Elizabeth Merriman
Elizabeth Merriman
Nov. 26, 1830
July 9, 1911
Come unto me all ye
that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest.
St. Mathew 11 Chapter 28 Verse
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
1. Photograph of Elizabeth Merriman
Provenance: Corpus Christi Public Libraries
2. News item, 1884
Mrs. Elizabeth Merriman offers her residence on Chaparral street, opposite the old custom house, for sale cheap for cash. For terms and particulars, call on her or address her at Corpus Christi.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, November 16, 1884, p. 5, col. 5
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission
3. News item, 1901
On February 16. 1868, Mrs. Elizabeth Merriman opened a boarding house at her residence in Corpus Christi. She has successfully conducted it ever since, never being without patrons all through the elapsed thirty-three years and more. In that time many boarders have come and gone. To all of them Mrs. Merriman was more than a landlady; to the coming and going young men who sat at her table she was almost a mother. Among the well known men who at different times have kissed Mrs. Merriman good bye and left her hospitable roof to marry and set up households of their own are; J. W. Ward, R. J. Kleberg, G. R. Scott, R. Givens, R. H. Bingham, S. W. Rankin, C. J. Macmanus and J. S. Henderson. These, and other friends of the good lady, will be glad to learn that, at the age of seventy-one, she has concluded to retire and pass the rest of her days without the multitudinous worries of housekeeping. She has sold her place and furniture, except a couple of bedroom suites and personal trinkets, to Allen Johnson of Dallas for $4,850.00. The details of the sale are all completed, and a cash payment of $2,600 binds the bargain. The transfer of the management and property will take place on Saturday, Aug 31. Mr. Johnson and his wife, with their son, Ed, and daughter, Miss Annie May, will then continue to run the boarding house. Mrs. Merriman will move into the E. T. Merriman cottage and may be persuaded to favor the Crony readers with an occasional bit of verse.
Source: The Corpus Crony, June 15, 1901, p. 5, col. 3
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission
4. News item
Episcopalian Diamond Dr. and Mrs. Eli T. Merriman
Out on the borders of beautiful Corpus Christi Bay, with the sun's first rosy glow bathes the Memory Garden, on Ocean Drive, there is a beautiful memorial shrub planted by Hon. Eli T. Merriman in honor of his sainted mother, a tribute that will blossom and grow for years to come. What changing mental pictures were presented to the young Mrs. E. T. Merriman, as the wife of the distinguished Dr. E. T. Merriman, born in Connecticut, educated in Yale university, and finally becoming the leading physician in different sections of the State of Texas, his chosen field of service, Out where the West begins. Mrs. Merriman looked out upon a rolling landscape, of beauty when her husband became the first settler of San Marcos, but of the loneliness and hardships of that early day of 1849, Mrs. Merriman never complained. Influenced by the lack of medical attention in various sections of the state, young Dr. Merriman and his devoted wife made several changes of residence, each time his greater skill serving a greater community. Atascosa county, Brownsville, Hidalgo, and in 1857, Banquete, Nueces County furnished a marvelous panorama of Mexico and Texas to the observing eyes of Mrs. Merriman. A great mother, she has four sons still living, Hon. Eli T. Merriman of Corpus Christi; John C. Merriman of Hondo; George Merriman of Muscogee and J. D. Merriman of Laredo.Energy moves the world and Mrs. Merriman was a fine illustration of industry and energy, for when left a widow during the yellow fever plague of 1867, in Corpus Christi, Mrs. Merriman opened a private boarding house, which proved to be a veritable home to many distinguished men and women who were hospitably entertained in her home. A devout Christian, Mrs. Merriman was ever found at her post of duty in the Dorcas Society and other activities of the Episcopal Church, until her death. Dr. E. T. Merriman had two hospitals during the war between the states; one at Banquete, where he resided, and one on South Bluff, Corpus Christi. The government of the confederacy accepted all decisions by Dr. Merriman as to the health of confederate soldiers. A story told by Eli T. Merriman will illustrate the fact. A soldier, by the name of Stockton was taken very sick in the town of San Patricio. A friend advised him to go to Banquete to see Dr. Merriman. Being unable to go to Banquete without conveyance, this same friend, took the buggy of another man, and when the other man protested, the friend said: I am taking this horse an buggy in the name of the Southern Confederacy. No further objection was made by the owner. Mr. Stockton, the soldier of this story, visited Corpus Christi some twenty-five ago, coming to see is son, Hugh Stockton, a cotton farmer out in the London settlement in Nueces County. While here he related the story to Hon. Eli T. Merriman, who resided on Water Street. Stockton said he only saw Dr. Merriman for a short time, the Dr. giving him a prescription which soon made him a well man. Mr. Stockton bought a farm in the interior of the State and raised cotton as well as a number of find sons. In closing I would say that since Hon. Eli T. Merriman has done so much for his city, his state and his nation, all of which is recorded history, there should be planted by the city a native Memorial Tree in the Woods of Remembrance, where already a number of trees have been planted, opposite the Memory Garden of Corpus Christi.
From Episcopalians are Paid Respect in City Memory Plot
Source: Corpus Christi Caller Times Oct. 29, 1939, Page 11 section C, col. 5-6
Research: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription: Geraldine D. McGloin
5. Obituary
A CORPUS PIONEER
Mrs. Elizabeth Merriman is Mourned by Many Friends
Had Lived in Corpus Christi Since the War
and Borne a Part in City’s Upbuilding
After a lingering illness caused by a fall sustained in February, Mrs. Elizabeth Merriman, one of Nueces county’s pioneer women, widely known in this section of the State, died Sunday night, July 9, 1911, at 25 minutes after eleven o’clock, at the home of her son, Eli T. Merriman.
Mrs. Merriman was born in Warren, Trumbull county, Ohio, November 26, 1830. She accompanied her father, John Fusselman, to Texas in 1849, making the trip by boat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to the Gulf.
She was married to Dr. E. T. Merriman in 1851, residing in Brownsville until 1857, when the couple moved to Nueces county. From Banquete, where they resided for several years, Dr. and Mrs. Merriman came to Corpus Christi, making this city their home from 1865. In the course of a short time Dr. Merriman built up an extensive practice, extending to Santa Gertrudis, San Diego, and other places within stage distance of Corpus Christi.
After Dr. Merriman’s death, which occurred during the serious yellow fever epidemic of 1867, Mrs. Merriman opened a private boarding house on Chaparral street, conducting the business successfully for a period of 33 years. Mrs. Merriman’s boarding house was considered one of the best in Texas, and many of the most prominent men of the day made it headquarters while in Corpus Christi. Quite a number of the older citizens were patrons of Mrs. Merriman, and hold kindly recollections of her unvarying hospitality.
For the past nine years Mrs. Merriman has spent a considerable portion of her time away from home, visiting relatives in Laredo, Hondo and other points. She made her home here, however, occupying a small cottage adjoining the Eli T. Merriman residence near the bay.
Until last February Mrs. Merriman enjoyed fairly good health. Her death was hastened by a severe fall from which she never rallied. For weeks she bore her suffering with the utmost fortitude and cheerfulness, passing away Sunday night without a struggle, surrounded by a number of her nearest relatives.
Mrs. Merriman was a member of a family of nine children, five brothers and four sisters. She outlived all of her brothers, her surviving sisters being Mrs. Mary P. Morrison of Providence, R. I.; Mrs. James Moore of San Antonio, Texas; and Mrs. Martha Dubose of Alice, Texas. Mrs. Dubose was here at the time of her sister’s death. She leaves four sons, E. T. Merriman of this city; John C. Merriman of Hondo, George Merriman of Muskogee; and J. D. Merriman, all of whom were with her when she passed away. She is survived by sixteen grand children and three great grand children.
Besides relatives, she _______________ host of close friends, who will deeply mourn her loss, for she was a woman of splendid Christian virtues and was possessed of a character that compelled admiration and esteem. Few women played a more prominent part in the city’s up building during the days after the war, and none had a wider or more sincere acquaintanceship.
The funeral took place Monday afternoon at 5 o’clock from the Episcopal church, of which she was a faithful member. Services were conducted by Rev. Dr. Sykes and the body was laid to rest in the family lot in the old Bayview cemetery. At the church and the grave the Episcopal choir joined in carrying out the impressive ritual.
The pall bearers were John Jordt, R. G. Blossman, E. B. Cole, J. A. Hughes, H. E. Luter and O. S. Calders, all of whom were former patrons of Mrs. Merriman’s boarding house and close personal friends.
Source: Corpus Christi Caller, 1911
Transcription by: Rosa G. Gonzales