No record has been found of the birth of Abraham or Isaac, and we do not know the identity of their parents. Annie Morrill Smith speculated in the Introduction to Volume 2 of Morrill Kindred that the name of their father was likely Richard, because the names of the children of Abraham are all biblical, with the exception of Richard. Since each brother spelled their surnames differently, we also do not know for sure if the surname of this father is spelled with an I or an E. The surname Morrell, however, is far more common than Morrill in England at the time.
Date inferred from age on headstone. Place inferred from sale of real estate in 1632 in Hatfield Broadoak, described in the Introduction to Volume 2 of Morrill Kindred.
[Anonymous], Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1925), 2: 595. The Roxbury Vital records give the date of death as December 18, 1662. This is likely off by one year, however, as the will is dated December 15, 1661 and proved one month later, January 21, 1661/62.
Birth year estimated from the following three facts. First, if Abraham traveled on the ship Lyon in 1632 with his brother Isaac, he was probably considered a minor because he was not on the list of those who gave the oath to the King. Second, two years later we find him living alone in Cambridge, apparently old enough to take care of himself. Third, Isaac’s oldest child is twenty years older than Abraham’s oldest child. Therefore it is reasonable to estimate Abraham was much younger than Isaac and probably in his early to mid teens in 1632. Place of birth is estimated from brother Isaac’s sale of real estate in 1632 in Hatfield Broadoak.
[Anonymous], Vital Records of Roxbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1925), 2: 595.