Louisiana Supreme Court Justices
1813-Present |
Edwin Thomas Merrick (1809-1897)
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, August 1, 1855, to April 1 1865
Born July 9, 1809, in Wilbraham, Massachusetts • Raised in New York, and graduated in 1832 from Wesleyan Academy in Wilbraham • Studied law in Ohio, was admitted to the bar, and practiced in Carrollton and New Lisbon, Ohio • Moved to Clinton, Louisiana in 1838 to practice and study civil law • Elected judge from Point Coupee Parish in 1854 • Elected in 1855 to an eight-year term as Chief Justice • Opposed secession, but respected the will of the electors to the Secession Convention of 1860 • After capture of New Orleans by Union troops, moved the Supreme Court first to Opelousas and later Shreveport • Re-elected chief justice in 1863 and served until William B. Hyman was appointed to replace him at the end of the Civil War • Was pardoned and re-admitted to the bar, practicing in the firm of Race and Foster • Represented an amalgam of Northern ideals and Southern sympathies • Supported his wife Caroline's efforts to gain rights for women as a nationally-recognized author, suffragist, and leader in the temperance movement •
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