When Meroe Redfield (1803 - 1888) married William Johnson Sikes (1799-1872) in Watertown, Jefferson County, NY in 1826, she contributed an unusual given name that has persisted nearly 180 years in our part of the Sikes family.  One of their eleven children was a daughter whose name was either Meroe Almira or Almira Meroe.  She never married.  My great-grandfather, George Preston Sikes (1856-1957) was William and Meroe's grandson and a nephew to Meroe Almira.  He lived with them in Watertown until he married Jennie Lawrence there in 1878.  George and Jennie named their second daughter Edna Meroe (1888-1951).  She was born in Denver, Colorado, about six weeks before her great-grandmother, Meroe (Redfield) Sikes died.

    When I was born, my parents named me Linda Meroe to honor Edna Meroe, my father's mother.  When my daughter was born, I chose Meroe as her middle name to again honor Edna Meroe.  My grandmother had always lived next door to my family and lavished her attention on me.

    My daughter and I have researched the name "Meroe" looking for its origin.  All we've found is the ancient city (now archaeological ruins) of Meroe located south of Egypt in what is now the Sudan.  It was a center of the Meroitic culture.  We suspect Meroe became a given name during one of the periods prior to 1803 when Egyptian culture was in vogue.  The first name Meroe appears only 32 times in the Social Security Death Index.  I've never met anyone outside our family with the name.  Have you?

    Some old maps indicate lands on a highland between two rivers (Stony and the Muddy); a location near Rev. Eliots "Meeting House" on a road called Mapleton in the early days of Robbery MA. 'Wheelock' college is adjacent.

    The river course leads to the Charles River, a salt water dockage for sailing ships. 'Old Mill Dam Road' has a man made canal now buried under it ('Brookline Avenue Conduit'), which was a bargeway to carry fresh water to ships at anchor in the Charles Basin from the river holding pond which we believe is a Sikes/Craft fresh water mill site of the mid 1600s. Similar, but earlier than the Stony R. mill site in marshes nearby.

    We think the early settlers operated a cooperage, box making, blacksmith shop, ice house, fish dry stages, salt works, herring weirs, ropewalks and a toll road at and around this site.

    Would like to know the significance of, and more about Mapleton, here and in the old country if any there be.

     My first Sikes that I know of was my grandfather. His name was Guy Edward Sikes.  He was born in 1910 or 1911. Grandma says 1911, because he was ten years older than her. He was born in or around Gallop, New Mexico. He was one of eleven children. 

He was married twice first to Dorothy Praster and his second marriage was to Nelly (not sure of her last name yet). He had a total of five children. Their names are  Ronald Edward,  Orville,  Roger,  Emily, and  Donald Roy.

     According to both wives some of his family were involved in a cattle war there in New Mexico. And also according to them anyone with the last name Sikes were not allowed in Gallop after sundown.  His family moved to California when he was young. I have found out some of his siblings names and will verify who they were soon, with the help of his second wife (my second grandmother).

Farm in England Text on card says, "Sykes Trough"	Business Ad	Cargo Ship - The Great Lakes
	Street Scene Medford, Ontario