-Joseph Merriam was born in 1600 at Tudeley, Kent, England, the son of William Meriam and Sarah Burgess. In 1623 he married Sarah Goldstone of Tenderden, Kent, England, the daughter of John Goldstone and Frances Jefferies. They emigrated to Charlestown, Massachusetts on board the ship the “Castle” in July of 1638. They were part of the “Great Puritan Migration”. They settled at Concord, Massachusetts. He was a man of some substance and was an “investor” in the cost of the voyage. He was a clothier by trade.
 
Their son Joseph Merriam married Sarah Stone, daughter of Gregory Stone and Lydia. In the next generation their son Robert Merriam married Abigail Cutler, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas Cutler and Abigail Dewey.