Merritt House

John Abercrombie Merritt and Mary Rosa Turner Merritt were married in 1892 and moved directly into this house at 619 N. Baylen The home was built by her brother C.H. Turner.

John Abercrombie Merritt was named for his mother's brother, then fighting with Lee in Va., and Dr. Charles F. Abercrombie, on whose farm he was born (6 mi. southwest of Columbus GA on the Alabama side across Chattahoochee River). The Abercrombies were prominent Columbus businessmen, three brothers including Anderson who was a notable brick manufacturer. His father Lucius Manlius had been taken prisoner by U.S. (location unknown maybe Pensacola), was a blockade runner.

Played second base for the Dudes, a club in Pensacola. When he was twenty he fell in love with Mary Rosa Turner, who was only 14. So he waited six years until she was old enough to marry.

Worked for a lumber company, at the time of his marriage, which maybe explains the extravagance of the woodwork in the 619 N. Baylen house.

Came to Sewanee 1876-78 (Sewanee Grammer School). Later said that he was fired for snowballing a professor. Lived at Miss Lillie Green's.

Always wore a jacket for dinner. He thought Betty Nick was very remarkable. Friendly and gentle with his family.

Had ten children, of whom five died in childhood. In the 1890's they experienced the death of a newborn in childbirth and young child from whooping cough on the same day.

Nicknamed "Marmee" (sounds like Mawmee). This was a child's pronunciation of Mommy, maybe from Betty Nick, and a reference to the "Little Women" character.

Mary Rosa Turner Merritt (nicknamed "Marmee" (sounds like Mawmee) was a devout Yankees fan. Knew statistics in her eighties. Her preference for the Yankees was possibly because shopping was better in NYC, therefore she rooted for them in hopes of going to the World Series in an auspicious shopping environment. New York Giants trained in Pensacola briefly, the Merritts always attended