# Timothy Taylor Merwin

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Timothy_Taylor_Merwin
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Timothy_Taylor_Merwin.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Taylor_Merwin
> Source revision: 1352411185
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{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](/source/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](/source/New_Haven%2C_Connecticut), U.S.
 | death_date         = {{death date and age|1885|1|15|1807|8|22}}
 | death_place        = [Brooklyn](/source/Brooklyn), New York, U.S.
 | resting_place      = [Danbury, Connecticut](/source/Danbury%2C_Connecticut), U.S.
 | party              = 
 | spouse             = {{marriage|Hannah Barto White|1830}}
 | children           = 3
 | relatives          = [Robert Treat](/source/Robert_Treat) (great-great-great-great grandfather)
 | education          = [Yale College](/source/Yale_College)<br />[Yale Law School](/source/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](/source/New_Haven%2C_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](/source/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](/source/Archive.org) |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> His great-great-great-great grandfather was Connecticut colonial governor [Robert Treat](/source/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](/source/Archive.org) |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> His father was a graduate of [Yale College](/source/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](/source/Phillips_Academy) in [Andover, Massachusetts](/source/Andover%2C_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](/source/Archive.org) |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> He graduated from Yale College in 1827. He attended [Yale Law School](/source/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](/source/Connecticut_General_Assembly), representing Norwalk, in 1838. He also served as clerk of the superior courts of [Fairfield County](/source/Fairfield_County%2C_Connecticut) 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](/source/Archive.org) |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> He was proprietor and editor of the ''[Norwalk Gazette](/source/Norwalk_Gazette)''.<ref name="yale"/>

In 1829, Merwin began practicing law in [Norwalk, Connecticut](/source/Norwalk%2C_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](/source/New-York_Tribune) |page=5 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref> He then moved to [New York City](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Danbury%2C_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](/source/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](/source/Brooklyn_Eagle) |page=3 |via=[Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com) |access-date=2026-03-11}}{{Open access}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

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

{{authority control}}

{{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

{{US-business-bio-1800s-stub}}
{{Connecticut-politician-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Timothy Taylor Merwin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Taylor_Merwin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Taylor_Merwin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.