Orsamus Cook Merrill (June 18, 1775April 12, 1865) was a

U.S. Representative 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 ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

Early life

Merrill was born in Farmington in the

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

to James and Jerusha Seymour Merrill. He completed his preparatory studies in Farmington, and moved to

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a New England town, town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester (town), Vermont, Manchester. As of the 2020 United States Census, US Cens ...

in 1791 where he was an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

to a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

. He was an editor or publisher of several newspapers, including the ''"Vermont Gazette"'' and the ''"Tablet of the Times"'' in Bennington, and the ''"Berkshire Gazette"'' in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

. He later studied law, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1805, and practiced in Bennington. From 1809 to 1812 he was

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Bennington. In the early 1800s he also served as

Engrossing Clerk Engrossing may refer to: * Engrossing (law) – marketing offences in English common law * The process of preparing an engrossed bill in a legislature * Illuminated manuscript production and design processes See also *Enrolled bill In the United ...

of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives a ...

War of 1812

He served in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and Vermont during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

as a

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

of the 11th Infantry Regiment, and a Lieutenant Colonel in the 26th Infantry and 11th Infantry. When Merrill received promotion to lieutenant colonel in the 26th Infantry, his replacement as major in the 11th was

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military officer and politician who was the 12th president of the United States, serving from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States ...

, who was promoted from

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the 7th Infantry.

Post-war life

Merrill became Register of Probate for Bennington County in 1815 and served as Clerk of the Courts in 1816. Merrill was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

candidate to the

Fifteenth In music, a fifteenth or double octave, abbreviated ''15ma'', is the interval between one musical note and another with one-quarter the wavelength or quadruple the frequency. It has also been referred to as the bisdiapason. The fourth harmonic, ...

Congress, serving from March 4, 1817 until March 3, 1819. He presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Sixteenth Congress and served from March 4, 1819 until January 12, 1820, when he was succeeded by

Rollin C. Mallary Rollin Carolas Mallary (May 27, 1784 – April 15, 1831) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as U.S. Representative from Vermont. Biography Mallary was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, and graduated from Middlebury College in 1805. He ...

, who successfully contested the election.

Later life

Merrill lost elections for Congress in 1822, 1826, 1827, 1830, 1832, and 1833, evidence that Vermont was trending away from Democrats and towards, in succession, the

Anti-Masons The Anti-Masonic Party was the earliest third party in the United States. Formally a single-issue party, it strongly opposed Freemasonry in the United States. It was active from the late 1820s, especially in the Northeast, and later attempted to ...

, Whigs and

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. In 1822 Merrill served as a delegate to the State constitutional convention. He served in the

from 1822 to 1823 and from 1841 to 1847 he was county Judge of Probate. He was Bennington County's

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

from 1823 to 1825, a member of the Governor's Council from 1824 until 1827, and a member of the first

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

after the body was created in 1836. In 1839 he ran unsuccessfully for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Family

Merrill married Mary Robinson on August 18, 1805 and they had three children. Mary Robinson was the daughter of Jonathan Robinson. O.C. Merrill's brother

Timothy Timothy is a masculine name. It comes from the Greek language, Greek name (Timotheus (disambiguation), Timόtheos) meaning "honouring God", "in God's honour", or "honoured by God". Timothy (and its variations) is a common name in several countries ...

served as

Vermont Secretary of State The secretary of state of Vermont is one of five cabinet-level constitutional officers in the U.S. state of Vermont which are elected every two years. The secretary of state is fourth (behind the lieutenant governor, speaker of the House of Repr ...

from 1831 to 1836. His nephew Farrand F. Merrill (son of Timothy) served as Secretary of State from 1849 to 1853.

Abby Maria Hemenway Abby Maria Hemenway (October 7, 1828 – February 24, 1890) was an American teacher, writer and historian born in the state of Vermont. Early life Abby Hemenway was born in Ludlow, Vermont on October 7, 1828. She attended Black River Academy ...

, editor
The Vermont Historical Gazetteer: The History of Washington County
1882, pages 437-438

Death

Merrill died in Bennington on April 12, 1865.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*
govtrack.us: Rep. Orsamus Merrill

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Orsamus Cook 1775 births 1865 deaths Politicians from Bennington, Vermont 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont postmasters Vermont state court judges Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state senators United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 United States Army officers Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly