William Jefferson Merchant

Brief Life History of William Jefferson

When William Jefferson Merchant was born about 1847, in New York, United States, his father, George Reynolds Merchant, was 30 and his mother, Elsje Eliza Brott, was 30. He married Alice Eveline Foster on 20 September 1870, in Leroy Township, Calhoun, Michigan, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He lived in Union Township, Branch, Michigan, United States in 1910 and Athens Township, Calhoun, Michigan, United States in 1920. He died on 20 June 1929, in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States, at the age of 83, and was buried in East Leroy, Calhoun, Michigan, United States.

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Family Time Line

William Jefferson Merchant
about 1847–1929
Alice Eveline Foster
1849–1912
Marriage: 20 September 1870
Lillian Belle “Lillie” Merchant
1873–1950
Wesley George Merchant
1879–1934

Sources (31)

  • William J Merchant, "United States, Census, 1920"
  • Legacy NFS Source: William J. Merchant - Government record: Census record: birth-name: William merchant
  • William Jefferson Merchant, "Michigan Marriages, 1868-1925"

World Events (8)

about 1847 · Moving the State Capital

The capital of Michigan was moved from Detroit to Lansing on March 17, 1847. The capital was moved to be further away from Canada, to encourage settlement and boost economy toward the inner regions of the state, and to make to capital more accessible to everyone statewide.

1863

Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.

1870 · The Fifteenth Amendment

Prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It was the last of the Reconstruction Amendments.

Name Meaning

English: occupational name for a buyer and seller of goods, from Old French, Middle English march(e)ant, Late Latin mercatans (see Marchand ).

Indian (Gujarat and Mumbai): Muslim and Parsi occupational name for a trader, from the English vocabulary word merchant.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

Possible Related Names

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