Papers : 1775-1940.

Call Number:
HIL-MICL FC LFR .M48W5P3
Category:
Family
Creator:
Merritt, William Hamilton, 1793-1862.
Material Description:
8 microfilm textual records 35 mm
Background:
Thomas Merritt (1759-1842) and his family accompanied the Queen's Rangers and other members of the Merritt family to Saint John, New Brunswick in 1783 and lived there until 1785. Subsequently, Thomas and his family returned to the United States for several years. In 1796 he petitioned his former commander, now Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, for land on which to settle, and in the same year came to Twelve Mile Creek near the present-day city of St. Catharines, Ontario. William Hamilton Merritt, the son of Thomas Merritt, saw active duty during the War of 1812 and shortly afterwards married Catherine Prendegast. He became involved in a great number of business enterprises as a merchant, a land agent, the owner of a sawmill, a gristmill and a distillery, and as a salt spring developer. Merritt is known for his promotion of the Welland Canal, linking Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, but he was also interested in railways, suspension bridges, and other building projects. Merritt's involvement in politics was instrumental in helping him gain support for his many transportation schemes. He first entered the Legislative Assembly for Haldimand County in 1832, was re-elected in 1834 and again in 1836. After the Union of the Canadas, he sat for Lincoln County from 1841 to 1860, when he resigned and was elected to the Legislative Council for the Niagara division. He served as president of the Executive Council from 1848-1850 and concentrated on public works and trade policy. Merritt had many other public interests, e.g. he promoted the establishment of a lunatic asylum, sought recognition for veterans of the War of 1812, played a leading role in building the second Brock Monument at Queenston Heights, encouraged the gathering and preserving of historical documents, especially those of the United Empire Loyalists, assisted escaped slaves from the United States in the 1840s and '50s, and was active in the affairs of the Church of England. Fittingly, he died aboard a ship in the Cornwall Canal.
Contents:
The collection consists of a wide variety of documents, including correspondence; newspaper clippings; reports; committee minutes; accounts; articles of agreement; militia general orders; tables; speeches; statements of expenses/debentures; acts; petitions; annual reports; legal judgements, summonses and complaints; wills and indentures. The material is divided into the following categories: an outline of the Journal kept by a North West trader, Mr. Henry, 1799-1814; the War of 1812-1814, which includes the last part of Col. John Clark's memoirs, 1836-1838; and a list of the Michigan Fencibles when disbanded at Mackinac in 1815; papers and correspondence, in particular with T.C. Anderson of the Indian Department, 1788-1851; Brock's Monument, 1850-1860; Prince of Wales' visit, 1860; Rebellion of 1837-1838; canals and navigation, 1832-1860; Welland Canal, 1823-1860; Grand River Navigation Company, 1832-1841; railways, 1833-1861; trade, 1832-1861; legislation, 1826-1860; Parliamentary Library, 1857-1863; financial matters, 1837-1863; incorporation of towns, villages, etc., 1856-1857; elections, 1831-1861; courts of justice, etc., 1814-1856; education, 1830-1864; fisheries, 1838-1897; lands, 1819-1859; roads, 1832-1857; mines and mining, 1845-1865; insurance, 1850-1889; banking, 1830-1857; Niagara Suspension Bridge, 1847-1859; mills, 1835-1857; wheat and flour, 1822-1852; estates of Alexander McDonell and J.B. Yates, 1824-1852; Robert Gourlay, 1830-1858; reminiscences of the Hon. Henry Ruttan, 16th century to 1861; memorial and correspondence concerning James Fitzgibbon, late of the 49th Regiment, 1844-1856; Merritt family letters, 1780-1861; genealogy of the Merritt family; accounts, 1813-1859; miscellaneous, 1775-1818, which includes a sketch of Merritt; and some newspaper clippings as late as 1940.
Originals:
The original records are held by the Archives of Ontario.
Archival Ref. No.:
OA MS 74.
Finding Aids:

There is no table of contents at the beginning of the reels.

A combined table of contents and microfilm shelf list, which has been prepared for the microfilm of the William Hamilton Merritt Papers in the Loyalist Collection, is available in print.

A calendar of the William Hamilton Merritt Papers in the Archives of Ontario can be found in Volume 50, on microfilm Reel 10 of the Merritt Family Papers, 1775-1897, in the National Archives of Canada (Loyalist Collection classification number MIC-Loyalist FC LFR M4F3P3). The calendar is also available in print as the last section of the binder containing NAC Finding Aid 103 (Merritt Family Papers) and shelved with the Loyalist Collection Finding Aids.

Digital copy: available online through Canadiana.

Merrit, William Hamilton Records Shelf List.pdf
Notes:
There are misleading dates in the brief content descriptions on the microfilm reels. Researchers are advised to use the table of contents and microfilm shelf list in print. The microfilm of the Merritt Family Papers in the National Archives of Canada is available in the Loyalist Collection and is shelved at MIC-Loyalist FC LFR .M4F3P3.