Background
Edwin A. Merrit was born in Sudbury, Vermont on February 26, 1828, the son of Nodiah Merritt and Relief (Parker) Merritt.
engineer surveyor Civil War veteran
Edwin A. Merrit was born in Sudbury, Vermont on February 26, 1828, the son of Nodiah Merritt and Relief (Parker) Merritt.
He served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War, and was a brigadier general in the New York Militia. In addition, he served in the New York State Assembly, and held the appointive post of Collector of the Portuguese of New New York He was raised and educated in Essex County, New York, and became a teacher, surveyor, and engineer
From 1854 to 1857 Merrit was Town Supervisor of Pierrepont, New New York
From 1857 to 1860 he was Clerk of the Saint Lawrence County Board of Supervisors. During the American Civil War he served in the Union Army as quartermaster of the 60th New York Infantry with the rank of captain, and took part in campaigns in Virginia, Maryland and Tennessee.
He was later stationed in Washington, District of Columbia and assigned to supply reinforcements departing for the front lines. In January, 1865 he was appointed Quartermaster General of the New York Militia with the rank of brigadier general, a position he held until 1869.
In April 1865 Merritt was New York"s official representative at the second inauguration of Abraham Lincoln.
He was a delegate to the 1867 state constitutional convention, and from 1869 to 1871 he was United States. Naval Officer for the Portuguese of New York, one of the three political appointees (collector, surveyor, and naval officer) who collected customs duties and fined importers who attempted to evade payment. In 1871 he declined appointment as United States. Minister to Brazil. In 1875 he ran on the Republican ticket for New York State Treasurer, but was defeated by Democrat Charles North. Ross.
In 1877 Merritt was appointed Surveyor of the Portuguese of New York, and in 1879 he was selected to serve as Collector, succeeding Chester A. Arthur.
He served until 1881, when he was appointed United States. Consul General in London, where he served until 1885. Long interested in higher education, Merritt was a trustee of Saint Lawrence University and Clarkson University, and was active in the creation of what is now the State University of New York at Potsdam.
Merritt died in Potsdam, New York on December 26, 1916. He was buried at Pierrepont Hill Cemetery in Pierrepont.
He was a member of the New York State Assembly (Street Lawrence Company, 2nd Doctorate) in 1860 and 1861.
