Josiah Merritt (1803–1882), sometimes known as "Uncle Si", was an early pioneer of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

Mount Si Mount Si (pronounced ; , ) is a mountain in the northwest United States, east of Seattle, Washington. It lies on the western margin of the Cascade Range just above the coastal plains around Puget Sound, and towers over the nearby town of North B ...

and

Little Si Little Si (pronounced ) is a mountain in the US state of Washington, named after its taller neighbor, Mount Si. It has an elevation of . and lies on the western margin of the Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain ra ...

near

North Bend, Washington North Bend is a city in King County, Washington, United States, on the outskirts of the Seattle metropolitan area. The population was 7,461 at the 2020 census. The city is east of Seattle on Interstate 90 and lies in the foothills of the ...

were named in his honor. Merritt was born in New Jersey in 1803. Merritt built a cabin at the base of the Mt. Si in 1860. He raised vegetables and hogs and kept an orchard. According to local historians, he was a rugged man who sometimes hauled bacon to the large settlements. "He had a native American wife but when his legitimate spouse, 'Aunt Sally' as the settlers called her, arrived from the east, the native woman had to go back to her people". He was known for playing the fiddle. Merritt died in February 1882 and was buried in the Old Fall City Cemetery in Fall City, King County, Washington.

References

1882 deaths People from Washington Territory American pioneers People from King County, Washington 1803 births {{Washington-bio-stub