When Perren Merritt was born on 20 March 1843, in Sullivan, Missouri, United States, his father, George Merritt, was 31 and his mother, Elizabeth Scott, was 27. He married Emaline Bragg on 10 October 1863, in Schuyler, Missouri, United States. He lived in High Point Township, Decatur, Iowa, United States in 1860 and Clinton Township, Ringgold, Iowa, United States in 1900. He died on 15 May 1916, in Saint Joseph, Buchanan, Missouri, United States, at the age of 73, and was buried in Buchanan, Missouri, United States.