WILLIAM MERRILL was born about 1680-1690, perhaps on Staten Island, Richmond County, New York, the son of WILLIAM MERRILL and his wife GRACE. With his parents, he was residing at Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey by November, 1687, when his father acquired land there. By 1705, his family had removed to Hopewell in Burlington (Mercer) County, New Jersey. On June 13, 1714, he served on a jury at Maidenhead (Lawrenceville), Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Merrill was involved in a law suit in Hunterdon County Court in June, 1718, and an action was brought against him and his mother Grace Merrill on May 20, 1719. William Merrill, Junior was assessed on the 1722 tax list of Hopewell with 130 acres, 20 cattle and horses, and 7 sheep. On March 8, 1724/25, he is designated in the court records of Hunterdon County as overseer of the poor in Hunterdon County.

         Historian Ralph Ege in his book Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908) identified the first wife of William Merrill as ANNE PARKE, the daughter of ROGER PARKE (p. 202). No documentary evidence exists to substantiate this claim. It is more likely that William’s first wife was the RACHEL MERRELL who became a member of Hopewell Baptist Church prior to 1728 (The Town Records of Hopewell, New Jersey, 1931, p. 127). After May 1, 1727, William Merrill married PENELOPE (STOUT) JEWELL (b. about 1695-1700, d. July 11, 1776), the daughter of JAMES STOUT of Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey and his wife ELIZABETH. She was the widow of THOMAS JEWELL of Amwell, who had devised his will in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on April 5, 1727 (Proven May 1, 1727) leaving bequests to wife Nelly and three unnamed sons. Joseph Burr and Nelly Jewell were appointed executors to the will, which was witnessed by Gershom Hull, Edward Butlar, and Peter Prall. Like Rachel Merrill, Penelope Jewell was also listed as a member of Hopewell Baptist Church prior to 1728.

         On August 8, 1730, William Merrill of Hopewell purchased 156 acres in Hopewell Township from Daniel Coxe of Trenton. James Smith, Francis Bowes, and Samuel Buskill witnessed the conveyance (Hunterdon County, New Jersey Deed Book D, p. 488). The Hunterdon County, New Jersey Court Minutes of May 21, 1740 indicate that a habeas corpus against William Merrill was issued by the Chief Justice at Burlington, New Jersey. A memorandum to this court entry indicates that on June 25th following William Merrill was killed by lightning at Sheriff Hunloke’s door at Burlington. Some researchers have interpreted this court entry to mean that Merrill was killed on June 25, 1739, but the memorandum was almost certainly added later, as most early court minutes are recopied from a rough draft. Thus, it can be assumed that William Merrill died June 25, 1740. On August 19, 1740, Merrill’s widow Penelope declined the request of Fenwick Lyell, Attorney at Law of Perth Amboy, New Jersey, to take an inventory of her husband's estate and renounced her right of administration for the reason that it "will only be a profitless tro[u]ble for me which I am not able to undergoe." On November 4, 1740, Jennett Parker, a widow residing in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, entered into bond as adminstratrix of William Merrill's estate with Fenwick Lyell as her surety.

         After her second husband's death, Penelope (Stout) Jewell married ISAAC HERRIN (or HERRING). Isaac Herrin devised his will in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on April 7, 1756 (Proven May 17, 1756), leaving bequests to son Edmund Herrin, wife Penelope, grandson Isaac Herrin (son of William), daughters Anne, Martha, Mary, Rebecca, Rachel, and the three children of daughter Abigail Woolverton (wife of Isaac). Herrin appointed William Hoagland and John Jewell as executors to the will, which was witnessed by Reuben Armitage, Azariah Hunt, and Nathan Hunt. On April 20, 1756, Reuben Armitage and Wilson Hunt prepared an inventory of the estate of Isaac Herrin (Proved May 17, 1756). Penelope (Stout) Jewell Merrill Herrin outlived her last husband by twenty years. The Town Records of Hopewell (p. 141) record that Penelope Herring died on July 11, 1776, the text of her funeral sermon being taken from John 14:19.

Issue by first wife [probably RACHEL]:

ANN MERRILL, b. about 1707, d. June 7, 1801 Rosemont, Hunterdon County, New Jersey [per Herald F. Stout]; md. about 1725, DAVID STOUT, b. about 1695, son of DAVID STOUT and REBECCA ASHTON.

MARGARET MERRILL. She was baptized June 11, 1712 at Hopewell Chapel Church.

RACHEL MERRILL, b. June 15 1715 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey [James Stout Bible, see Genealogies of New Jersey Families from the Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, Volume II, 1976, pp. 734-735], d. May 3, 1795 Amwell, Hunterdon County, New Jersey; md. 1734 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, JOHN STOUT, b. about 1712 Monmouth County, New Jersey, d. June 7, 1790 Amwell, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, son of JAMES STOUT and CATHERINE SIMPSON. John Stout and his wife Rachel are buried at the Stout-Manners Cemetery, Wertsville, Amwell Township, Hunterdon County, New Jersey.

Issue by second wife, PENELOPE (STOUT) JEWELL:

WILLIAM MERRILL, b. about 1729 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. before March 20, 1782 Randolph County, North Carolina; md. before December 2, 1752 (birth of eldest son) Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, MARY CORNELL, b. about 1724 Pennington, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. August 15, 1813 Randolph County, North Carolina, daughter of WILLIAM CORNELL. Mary (Cornell) Merrill is buried in the Merrell Family Cemetery, Mountain Road, Randolph County, North Carolina.

BENJAMIN MERRILL, b. about 1731 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. June 19, 1771 Hillsborough, Orange County, North Carolina; md. about 1748 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, JEMIMA SMITH, b. about 1730 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. between May 7, 1801-February 10, 1803 Rowan (Davidson) County, North Carolina, daughter of ANDREW SMITH and ANN MERSHON.

THOMAS MERRILL, b. April 17/19, 1732 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. May 12, 1798 Montgomery County, New York; md. before July 7, 1758 (birth of first child) Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, DOROTHY MORGAN, b. April 11, 1732, d. September 19, 1812 Montgomery County, New York, daughter of MOSES MORGAN and SARAH STOUT. Thomas Merrill and his wife sold their land in Amwell Township in 1796 and moved to Montgomery County, New York. Thomas Merrill and his wife are buried at Charleston Baptist Church Cemetery, Charleston, Montgomery County, New York.

PENELOPE MERRILL, b. about 1734 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. after December 3, 1782; md. THOMAS ANDERSON, b. July 11, 1728 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. before July 7, 1768 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, son of CORNELIUS ANDERSON and CATHERINE RUNYON; 2md. September 5, 1770, RALPH HART of Hopewell. His will was devised in Hunterdon County, New Jersey on December 3, 1782 (Proven September 6, 1785). In his book Pioneers of Old Hopewell (1908), Ralph Ege wrote that Miss Ellen Scudder Mershon of Zanesville, Ohio recalled her grandmother Mary (Hart) Smith sharing a family tradition that “Mrs. Ralph Hart was accustomed to dress in disquise, whenever the British were in the neighborhood, and that she never walked in the public road, nor remained two nights in succession in the same house. The British were especially anxious to capture Ralph Hart, or some of his family, for the purpose of compelling them to divulge the hiding places of John, the signer.” Alice Blackwell Lewis in her book Hopewell Valley Heritage (1973) describes a similar account: “Ralph Hart was a cousin of John Hart, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. This Ralph Hart became a target for British soldiers who were anxious to capture some of the family of the Signer, in order that they might be compelled to divulge the hiding place of that important man. So it was that Penelope Hart became a heroine by disguising herself in men’s clothing whenever the British were in the neighborhood. It was she who never walked in the public road, nor remained two nights in succession in the same house. She was required to carry water and food to her lonely husband, but more often the need was to carry these things to the hunted Signer, John Hart. This patriotic man survived many hardships because of the brave woman who put fear aside and came to his aid when others would not have dared venture out because of the lurking enemy, always ready to capture any suspicious person.” The Pennington Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) was organized in 1929 and given the name “Penelope Hart Chapter DAR.”

Known issue of PENELOPE STOUT and her first husband THOMAS JEWELL:

SARAH JEWELL, b. May 20, 1720 Amwell, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, d. after March 2, 1764 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey; md. before October 28, 1738 (birth of first child), WILLIAM PARKE, b. May, 1711 Burlington (Mercer) County, New Jersey, d. before March 2, 1764 Hopewell, Hunterdon (Mercer) County, New Jersey, son of ROGER PARKE. William Parke is buried in the Parke-Larison Family Cemetery, Hopewell, Mercer County, New Jersey.

JOHN JEWELL. He joined the Baptist Church at Hopewell on May 23, 1741, and was appointed church trustee on May 1, 1770. He was named as an executor of his uncle Benjamin Stout’s will devised August 27, 1767 (Proven September 19, 1767). On July 7, 1768, he served as bondsman on an administration bond executed by Penelope Anderson for the estate of her husband Thomas Anderson. The death of his first wife MARY JEWELL on October 28, 1781 at the age of 64 years was noted in the records of Hopewell Baptist Church (The Town Records of Hopewell, New Jersey, 1931, p. 143). John Jewell devised his will in Amwell, Hunterdon County, New Jersey on May 20, 1796 (Proven March 29, 1804), leaving bequests to his recent wife ALLA, daughter Anna Warford (wife of Moses), grandson John Jewell, granddaughter Mary Jewell, son John Jewell, great-grandsons Edward and Charles Woolverton (sons of Nathaniel), the six children of daughter Anna Warford, and the six children of son John Jewell. Peter Gordon, John P. Hunt, and Derrick Hoagland were appointed executors to the will, which was witnessed by Charles Reading, Joakem Gregg, and Jasper Smith. An inventory of his estate was prepared March 31, 1804 by Elijah Carman and Charles Reading.