Merold Family History

Though there is some debate about the origins of the Merold name, this American branch of Merolds is Pennsylvania Dutch, descended from the Germans and Quakers. Many generations lived and worked in Pennsylvania, marrying into other Pennsylvania Dutch families, with some Irish and Scots-Irish infusion along the way. As for the progenitor, he has yet to be discovered.

For people interested in the Pennsylvania Dutch, it makes for lazy weekend reading. Briefly, for anyone trying to locate ancestors, early immigration to this area had it's beginnings with William Penn and ended (the real pioneering movement) soon after the close of the Revolutionary War. William Penn, a Quaker, received his land grant in 1681 and founded Pennsylvania that year. The largest group of Quakers arrived the following year in 1682 to people the new colony, deemed the "holy experiment." In 1683, the first German settlers arrived in Pennsylvania and formed Germantown near Philadelphia.

Many of the German families settling in Pennsylvania around this time were from the Middle Rhine country, a part of Germany called the Palatinate. They came to the colonies largely looking for religious freedoms, and their descendants are what are commonly referred to as the Pennsylvania Dutch. In fact, there's evidence that many families now living in Pennsylvania have their roots in places like Saarbruck, Heidelberg, Strasburg, and Coblentz. It's also from this region that the actual Pennsylvania Dutch dialect originated, and not the "Platt-Deutsch" which prevails in the northern sections of Germany. ^1.

(Please don't send me emails about Pennsylvania Dutch being a completely American phenomenon. Though some linguists have labelled this particular German dialect as native, the emphasis is on originate. For instance, there are accounts from WWII of "Pennsylvania Dutch men, particularly of the A.E.F., speaking quite easily with the people in Alsace Lorraine and the citizens of Coblentz during the American occupation." ^2. If nothing else, this illustrates a close linguistic relationship between the two dialects.)

In any event, serious German immigration to this area ended about the time of the ratification of the Constitution, around 1788. However, just because you find ancestors arriving in Pennsylvania during this window, 1683-1788, doesn't, of course, mean they are of German descent. Many English Quakers came over as well. And later in the mid and late 1700's, the Scots-Irish also made their way South from the overcrowded North, in search of land. Some put down roots in this area of Pennsylvania, picking up both the culture and the language, while others moved on into the interior and the Blue Ridge Mountains.

One thing I can corroborate about the Merolds, they do seem to have a disproportionately large number of clergy among their ranks. In fact, there seems an historic trend towards four basic lines of Merold employment: preacher, miner, soldier, and teacher. Down through the generations, the clergy dominate many Merold families. Teachers abound as well, some even teaching German. And though the miners have been replaced with engineers, the soldiering still runs rampant. There has yet to be a major American war that hasn't taken Merolds to the grave with it. (I've really no idea how any of them survived. The Merold men tend to be small boned, delicate in appearance, red haired, and liberally freckled. Well, at least my father. Who is shrinking daily. Sorry, Dad. And his father. And the uncles. And great uncles. And many nephews. In fact, it's not uncommon for women of the family to tower above their small boned, liberally freckled, delicate Merold men and beat them into complete submission with small bits of fluff. No easy task considering how stubborn such men tend to be.)

In recent times, the early and mid 1900's, many Merolds moved out of Pennsylvania. There are now pockets of Merolds in Florida, Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, New Jersey, Texas, New Mexico, et al. Rather amazingly the Merolds are still a surprisingly small family given the hundreds of years they have existed in the United States. In fact, every Merold I've come across to date, I've been able to connect through some common and traceable bloodline. I was once told that no Merold branch in the United States exists that is not blood related to the other. Surprisingly, my own very meager research seems to be bearing this out.

* For people running into dead-ends, there's an old family legend floating around of arson, theft and mayhem in the Clarks Valley, Pennsylvania early years, which may be to blame. Many believe a large mining company of the area, failing to buy out the local people, burned down their old wooden courthouse. Immediately after the fire, the company claimed all the territory it had previously tried to acquire as its own. Any who protested were invited to prove their claim in court. Of course, none could. The fire had destroyed generations of accumulated paper work, deeds, land grants, written histories, filings, marriage contracts, etc. In the end, one old wooden courthouse burned to the ground, a mining company got its land, and local families lost everything, as well as a bit of their history.

1. "History and Genealogy of the Hand Family; The Coming of a Practical Dialect." Compiled, written, and researched by Harvey Hand.

2. "History and Genealogy of the Hand Family; Our Dialect Common in Europe"" Compiled, written, and researched by Harvey Hand.

* Information found here gathered from multiple sources, various written histories and a compilation of research through the Merold branch.