posted 11-30-2003 10:56 PM            

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MERRIMAN, Charles G. Jeweler. Memphis, Shelby County, 1850—59.

Charles G. Merriman was born in Connecticut in 1823. By 1850 he had moved to Memphis, where he was working as a jeweler and living in the household of William H. Batesman. Charles Merriman was the brother of James E. Merriman (q.v.) and became a partner in the firm of J. E. Merriman and Company, which dealt in watches, jewelry, silverware, guns, and cutlery from 1847-60. In the 1850 census of manufactures for Shelby County, Charles Merriman reported he had $500 invested in the "jewelry store" At that time, he was using $200 worth of gold annually, $100 worth of silver, and he employed three people. Merriman estimated the value and nature of his annual production: jewelry, $1,500; repair of watches, $1,400; clocks, $300; other work, $500.

The 1860 Memphis City Directory listed Merriman's residence as New Haven, Connecticut. There were a number of Merrimans in the New York and Connecticut silversmithing trade at the time.

MERRIMAN, James E. Jeweler, watchmaker. Memphis, Shelby County, 1841-60 and later.

James E. Merriman was born in Connecticut in 1815, but by 1841 he had moved to Memphis, where he and Frederick H. Clark (q.v.) formed the jewelry, clockmaking, and silversmithing firm of Merriman and Clark.

After the dissolution of that partnership in 1847, Merriman established the firm of J. E. Merriman and Company at 32 Front Row. His brother Charles (q.v.) later became a partner in the firm. In a "public spirited" move, the brothers installed a stone sidewalk for the con­venience of their customers in 1852, a refined feature contrasting with the usual plank walks that were subject to decay through weather and usage. The firm advertised "Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Silverware, Gold Pens, Etc., Etc." at the Front Row address. By 1856 the firm had moved to 253 Main Street, where it remained through 1860." At the time of the Shelby County census for 1865, Merriman, aged forty-five, listed the value of his real property at $50,000 and his personal property at $1000. Other members of his household included four Merriman children ranging in age from three to thirteen; R. H. Wilcox (q.v), another jeweler, was also a resident in the household.

During the 1850’s, M. Rojoux, Samuel M. Jobe, R. E Wilcox, William Gaylord, W C. Byrd, and W L. Jobe (q.q.v.) all worked for J. E. Merriman and Company. During this period the firm evidently imported finished wares from northern shops and produced work of its own. One spoon bears the marks of both the Merriman firm and that of Wood and Hughes of New York, working 1840—49. The Merriman firm was not the only Tennessee shop to handle the work of Wood and Hughes; B. H. Stief (q.v.) of Nashville was another.

By 1860 Frank G. Bingham had joined the firm, and soon after this the firm's name was changed to Merriman, Byrd and Company, when W C. Byrd became elevated to a partner. The nature of Frank G. Bingham's service to the firm remains uncertain.

Paul R. Coppock noted in a Memphis newpaper article written more than one hundred years later that during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, James E. Merriman joined interests with certain "carpetbaggers and scalawags" who ruled Memphis. After their fall from power about 1870, Merriman's success allegedly faltered. Byrd took over the jewelry business, and Merriman, along with R. F. Wilcox, opened another Main Street store that retailed pianos, organs, and sewing machines.

MERRIMAN and CLARK. Watchmakers, jewelers. Memphis, Shelby County, 1841—47.

James E. Merriman (q.v.) and Frederick H. Clark (q.v.) formed a partnership in 1841 that was one of the earliest businesses in Memphis and thus profited from the first real spurt of growth in the city's population. The partners maintained their jewelry and watch and clockmaking firm on Exchange Square, where they advertised "an utter dislike for everything false or 'sham' in its nature." They asserted that they were "careful to deal in nothing that has not the indelible stamp of sterling worth upon it." Their use of the term "sterling" during this period was unusual. The firm also stocked Willard clocks and Colt revolvers. These gun sales probably served as a convenience to those heading into the undeveloped territories of Arkansas, Texas and beyond. An 1844 advertisement offered even more diverse services from the firm: daguerreotypes guaranteed to represent "a perfect facsimile of your face with all the natural colors" at the cost of five dollars.

In 1847 the partnership was dissolved and Clark established the competing firm of E H. Clark and Company (q.v.); Merriman opened his own establishment, J. E. Merriman and Company.

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