On August 7, 1761, in what is now present-day Wilbraham, MA, Timothy
Mirick, age 22, was killed by a rattlesnake bite while he mowed a field of hay. Timothy may have had other things on his mind that day, as his own wedding day was two weeks away.

He is buried next to marked #14 at the Adams Cemetery (founded 1741),
1000 Tinkham Road, Wilbraham, MA, (just south of Hwy. 90). His red
granite headstone appears on the right in this photo. It reads, "Here
lies ye body of Mr. Timothy Mirick Son of Lieut Thomas and Mrs. Mary
Mirick Who died August 7th 1761 in ye 23rd year of his age".

His sister Lucy is buried to his left under a smaller. She died in
November of her tenth year. Timothy's father, Lieut. Thomas Mirick is
buried close by.

18th century Wilbraham historian, Clark Warner wrote, "Timothy Mirrick, [sic] the son of Lt. Thomas and Mary Mirrick was bit by a ratel snake on August the 7th, 1761, and died within about two or three ours, he being 22 years, two months and three days old and vary near the point of marridg,"

Chauncy E. Peck wrote in his June 15, 1913 "History of Wilbraham:
" About 40 years ago, William V. Sessions, who was born in 1801, showed me the place [where Timothy Mirick died] and he said that the summer of 1761 was very dry and it was supposed that the serpent had come down from 'Rattlesnake Peak,' on the mountain, where there were known to be a few, to the meadow, in search of water. He also told me that a search for the snake was made the next day, and it was found curled up near the seythe of young Timothy, and was killed."

"...The house which was being built for the young man, so near the
'point of marridg' is still standing on the east side of the road and
is occupied by Walter Bliss..."   This house was (in 1913) the most
southerly place in Wilbraham, on Main St. The meadow Timothy was
mowing when he died, was off to the southwest of this house, some
"seventy to ninety rods".

In the 21st century, Wilbraham, MA is full of families named Merrick.
Their Welch ancestors settled in Western, MA, in the 1680s.