Nelson Grover Merry^[1]

1824 - 1884

• Born	10 Jul 1824	Kentucky   [2]
  Gender	Male
  Died	14 Jul 1884	Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee   [2]
  Buried	15 Jul 1884	Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee   [2]
  Person ID	I1	Nashville
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2008

  
  

  Father	Abram Glover
  Mother	Sidney Glover,   b. abt. 1770, Virginia , Nashville, Davivdson County, Tennessee
  Family ID	F5	Group Sheet

  
  

  Family	Mary Ann Jones,   b. 12 Jan 1828, Tennessee ,   d. 24 Oct 1917, Davidson County, Tennessee
  Children	1. John Wesley Merry,   b. abt. 1849, Tennessee   2. Emma Merry,   b. Oct 1851, Tennessee > 3. Elizabeth "Lizzie" J. Merry,   b. abt. 1856, Tennessee   4. Nancy "Nannie" Merry,   b. abt. 1857, Tennessee ,   d. Before 1872   5. Adella Merry,   b. abt. 1859, Tennessee ,   d. 26 Jul 1917, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee   6. James "Jimmy" Merry,   b. abt. 1865, Tennessee
  Last Modified	12 Sep 2007
  Family ID	F1	Group Sheet

  
  

• Photos

  Nelson Merry Photo taken from profile online at http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/merry.htm

  
  

  Documents » Slide Show		1850 TN Census: Nelson Merry Enumeration Date: 18 Sep 1850 Page: 78 Location: Nashville, Davidson County, TN Dwelling #542 1. Mat?, George - M, B, age 31, born in KY 2. Lula Morgan? - F, B, age 53, born in MD 3. Nelson Merritt - M, B, age 25, born in TN 4. Mary Merritt - F, B, age 23, born in TN 5. Sidney Merritt - F, B, age 80, born in NC 6. John W Merritt - M, B, age 1, born in TN Note: family incorrectly enumerated as Merritt. Link to full image.
  		1860 TN Census: Nelson & Mary Merry Enumeration Date: 29 Sep 1860 Page: 156 Location: Nashville Ward 4, Davidson County, Tennessee 1. Nelson G. - age 40 2. Mary - age 30 3. John Wesley - age 11 4. Ann Maria - age 8 5. Elizabeth - age 4 6. Nancy - age 3 7. Adella - age 9 months Link to full image.
  		1870 TN Census: Nelson & Mary Merry Enumeration Date: 22 Jun 1870 Page No: 9 Location: Nashville Ward 4, Davidson County, Tennessee Dwelling #40 1. Nelson Merry - M, B, married, Minister, $3000 real estate, $200 personal estate, born in KY 2. Mary Ann - F, B, age 40, born in TN 3. Lizzie - F, B, age 15, attending school 4. Nancy - F, B, age 14 5. Idella - F, B, age 10 6. James - M, B, age 5 7. Sidney - F, B, age 80, born in VA Link to full image.
  		1880 TN Census: Nelson & Mary Merry Enumeration Date: 3 Jun 1880 Page: 6 Location: District 42, Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee Dwelling #59 North Spruce Street 1. Nelson Merry - age 54, Minister 2. Mary - age 51, Wife 3. Adella - age 20, daughter 4. James - age 13?, son Link to full image.
  		1856 Nashville Directory - the Merry brothers Excerpt from 1856 Nashville Business Directory
  		1880 Directory - The Merry Brothers Excerpt from 1880 Nashville Business Directory

  
  

  Headstones

  Tombstone: Nelson Grover Merry Front inscription: PSALM XXIII.6/ SURELY GOODNESS MERCY/ SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS/ OF MY LIFE AND I WILL/ DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE/ LORD FOREVER./ REV NELSON GROVER MERRY/ BORN JULY 10 1824/ FELL ASLEEP IN JESUS/ JULY 14 1884/ HE WAS THE FOUNDER OF/ SPRUCE ST. BAPTIST CHURCH./ SERVED AS IT'S PASTOR 31 YEARS/ DURING WHICH TIME HE FAITHFULLY DISCHARGED/ HIS PASTOR ADDING THREE THOUSAND/ MEMBERS TO THE CHURCH/ MERRY Side inscription: ERECTED/ BY THE LADIES OF THE/ NELSON MERRY/ MEMMORIAL ASSOCIATION/ OF THE SPRUCE ST. BAPTIST CHURCH/ MRS. M. J. STRONG PRES./ MISS J. FRANKIE SECY./ MRS. SAMUELA WORKS/ EMMA BROWNLOW/ MARY BUSH Side inscription: BLESSED ARE THEY THAT DIE IN THE LORD/ OUR FATHER MERRY FAITHFUL GUIDE/ IS HAPPY NOW AT JESUS SIDE/ IN CHRIST'S DEAR LOVE HE SHALL ABIDE/ SWEET WERE HIS WORDS OF TRUTH AND GRACE/ AND WE AGAIN SHALL SEE HIS FACE/ AND REST WITH HIM IN THAT HIGH PLACE. (http://davidsoncocemeterysurvey.com/Cemeteries/M/mt_ararat_historic_cemetery.htm)

  
  

  Histories » Slide Show		Biographical Profile: Nelson G. Merry From: http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/merry.htm
  		Obituary: Nelson G. Merry From the Nashville Banner Tuesday, July 15, 1884
  		Historical Profile: First Colored Baptist Church From Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee (http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/FIRSTCB.HTM)
  		Nelson Merry Deed purchase for lot at Old City Cemetery As provided by staff at the Metro Archives December 11, 2007

  
  

• Notes

  Became free in 1845. Tombstone says middle name is Grover. But, Freedman Bank record of his brother Napoleon (filled out in 1873) indicates their parents were Glovers. It is possible his middle name may have been Glover and not Grover as on his tombstone. Daughter Elizabeth's Freedman Bank records lists five siblings (Adella, John, Jimmie, Nannie & Emma (dated 1872). I suspect "Nannie" to be Nancy. Was arrested in 1866 for marrying a white man and a black woman. [3] In the fall of 1863 he allowed the white Rev. Joseph G. McKee to open a school on the ground floor of the First Baptist Colored Mission. The school was a free school and a competitor to the tuition-based school of Daniel Wadkins. This arrangement sparked a brawl between Wadkins and Merry and the congregation decided to evict McKee. [4] Buried: Was originally buried in City Cemetery - body was moved. [5]

  
  

• Sources

  [S33] 1856 Nashville Business Directory, Campbell, John C., http://books.google.com/books?id=dvoBAAAAYAAJ., 77. [S1] Profiles of African-Americans in Tennessee, Annual Local Conference on Afro-American Culture and History, (http://www.tnstate.edu/library/digital/digitizing.html), 92-94. [S30] Amalgamation in Nashville, (New York Times, 16 Jul 1866), http://tinyurl.com/2kcbty.. [S110] Cimprich, John. Slavery's End in Tennessee, 1861 to 1865. New York: University of Alabama P, 1985, 77. [S6] Nasvhille Scene. Kreyling, Christine. "Six Feet Under." Nashville Globe. 9 Aug 2007. http://www.nashvillescene.com/Stories/Cover_Story/2007/08/09/Six_Feet_Under/