When Merrill Adams Smead was born on 3 April 1876, in Greenfield, Franklin, Massachusetts, United States, his father, Jonathan Henry Smead, was 36 and his mother, Sarah Addie Newton, was 42. He married Margaret Steffens on 28 July 1895, in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He lived in Cranston, Providence, Rhode Island, United States in 1910 and Basin, Jefferson, Montana, United States in 1920. He registered for military service in 1895. He died on 12 April 1937, in Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States, at the age of 61, and was buried in Lincoln Memorial Park, Portland, Multnomah, Oregon, United States.