Timothy Taylor Merwin

{{Short description|American politician (1807–1885)}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Timothy Taylor Merwin | image = | alt = | caption = | office = Member of the Connecticut General Assembly | term_start = 1838 | term_end = 1839 | predecessor = | successor = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1807|8|22}} | birth_place = New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1885|1|15|1807|8|22}} | death_place = Brooklyn, New York, U.S. | resting_place = Danbury, Connecticut, U.S. | party = | spouse = {{marriage|Hannah Barto White|1830}} | children = 3 | relatives = Robert Treat (great-great-great-great grandfather) | education = Yale College<br />Yale Law School | occupation = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer|businessman}} | signature = }}

'''Timothy Taylor Merwin''' (August 22, 1807 – January 15, 1885) was an American lawyer, state legislator, and businessman from Connecticut.

==Early life== Timothy Taylor Merwin was born on August 22, 1807, in New Haven, Connecticut, as the eldest child to Clarina Bradley (née Taylor) and Samuel Merwin.<ref name="yale">{{Cite web |url=http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1859_1924/1884-85.pdf |title=Obituary Record of Graduates of Yale College |date=June 1885 |page=233 |website=Yale University |access-date=2026-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401214048/http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1859_1924/1884-85.pdf |archive-date=2022-04-01 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="memoirs">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/briefmemoirsmem00fielgoog/mode/2up |title=Brief Memoirs of the Members of the Class |last=Field |first=David D. |year=1863 |pages=91–92 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> His great-great-great-great grandfather was Connecticut colonial governor Robert Treat.<ref name="order">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/rollofmembersins01here/page/28/mode/2up |title=Order of the Descendants of Colonial Governors, Prior to 1750 |year=1899 |page=29 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> His father was a graduate of Yale College and a pastor of the United Society (later called the United Church on the Green) in New Haven.<ref name="yale"/> Merwin attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalcata00unse/page/126/mode/2up |title=Biographical Catalogue of the Trustees, Teachers and Students of Phillips Academy Andover, 1778–1830 |year=1903 |publisher=The Andover Press |page=126 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> He graduated from Yale College in 1827. He attended Yale Law School for two years and was admitted to the bar in Connecticut in June 1829.<ref name="yale"/>

==Career== Merwin served as a member of the Connecticut General Assembly, representing Norwalk, in 1838. He also served as clerk of the superior courts of Fairfield County from 1839 to 1842.<ref name="yale"/><ref name="memoirs"/><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/norwalkaftertwoh01weed/mode/2up |title=Norwalk After Two Hundred & Fifty Years |year=1902 |publisher=C. A. Freeman |page=284 |via=Archive.org |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> He was proprietor and editor of the ''Norwalk Gazette''.<ref name="yale"/>

In 1829, Merwin began practicing law in Norwalk, Connecticut. He continued practicing law there until December 1843.<ref name="yale"/><ref name="obit">{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/new-york-tribune-obituary-16-jan-1885/193171299/ |title=Obituary |date=1885-01-16 |newspaper=New-York Tribune |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> He then moved to New York City. He then worked in mercantile business. He later served in management of a railroad and worked as a broker on the New York Stock Exchange.<ref name="yale"/><ref name="obit"/> In 1862, he was one of the founders and organizers of the North American Life Insurance Company. He served as its first secretary and later as its vice president. He served as the vice president of the company until his death.<ref name="yale"/> He was a member of the New England Society and the Long Island Historical Society.<ref name="obit"/>

==Personal life== Merwin married Hannah Barto White, youngest daughter of E. Moss White, of Danbury, Connecticut, in September 1830. They had two sons and one daughter, including Alexander Moss. His wife died in 1843.<ref name="yale"/><ref name="order"/>

Merwin died of heart disease on January 15, 1885, at his Garden Place home in Brooklyn.<ref name="yale"/><ref name="obit"/> He was buried in Danbury.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/brooklyn-eagle-merwin-15-jan-1885-broo/193171850/ |title=Merwin |date=1885-01-15 |newspaper=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{find a Grave|38328423}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merwin, Timothy Taylor}} Category:1807 births Category:1885 deaths Category:Politicians from New Haven, Connecticut Category:Lawyers from New Haven, Connecticut Category:People from Norwalk, Connecticut Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Phillips Academy alumni Category:Yale Law School alumni Category:Connecticut lawyers Category:Connecticut local politicians Category:American business executives in rail transportation Category:American businesspeople in the insurance industry Category:Yale College alumni Category:19th-century American lawyers Category:19th-century American businesspeople Category:19th-century members of the Connecticut General Assembly Category:19th-century American newspaper editors