeth Parkhurst Hilliard married
in December 1659, Joseph, age 52, gave Elizabeth, 31, the house and land
as part of their marriage contract. This union would have been
convenient for both parties. Joseph was a widower with two children
ages 5 and 12, and Elizabeth was a widow with four children ages 5 to
14.
Elizabeth's
first husband, Emanuel Hilliard, a mariner, died at sea on October 20, 1657, not
long after leaving the port of Hampton en route to Boston, a
distance equivalent to over 60 statute miles. This account from The History of the town of Hampton, New Hampshire : from its settlement in 1638, to the autumn of 1892, Vol. I by Joseph Dow details the tragedy. It was later determined that the group was caught in a sudden storm.
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| (Dow, Vol 1, 57) |
Ten days prior to his death, Emanuel received land from Elizabeth's uncle, Rev. Timothy
Dalton. [Timothy's wife, Ruth Leete, and Elizabeth's mother, Phebe Leete Parkhurst, were sisters.] This was
executed by deed of gift (no money changed hands). Records state that
Timothy gave "unto my loving Kinsman, Eman : Hilliard, of ye towne
aforesaid, Seaman, 100 acres of meadow & upland, being part of my
farme." Timothy and Ruth didn't have any children, so they probably
looked upon their niece and her husband as they would their own. (Dow, Vol 2, 746) This land likely reverted to Elizabeth after Emanuel's death, but apparently it could be complicated.
1) A widow received a one-third interest in her deceased husband’s personal property (one-half if there were no children).
2) Widows regained the rights of unmarried women during the period of
their widowhood.
A widow could make a will, buy or sell property, act
as a guardian, sue or be sued, or be an executrix or administratrix. If
the widow owned personal property, she could bequeath it in a will.
Unless explicitly given land in a will, widows had only the dower life
interest in their late husband’s real property, which could not be bequeathed to her children or sold.
It is worth pointing out that a widow’s children were legally
“orphans”, whether she was alive or not. A widow with children had no
legal right to choose the guardians of her minor children. If
sufficiently poor, she could not prevent her minor children from being
bound out. ("Womens Rights: Women, Wives, and Widows," Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet)
− MARTHA'S VINEYARD −
Joseph and Elizabeth increased the size of their family fairly rapidly, beginning with Hannah, their first child together. She was born on September 29, 1660, just nine months after the couple's marriage. Abigail
followed in May 1662, Bathsheba in April 1665, and the youngest, Samuel,
my 8th great-grandfather, arrived September 29, 1669. All were born in Hampton.
Imagine trying to support a family with ten children. Then again, by the time Bathsheba was
born in 1665, the three oldest children from the couple's previous marriages were in all likelihood married
and gone, leaving seven children at home.
On November 19, 1669, Joseph purchased "the
grist mill and its priveleges 'uppon the westernmost Brook of Takemmy'
with one eighth part of the propriety, or two shares, in the new
settlement." The price? Ninety pounds, the equivalent of about $27,000
today (2025). Joseph paid for this with "his Hampton property, the
homestead, an island of salt marsh and two shares in cow and ox commons
in that town." The purchase was finalized on December 2, 1670. (Banks, Vol II, 59)
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| Towns on Martha's Vineyard |
Right: Google map showing the location of Joseph Merry's grist mill (added) on Old Mill Pond in West Tisbury.
From the Martha's Vineyard Garden Club:
These early 1900s photographs of the Old Mill and Mill Pond were
captured by Edward Lee Luce (1897–1950) of West Tisbury. Using glass
plate negatives, Mr. Luce documented these iconic scenes, preserving a
glimpse into the Island’s past. The photographs are part of the Basil
Welsh Collection at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.
View more photographs on the Garden Club's website.
Right: "West Tisbury mill house (now used by garden club). Taken from boat in mill pond." (Digital Commonwealth)
Left: "West Tisbury from Brandy Brow across mill pond to old school. Mill on right." (Digital Commonwealth)
In 1675, five years after his purchase, Joseph sold the mill but kept the land. It's believed his house was located in Merry's Field. Without the mill, Joseph had more time to do his carpentry work, and perhaps farm some of his land. Joseph also had a few public service duties. He served as constable in 1675, was road surveyor in 1678 and 1687, and was in charge of dividing common lands in 1689-90.
Interestingly, Joseph had a couple of legal encounters. First, he was fined five shillings on March 2, 1677, after a grand jury found him in contempt for not responding to a summons to testify in court. Then he sued Simon Athearn for £20 in 1681 "for non-payment of a frame house." But the men came to an agreement of £7 and split the costs.
At age 20, Samuel, Joseph and Elizabeth's only son, was given the homestead by deed of gift, just as Elizabeth's uncle had done for her and her husband, Emanuel, all those years ago. Joseph was 82 at the time. He lived another 21 years, dying on April 4, 1710, at the age of 103. Elizabeth was 99 when she passed away October 6, 1727. Both Joseph and Elizabeth are buried in West Tisbury Village Cemetery less than a half mile north of his old grist mill.
Samuel Merry (1669-1727)
Remember Luce (1669-1739)
maternal 8th great-grandparents Joseph and Elizabeth's youngest child, Samuel, was only one year old when the sale of the family's property in Hampton was finalized. He lived on Martha's Vineyard for the remainder of his life.
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| Martha's Vineyard (Google Maps) |
Samuel was a farmer, and through the years served as Constable, Selectman (an elected official whose duties were to manage the various aspects of day-to-day operations in a town), and Surveyor of town lands. Samuel died at the age of 58 on October 6,
1727. Remember passed away on January 31, 1739, at age 69.
Hannah Merry (1692-1780)
7th great-grandparents
Hannah was the second child and first girl born to Samuel and Remember. I'll provide details on Hannah and her husband, Henry, in the future Luce post.
− WEST TISBURY VILLAGE CEMETERY −
When Marisa finished work on our second and final day on Martha's Vineyard, we headed to West Tisbury Village Cemetery. As it turned out, this was the only cemetery we had time to visit, but it was the most important one. Joseph, Elizabeth, Samuel, and Remember are all buried there. Incredibly, all four headstones are still standing, though they're leaning, sinking into the ground, and difficult to read.
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| West Tisbury Village Cemetery (20 May 2025) |
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| Marisa took these photos from the car where she managed to stay out of the drizzle. I felt like I was going to have to stand on my head to get a good picture of Joseph's headstone. (20 May 2025) |
Above: The headstones in the left-hand photo (from
my left to my right) are Elizabeth Parkhurst Merry (tilted forward), Joseph Merry
(tilted forward), Samuel Merry (tilted backward), and Remember Luce Merry. I couldn't make
out the fifth headstone on the far right.
Below: The headstone on the right is Joseph's. His is made of slate and has stood up to the weather better than the others. However, layers of slate have broken off and it's being held together with screws. The headstone on the left is Elizabeth's. It is completely illegible because it's so weathered.
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| Photo added to Find A Grave by member J Shanley Dillon on 26 Sep 2025. |
Left: My photo of Joseph Merry's headstone taken 20 May 2025.
Mr JOSEPH MERRY DIED APRIL ye 15th 1710 BEING 103 YEARS OLD [THAT] BEING VERIFIED IN [HIM PS]ALM'S 92 14 THEY [SHALL BRING FORTH FRUIT IN OLD AGE]
Samuel Merry's headstone (below) has deteriorated considerably through the years. Find A Grave member, Bev, added the photo on the left and provided the transcription on June 26, 2004. My photo on the right shows how difficult it is to read now.
Lichens have taken their toll.
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| Inscription: Mr SAMUEL MERREY WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE OCTR ye 6 1727 AGED 58 YEARS |
Below:The headstone of Remember Luce Merry. Bev added the photo on the left and a transcription of the headstone on June 26, 2004. Find A Grave member, Sunset, added the photo on the right on 14 Jun 2014. Eleven years later, I couldn't even begin to make out the inscription.
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| Here lyes ye Body of Mrs Remember Merrey Wife to Mr Samuel Merrey Who Died Janry 31 Anno Domi 1739 Aged 69 Years |
− A REWARDING TRIP −
This trip checked off a lot of boxes. I visited the graves of some 8th and 9th great-grandparents, and I was able to explore the place my ancestors called home over 300 years ago. Marisa and I made good use of our time outside of her work day, soaking up the atmosphere while we drove through Edgartown admiring all the houses with cedar shake siding. We ate fresh seafood while we looked out at the ocean, and drove the length of the island several times.
We both enjoyed how varied the island was−hills, farmland, ponds, beaches, fields, woods, and the breathtaking Aquinnah Cliffs at the western tip of the island. It was windy and cold when we got to the cliffs, but the view was spectacular. It was a wonderful way to end our last day on the island.
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| Early evening at Aquinnah Cliffs, Martha's Vineyard (May 20, 2025) |
[Side
note: This summer marked the 50th anniversary of the making of Jaws. The majority of the movie was filmed on Martha’s
Vineyard, where Edgartown was chosen to be the fictional town of Amity. We crossed
“Jaws Bridge” many times in our travels up and down the island. There’s
really nothing to see, but it’s fun to know we did that. I still don’t like
going into water when I can’t see my feet.]
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− DIG A LITTLE DEEPER −
~ Learn how American poet, John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892), was able to weave a witch (based on an old woman who was a resident of Hampton) into his poem, The Wreck of the Rivermouth.
~ Martha's Vineyard had its own sign language which was used by both hearing and deaf people. Read about how and why MVSL (Martha's Vineyard Sign Language) came to be and how it merged with other sign systems to form ASL (American Sign Language) that is used today.
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Bradish-Scott Family History − October 2025