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Jean Pierre Mellot

1658–1704

Born 18 April 1658. Died 1704 in Middlesex County, New Jersey.

More about the Mellott family

Life events

Born18 April 1658
Married1690to Marie Bellemain
Died1704Middlesex County, New Jersey

Research note: the DNA and Jean Pierre

The Mannheim baptism of 2 May 1658 names Jean Pierre as a son of Gedeon Merlet and Marguerite Martin, and the French church in New York names him as the father of Theodore in 1694. But Big Y-700 tests show that Theodore’s male-line descendants carry haplogroup G-FTB81217, not G-FT64201, the haplogroup indicated for Gedeon by descendants of Jean Pierre’s brothers Josias and Abraham. Somewhere between Gedeon and Theodore, a biological father was not the man the records name: either Jean Pierre was not Gedeon’s biological son, or Theodore was not Jean Pierre’s.

Jean Pierre’s own haplogroup could be found only through a Big Y test by a male-line descendant of one of his other sons. If that man carries G-FT64201, the break came between Jean Pierre and Theodore; if G-FTB81217, between Gedeon and Jean Pierre. See the September 2026 DNA update.

History and lore

Known in English as John Peter, Jean Pierre dropped the “r” from the family name Merlet and was often recorded as John Peterson Melot, Mellat or Mallat. From him come the Mellott and Malott spellings.

Read the full article: Merle, Merlet, Marlatt, Malott: How Our Name Changed

All eleven Malott and Mellott men tested by the Marlatt-Merlet DNA Project descend from Jean Pierre through his son Theodorus, and they closely match one another. But their Y-DNA is very different from that of the Marlatt descendants of Jean Pierre’s brothers Josias and Abraham, a genetic distance of 24. That suggests a break somewhere in one of the lines: possibly between Gedeon and Jean Pierre, or between Jean Pierre and Theodorus.

Read the full report: The Marlatt-Merlet DNA Project: Summary Report

Jean Pierre was only 4 when he sailed with his parents and brothers aboard Der Permerlander Kerck, sailing from Amsterdam on 12 October 1662 and reaching New Amsterdam in February 1663. He grew up on Staten Island and later lived in Middlesex County, New Jersey. Through his son Theodoras, he is the ancestor of the Maryland and Ohio Malotts.

Read the full article: Across the Atlantic in 1662: The Merle Family Comes to New Netherland