Chronicles of Oklahoma
Volume 13, No. 1
March, 1935
NECROLOGY
EDWARD MERRICK
Page 127
EDWARD MERRICK was born at Okawville, Washington County, Illinois, July 19, 1861. He was a son of John and Margaret Merrick
who formerly lived in Baltimore, Maryland. He attended the Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, Illinois, studied law
in the office of C. M. Foreman, and in 1880 was admitted to the bar in his native state.
In 1885 Mr. Merrick was appointed corporation clerk in the office of the Secretary of State for Illinois. At the expiration
of his term he opened a law office in Nashville, Illinois, which he conducted while his partner was serving as a member of
Congress.
While living in Nashville Mr. Merrick became acquainted with Thomas B. Needles who later became a member of the Commission
to
Page 128
the Five Civilized Tribes, commonly known as the Dawes Commission. His health became impaired and he went to Ashville, North
Carolina, hoping that the higher elevation would benefit him. Later, at the suggestion of Col. Needles, he came to Muskogee,
March 4, 1901, where he became a law clerk with the Dawes Commission, a position he held for thirty years.
Mr. Merrick's fine legal mind and judicial temperament early impressed his superiors, who frequently called him into conference
on matters of importance relating to the broad field of the Dawes Commission. Mr. Merrick's studies of the Indians, their
laws and customs, and the application of those subjects to the changing conditions the government was engaged in producing,
developed in him a sound and mature judgment that commanded the respect of the Bar of Eastern Oklahoma. He was long considered
by the Dawes Commission, the best informed man on these subjects and on the legal complications arising in the administration
of Indian affairs. He was often called as a witness to testify in important law suits concerning Indian laws and customs.
Mr. Merrick was married August 7, 1902, to Miss Lona Cummings, a member of the Creek Nation, and a daughter of Rev. David
Cummings, a Baptist minister at Hanna, Oklahoma. Miss Cummings for a number of years before her marriage, had served as Creek
Interpreter in the office of the Dawes Commission, and was regarded as one of the best interpreters in the Indian Service.
With the coming of statehood, Mr. Merrick, a Republican, resigned his position with the Dawes Commission, and was elected
from Muskogee County in the Second Session of the Legislature of Oklahoma. At the end of the special session in 1910, he resumed
his work with the Commission.
After thirty years of service at Muskogee, Mr. Merrick was retired under the law in 1931. The sundering of the ties that had
bound him to the service, deeply touched his 139 friends in the Indian office, who tendered a banquet to him and his wife
as an expression of the strong affection in which he was held by them, and of deep regret at the termination of their long
and pleasant association. Many beautiful and touching speeches were made, testifying to the affection in which Mr. Merrick
was held, and telegrams and letters were read from prominent men in high official positions in the Indian Service in Washington,
expressing their regret that they could not be present to testify to the high esteem with which he and his service were regarded
in the Indian Department.
Edward Merrick was a member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, and of all the Masonic bodies, including the Shrine.
He had been a member of the Odd Fellows for nearly fifty years. He died November 4, 1933, at his home in Muskogee. He was
survived by his widow, by a brother, Dr. Charles H. Merrick, and his sister Mrs. J. W. Miller, both of Okawville, Illinois.
Other survivors are Mr. C. R. Harriman and Mrs. Rachel Harriman of Shawnee, Oklahoma.
The funeral services at the First Methodist Episcopal Church in Muskogee, were conducted by Rev. W. E. Robinson, and the mortal
remains of Mr. Merrick were buried at Greenhill Cemetery, Muskogee, November 6, 1933.
—Grant Foreman.
Return to top
Electronic Publishing Center |
OSU Home |
Search this Site
|
