History and lore
Theodorus was baptized in 1694 as Melot but signed his own name Malot, and both spellings lived on. The descendants of his son John, by his first wife Catherine Maple, became the Mellotts, mainly in Pennsylvania; most of his children by his second wife, Catherine DeLashmutt, carried on the Malott spelling.
Read the full article: Merle, Merlet, Marlatt, Malott: How Our Name Changed
In the Marlatt-Merlet DNA Project, eleven Malott and Mellott men descended from Theodorus, through his sons John, Joseph, Peter and Benjamin, closely match one another. That makes it likely they all share him as a common ancestor. Their Y-DNA differs sharply from the Marlatt lines, however, so the report suggests the paternal line may have broken either between Gedeon and Jean Pierre, or between Jean Pierre and Theodorus.
Read the full report: The Marlatt-Merlet DNA Project: Summary Report