Samuel Vaughan Merrick was born on May 4, 1801, in Hallowell, Maine. He was the son of John and Rebecca (Vaughan) Merrick. His father, an emigrant from England in 1798, had been educated as a Unitarian minister but spent most of his life as a student and writer.
Merrick attended the schools of his native town.
In 1816, Samuel entered the employ of his uncle, John Vaughan, a wine merchant of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1820 he left his uncle and joined John Agnew in the firm of Merrick & Agnew, to manufacture an improved type of fire-engine. His knowledge of mechanical engineering was slight at this time but through constant study he gained a good practical knowledge of engineering and developed an innate talent for mechanics. In 1836, with John H. Towne as a junior partner, he established the Southwark Foundry for the manufacture of heavy machinery and boilers. Upon Towne's retirement in 1849, Merrick took his son, J. Vaughan Merrick, into partnership. As Merrick & Son, and after 1852 as Merrick & Sons, the firm continued until the retirement of the senior partner in 1860. Merrick was an early advocate of the use of gas for street lighting in Philadelphia, and in order to bring about its adoption ran for and was elected to the City Council. He was appointed a chairman of the committee to investigate the matter and was sent abroad to study European methods of gas manufacture. Upon his return in 1834 he was given charge, as chief engineer, of building the gas works and distributing the gas throughout the city. This work was completed on February 8, 1836, and on February 8, 1837, he resigned his official position in order to devote himself to his private business. Realizing the importance to Philadelphia of a railroad connection with the interior, he was an early promoter of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, which was organized, April 13, 1846; and on March 31, 1847, he became its first president. While not possessing technical training, he was well fitted to manage and inspire confidence in the enterprise. He held this position until September 1, 1849, when, with the construction of the road progressing satisfactorily, and the prospect that sufficient capital would be raised for its completion, he tendered his resignation. He remained as a director, however, until February 2, 1852. In 1856 he was prevailed upon to accept the presidency of the Sunbury & Erie Railroad, then on the verge of bankruptcy, and held this post until December 1857, when he resigned because of ill health. During this time he saved the road from failure by advancing large sums from his private funds. He was also a director of the Catawissa Railroad and was connected in various official capacities with other corporations. In 1833 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society. He died in Philadelphia.
Among Merrick's notable achievements were the construction of the engines of a number of naval vessels, notably those for the steam frigate Mississippi. He also built the iron lighthouses along the coast of Florida and the New Ironsides, a pioneer armor-clad vessel. A founder of the Franklin Institute of Pennsylvania in 1824, he was its president from 1842 to 1854.
a member of the American Philosophical Society
After the Civil War, Merrick became interested in the problems of education in the South and made large gifts toward the maintenance of schools in that section. He was also a liberal giver to other agencies, particularly the Episcopal Hospital in Philadelphia.
On Christmas day, 1823, Merrick was married to Sarah Thomas, by whom he had six children.
