Merrick Ezra Carn (1808–1862) was the 48th

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond overseeing the Office on Aging and the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of th ...

from 1858 to 1860 serving under Governor

William Henry Gist William Henry Gist (August 22, 1807 – September 30, 1874) was the 68th Governor of South Carolina from 1858 to 1860 and a leader of the secession movement in South Carolina. He was one of the signers of the Ordinance of Secession on December ...

. Merrick signed the SC

Ordinance of Secession An Ordinance of Secession was the name given to multiple resolutions drafted and ratified in 1860 and 1861, at or near the beginning of the Civil War, by which each seceding Southern state or territory formally declared secession from the United ...

in December 1860 at

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

. Merrick was born in 1808, the son of Thomas Carn and Strobel. He was therefore a grandson of Lewis J. Carn, a colonial planter. His uncles Daniel and Lewis Carn were known to be American patriots and Revolutionary War veterans according to the 1835 Pension Roll. Merrick went to South Carolina College (USC) and later studied law to become a SC lawyer. He held many positions of local and state government, from his home seat in Walterboro, Colleton Co., SC. This included lawyer, attorney, planter, mayor, county and state rep, state senator, and finally as Lt. Governor. He also was presidential elector in the 1850s for the Democratic Party. He also was a member and deacon for the St Jude's Anglican Church in Walterboro. He attended a conference before war broke out. Merrick married and had one daughter, Mary Carn, who married Fishburne and their son (Merrick's grandson) was E. L. Fishburne, the SC State Supreme Court Justice. Merrick died in January 1862 and was described by his cousin David Gavin, Esq., as being the most liberal minded of men. Merrick was a registered Southern Democrat. Carn Street in Walterboro city in named after him, and is nearby his historic home. The SC State Bill 2176 in 1979–80 created his gravesite a state historical marker. He is buried at the Ashepoo River Bridge in Colleton County, SC.

Sources

*BOOK: South Carolina Secedes, with picture of ME Carn (SC State Library) *BOOK: Diary of David Gavin, as published by Dorchester Co Historical Society *SC BILL 2176: CARN's grave is State Historical Marker. *1835 Pension Roll - under CARN, Daniel and Lewis *PERSONAL REF: Other information provided by family members with historical family records {{DEFAULTSORT:Carn, Merrick Ezra 1808 births 1862 deaths People from Walterboro, South Carolina Lieutenant governors of South Carolina 19th-century American planters 19th-century American politicians