James Griswold Merrill (c. 1840–1920) was an American Congregational minister and university administrator. He was the second president of
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
, a historically black university in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, from 1901 to 1908.
Early life
James Griswold Merrill was born in
Montague, Massachusetts
Montague is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,580 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statistical area.
The villages of Montague Center, Montague City, Lake ...
Amherst College
Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...
Merrill was a Congregational minister in Iowa, Kansas,
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...
Lake Helen, Florida
Lake Helen is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,624 at the 2010 census.
Lake Helen was named after the daughter of its founder, Henry DeLand.
Geography
Lake Helen is located at (28.983463, –81.232870).
...
from 1912 to 1917. In Portland, Maine from 1894 to 1899, he was also the editor of ''The Christian Mirror''.
Merrill was the acting president of
Fisk University
Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1930, Fisk was the first Africa ...
, a historically black university in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, from 1899 to 1901, and its second president from 1901 to 1908. An article in ''The Nashville Globe'' noted that he spent most of his time fundraising away from Nashville. It also explained, "Dr. Merrill's interest in the education of the Negro springs not from a love of the Negro as a Negro, but from the love of the Negro as one of God's children; and this is simple Christianity."
Personal life and death
Merrill married Louisa W. Boutwell. He died on December 22, 1920, in
Mountain Lakes, New Jersey
Mountain Lakes is a borough in Morris County, New Jersey, United States, and a suburb of New York City. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 4,160, He was buried in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 387. As of th ...