The Merwin Genealogy

Our Merwin ancestors are the descendants of John Merwin of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, who lived in the first half of the 1500s, dying in 1552. John's ancestry is unknown, but his surname indicates that he was ultimately of English (Anglo-Saxon) or perhaps Welsh descent. The name "Merwin" is likely a variant form of the Anglo-Saxon name Merefin, and if so then John Merwin probably was descended from a man who was named in honor of St. Merefin, a pious Anglo-Saxon prince who was one of the sons of Merewald (or Merewalh), King of the Magonsaete in the Midlands during the mid- to latter seventh century A.D. On the other hand, "Merwin" could derive from the popular Welsh name Merfyn or Mervyn, from which came the later name "Marvin" -- in support of this guess, we sometimes find the Merwin name spelled "Murvyn." Merwin, however, was and is usually pronounced "Murren" in England, with the "w" silent, and so it is at times spelled "Murren" in old records.

The parentage and ancestry of John Merwin of Amersham is unknown, but the Updike-Wiebe Genealogy states without providing evidence that John was the son of a certain Nicholas Merwin, born circa 1460 in Amersham, died circa 1490 in Amersham. Having no further information on the Merwin genealogy, we will turn to John and his descendants.

The following account of the Merwin family is based chiefly on the work of Douglas Richardson, whose published work on this family is "The English Ancestry of the Merwin and Tinker Families of New England," in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register 149 (1995), pages 295-311.

1. JOHN MERWIN, lived at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, born circa 1490, died between 7 Nov. and 6 Dec. 1552 in Amersham. John's wife was named ISABEL BARTLETT, daughter of (NN) and Katherine Bartlett. John is known to have had three sons, Andrew, William, and Thomas -- Isabel was certainly the mother of William and Thomas, but might not have been the mother of Andrew, John's son and heir. "John Murwyn" appears on the 1524 subsidy roll for Amersham, when he was assessed for £2. John's son William appears in the 1535 subsidy roll. In 1552, John Merwin conveyed two acres in Stockbury meadow in Amersham to Richard Prynce.

In his will, dated 7 Nov. 1552, witnessed by John Whitmarshe, curate, Anthony Tuly, Henry Rigsted, and Andrewe Moorwyn, and proved 6 Dec. 1552, "John Moorwen hole of mynd & sicke of body" bequeathed "my soule in to the hands of Allmightie God & my body to be buried in my parishe churche yarde of Agmondesham [Amersham] and to John my godsonne the sonne of Will'm I bequeath a bullocke of ij yere old to Will'm & Alis children to the sayd Will'm eche of them a shepe & to John a forsayd a great coffer. The Resydue of all my goods & lands moveable & unmoveable I bequeath unto my wiffe Issable whome I make my hole executrix & to Joan Moorwyn the wife of Will'm I bequeath a bullocke of this yeres wenyng."

In 1553, about six months after John Merwin's death, his widow Isabel, and his son and heir, Andrew Merwin of Coleshill, Hertfordshire (a detached piece of Hertfordshire within the parish of Amersham), sued each other in Chancery court for possession of John's property, a messuage called Deane Place and other land in Amersham. In the records of this cross suit, the surname is spelled "Murvyn." In his petition, Andrew said:

"To the Right Reverend Father in God Thomas Bishop of Ely and Lord Chancellor of England. Your poor and daily Orator Andrewe Murvyn of Colshill co. Hertford son and heir of one John Murvyn late of Agmondsham co. Bucks deceased, That whereas the said John Murvyn father to your Orator in his life time was lawfully seised of and in one messuage called Deane Place and of three score acres of land in the parish of Agmondsham, And John so being seised about half a year now past or thereabouts by his last will and testament gave all the said messuage and other the premises unto Isabell then his wife for term of her life only, and after that the father died, after whose death the reversion of the messuage and other the premises did descend and come of right unto your Orator as son and Next heir to John Murvyn so that sithence the death of John Murvyn divers and sundry evidences and writings concerning the premises are come into the hands of Isabell, who by colour of the same hath made divers and sundry estates thereof, to the disinheritance and utter undoing of your poor Orator his wife and children."

Isabell Merwin's response in court was that the contested property had been bequeathed by her mother, KATHERINE BARTLETT, to John Merwin and herself, the defendant, and their heirs and assigns forever, and that she as survivor was entitled to it. She then complained of Andrew Merwin, saying that "all such evidence muniments and charters concerning the premises as the defendant hath in his custody and possession he keepeth and detaineth for the preservation of his estate."

Isabel's own will, dated 16 Aug. 1556, witnessed by William Bacheler, Harrye Snell, Thomas Hoppe, and others, was proved 23 Jan. 1557, showing that she had died between those dates, probably in January 1557 or perhaps in December 1556. Her will reads as follows:

"Isabell Murren widow of Amersham in the countye of Bucks being of whole mynd & memorye lawdyd be God make & orden this my last will & testament in manner & forme as folowethe ffirst I bequeath and comend my soule to Allmightye God & to all the holye companye of heaven & my bodye to be buryed in the churche yard of Amersham. Item I bequeath to the highe aulter iiijd. Item I give & bequeath to Will'm Raysell of Sainct Gyles Chariot my hous & my lands as heare foloweth: ffirst laye croft iij acres & a litell sorey leys bryerlye croft & the litell late that buttethe uppon the same also the orchard that butts uppon bryerlye crofte with delseld & litell croft the orchyard that the hous standethe uppon Rewdells & hollows hobhops croft with the grove. Item I bequeath to Thom's Murren my sonne haulf a qr'ter of wheat & ij bushels of matte & my brod pane & a Ewe & a Lambe. Item I give to his wyf my best kertell & my best smoke an apern & my best shete with a thred on the end. Item I give to his children an ewe amonst them All. the Resydew of my goods unbequeathed my wyll fullfulled & my debts payed I give to Will'm Murren my soone whome I make my trew & faythfull executor & Edward Treadway to be superviser having for his paynes xxd."

The sons of John Merwin were:

     --  ANDREW MERWIN, born circa 1515, buried 1 July 1567 in Amersham, married and had children.
     --  WILLIAM MERWIN, born circa 1520, married Joan (NN) and had at least three children.
     2.  THOMAS MERWIN, born circa 1525s.

2. THOMAS MERWIN, son of John and Isabel Merwin, lived at Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, born circa 1525 probably at Amersham. In the 1556 will of Thomas' mother Isabel, the wife and children of Thomas are mentioned, but are not named. Thomas had at least five children, and perhaps as many as seven. Amersham burial records shows a MARY MERWIN who was buried at Amersham on 7 Dec. 1562. Mary's parents are not given in her burial record, so it is uncertain whether Mary was Thomas' wife or Thomas' daughter. If she was Thomas' wife, then most of Thomas' known children must have been born of a second marriage, since his children were born after 1562. But Mary may rather have been one of Thomas' children and died young. Amersham burial records also show a WALTER MERWIN who was buried at Amersham on 27 Nov. 1600, along with Walter's wife Joan Merwin, who was buried at Amersham on 20 March 1596. Most likely Walter was a son of Thomas, but again, the burial record does not include Walter's parentage. Besides Mary and Walter, Thomas' known children were named Nicholas, Anthony, Margaret, and Mary, besides an unnamed daughter also mentioned in Amersham records.

     --  NICHOLAS MERWIN
     ??  WALTER MERWIN, buried 27 Nov. 1600 at Amersham, England, married Joan (NN), buried 20 March 1596 at Amersham, England.
     ??  MARY MERWIN, buried 7 Dec. 1562 at Amersham, England, possibly a daughter of Thomas Merwin or perhaps of earlier wife of Thomas.
     --  ANTHONY MERWIN
     --  MARGARET MERWIN
     --  (DAU.) MERWIN
     3.  MARY MERWIN, born circa 1575 in Amersham, England.

3. MARY MERWIN, daughter of Thomas Merwin of Amersham, Buckinghamshire, England, born circa 1575 probably as Amersham, died at some time after circa 1648 perhaps in Windsor, Connecticut, or Boston, Massachusetts. On 26 Jan. 1601 in Amersham, Mary married, as his second wife, ROBERT TINKER, born circa 1565 in Clewer Parish, New Windsor, Berkshire, England, died on or just prior to 2 June 1624 in New Windsor, England. Mary and Robert had six daughters and two sons. In his will, Robert provided Mary with the income from several tenements in Berkshire for her use during the time that she was a widow. Mary remarried at New Windsor on 12 Feb. 1631/2, as his second wife, HUMPHREY COLLINS of Clewer, who died Nov. 1634 in New Windsor, England, after which Mary emigrated to New England.

The Mindrum Family History website includes the following biographical remarks on Mary (Merwin) (Tinker) Collins, derived from Douglas Richardson's above cited study on the Merwin and Tinker families:

Circumstantial evidence of her parentage is provided by the will of (her probable brother) Anthony Merwin, yeoman, of Clewer, Berkshire, dated 7 March 1633/4, in which Mary's second husband, Humphrey Collins, was named overseer and called "loving friend." Anthony Merwin also left a bequest of 20 shillings each to two of Mary's younger children, John and Sarah Tinker. As Mary Collins, wife of second husband Humphrey Collins, she witnessed this will. Following the death of her second husband, Mary (Mervin) (Tinker) Collins came to New England, probably in the company of her son, John Tinker. Although there is no record of her arrival in the New World, there is a possibility that she sailed on the same ship as John Hawthorne and William Knight, both of Berkshire, who arrived in New England about 1636. She probably lived first at Dorchester, Massachusetts, where two of her daughters were living. Around 1640, Mary Collins, her son, John Tinker, and several of her married daughters, all moved to the newly founded town of Windsor, Connecticut, where they were among the first residents granted land. Mary's homelot in Windsor was a four-acre tract on the east side of the Rivulet or Farmington River, bounded by the homelots of Thomas Bascombe and Nicholas Sension. Sometime about 1648 Mary Collins sold her homelot in Windsor to James Eno. Her subsequent history is unknown and no record of her death has been found.

It now known beyond a doubt that Mary was a sister of Anthony Merwin, son of Thomas Merwin. This is confirmed by the will of Mary's second husband Humphrey Collins, in which Humphrey names his present wife, Mary, and an obligation dated 10 Feb. 1631/2 to pay 40 pounds to "Sarah Tynker, one of the daughters of my said wife," the same Sarah Tinker named in Anthony Merwin's will.

As for Mary's homelot in Windsor, Connecticut, early Windsor land records show that Mary Collins' lot was north of the mill and east of the road. According to Henry Reed Stiles' History and Genealogies of Ancient Windsor, Connecticut (1891), Mary later "sold to James Eno -- this is now the old Eno place, occupied by Samuel Eno." The date of Mary's sale to James Eno is not recorded, but it likely took place circa 1648, when James Eno married his first wife, Anna Bidwell.

Although Mary's death record has not been found, after selling her homelot in Windsor she may have joined her son John Tinker, who moved to Boston around that time, or perhaps Mary moved into the home of one of her daughters in Windsor.

Mary's children were:

     --  SARAH TINKER, baptised 1601, buried 1617.
     --  HELEN TINKER (Ellen), born circa 1604, married William Hubbard.
     --  MARY TINKER, baptised 6 Aug. 1606, married Matthias/Matthew St. John (Sention).
     --  ROBERT TINKER, baptised 20 Feb. 1608/9, buried 1625/6 in New Windsor, England.
     --  RHODA TINKER, baptised 16 June 1611, married three times.
     --  JOHN TINKER, baptised 18 July 1613.
     --  ANNE TINKER, baptised 21 July 1616, married Thomas Thornton.
     --  SARAH TINKER, baptised 26 July 1619, died 6 June 1652, married Thomas King of Scituate, Massachusetts.

Merwin Genealogy Links:

The Updike-Wiebe Genealogy -- Mary Merwin genealogical information
Mindrum Family History -- Mary Merwin biographical and genealogical information
Permenter & Spradlin History -- Mary Merwin information, with dubious dates of birth and death

Return to Website Index