Orsamus Cook Merrill (June 18, 1775April 12, 1865) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

Early life

Merrill was born in

Farmington Farmington may refer to: Places Canada *Farmington, British Columbia *Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation) United States * Farmington, Arkansas *Farmington, California * Farmington, Connecticut *Farmington, Delaware * Farmington, Georgia ...

in the

Connecticut Colony The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...

to James and Jerusha Seymour Merrill. He completed his preparatory studies in Farmington, and moved to Bennington, Vermont in 1791 where he was an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

to a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person or a company * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer ( fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * Jame ...

. He was an editor or publisher of several newspapers, including the ''"Vermont Gazette"'' and the ''"Tablet of the Times"'' in Bennington, and the ''"Berkshire Gazette"'' in

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

. He later studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1805, and practiced in Bennington. From 1809 to 1812 he was

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

of Bennington. In the early 1800s he also served as Engrossing Clerk of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

War of 1812

He served in upstate

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and Vermont during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

as a

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

of the 11th Infantry Regiment, and a

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the 26th Infantry and 11th Infantry. When Merrill received promotion to lieutenant colonel in the 26th Infantry, his replacement as major in the 11th was

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

, who was promoted from

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 7th Infantry.

Post-war life

Merrill became Register of Probate for

Bennington County Bennington County is a county in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,347. The shire towns (county seats) are jointly Bennington ("The Southshire") and Manchester ("The Northshire"), and the largest municipal ...

in 1815 and served as Clerk of the Courts in 1816. Merrill was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

candidate to the Fifteenth Congress, serving from March 4, 1817 until March 3, 1819. He presented credentials as a Member-elect to the

Sixteenth The 16th century begins with the Julian calendar, Julian year 1501 (Roman numerals, MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian calendar, Gregorian year 1600 (Roman numerals, MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar ...

Congress and served from March 4, 1819 until January 12, 1820, when he was succeeded by Rollin C. Mallary, who successfully contested the election.

Later life

Merrill lost elections for Congress in 1822, 1826, 1827, 1830, 1832, and 1833, evidence that Vermont was trending away from Democrats and towards, in succession, the Anti-Masons, Whigs and

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. In 1822 Merrill served as a delegate to the State constitutional convention. He served in the

from 1822 to 1823 and from 1841 to 1847 he was county Judge of Probate. He was Bennington County's

State's Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

from 1823 to 1825, a member of the Governor's Council from 1824 until 1827, and a member of the first

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members. Senate districting divides the 30 members into three single-member districts, six two-m ...

after the body was created in 1836. In 1839 he ran unsuccessfully for

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

Family

Merrill married Mary Robinson on August 18, 1805 and they had three children. Mary Robinson was the daughter of Jonathan Robinson. O.C. Merrill's brother Timothy served as Vermont Secretary of State from 1831 to 1836. His nephew Farrand F. Merrill (son of Timothy) served as Secretary of State from 1849 to 1853.

Death

Merrill died in Bennington on April 12, 1865, and is interred in the Old Cemetery on Bennington Hill in Bennington, Vermont.

References

External links

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
*
govtrack.us: Rep. Orsamus Merrill

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrill, Orsamus Cook 1775 births 1865 deaths People from Bennington, Vermont 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) Vermont lawyers State's attorneys in Vermont Vermont postmasters Vermont state court judges Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state senators United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 United States Army officers Burials in Vermont Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont 19th-century American lawyers Members of the United States House of Representatives removed by contest