Walter Merryman was kidnapped in an Irish port in 1700 and brought to Boston, Massachusetts, where he was indentured to a shipbuilder in Portland, Maine. He married Elizabeth Potter and settled in Harpswell, Maine. Descendants and relatives lived in Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Idaho and elsewhere.
Includes Alexander, Curtiss, Hamilton, McManus, Stover, Webber and related families.
The account of our Ancestor Walter Merryman varies but little among his descendants. He was kidnapped in an Irish port early in 1700 and brought to Boston, Mass. Here his so-called “passage money” was paid by a Mr. Simonton of Cape Elizabeth, Me., who faithfully taught him the ship carpenter’s trade, near Portland. Both these men were sturdy Presbyterians and their good influence is seen unto the last generations of both families.
Mr. George F. Henley of South Portland, Me., writes me as follows: “I went with your grandfather, Capt. James Sinnett of Bailey’s Island, Harpswell, Me., to see what we could learn about Ancestor Walter Merryman. We visited some old people, of Simonton descent, and were confirmed in our story of our Merryman ancestor, and that he remained with him some seven years.”
Ancestor Walter Merryman married Elizabeth Potter and moved to the old farm not far above the Harpswell Center (Me.) Church. He was one of the most upright and sturdy of the early settlers of the town. The coat-of-arms of the Merrymans shows that the family was one of valor and worth across the seas. Some claim his ancestors were Scotch; others say they were English.
Notes:
- Includes indexes.
Source
Sinnett, Charles Nelson. Walter Merryman of Harpswell, Maine, and his descendants. Concord NH : Rumford Printing Co., 1905.