Mercer Family Line

Mercer Family Line

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Grandy's 5x Great-Grandmother:

My 7x Great-Grandmother:

Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 8x Great-Grandmother:

Elizabeth Mercer (1692-1762

Elizabeth Knowles

Also known as: "Elizabeth Woodward", "Eilzabeth Vestal"

Birthdate: August 14, 1692

Birthplace: Aynho-on-the-Hill, Northamptonshire, England

Denomination: (probably) Quaker

Date of Marriage: ca. 1710

Place of Marriage: Province of Maryland

Death: bet. 1751-1762 in Cane Creek Friends Meeting, Snow Camp, Orange County (Present Alamance County), Province of North Carolina

Parents:

Thomas Mercer

1656-1716

Mary Greenaway

1663-1723

Family

Spouse:

Children:

1. Richard I. Knowles, Sr. 1715–1791

2. Thomas Knowles 1719–

3. Edmund Knowles 1720–

4. Ruth Knowles 1721–

5. John Knowles 1722–

6. Knowles 1723–

7. Knowles 1728–

8. Knowles 1730–

About Elizabeth Mercer

Elizabeth Mercer, born 1694 in Northampton, England; died 1743 in Cane Creek, Alamance County, NC. She was the daughter of Thomas Mercer, Sr. and Mary Greenaway.

She married William Vestal, Jr, 1716 in Westtown Twp., Chester County, PA. (born 1694 in Birmingham Twp., Chester County, PA; died Bef. 03 Mar 1744/45

in Frederick County, VA.)

More About Elizabeth Mercer:

Moved 1: Aft. 1737, Hopewell MM, Jefferson County, WV

Moved 2: 07 Oct 1751, Cane Creek MM, NC

Of: 03 Aug 1737, Concord Monthly Meeting, PA

More About William Vestal and Elizabeth Mercer:

Marriage: 1716, Westtown Twp., Chester County, PA

(More About William Vestal, Jr:

Burial: 1745, Rocky River, Frederick County, VA

Moved: Aft. 1729, VA

Occupation: 1729, Carpenter

Residence: Bef. 1729, Chester County, PA

Settled: Bef. 1729, Brandywine Creek, Chester County, PA)

Sources: 1.Abbrev: Ancestral File Title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 JAN 1998;FamilySearch® Ancestral File? v4.19" 3 Feb 2001 /i> Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 JAN 1998;FamilySearch® Ancestral File? v4.19" 3 Feb 2001 /i> Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 JAN 1998;FamilySearch® Ancestral File? v4.19" 3 Feb 2001

Repository: Name: Family History Library 35 N West Temple Street

Repository: 2.Abbrev: IGI Title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, International Genealogical Index (R) Copyright (c) 1980, 2002,;LDS Church, FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service Internet: http://www.familysearch.orggical Index (R) Copyright (c) 1980, 2002,ical Index (R) Copyright (c) 1980, 2002, Repository: Name: Family History Library

Repository:

Biography

Elizabeth Mercer was born circa 1690 in Northamptonshire, England.

Elizabeth married Edmund "Old Silverhead" Knowles. Together they had the following children: Richard Knowles, I.

She died circa 1761 in North Carolina, United States.

Elizabeth Mercer

in the England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837

Name: Elizabeth Mercer Event Type: Birth Birth Date: 14 Aug 1692 Birth Place: Aynhoe in Northton, England Gender: Female Father: Thomas Mercer Mother: Mary Mercer Meeting: Monthly Meeting of Banbury Piece Description: Piece 1669: Monthly Meeting of Bristol: Burial notes (1751-1760) Save Cancel Source Information Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Original data: General Register Office: Society of Friends' Registers, Notes and Certificates of Births, Marriages and Burials. Records of the General Register Office, Government Social Survey Department, and Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, RG 6. The National Archives, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, England.

References:

https://www.geni.com/people/Elizabeth-Vestal-Mercer/6000000004160552331

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/K8KM-Q1G

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mercer-62

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/123554259/elizabeth-vestal

https://www.ancestry.com.au/genealogy/records/richard-knowles-24-1pc9ljs?geo_a=r&geo_s=au&geo_t=au&geo_v=2.0.0&o_iid=41020&o_lid=41020&o_sch=Web+Property

https://freepages.rootsweb.com/~mygermanfamilies/family/JosephWMercer.html

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Grandy's 6x Great-Grandfather:

My 8x Great-Grandfather:

Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 9x Great-Grandfather:

Burial: Old Caln Friends Meeting Burial Ground, Coatesville, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Parents:

Richard Mercer

1638-1694

Anne Denslow

1638-1694

Family

Spouse:

Children:

1. Mary Mercer 1685–1750

2. Rebecca Mercer 1688–1698

3. Richard Mercer 1688–1710

4. Joseph Mercer 1690–1733

5. Mary Mercer 1692–1769

6. Elizabeth Mercer 1692–1751

7. Thomas Mercer, Jr. 1695–1758

8. Ann Mercer 1696–1723

9. Joseph Mercer 1697–1732

About Thomas Mercer

father:

*Edward Mercer

(LDS says Richard Mercer)

born 1626

Disambiguation

There were two Thomas Mercers. The Thomas Mercer of Aston [Twp., Chester Co., PA] was NOT the same Thomas Mercer, subject of this profile, who was married to Mary Greenaway. I hope this will help in the research of the two different men.[1]The Thomas Mercer of this profile was not the father of Anne (Mercer) Brown, married to Rev. William Brown. See Research Notes for a continuation.

Biography

Thomas was born c. 1660 at Ayon-On-Th, Anyho, [sic=Aynho on the Hill] Northamptonshire, England.

Immigrated to Thornbury, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Thomas was one of the original patentees at Thornbury.[2] He is listed as "Thomas Messer," one of the residents taxed in 1715.[3]

East Marlborough, Chester County, Pennsylvania

Thomas owned some 500 acres in East Marlborough Township.[2] In 1715, Thomas Mercer was taxed 5s 6d.[3]

Estate of

Thomas Mercer's estate inventory dated 12 Nov 1716 is available longhand original, also documents dated May 1718 with his widow's name on them, on ancestry.com Chester County, Pennsylvania, Estate Papers, 1714-1838 [4]

Thomas Mercer of Thornbury. 3/17/1715. 9/13/1716. A. 40. Provides for wife Mary. To eldest son Thomas after wife's decease or marriage, my new dwelling plantation containing my estate 238 acres. To son Thomas' son Daniel 1/2 of 500 acres of land in Marlborough which lieth next to Nathl Newlins land. To son Joseph the other 1/2 said 500 acres whereon son Thomas now lives. To my 3 daughters, viz Mary, Elizabeth and Ann, £20 each. To sons in law Wm. Pennil, Joseph Woodward and Joshua Peirce one pistole each. Remainder of moveables to wife and son Thomas. Executors: wife Mary. Witnesses: Francis Pullen, Thomas Pierson, Rose Pierson.

Burial

Thomas Mercer burial: Old Caln Friends Meeting Burial Ground Coatesville Chester County Pennsylvania, [5]

Research Notes

The following was originally part of the Disambiguation note on the profile but is so confusing (cut and paste from some other profile?) that it's better moved here until it can be clarified.

The above-cited Web site [no longer the case] quotes the following Quaker records: "Deceased Public Friends in ye County of Chester in ye Province of Pensyllv." [Info from Devon MM, London, England 3/12/2003.], "Thomas Mercer of Andover in ye County of Wiltshire. [sic = Andover is in Hampshire] He arrived about ye year 1682 or 1683 and died in ye year 1694."

"Anne Browne, daughter of said Thomas Mercer, came in with her father and recd. a Testimony for Truth after her arrival. She was buried in ye year 1696." (Source: "Public Friends deceased in ye County of Chester in ye Province of Pensilva.," from Quaker History: The Bulletin of the Friends Historical Association, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, Volume 4, 1913.)

Hinshaw, William Wade, Pennsylvania Quaker Meetings Records, Concord Monthly Meeting, Vol. I, p. 28: "Brown; p. 176, Mercer, they announced first intention to marry 8 (Aug)-13-1684; 2nd intention 9-10-1684; William got certificate to MM to marry Ann Mercer, 9-10-1684; Ann Mercer mrd. Wm. Brown, 8 (Oct)-13-1684" (Chester Meeting).

Sources

↑ Nippert & Wilson Family - Thomas Mercer NOTE: This citation contains no documentation.

↑ 2.0 2.1 Brosy, LynnRe: Chester Co. Records/Thomas Mercer RootsWeb post 30 March 2003, accessed December 17, 2014 NOTE: URL is blank as of 1 Feb 2020

↑ 3.0 3.1 Futhey, John Smith, History of Chester County, Pennsylvania, with Genealogical and Biographical Sketches. (Pages 184, 205) Philadelphia, L. H. Everts, 1881, Archive.org accessed May 27, 2015. NOTE: in this record the surname is spelled Masser.

↑ Chester County, Pennsylvania, Estate Papers, 1714-1838 [1]

↑ https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=147028483&ref=acom NOTE: citations contains no documentation

References:

https://www.geni.com/people/Thomas-Mercer/6000000001880184299

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/MSVV-14H

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mercer-172

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/147028483/thomas-mercer

https://geneagraphie.com/getperson.php?personID=I202614&tree=1

https://www.mathematical.com/mercerthomas1655.html

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Grandy's 7x Great-Grandfather:

My 9x Great-Grandfather:

Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 10x Great-Grandfather:

Children:

1. Thomas Mercer 1656–1716

About Richard Mercer

Notes from http://newsfeed.rootsweb.com/th/read/MERCER/2004-02/1077070532'''''=

.....Sharon Roach wrote to the Mercer list in 2000, suggesting a Richard Mercer as the parent of Thomas. Richard presumably has a will in 1680 leaving his earthly belongings to Thomas, as well as the care of Richard's wife Ann. I have not yet found a copy of this record.

shepherd in Aynho, Northamptonshire

s/o Edward Mercer & Susanna (Joanna)

1680 - THOMAS Mercer made a written agreement with his father RICHARD Mercer & his then wife Anne, that all of RICHRD'S earthly

belongs were given to said THOMAS, if he was to care for said RICHARD & his then wife Agnes, for life

Sources

WikiTree profile Mercer-315 created through the import of DerrekPrestonWayneSteeleFamily.ged on Oct 14, 2011 by Preston Steele. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Preston and others.

References:

https://www.geni.com/people/Richard-Mercer/6000000002389707335

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LRBX-49G

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mercer-315

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Grandy's 8x Great-Grandfather:

My 10x Great-Grandfather:

Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 11x Great-Grandfather:

Edward Mercer II (1600 - 1660)

Edward Mercer

Birthdate: 1600

Birthplace: Malford, Northampton, Northamptonshire, England

Christened: 1600 at St Andrew's Church, Broughton, Northamptonshire, England

Denomination: (probably) Anglican

Death: March 1660 in Thorpe Mandeville, Northamptonshire, England

Burial: March 30, 1660, All Saints Church, Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, England

Parents:

Edward Mercer

1565-1617

Joan Hopkins

1573-

Family

Spouse:

Susanna Joanna Mercer

1600-1660

Also known as: "Susanna Joanna England"

Birthdate: 1600

Birthplace: Northampton, Northamptonshire, England

Denomination: (probably) Anglican

Date of Marriage: 1625

Place of Marriage: Aynho on the Hill, Northamptonshire, England

Death: 1660 in Aynho on the Hill, Northamptonshire, England

Immediate Family:

Daughter of Edward Mercer and Miss England

Children:

1. Ellen Mercer 1618–

2. Elizabeth Mercer 1620–

3. Edward III Mercer 1626–1680

4. Marie Mercer 1630–1690

5. Richard Mercer 1638–1694

6. Thomas Mercer –1623

About Edward Mercer

Sources

↑ Mercer-1065 was created by Rachel Neal through the import of The Neal_Bunton Family_8-14.ged on Aug 4, 2014. This comment and citation should be deleted after a short biography has been added and primary sources have been cited.

References:

https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Mercer/6000000002389486870

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LWPW-VZ9

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mercer-1065

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Grandy's 9x Great-Grandfather:

My 11x Great-Grandfather:

Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 12x Great-Grandfather:

Children:

1. Anne Mercer 1595–1628

2. Edward Mercer II 1600–1660

About Edward Mercer

Mayor of borough of Northampton - 1594, 1612 & Farmer of the Rectory of Hardingstone

Baliff of Town of Northampton - 1592

Edward Mercer, Gent, Member of Parlimnet for Northamptonshire 1603

Sources

↑ Mercer-1067 was created by Rachel Neal through the import of The Neal_Bunton Family_8-14.ged on Aug 4, 2014. This comment and citation should be deleted after a short biography has been added and primary sources have been cited.

Biography

Mercer’s father, who like his son was probably a linen draper, served as bailiff of Northampton in 1568 and mayor in 1583.8 Like many members of the Northampton corporation, the family were staunch puritans. Indeed, Mercer himself was one of the parishioners of All Saints presented for nonconformity in 1590.9 In 1603, during his second term as mayor, Mercer and the leader of the local gentry, Sir Robert Spencer†, proved reluctant to allow the catholic Sir Thomas Tresham to proclaim James I as king, and did so only after news of James’s accession had been confirmed.10 Their main doubt concerned the new king’s soundness in religion. This issue probably explains why Mercer stood for election to the first Parliament of the reign. It was unusual for Northampton to elect a townsman other than their recorder, but Mercer was returned unopposed and without the usual stipulation that he should defray his own charges.11

In the first session Mercer was appointed to three bill committees, of which the first was to consider the ecclesiastical grievances outlined by the Northamptonshire Member Sir Edward Montagu (23 Mar. 1604).12 The others were for a private bill to enable Sir Christopher Hatton* to dispose of lands in east Northamptonshire and elsewhere (29 June), and a general bill to regulate lodgings, tenements and cottages in or near corporate towns (2 July).13 In between sessions, Mercer signed a petition, dated 21 Jan. 1605, from Northampton corporation to Robert Cecil†, Lord Cranborne, on behalf of the vicar of All Saints, Robert Catelyn, who had been suspended for nonconformity.14 This petition coincided with another addressed to the king from 44 members of the Northamptonshire gentry concerning various deprived ministers including Catelyn, which caused considerable consternation at Court.15 Catelyn was subsequently permitted to resume his ministry, and when he was once more threatened with deprivation in February 1614, Mercer was again among those who petitioned for his reinstatement.16 In the second session Mercer was appointed to consider bills concerning Herefordshire farming (20 Mar. 1606), the manufacture of butter (4 Apr.), and a new Hatton land bill that had come down from the Lords (4 April).17 On 10 Apr. he was appointed to attend a conference on ecclesiastical grievances.18 He made his only recorded speech in the fourth session, during the supply debate of 11 July 1610, in favour of a grant of two subsidies but no fifteenths.19 It is not known whether Mercer received parliamentary wages, but if he did he was almost certainly the only one of Northampton’s Members in this period who was paid.

Mercer does not seem to have stood for Parliament again. He was chosen mayor for a third time in 1612, and was given leave to erect a small house in the churchyard of St. Katharine’s.20 During this final stint as mayor, the corporation refused to contribute towards the aid for Princess Elizabeth in April 1613 until they were informed of the reason for the levy.21 In 1616 Catelyn died, having appointed Mercer as his sole executor.22 However, Mercer did not long survive his friend, but died on 16 May 1617, and was buried at All Saints.23 In his will, dated 15 Oct. 1616, he left lands in Cold Ashby to his son Samuel, and a claim to tithe in dispute with John Lambe, chancellor of Peterborough diocese.24 His daughters by his first wife were each left £230 and a house in Northampton, while the youngest received £300 and lands in the town. An annuity to his widow included ‘£5 yearly coming to me out of the patent for mines’. One hundred pounds was left to buy land, half the income from which was to be paid to the master of the free school in Northampton; the other half was to maintain a poor man or woman in the household of Sir William Tate*, one of the leaders of the puritan gentry of the county. The corporation was left £40, to be invested for the benefit of the poor.25 No descendants in the male line sat in Parliament, but Mercer’s grandson, Sir Thomas Pilkington†, was a leading London Whig during the Exclusion Crisis.26

Ref Volumes: 1604-1629

Authors: Virginia C.D. Moseley / Rosemary Sgroi

Notes

1.Northants. RO, 223P/1, All Saints par. reg.

2.PROB 11/72, f. 453v; 11/83, f. 95; Vis. Northants. ed. Metcalfe, 100.

3.Northants. RO, wills (ser. 3), bk. A, f. 194.

4.Northants. RO, 223P/1, All Saints par. reg.

5.C142/365/115.

6.Northampton Bor. Recs. ed. J.C. Cox, ii. 552, 561.

7.C181/2, ff. 175v, 196, 260v.

8.J. Freeman, Hist. Northampton, 94-98.

9.W.J. Shiels, Puritans in Dioc. Peterborough (Northants. Rec. Soc. xxx), 126.

10.HMC Var. iii. 118-23.

11.Northampton Recs. ed. Cox, ii. 495.

12.CJ, i. 151b.

13.Ibid. 249a, 251a.

14.HMC Hatfield, xvii. 26.

15.B.W. Quintrell, ‘Royal Hunt and the Puritans’, JEH, xxxi. 53-4.

16.Sloane 3827, f. 10.

17.CJ, i. 287b, 293b.

18.Ibid. 296b.

19.Ibid. 448b.

20.Northampton Bor. Recs. ii. 421.

21.HMC Buccleuch, iii. 162.

22.Northants. and Rutland Clergy ed. H.I. Longden, iii. 59.

23.C142/365/115.

24.C2/Jas.I/W6/45.

25.PROB 11/130, ff. 56v-57v; 11/131, f. 451.

26.Northants. RO, wills (ser. 3), bk. A, f. 194.

References:

https://www.geni.com/people/Edward-Mercer/6000000014128934477

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LHHZ-BQC

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Mercer-1067

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LHHZ-BQC/edward-mercer-1556-1617

https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1604-1629/member/mercer-edward-1565-1617

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Grandy's 10x Great-Grandfather:

My 12x Great-Grandfather:

Laila Laemmel-Gordon's 13x Great-Grandfather:

Parents:

[father unknown]

[mother unknown]

Family

Spouse:

Peronne De la Houhg

1534-1579

Birthdate: 1534

Birthplace: Bretagne France

Death: 1579 in England

Immediate Family:

Daughter of [father unknown] and [mother unknown]

Children:

1. Edward Mercer 1565–1617

About John Mercer

Life Summary of John

John Mercer was born before 1540. He had at least 1 son with Peronne De la Houhg. He died in Northamptonshire, England.

References:

https://www.geni.com/people/John-Mercer/6000000084583378899

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/L16W-738

https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L16W-738/john-mercer-1540

Possible Father:

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Mercer History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Mercer surname derives from the Old French "mercier," in turn from the Late Latin "mercarius," both meaning merchandise. In Middle English, Mercer was an occupational name for a trader who dealt in textiles.

Interestingly, not all of the family emigrated to England during the Conquest or shortly thereafter as the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae lists "Hubert, Hugh, Richard, Odo Mercer or Mercier [in] Normandy 1180-95. Bertin and Buno le Mercier [were also found in] Normandy [at that time.]"

The Mercer Motto

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Crux Christi nostra corona

Motto Translation: The cross of Christ is our crown.

Early Origins of the Mercer Family

The surname Mercer was first found in Northumberland but as a frequent occupational name, many records were found in various parts of ancient England. In fact, Serio le Mercer as Lord Mayor of London in 1215 and again from 1218 to 1221. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list: Jordan de Mercer, Lincolnshire; Adelard le Mercer, Oxfordshire; and Ketel le Mercer, Cambridgeshire. The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 have only one listing of the name: Thomas Mercer.

Without a doubt, Scotland holds the most history for this family. One of the first records there was William Mercer or le Mercer who witnessed two charters in favor of the Abbey of Kelso, c. 1200. A few years later, "Aleumnus Mercer was party with twenty-three others to a bond given by Alexander 11 to Henry III in 1244 to keep the peace. He had a grant of Tillicoultry from Walter, son of Alan. His son and successor of the same name resigned his lands into the king's hands in 1261. A curious story of two Mercers appears in English records, which throws an interesting sidelight on the law of the period. In 1279 'a man unknown was housed at Morpathe (Morpeth) with Geoffrey and William, the mercers of Scotland. The stranger rose through the night and stole their goods to the value of 30s., and instantly fled to Cotinwode, followed by William, who slew him in his flight. Both withdrew themselves and are not discredited. They may return if they will, but their chattels are confiscated for flight' (Apparently it was lawful to pursue a thief with hue and cry and do summary justice on him if found with the goods in his possession. The Mercers erred in not pursuing the thief in the recognized way.) "

Mercer Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mercer, Mercier, Merser, Marcer and others.

Mercer Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Dorcas Mercer and Robert Mercer, who both arrived in Virginia in 1635

Luce Mercer, who settled in New England in 1635

Luce Mercer aged 18, settled in New England in 1635

Dorcas Mercer, aged 30, who arrived in Virginia in 1635