Imperial-San Diego County CA Archives Biographies.....Merriam, Edwin A. 1864 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 21, 2006, 5:30 pm Author: F. C. Farr (editor, 1918) EDWIN A. MERRIAM, one of the successful and prominent ranchers of Imperial County whose interests have extended to many fields of endeavor, is a native of Washington, D. C. He was born August 31, 1864, a son of Major G. F. and Nina (Scott) Merriam. His father was a graduate of the U. S. naval academy at Annapolis, Maryland, and was a member of the Fifth New York Heavy Artillery. He volunteered and fought in the Civil war and was wounded and lost his hearing owing to heavy artillery fire. His death occurred in 1914, at the age of seventy-nine years, the result of a street-car accident. His remains, with those of his wife lie in Arlington National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia. The family is of old English and Dutch origin and the first of the family came to America in 1612. The great-grandfather of Mr. Merriam fought in the war of 1812, and Nathaniel Merriam fought in the Revolutionary war, and took part in the Boston tea party. Mr. Merriam's uncle, James S., served as ambassador to France for many years. Edwin A. acquired his education in the public schools of California. He attended the University of California and at the age of twenty established a packing house at Escondido. This he operated for six years in conjunction with a large vineyard. In 1899 he went to Mexico, where he was largely identified with gold and silver mining. Owing to the revolution he left that country in 1913. He is now one of the leading agriculturists in the Valley, operating 8700 acres, which is largely devoted to cotton. Mr. Merriam also has five different mining properties which are very valuable. Politically he is a Republican, but has never aspired for public office. Fraternally he is a member of the I. O. O. F. and Knights of Pythias of Escondido. He was married June 15, 1916, to Mrs. Janette Hart of San Diego, California, a pioneer of Imperial County since 1908, and has a son by a former marriage, Jerome S., born at Escondido, California, September 12, 1897. Mr. Merriam understands ranching in principle and detail, and his long experience and practical methods have brought him a gratifying degree of success. He is now one of the leaders in his chosen field of endeavor in Imperial County. Additional Comments: From: THE HISTORY OF IMPERIAL COUNTY CALIFORNIA EDITED BY F. C. FARR IN ONE VOLUME ILLUSTRATED Published by ELMS AND FRANKS BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1918 Printed by Taylor & Taylor, San Francisco File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ca/imperial/bios/merriam599bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/cafiles/ File size: 3.0 Kb