Researching William Merchant
Explore the detail of William Merchant using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 2014 people with the Merchant surname? In that year Merchant was ranked number 1824 for popularity in the UK. |
The name William means "resolute guardian" and is of German origin.
Records of William Merchant on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of William Merchant in your family tree. With over 30 billion records and 100 million family trees to search, Ancestry is one of the key websites to visit to help you trace your family tree back in time. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for William Merchant. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for William Merchant. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for William Merchant. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for William Merchant. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for William Merchant. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Merchant ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Merchant Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for William Merchant and the Merchant Family Tree
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Merchant Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Merchant family tree.
Look at Parish Records for William Merchant at Find My Past.
Search for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of William Merchant using the FreeBMD database.
Explore Genealogy Bank for William Merchant records.
Search MyHeritage for William Merchant information.
Investigate the LDS Database for records about William Merchant.
Research the Merchant surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Merchant Military records.
| Did you know that there are currently 2319 people with the Merchant surname in the UK? Merchant is now ranked number 2146 for popularity in the UK. |
Merchant Family History Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Explore the WikiTree database for user contributed records for William Merchant.
Study MyTrees for information on the Merchant family and people looking to contact living Merchant relations.
Search One Great Family for Merchant records submitted by people who are already researching the Merchant Family Tree.
Find William Merchant from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Merchant Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Merchant surname using Genealogy.com forums .
| Did you know that there are currently 18229 people with the Merchant surname in the USA? Merchant is ranked number 151 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Merchant Databases
Investigate the Ellis Island Database for information on William Merchant. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called William Merchant
William Alfred Merchant
William Alfred Merchant (31 July 1919 – 26 May 2001), was an English dwarf clown who performed under the name of "Little Billy" Merchant. Born in a workhouse in Barton Hill, Bristol, Merchant was abandoned by his parents as a young child and brought up in an orphanage in Bristol. As an adult, he was only tall.
Merchant was fascinated by his local variety theatre, the Bristol Empire, where a chance encounter in 1937 resulted in his recruitment into John Lester's troupe of midgets. He subsequently joined Joe Boganny's band of acrobatic dwarves, with whom he appeared in many of the leading variety venues of the time. During the Second World War Merchant worked as an aircraft fitter for the Bristol Aeroplane Company, but he managed to spend the 1944 summer season at Chessington Zoo Circus, partnering the clown Fiery Jack (real name Fred Zetina). His partnership with Jacko the Clown lasted for 30 years, during which time the pair traveled extensively on the European circus circuit. They were regular performers at the Belle Vue Christmas Circus until Merchant's retirement in 1979. They also spent six summer seasons at the Great Yarmouth Hippodrome.
Merchant moved to a retirement home in Skegness in 1979. He received a lifetime achievement award from the Circus Friends' Association of Great Britain in 2000.
Source: William Alfred Merchant, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Merchant
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Marcam Marcano Marcantel Marcantonio Marchaino Marcham Marchand Marchant Marchenko Marchent Marchiano Marchin Marchington Marchinko Marchino Marchione Marchman Marchment Marchon Marchum Marchwiany Marciano Marciante Marcin Marciniak Marcinko Marcinkowski Marcinkus Marcinski Marckham Marcom Marcomb Marcombe Marcome Marcon Marcone Marconi Marcum Margain Marginson Marikhin Marishenko Marison Marjanovic Marjanski Marjenhoff Markaham Markam Markan Markcume Markeham Markemmanuel Marken Markham Markhann Markhem Markhum Markian Markim Markin Marking Markins Markkam Markman Markom Markomb Markson Markum Marquam Marquand Marrigan Marrison Marroquin Marsand Marschand Marschinke Marsham Marshinsky Marshman Marshment Marsom Marson Marsonette Martcham Martchant Martchante Marxen Marxsen Marzan Marzano Marziani Maurroquin Mearcom Meersman Merchen Mercinier Mergen Mergens Merigan Merigon Merigoni Merrgan Merrgen Merrican Merrigan Merrigans Merriken Merrikin Merrison Merrisson Mershman Mershom Mershon Mersinger Merson Meyerson Miersen Moorkamp Moorsom Morcenkowski Morcinkowski Morcom Morcomb Morcombe Morcomber Morecomb Morecombe Morgain Morgan Morgandale Morgans Morganstein Morganstern Morganstine Morganthal Morganti Morgen Morgenbesser Morgenroth Morgensen Morgenstern Morgenthaler Morgon Morican Moriconi Morieson Morigan Morison Morizen Morken Morkham Morkin Morrieson Morrison Morrisson Morrowson Morsom Morson Morycan Moryson Mrozinski Murison Murkin Murricanes Murrigan Murrigans Murrison Murson Murzin Myerchin
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