Information from William Ernest Merrill book Captain Benjamin Merrill and the Merrill families of NC page 53.∼Son of William Merrill Jr and wife Penelope Stout Merrill, of Hopewell, New Jersey.
Brother of Capt Benjamin Merrill, who was hanged with 5 other Regulators by the British on 19 June 1771 in Hillsborough NC for high treason.
Married Mary Cornell in 1750 in Hopewell, New Jersey.
They were parents of at least 3 sons:
Benjamin 1752-1836 - married his first cousin, Penelope Merrill, and moved to Buncombe County NC
John 1755-1833 - moved to Byncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses
Daniel 1757-1844 - Lived on his parents' plantation in Rowan County NC until his death
All three sons were soldiers in American Revolution.
William and Mary had moved from NJ to Rowan County NC in 1759 leaving several siblings and numerous cousins in NJ. They bought a plantation near his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the Regulator who was hanged for high treason by the British in 1771 in Hillsborough NC.
Their plantation and small family cemetery were on top of a small mountain. In 1779, William paid taxes on 345 acres on land on his plantation plus four slave, nine horses, twenty-two cattle and 230 pounds in stock and trade. The same year, 7 May 1779, he filed for a land grant and the grant was issued in 1782 (a year after he died) for 200 additional acres of land.
There are conflicting stories about who captured William Merrill III and what happened to him. As a direct descendant of his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the following account matches the family lore we have heard on our Uncle William's demise. This is taken from "The Cliffside Chimes" published in 2012 and the article entitled "The Cliffside Connection to the Battle of Kings Mountain" by Don Bailey. This account below is not a direct quote from Bailey's article but it gives the most pertinent information from his article and our family lore. It is interesting because the article quotes an Ambrose Mills family descendant whose information matches the Merril information.
Tory night riders (not British troops) came to William's home in Jan 1781 about 4 months after the Battle of Kings Mountain in Oct 1870 and the hanging of Ambrose Mills. They kidnapped William, sliced his wife's tongue after she told them what she thought of them and plundered the house and farm. His family never saw him again. To provide some background, shortly after the Battle of Kings Mountain ended, William had found Col Ambrose Mills alive on the battlefield and had taken him to a nearby tree where he and other sympathizers hanged Mills for turning in William's brother, Benjamin, to the British as one of the Regulators in 1771 which caused Benjamin's execution by the British in June 1771. This happened after a "trial". The Tory night riders were out for revenge when they kidnapped William in January 1781 from his Rowan County home. While the Tories were riding to William's farm and taking him back to the hanging tree near Kings Mountain Battlefield, the British army was focused on fighting the Battle of Cowpens just down the road where they were stunned by the loss of about 25% of their army and gave the Americans a critical victory. The Tories took William about 85 miles south of his farm to the Cleveland County NC hanging tree where William had hanged Ambrose Mills four months earlier. One of these night riders was a son of Ambrose Mills. They hanged William from the same tree and it is presumed that they left his body there as a message to other Whigs. It is also assumed that passersby or a Good Samaritan or sympathetic Whigs found WIlliam's body later and buried it close by the hanging tree, When his sons and nephews rode to Cleveland County in hopes of retrieving and claiming his body, the locals could show them the "hanging tree" as it came to be called but nobody knew who buried the body or where it was buried so his family never retrieved William's remains. The Mills family made sure that the Merrills knew how and why William died and who carried out his murder.
William's widow continued to live on their plantation with her son Daniel until her death in 1813.
In Feb 1783, upon inheriting the plantation at the settlement of his father's estate, Benjamin, the eldest son, deeded the plantation to his younger brother, Daniel, who lived there the rest of his life.
Benjamin and his wife then sold their own land and moved west to Buncombe County NC.
The youngest son, John, moved his family to Buncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses. He lived in Buncombe County NC for the rest of his life.
Daniel Merrill, the middle son, and his first wife had 4 children and 3 of them died before Daniel. Then Daniel married two more times but no children were born to these marriages. However, there were stepchildren who came with both wives and the third wife survived him by a year.
Unfortunately, when Daniel Merrill died in 1844, he died intestate. His Probate papers are a very interesting read. The Court ruled that his land (his parents' plantation) and all household items and farm items and livestock be sold and the money divided equally among his numerous heirs. There were over 40 people who claimed to be entitled to a share of his estate: his one living son, widowed spouses and children of his 3 deceased children, nieces, nephews, widowed spouses of his siblings and various stepchildren of his last two wives. There was at least one lawsuit documented in Randolph County NC court records between different members of the Merrill family over distribution of the estate. The plantation of William Merrill III and wife, Mary Cornell Merrill, was sold by the Court at a public sale to settle the estate of their son Daniel in 1845. It had been purchased by William and Mary in 1759. After 86 years in the Merrill family, the plantation was sold to a non-Merrill.
When you consider everything the children and widows of William Merrill III and Capt Benjamin Merrill had witnessed from Capt Benjamin's death in June 1771 until William 's death a decade later in January 1781, it is understandable that some of their children wanted to move further west into the North Carolina mountains of Buncombe County or even further away to other states to escape from the memories of the tragedies they had witnessed as young people. This family withstood a lot and tolerated much for their parts in the freedom of America. Hopefully, William III knew of the British defeat at Cowpens before he was hanged.
Sources:
North Carolina, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890, Early tax List, 1768
North Carolina, U.S., Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 filed for in 1779 and issued in 1782
Randolph County NC Probate Recrods, 1844-1848
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 for 1780
"The Cliffside Chimes", published 2012
Brother of Capt Benjamin Merrill, who was hanged with 5 other Regulators by the British on 19 June 1771 in Hillsborough NC for high treason.
Married Mary Cornell in 1750 in Hopewell, New Jersey.
They were parents of at least 3 sons:
Benjamin 1752-1836 - married his first cousin, Penelope Merrill, and moved to Buncombe County NC
John 1755-1833 - moved to Byncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses
Daniel 1757-1844 - Lived on his parents' plantation in Rowan County NC until his death
All three sons were soldiers in American Revolution.
William and Mary had moved from NJ to Rowan County NC in 1759 leaving several siblings and numerous cousins in NJ. They bought a plantation near his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the Regulator who was hanged for high treason by the British in 1771 in Hillsborough NC.
Their plantation and small family cemetery were on top of a small mountain. In 1779, William paid taxes on 345 acres on land on his plantation plus four slave, nine horses, twenty-two cattle and 230 pounds in stock and trade. The same year, 7 May 1779, he filed for a land grant and the grant was issued in 1782 (a year after he died) for 200 additional acres of land.
There are conflicting stories about who captured William Merrill III and what happened to him. As a direct descendant of his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the following account matches the family lore we have heard on our Uncle William's demise. This is taken from "The Cliffside Chimes" published in 2012 and the article entitled "The Cliffside Connection to the Battle of Kings Mountain" by Don Bailey. This account below is not a direct quote from Bailey's article but it gives the most pertinent information from his article and our family lore. It is interesting because the article quotes an Ambrose Mills family descendant whose information matches the Merril information.
Tory night riders (not British troops) came to William's home in Jan 1781 about 4 months after the Battle of Kings Mountain in Oct 1870 and the hanging of Ambrose Mills. They kidnapped William, sliced his wife's tongue after she told them what she thought of them and plundered the house and farm. His family never saw him again. To provide some background, shortly after the Battle of Kings Mountain ended, William had found Col Ambrose Mills alive on the battlefield and had taken him to a nearby tree where he and other sympathizers hanged Mills for turning in William's brother, Benjamin, to the British as one of the Regulators in 1771 which caused Benjamin's execution by the British in June 1771. This happened after a "trial". The Tory night riders were out for revenge when they kidnapped William in January 1781 from his Rowan County home. While the Tories were riding to William's farm and taking him back to the hanging tree near Kings Mountain Battlefield, the British army was focused on fighting the Battle of Cowpens just down the road where they were stunned by the loss of about 25% of their army and gave the Americans a critical victory. The Tories took William about 85 miles south of his farm to the Cleveland County NC hanging tree where William had hanged Ambrose Mills four months earlier. One of these night riders was a son of Ambrose Mills. They hanged William from the same tree and it is presumed that they left his body there as a message to other Whigs. It is also assumed that passersby or a Good Samaritan or sympathetic Whigs found WIlliam's body later and buried it close by the hanging tree, When his sons and nephews rode to Cleveland County in hopes of retrieving and claiming his body, the locals could show them the "hanging tree" as it came to be called but nobody knew who buried the body or where it was buried so his family never retrieved William's remains. The Mills family made sure that the Merrills knew how and why William died and who carried out his murder.
William's widow continued to live on their plantation with her son Daniel until her death in 1813.
In Feb 1783, upon inheriting the plantation at the settlement of his father's estate, Benjamin, the eldest son, deeded the plantation to his younger brother, Daniel, who lived there the rest of his life.
Benjamin and his wife then sold their own land and moved west to Buncombe County NC.
The youngest son, John, moved his family to Buncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses. He lived in Buncombe County NC for the rest of his life.
Daniel Merrill, the middle son, and his first wife had 4 children and 3 of them died before Daniel. Then Daniel married two more times but no children were born to these marriages. However, there were stepchildren who came with both wives and the third wife survived him by a year.
Unfortunately, when Daniel Merrill died in 1844, he died intestate. His Probate papers are a very interesting read. The Court ruled that his land (his parents' plantation) and all household items and farm items and livestock be sold and the money divided equally among his numerous heirs. There were over 40 people who claimed to be entitled to a share of his estate: his one living son, widowed spouses and children of his 3 deceased children, nieces, nephews, widowed spouses of his siblings and various stepchildren of his last two wives. There was at least one lawsuit documented in Randolph County NC court records between different members of the Merrill family over distribution of the estate. The plantation of William Merrill III and wife, Mary Cornell Merrill, was sold by the Court at a public sale to settle the estate of their son Daniel in 1845. It had been purchased by William and Mary in 1759. After 86 years in the Merrill family, the plantation was sold to a non-Merrill.
When you consider everything the children and widows of William Merrill III and Capt Benjamin Merrill had witnessed from Capt Benjamin's death in June 1771 until William 's death a decade later in January 1781, it is understandable that some of their children wanted to move further west into the North Carolina mountains of Buncombe County or even further away to other states to escape from the memories of the tragedies they had witnessed as young people. This family withstood a lot and tolerated much for their parts in the freedom of America. Hopefully, William III knew of the British defeat at Cowpens before he was hanged.
Sources:
North Carolina, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890, Early tax List, 1768
North Carolina, U.S., Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 filed for in 1779 and issued in 1782
Randolph County NC Probate Recrods, 1844-1848
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 for 1780
"The Cliffside Chimes", published 2012
Information from William Ernest Merrill book Captain Benjamin Merrill and the Merrill families of NC page 53.∼Son of William Merrill Jr and wife Penelope Stout Merrill, of Hopewell, New Jersey.
Brother of Capt Benjamin Merrill, who was hanged with 5 other Regulators by the British on 19 June 1771 in Hillsborough NC for high treason.
Married Mary Cornell in 1750 in Hopewell, New Jersey.
They were parents of at least 3 sons:
Benjamin 1752-1836 - married his first cousin, Penelope Merrill, and moved to Buncombe County NC
John 1755-1833 - moved to Byncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses
Daniel 1757-1844 - Lived on his parents' plantation in Rowan County NC until his death
All three sons were soldiers in American Revolution.
William and Mary had moved from NJ to Rowan County NC in 1759 leaving several siblings and numerous cousins in NJ. They bought a plantation near his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the Regulator who was hanged for high treason by the British in 1771 in Hillsborough NC.
Their plantation and small family cemetery were on top of a small mountain. In 1779, William paid taxes on 345 acres on land on his plantation plus four slave, nine horses, twenty-two cattle and 230 pounds in stock and trade. The same year, 7 May 1779, he filed for a land grant and the grant was issued in 1782 (a year after he died) for 200 additional acres of land.
There are conflicting stories about who captured William Merrill III and what happened to him. As a direct descendant of his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the following account matches the family lore we have heard on our Uncle William's demise. This is taken from "The Cliffside Chimes" published in 2012 and the article entitled "The Cliffside Connection to the Battle of Kings Mountain" by Don Bailey. This account below is not a direct quote from Bailey's article but it gives the most pertinent information from his article and our family lore. It is interesting because the article quotes an Ambrose Mills family descendant whose information matches the Merril information.
Tory night riders (not British troops) came to William's home in Jan 1781 about 4 months after the Battle of Kings Mountain in Oct 1870 and the hanging of Ambrose Mills. They kidnapped William, sliced his wife's tongue after she told them what she thought of them and plundered the house and farm. His family never saw him again. To provide some background, shortly after the Battle of Kings Mountain ended, William had found Col Ambrose Mills alive on the battlefield and had taken him to a nearby tree where he and other sympathizers hanged Mills for turning in William's brother, Benjamin, to the British as one of the Regulators in 1771 which caused Benjamin's execution by the British in June 1771. This happened after a "trial". The Tory night riders were out for revenge when they kidnapped William in January 1781 from his Rowan County home. While the Tories were riding to William's farm and taking him back to the hanging tree near Kings Mountain Battlefield, the British army was focused on fighting the Battle of Cowpens just down the road where they were stunned by the loss of about 25% of their army and gave the Americans a critical victory. The Tories took William about 85 miles south of his farm to the Cleveland County NC hanging tree where William had hanged Ambrose Mills four months earlier. One of these night riders was a son of Ambrose Mills. They hanged William from the same tree and it is presumed that they left his body there as a message to other Whigs. It is also assumed that passersby or a Good Samaritan or sympathetic Whigs found WIlliam's body later and buried it close by the hanging tree, When his sons and nephews rode to Cleveland County in hopes of retrieving and claiming his body, the locals could show them the "hanging tree" as it came to be called but nobody knew who buried the body or where it was buried so his family never retrieved William's remains. The Mills family made sure that the Merrills knew how and why William died and who carried out his murder.
William's widow continued to live on their plantation with her son Daniel until her death in 1813.
In Feb 1783, upon inheriting the plantation at the settlement of his father's estate, Benjamin, the eldest son, deeded the plantation to his younger brother, Daniel, who lived there the rest of his life.
Benjamin and his wife then sold their own land and moved west to Buncombe County NC.
The youngest son, John, moved his family to Buncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses. He lived in Buncombe County NC for the rest of his life.
Daniel Merrill, the middle son, and his first wife had 4 children and 3 of them died before Daniel. Then Daniel married two more times but no children were born to these marriages. However, there were stepchildren who came with both wives and the third wife survived him by a year.
Unfortunately, when Daniel Merrill died in 1844, he died intestate. His Probate papers are a very interesting read. The Court ruled that his land (his parents' plantation) and all household items and farm items and livestock be sold and the money divided equally among his numerous heirs. There were over 40 people who claimed to be entitled to a share of his estate: his one living son, widowed spouses and children of his 3 deceased children, nieces, nephews, widowed spouses of his siblings and various stepchildren of his last two wives. There was at least one lawsuit documented in Randolph County NC court records between different members of the Merrill family over distribution of the estate. The plantation of William Merrill III and wife, Mary Cornell Merrill, was sold by the Court at a public sale to settle the estate of their son Daniel in 1845. It had been purchased by William and Mary in 1759. After 86 years in the Merrill family, the plantation was sold to a non-Merrill.
When you consider everything the children and widows of William Merrill III and Capt Benjamin Merrill had witnessed from Capt Benjamin's death in June 1771 until William 's death a decade later in January 1781, it is understandable that some of their children wanted to move further west into the North Carolina mountains of Buncombe County or even further away to other states to escape from the memories of the tragedies they had witnessed as young people. This family withstood a lot and tolerated much for their parts in the freedom of America. Hopefully, William III knew of the British defeat at Cowpens before he was hanged.
Sources:
North Carolina, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890, Early tax List, 1768
North Carolina, U.S., Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 filed for in 1779 and issued in 1782
Randolph County NC Probate Recrods, 1844-1848
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 for 1780
"The Cliffside Chimes", published 2012
Brother of Capt Benjamin Merrill, who was hanged with 5 other Regulators by the British on 19 June 1771 in Hillsborough NC for high treason.
Married Mary Cornell in 1750 in Hopewell, New Jersey.
They were parents of at least 3 sons:
Benjamin 1752-1836 - married his first cousin, Penelope Merrill, and moved to Buncombe County NC
John 1755-1833 - moved to Byncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses
Daniel 1757-1844 - Lived on his parents' plantation in Rowan County NC until his death
All three sons were soldiers in American Revolution.
William and Mary had moved from NJ to Rowan County NC in 1759 leaving several siblings and numerous cousins in NJ. They bought a plantation near his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the Regulator who was hanged for high treason by the British in 1771 in Hillsborough NC.
Their plantation and small family cemetery were on top of a small mountain. In 1779, William paid taxes on 345 acres on land on his plantation plus four slave, nine horses, twenty-two cattle and 230 pounds in stock and trade. The same year, 7 May 1779, he filed for a land grant and the grant was issued in 1782 (a year after he died) for 200 additional acres of land.
There are conflicting stories about who captured William Merrill III and what happened to him. As a direct descendant of his brother, Capt Benjamin Merrill, the following account matches the family lore we have heard on our Uncle William's demise. This is taken from "The Cliffside Chimes" published in 2012 and the article entitled "The Cliffside Connection to the Battle of Kings Mountain" by Don Bailey. This account below is not a direct quote from Bailey's article but it gives the most pertinent information from his article and our family lore. It is interesting because the article quotes an Ambrose Mills family descendant whose information matches the Merril information.
Tory night riders (not British troops) came to William's home in Jan 1781 about 4 months after the Battle of Kings Mountain in Oct 1870 and the hanging of Ambrose Mills. They kidnapped William, sliced his wife's tongue after she told them what she thought of them and plundered the house and farm. His family never saw him again. To provide some background, shortly after the Battle of Kings Mountain ended, William had found Col Ambrose Mills alive on the battlefield and had taken him to a nearby tree where he and other sympathizers hanged Mills for turning in William's brother, Benjamin, to the British as one of the Regulators in 1771 which caused Benjamin's execution by the British in June 1771. This happened after a "trial". The Tory night riders were out for revenge when they kidnapped William in January 1781 from his Rowan County home. While the Tories were riding to William's farm and taking him back to the hanging tree near Kings Mountain Battlefield, the British army was focused on fighting the Battle of Cowpens just down the road where they were stunned by the loss of about 25% of their army and gave the Americans a critical victory. The Tories took William about 85 miles south of his farm to the Cleveland County NC hanging tree where William had hanged Ambrose Mills four months earlier. One of these night riders was a son of Ambrose Mills. They hanged William from the same tree and it is presumed that they left his body there as a message to other Whigs. It is also assumed that passersby or a Good Samaritan or sympathetic Whigs found WIlliam's body later and buried it close by the hanging tree, When his sons and nephews rode to Cleveland County in hopes of retrieving and claiming his body, the locals could show them the "hanging tree" as it came to be called but nobody knew who buried the body or where it was buried so his family never retrieved William's remains. The Mills family made sure that the Merrills knew how and why William died and who carried out his murder.
William's widow continued to live on their plantation with her son Daniel until her death in 1813.
In Feb 1783, upon inheriting the plantation at the settlement of his father's estate, Benjamin, the eldest son, deeded the plantation to his younger brother, Daniel, who lived there the rest of his life.
Benjamin and his wife then sold their own land and moved west to Buncombe County NC.
The youngest son, John, moved his family to Buncombe County NC between 1780 and 1800 Censuses. He lived in Buncombe County NC for the rest of his life.
Daniel Merrill, the middle son, and his first wife had 4 children and 3 of them died before Daniel. Then Daniel married two more times but no children were born to these marriages. However, there were stepchildren who came with both wives and the third wife survived him by a year.
Unfortunately, when Daniel Merrill died in 1844, he died intestate. His Probate papers are a very interesting read. The Court ruled that his land (his parents' plantation) and all household items and farm items and livestock be sold and the money divided equally among his numerous heirs. There were over 40 people who claimed to be entitled to a share of his estate: his one living son, widowed spouses and children of his 3 deceased children, nieces, nephews, widowed spouses of his siblings and various stepchildren of his last two wives. There was at least one lawsuit documented in Randolph County NC court records between different members of the Merrill family over distribution of the estate. The plantation of William Merrill III and wife, Mary Cornell Merrill, was sold by the Court at a public sale to settle the estate of their son Daniel in 1845. It had been purchased by William and Mary in 1759. After 86 years in the Merrill family, the plantation was sold to a non-Merrill.
When you consider everything the children and widows of William Merrill III and Capt Benjamin Merrill had witnessed from Capt Benjamin's death in June 1771 until William 's death a decade later in January 1781, it is understandable that some of their children wanted to move further west into the North Carolina mountains of Buncombe County or even further away to other states to escape from the memories of the tragedies they had witnessed as young people. This family withstood a lot and tolerated much for their parts in the freedom of America. Hopefully, William III knew of the British defeat at Cowpens before he was hanged.
Sources:
North Carolina, U.S., Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1790-1890, Early tax List, 1768
North Carolina, U.S., Land Grant Files, 1693-1960 filed for in 1779 and issued in 1782
Randolph County NC Probate Recrods, 1844-1848
U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
U.S., Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 for 1780
"The Cliffside Chimes", published 2012
Gravesite Details
Specifically: Circumstances surrounding William's death indicate that his body was left hanging on the hanging tree near the battlefield of the Battle of Kings Mountain. He was probably eventually buried nearby by passersby.
Family Members
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