History and lore
Paulus was baptized at Mannheim in 1653; his godfather was his uncle Paul Marlet. With his brother Josias he petitioned in 1684 for a division of the land they inherited from their father. The Marlatt-Merlet DNA Project has found no known sons of Paulus.
Read the full report: The Marlatt-Merlet DNA Project: Summary Report
Paulus was about 9 when he sailed from Holland with his parents and brothers aboard Der Permerlander Kerck, sailing from Amsterdam on 12 October 1662 and reaching New Amsterdam in February 1663. The family settled on Staten Island, where in 1675 he, his brother Josias and their father were patented 243 acres and 30 acres of salt meadow at the mouth of Fresh Kill.
On 19 January 1678 a warrant went to George Commines, the Staten Island constable, to arrest Paulus Marlett, Francis Vesselton, Hans Lawrens, Daniel Stillwell, Edward Marshall and Peter Jansen “for abducting a servant girl of Christopher Billop.” Five days later an order was given for their release from prison on bail. The records calendared so far don’t say how the case ended. In 1694 the family’s Fresh Kill meadow was described as “formerly owned by Gideon, Joshua and Paul Marlet.”
Source: E. B. O’Callaghan, Calendar of Historical Manuscripts, Part II, English (1866), pp. 64 (vol. 27, pp. 9, 11) and 242; images below, from the Internet Archive scan.
Read the full article: Across the Atlantic in 1662: The Merle Family Comes to New Netherland
