Timothy Taylor Merwin (August 22, 1807 – January 15, 1885) was an American lawyer, state legislator, and businessman. Merwin, eldest child of the Rev. Samuel Merwin, pastor of the United Society (later called the United Church on the Green) in

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

, and Clarina B. (Taylor) Merwin, was born in New Haven, August 22, 1807. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1827. He attended

Yale Law School Yale Law School (Yale Law or YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824 and has been ranked as the best law school in the United States by '' U.S. News & Worl ...

for two years, until June, 1829, when he was admitted to the Connecticut

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. He then began the practice of his profession in Norwalk, where he remained until December, 1843, when he removed to New York City. During his residence in Connecticut, he was once (1838) a member of the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. ...

, and for several years clerk of the county courts. He was also for a part of the time proprietor and editor of the '' Norwalk Gazette''. On removing to New York he relinquished his profession, and was for some years engaged in a lucrative mercantile business; later, he was entrusted with the management of a railroad, and thence drifted into the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed ...

. In 1862 he was engaged with others in founding and organizing the North American Life Insurance Company, of which he was the first Secretary and for a long time (and at his death) the Vice President. After frequent attacks of heart-disease, he died from that cause at his home in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

, January 15, 1885, in his 78th year. In September, 1830, he was married to Hannah B. White, youngest daughter of Col. E. Moss White, of

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, Conn., by whom he had two sons and one daughter, who survived him. Her death in October, 1843, in connection with the failure of his health, was the occasion of the relinquishment of his profession and his removal to New York.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:merwin, timothy taylor 1807 births 1885 deaths Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut Yale Law School alumni Connecticut lawyers American newspaper editors Members of the Connecticut General Assembly Connecticut local politicians American railroad executives American businesspeople in insurance 19th-century American legislators Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut Yale College alumni 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Connecticut politicians