Correspondence of Gilbert S. Meritt in 1978.  This Gilbert S. Meritt appears to be the same one that Mrs. Marjorie Bullock Quigley refers to in her letter and also the author of  "Whence came these stones" published in 1982 (after this correspondence)

Coverletter

Page 1

Gilbert S. Merritt
Route 371
Damascus, P.A. 18415

August 30, 1978
Mr. Emmett Merritt
Cornwall on Hudson,
N.Y.

Dear "Cousin",
Very pleased to learn that you are also a descendant of the Gilbert Merritt who is buried in the Old Baptist Cemetery in Carmel, though, from our phone conversation, it appears that we may have different thoughts as to who the ancestors of the Gilbert may have been. It will certainly of interest to exchage notes on the subject for it is obviously a matter of interest to us both.
It is my belief that the father of GILBERT was WILLIAM and I am attaching hereto a xerox copy of some notes which I have made on WILLIAM. You will note that WILLIAM not only physically resided in the same area as GILBERT but also that one of his sons was named "Cornby" or "Cornbury" and it is of interest to note that GILBERT chose to name one of his sons Cornbury and the other William. Although in my write-up I stress the possibility that WILLIAM & GIBLERT may have emigrated from england I do not believe this to be the case. Rather, I think that they are descendants of THOMAS MERRITT of Rye N.Y. as follows: Reference

THOMAS 1 1634-1725 RMR p 49, 50, 51, 177
SAMUEL 2 1672- ? " p 51, 54
WILLIAM 3 1712-1807 " p 54, 57, 195
GILBERT 4 1754-1824 " p 149, 195

References quoted are from Revised Merritt Records, complied by Douglas Merritt, Rhinebeck, N.Y., Tobias A. Wright, Printer & Publisher, 1916.
Though I have, as yet, no positive proof that the WILLIAM (RMR p. 195) is the same WILLIAM as (RMR p. 57), timing,  age, etc. all seem to match up. Furthermore, if so, Gilbert would have been the son of WILLIAM'S FIRST wife (Tamer) which is rather an unusual biblical name and it is of interest to note that GILBERT chose to name one of his daughters by this name Tamer.

Page 2

I noted your comment that you believe the father of GILBERT to be GILBERT, ESQ. In this regard I would like to call your attention to the fact that there were apparently two Gilbert Merritts of virtually identical age; one being our ancestor and the other living at Rye, N.Y. The line of the descent of this second GILBERT is as follows:
THOMAS     1     1634     RMR p 49, 50, 51, 177
JOHN           2                  RMR p 51, 52
ANDREW     3                  RMR p 54, 55
GILBERT     4                   RMR p 59
***** GILBERT 5 1753-1823 RMR p 68

This man, however, is obviously not our Gilbert. Not only did he have different wives, but he lived in Grace Church St. Rye, NY. As final proof, his will was proved in White Plains whereas our Gilbert's will was proved in Carmel.
In any event, I will bemost interested in any informatiojn that you may care to send to me. If you are interested in further data, I might add that I have been digging itno this genealgoy for a number of years now and have adquired considerable data which you may find of interest. When you write, I would appreciate your advising through which of Giblert's children your own family has descended.
Meanwhile, my best regards to you and I await your letter.
Sincerely
Gil Merritt (Signed)

He encloses a  6 page document discussing William Merritt

Look at First Page:

    The rest of the Document is re-typed below:

Biographical commentary

    The earliest record we presently have of William Merritt is his appearance on the Dutchess County (Southern District) Tax Records (Ref 1) in February 1758, where his name appears as Willam Merrit, and continues with this spelling in later tax records of June 1758, where his name appears as William  Merritt, and continues with this spelling in later tax records of June 1758, 1761, 1762 (Feb. & June), 1763, 1766, 1771, 1772, 1773, 1774, 1775, 1778, 1779.  No tax rolls were known to exist for years 1776, 1777 (Fredericksburg precinct), nor after year 1779.  It is therefore a reasonable assumption that William Merritt was a resident of this area (now Putnam County) from 1758 to 1779.  And, as we note later sometime thereafter he relocates northward to the Town of Amenia in Dutchess County where at the time of his death, we know him to ba a land-owner.

    Other than the date of his birth, which we can approximate from his gravestone data, we do not know whether he was born in America or emigrated to this country and, if so when.  From the very preponderance of "Merritts" in the adjacent Westchester County in the 17th & 18th centuries, many of which bore similar Christian names, it was considered to be a strong possibility that he, too, was a descendant of Thomas Merritt who came to Rye, New York about 1660.  However, despite considerable searching to date,  no really definitive evidence has been found to link William to other American Branches of the Merritt family.

    To the contrary there is reasaonably stroon evidence that he probably emigrated from the U.K. with his son, Gilbert,  following at a later date.  A biographical sketch of a direct descendant,  Eliza Merritt Cowl (Ref. 15) referring to William's son,  Gilbert states,  "was a native of Scotland,  where he obtained his education,..."  A second biographical sketch of a William H. Merritt (Ref.16), believed to be a direct descendant of William through son Gilbert, referring to Gilbert states, "the Grandfather (presumably Gilbert) of our subject was born in England and emigrated to this country,  spent his last years in Putnam County, N.Y."  Assuming these references to be correct,  this may well explain our inability to date to finda a direct linkage between William and other American "Merritts" though a relationship stretching back to the U.K. may well exist.

    Accepting the hypothesis that William and son,  Gilbert,  were not native born but came from the U.K. we can reasonably deduce the following which deductions may assist in a U.K> search for their origins:
    a. Since we know Gilbert to have been born about 1753-54 and assume in the U.K. and we know that William appears on the tax records in February 1758, it would appear that William probably emigrated to the America between these dates.
    b. Since Gilbert first appears on the tax records in 1773 andif we accept the reference that he obtained his education in the U.K.,  it would appear most likely that Gilbert emigrated between 1765 and 1773,  though possibly earlier if we discount the factor of education.
    c.  Cornbury,  William's son and presumably the eldest since he appears first in the sequence of names int he Will of Wiliam, would probably aslo have been born in the U.K>  and since he first appears in the tax records of the year 1775 may likely have emigrated with Giblert of shortly thereafter.  (The name "Cornbury",  with spelling variations "Cornby" "Cornberry" , is a recurring name which is unique to this particular William branch of the Merritt family and is not a common recurring name such as "Gilbert" or "William" which are frequently recurring names in other American branches of the Merritts.  It is possible that this name "Cornbury " may have its origins in the U.K. and be a valuable clue in a U.K. search.)
    d.  The reference to Gilbert as having been a native of Scotland is somewhat puzzling since "Merritt" is an English name and traditionally within the family,  there has never been to the writer's knowledge any indication of Scottish ancestry.  We cannot however discount the possibility that William,  or his ancestors, may have owned land in Scotland:  possibly relocated in Scotland sometime prior to emigration;  possibly came from northern England and found it expedient to emigrate from a Scottish port;  that Gilbert was educated inScotland;or, lastly that the reference is in error.
    e.  We can also deduce,  with reasonable certainty,  that William must have been a man of substance,  and probably from a land-owning family,  when he emigrated to America.  We know that as early as April 12, 1762 (Ref. 3),  the Field Book of the Menjamin MOrganSurvey refers to William Merritt as. "....living on part of the lot..." and later in referring to a location notes ": at 562 the east end of Wm. Merritt's barn...".  From this ist is obvious that he was either leasing or owned land,  at that time, in Lot NO. 6 of the Philipse Patent and had built one or more buildings upon that land;  all of which required some capital which we assume he brought with him when he emigrated.  Also we note that at William's deat,  by which time he had relocated rothward to teh Town of Amenia,  he poossessed some 80 acres of land apparently unencumbered with mortgages.  His son,  Gilbert,  likewise was a substantial landowner since we note that at Gilbert's death he possessed ****E.P. MERRITT HAS IT AS LOT 8,  free and clear,  some 160 acres in the same Lot No. 6 mentioned earlier.
   Furthermore at the time of the American  Revolution we find William Merrit to have been a loyalist (Ref 5) who was included in a group of "...certain notoriously disaffected persons of influence in the said County, (who conspired) at the instigation of William Tryon, Esquier, late governour of the Colony of New York:  "ON Oct. 20, 1776,  the order was issued for the disarming,  apprenhension and securing of William Merrit to be sent as a prisoner to Exeter, New Hampshire.  This certainly lends credence to the belief that William most probably was s substantial land-owner with significant influence on the community.
   Lastly,  we take note of William's use of the titles "Mr."and "Mrs." on the tombstones of he and his wife which is somewhat of a departure from common use in America in this period of time.  We believe that he was attempting to accentuate that he considered himself to be a member of the "gentry".  this would probably conform to tradition within the family since the writer can recall, as a child his own grandfather frequently reminding him,  "you can be proud to be a "merritt" for we come from a family who have always been freemen and land-owners,  never tenants,  and whats more our family bears a coat of arms".  Though,  I must admit that my grandfather had no conception of what the coat-of-arms may have looked like.
    In any event, if a search is conducted in the U.K. for the origin of William Merritt it would probably be wise to assume that he came from a land-owning family in the U.K. or himself had been a land-owner prior to emigration.
    F.In a U.K. search, it may also be advisable to keep in mind that William has used the spelling "Merrett".  It could be that "Merrett" was the original English spelling of the name as it may appear in the Parish Registers,  Ship Passenger Lists or other records of genealogical interest.
    G. In a search for William's origin in the U.K., it would appear desireable to search sudch data as may be available in the form of ship passenger lists of emigrants to New York and New England ports during the aforenoted specific time intervals,  for possible mention of William, William's family,  Elizabeth (his wife),  Gilbert and/or Cornbury.

    Also, through Parish REgistersor other vital statistical data that may be available for reference,  to check for the birth of William (1711-1712),  birth of Giblert (1753-1754),  marriage of William & Elizabeth (probabally between 1740 & 1753).

    During the American Revolution,  William as we earlier mentioned had Loyalist sympathies and was taken into custody and send as a prisoner to Exeter, New Hampshire.  However,  he didn't stay in Exeter too long for we note (Ref. 5) that on Jan.  14, 1777,  the wife of William Merrit appeared and petitioned the Commission that her husband sent to Exeter might be permitted to return.  The Commission "Resolved that said person be permitted to return on his parole to appear forthwith before this Commission-  This commission haveing been informed that he is willing to become a good & faithful Subject of the State." 

    Although William may have been a Loyalist sympathizer,  it is of interest to note that his son,  Gilbert,  served in the American forces as an enlistedman in the Third Regiment Dutchess County MIlitia for which service he became entitled to "Land Bounty Rights" (Ref 4 p 242)

    Just when William moved northward and relocated we do not know but it must have been after 1779 since the tax records show him as a resident of Frederick Precinct in that year.  Perhaps it was after 1781 since we have noted a reference to. "property sold,  estates confiscated between Mar. 3, 1780 & July 10, 1781" and the listing includes the name of William Merritt as well as sons,  Cornberry and Gilbert (Note:  the listing contains names of other Merritt's as well including Daniel,  Hackaliah,  Nathaniel,  Robert,  Samuel,  Thomas,  Underhill, Joseph  John,  and Thomas-  we do not know but we suspect that the listing included other counties than Putnam & Dutchess).

    In any event, we find in the 1790 Federal Census that William is now in the Town of North East, Dutchess County,  and in addition,  Ebenezer (presumably William's son) is recorded.  William's family, at this time,  is noted as scomprising two males less than 16,  two males 16 and above, and three females or a household totaling seven persons.

    By the year 1800, William, according to the Census REcord, is now established in the Town of Amenia with a rather large household of ten persons; of the males there is one over 45 yeears, on 26 to 45, one 16 to 26, and one less than 10 years;  of the women,  there is one over 45,  two 26 to 45, and three less than 10 years of age.  While it is difficult to account for the family members it is obvious that the two people over 45 years must be William and his wife Elizabeth;  very likely daughter, Elizabeth, and her husband, Daniel Cornwell are living with them for at a later date we note reference to Daniel in William's will:  the younger children would appear to be grandchildren;  Willima's other daughter Mary whose first husband died in 1787 accounts for the second woman in the 26 to 45 group and Mar's Althea Cornwell b 1782, (Married Timothy Hallester) accounts for the female in the 16 to 26 group.  William's son Giblert,  is accounted for separately in the Census as a resident of the Town of Franklin (Patterson, PUtnam Co,  while son,  Ebenezer is listed as a residen of North East,  however the Census records of these areaas do not list William's other sons,  Cornby, Sameul or Jesse all of whom must have been living at this date since they were named in William's will.  The 1800 Census does though include William's grandsons (Gilbert's children) namely William and Cornbury listing them,  at the time,  as being between 16 and 26 years and maintaining households in the Town of Franklin.

    Both William and his wife,  Elizabeth,  lived to a good age.  Elizabeth's death preceded William's;  she dide in 1805 at the age of 83.  He lived on until 1807, dying at the age of 95.  IN his will,  he takes specific note of his son-in-law,  Daniel Cornwell,  making him a bequest "in consideration of his kindness and attention to me in my old age and present sickness' which makes it a good assumption that Elizabeth (William's daughter) and her husband Daniel Cornwell were part of the William Merritt household as noted in the Census of 1800.

    Sometiem after William's death his executors in settling his estate sold off William's landholdings in the Town of Amenia which from the sale deed were noted to consist of two parcels  of land totaling approximately 80 acres in area and sold for $1, 889.26.

Supplementary Comments

   There is reason to doubt the date given ont eht data sheet for the birth of Elizabeth (William's daughter).  For her to have been born in 1774-1775,  as noted, would require William's wife to have given birth at the advanced age of 53-54 years,  a highly unlikely possibility.  The date shown is deduced from a listing of tombstone inscriptions contained in "Early Settlers of the New York State, Their Ancestors & Descendants By Janet Wethy Foley,  Thomas J. Foley (PUblisher) Akron, N.Y. "hich lists as follows:
    Tombstone inscriptions- Hudson County Cemetery, Columbia Co. N.Y.
    Betsey Merritt,  Wife of Daniel Cornwall,  Nov 10, 1868 (93 years)

From the names,  it would appear to be the same persons,  however, it is quite possible that the date of death "1868" may be a typpographical error or that the inscription,  at the time of copying,  may have been somewhat illegible.  At date of "1858" would appear more likely;  however this is jus conjecture.

    With respect to William's daugher Mary (Ref:  Chart- C.E. Merritt, Utica, N.Y. 1/2/1926,  NYBG Library 122 E. 58th St., N.Y.C.) we learn that Mary was the 2nd wife of Richard Cornwell;  she was also married twice and her 2nd husband was Abel Butler so she was know as Granny Butler in her old age.  Richard Cornwell was born in North East Dutchess, Co. N.Y. and dies (killed by a horse) March 31, 1787 age 42.  Mary Merritt and Richard Cornwell had a child Althea Cornwell (married Timothy Hallister)  b Feb 9, 1782 d. May 8, 1874, dismissed from  1st Reformed Church Coxsackie, 1849.