Merrill/Merrell Genealogy
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This project is devoted to the genealogy of Merrill and Merrell families, with special emphasis on DNA test results.
| US | UK | |
|---|---|---|
| tested (Merrill+Merrell) | 106 | 3 |
| living (Merrill+Merrell) / living (all surnames) | 1/7000 | 1/31,000 |
| tested (all surnames) / living (all surnames) | 1/400 | 1/700 |
| tested (Merrill+Merrell) / living (Merrill+Merrell) | 1/210 | 1/500 |
Families
At least eight separate Merrill/Merrell families have been identified through DNA testing in the UK, Canada and the US. Merrill/Merrell spelling differences should be disregarded, because changes occurred frequently. Alternate spellings such as Murrell are not known to be related to Merrills/Merrells.
The two largest Merrill/Merrell families in the US each have about 30 percent of the total testees. Of 109 total testees, 34 descend from a male Merrill who emigrated to Newbury, Massachusetts in 1634.
Of the 109 testees, 29 descend from two related male Merrills, probably close cousins but not brothers, who emigrated to Staten Island, New York about 1680.
The remaining 46 testees include at least six smaller families, plus individuals not having known Merrill/Merrell relatives outside their immediate family. Unrelated individuals can acquire the Merrill/Merrell surname through adoption, name change, or extra-marital conception.
Only three of the 109 Merrills/Merrells who have so far been tested reside in the UK. None of these is related to a living US Merrill/Merrell family. This is suprising since several of the US families are known to have emigrated from the UK. It is not known whether all the Merrill/Merrell emigrants came from UK families which later died out or "daughtered out" in the UK.
We especially encourage all UK residents who have Merrill/Merrell ancestors to contact us and tell us what they know about their ancestry.
DNA
It is a common misconception that all Merrills and Merrells must be related. The DNA results prove that the Merrills/Merrells belong to at least eight unrelated families.
More exactly, all living humans are related, but their common ancestor lived earlier than 50 thousand years ago. Surnames came into common use only about 600 years ago, so it is pure coincidence that several different families independently adopted the Merrill/Merrell surname.
Under the "DNA" tab, the sub-tab "DNA project results" lists complete DNA results for all tested Merrills/Merrills, including unrelated individuals. The sub-tabs "Newbury MA" and "Staten Island NY" compare DNA results with known pedigrees, within each of the two largest families.
Links
External links about DNA testing in general, or about Merrills/Merrells in general, are under "Links". Links pertaining to specific families or individuals are under "Families", organized by family.
Contact
Later, the "Contact" tab will contain an online registration form for users who wish to post queries or post information for shared access.
Log In
The "Log In" tab is for Administrators only. Guests are anonymous and do not need to log in.
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