I. B. Merriam

   I. B. Merriam, one of the leading wholesale grocery merchants of Chattanooga, was born in Syracuse, N. Y., in 1840. His parents, Noah and Mary A. (Brown) Merriam, were natives of New York, and the father was a farmer. Our subject grew to manhood on the farm, and secured a good academic education. In 1862 he enlisted in Company I, One Hundred and Twenty-second New York Infantry, Federal Army, and served until the close of the war, being sergeant the last year. At the battle of Winchester, he was wounded in the right arm which crippled him for life. After the war he engaged in mercantile pursuits in Michigan and Alabama until 1879, when he came to Chattanooga to engage in the wholesale business. Ever since Mr. Merriam has been one of the firm, although the firm title has undergone changes several times. In 1886 he took as partner, R. B. Davenport, who had formerly traveled for the house. They have two men on the road, and do an extensive business. In 1866 Miss Mary Saulsbury, of New York, became his wife, who bore him three children-all sons. After her death Mr. Merriam married Miss Bettie Dews, or Alabama. They have three children, two sons and a daughter. Mr. Merriam is director of the City Savings Bank, director of the Commercial Printing Company and also director of the Baptist Reflector. He is a Mason and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.

Goodspeed's "History of East Tennessee" 1887