Background
MERRICK, Edwin Thomas was born on July 9, 1809 in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, United States, United States. Son of Thomas and Anna (Brewer) Merrick.
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Edwin Thomas MERRICK
Edit ProfileEducation
Private school.
Career
He attended Wesleyan Academy at Wilbraham from 1830 to 1832, studied law, and moved to New Lisbon, Ohio, where he was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1833. He developed a practice in Carrollton, Ohio. His marriage to Caroline E. Thomas on December 3, 1840, produced two sons.
He was a Methodist. Merrick moved to Clinton, Louisiana, in 1838 and was admitted to the bar there in 1839. His practice flourished and he became involved in local politics. In 1845, he was the judge of the Seventh District Court at New Orleans, and the following year he was the successful Whig nominee to the state Supreme Court.In 1855, he was named chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
Although Merrick opposed secession, he believed in the right of secession, and he remained chief justice of the state Supreme Court on behalf of the Confederacy throughout the war. He was reelected in 1863 but was removed by the occupying federal forces and, in 1865, retired to his plantation at Pointe Coupee. After the war, his plantation in West Feliciana Parish was seized, and he went to New Orleans to practice law.
In 1871, he wrote a treatise, Laws of Louisiana and Their Sources.
Religion
"Peculiar institution" of slavery was not only expedient but also ordained by God and upheld in Holy Scripture.
Politics
Stands for preserving slavery, states' rights, and political liberty for whites. Every individual state is sovereign, even to the point of secession.
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Born
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Died
January 2, 1897 (aged 87) -
Nationality
United States -
Religion
Methodist