Matthew Franklin Merritt (March 2, 1815 – May 10, 1896) was a member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Se ...

representing the 12th District from 1859 to 1860.

Early life

He was born on March 2, 1815, in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...

."Connecticut, Deaths and Burials, 1772-1934," index, FamilySearch
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/F78T-DMW
: accessed 28 May 2013), Mathew Franklin Merritt, 10 May 1896; citing reference, FHL microfilm 3169. He was the son of Nehemiah M. Merritt and Phebe (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Thorne) Merritt. His father was a dry goods merchant on Pearl Street in New York City.

Career

Merritt was a member of the

from the

Connecticut's 12th Senate District Connecticut's 12th State Senate district elects one member of the Connecticut State Senate. The district consists of the towns of Branford, North Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, and Madison. Its current senator is Christine Cohen. ...

.Roll of state officers and members of General Assembly of Connecticut, from 1776 to 1881
/ref>

Personal life

Merritt was married to Mariah Shaw (1820–1901), the daughter of William Shaw and Clarissa (née Hoyt) Shaw. Together, they were the parents of: * Amelia Merritt (1839–1915), who married William Frederick Skelding (1833–1885). * Julia Merritt (1841–1908). * Adeline Gay Merritt (1846–1869). *

Schuyler Merritt Schuyler Merritt (December 16, 1853 – April 1, 1953) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from Connecticut's 4th congressional district from 1917 to 1931 and 1933 to 1937. He is the namesake of the Merritt Par ...

(1853–1953), who also served in the Connecticut General Assembly from Stamford and, later, the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

. Merritt died on May 10, 1896, in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. He was buried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Matthew F. 1815 births 1896 deaths Connecticut state senators People from Flushing, Queens Politicians from Queens, New York Politicians from Stamford, Connecticut 19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly