Rev. Rowland Meyrick: Bishop of Bangor

Until now, this family historian hasn't felt secure enough to report our Merrick family lineage* past Moses, father of Grandpa Hiram and Uncle Lester Merrick (link here).

Motto: Without God, nothing.
God and enough.

We still need a substantial connection to the line we will present. But neither does anyone else, and with good cause. We're confident enough to tell the story but not to bet our lives on it. We know what we've reported in our blog post about our royal Welch heritage (blog post here).

We're also confident of our family's distant connection to Lt William Merrick. He had at least three children who married into Mayflower family lineages around 1635 (blog post here).

If we have reservations going forward, we'll make them known. Feel free to comment and/or e-mail me about errors and concerns. We strive to be correct, not right.

When our distant cousin, Allie Goodwin Myrick Bowen, described her visit to Bordorgan Hall, Anglesey. Wales - in her book The Story of the Myricks, pages 1-4 (Google's Free books link here) - she ended her tale with,

'Eldest son to the eldest son, following the law of primogeniture, Sir George and his predecessors have held the Meyrick estate in Wales. The younger sons and the sons of younger sons were the Myricks who came to America.' (ibid page 4).

Our family comes from one of the 'sons of younger sons' who came to America.

Meyrick ap Llewellyn

Meyrick ap Llewellyn (Meuric) was a Captain of the Guard at the Coronation of Henry VIII., April 25, 1509. He was first High Sheriff of the County Anglesey, which office he held until his death.  

King Henry VIII

From him the name 'Meyrick,' signifying 'Guardian,' is derived as a surname, in pursuance of an act of Henry VIII, requiring that the name of every man at the time should be borne by his descendants as a surname, there being no surnames before that time in Wales. He married Margaret daughter of Roland, Rector of Aberffraw, Anglesey, Wales. His will is dated 30 Nov. 1538. His children were—

1. Richard Merrick, Esq., of Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales, who succeeded Meyrick ap Llewellyn as High Sheriff of Anglesey County.
2. Rt. Rev. Roland Merrick, D. D., Bishop of Bangor, Wales, born, 1505.
3. William Merrick. Died unmarried.
4. Owain Merrick. Died unmarried.
5. Rev. John Merrick, Rector of Llandachya, Wales.
6. Rev. Edmund Merrick, L.L.D., Arch-deacon of Bangor, Wales.
7. Rev. Reynault Merrick, Rector of Llanleehid, Wales.
8. Alice
9. Sionedd
10. Agnes

Source: (Capt.) Meurig ap Llewelyn, family out of Bodorgan, Anglesey, Wales.

Four Brothers: Wales to Massachusetts

Lt. William Merrick and his three brothers descend from the fifth son, Rev. John Merrick, Rector of Llandachya, Wales. Our line descends from the second son, Rt. Reverend Roland Merrick.

We presented the post on Mayflower marriages to show how interconnected the early arrivals to the New World were. For anyone interested in family Mayflower connections, we leave you with something to research, should you wish.

We've already posted about the Stephen Hopkins Mayflower connection through the marriages of two children of Lt. William Merrick. Another link is through Elder William Brewster. (Brewster connection here).

William Brewster (1566 – 10 April 1644) was an English official and Mayflower passenger in 1620. In Plymouth Colony, by virtue of his education and existing stature with those immigrating from the Netherlands, Brewster, a separatist, became senior elder and the leader of the community. - Wikipedia 

Enough has been said about Lt William Merrick, Mayflower's father-in-law, three times over by at least two different passengers. Our lineage comes from two brothers around this time: Henry and John Merrick.

Plimoth Plantation 

A Talk with William Brewster

Ben Harber

Rev. Roland Merrick

Rowland Meyrick (Merrick) (1505–1566) was a Welsh bishop of Bangor...Born at Bodorgan in the parish of Llangadwaladr, Anglesey, in 1505, he was the second son of Meyric ab Llewelyn ab Heylin, by Margaret daughter of Rowland ab Hywel, rector of Aberffraw in the same county. - Wikipedia

Bishop of Bangor
Incumbent:
Andrew John

John and Henry Merrick

One of great-grandpa Rowland Merrick's descendants was our own ancestor, another John.

''John Merrick was a member of the Virginia Company of London by a charter granted by the King on May 23, 1609. The Virginia company was granted more land by the King in 1609 and in the following years some merchant shipping lines supplied the Jamestown settlement in America,' - Merrick Family History by Daniel Merrick

Two of his grandsons - John and his brother, Henry - were part of their grandfather's merchant company and traveled to Virginia in 1635 and then again to Maryland in 1636. But it was John's descendant, Daniel Merrick, about 1678...

'...who was the first permanent settler in Talbot County, Maryland of the male line of the 'House of John Merrick: Merchants'; Member of the Virginia Company of London.'  - Merrick Family History by Daniel Merrick

Sidenote: No endorsement of the book by Daniel Merrick. Not recommended. Also, our family lineage is a brief overview here, skipping generations. Many Henrys, Johns, and Daniels will appear along the way, and we'll do our best to tell their stories.

Jamestown- Founded by 
The Virginia Company of London in 1607

*Note: Relationships, such as grandmother, 2nd great, etc., are expressed from the perspective of the grandchildren of Leon Arthur and Anna Grace (Fuller) Merrick.

Terms of relationship - grandmother, uncle, aunt, cousin, etc.  - are used here generically to include relatives such as fourth great-grandfathers, great grand uncles, second cousins twice removed, etc.