Moody Merrill
Moody Merrill | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Campton, New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Died | December 24, 1903 (aged 67) Silver City, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Politician, businessman, lawyer |
| Years active | 1859–1903 |
| Known for | Massachusetts legislator; president of Highland Street Railway; Republican mayoral candidate; fugitive under alias Charles F. Grayson |
Moody Merrill (June 27, 1836 – December 24, 1903) was an American figure known for his roles in politics, business, and as a fugitive. He held positions in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court, led the Highland Street Railway as president, played a key role in founding the Boston Consolidated Street Railway, and secured the Republican nomination by defeating incumbent Thomas N. Hart in the 1890 Boston mayoral election. In 1893, financial difficulties and legal issues compelled him to abandon Boston and live incognito in Silver City, New Mexico. After being apprehended in 1903, he escaped before standing trial and passed away prior to the resolution of his case.
Early life
Born on June 27, 1836, in Campton, New Hampshire, Merrill was the ninth child among fourteen siblings of Winthrop and Martha (Noyes) Merrill. His education included attendance at local schools and Thetford Academy, Vermont. He worked as a teacher in Ellsworth, New Hampshire in 1856 and then in Thornton, New Hampshire during 1857. Merrill relocated to Boston’s Roxbury area in 1859. On May 10, 1860, he married Martha M. Burgess, the widow of his elder brother Jeremiah; together they had one son named Winthrop Minot Merrill. Martha passed away on June 8, 1892.
Legal career
Merrill entered William Minot’s law practice in December 1859 and gained admission to the Suffolk County, Massachusetts bar on January 7, 1863. In 1867, while serving as a junior defense attorney for John Moran—who faced murder charges—Merrill questioned the defense approach and successfully convinced the Massachusetts Governor's Council to reduce Moran’s death sentence to life imprisonment. Subsequently, he obtained a full pardon for Moran from another session of the Council.
Early political career
Between 1865 and 1874, Merrill was a member of the Boston School Committee. He served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1869 to 1871 and represented the 1st Norfolk District in the Massachusetts Senate during 1873–1874. As chair of the committee overseeing the state constabulary, he enacted legislation that dismantled this agency despite opposition from the acting governor’s veto by effectively persuading dissenters. Merrill also led the committee responsible for organizing memorial services honoring Charles Sumner and advocated for Boston’s park system development by petitioning for land acquisitions that ultimately became Franklin Park.
Business career
Merrill established the Highland Street Railway in April 1872 and served as its president; operations commenced by October that year with five miles of track and two large stables. In 1886, he championed legislation permitting a merger with the Middlesex Railroad, resulting in the formation of the Boston Consolidated Street Railway where he was vice president under Charles Edward Powers. This consolidation created Boston’s second-largest streetcar company after the Metropolitan Railroad. In 1888, this company further merged into the West End Street Railway, enhancing transit unification.
His business ventures extended into real estate through acquisition of land across from Franklin Park where he launched Oakland Garden amusement park. Following its failure, he formed the Franklin Park Land Company to oversee this property along with adjacent holdings reaching Mt. Bowdoin Station.
Moreover, Merrill owned Boston’s Hotel Bellevue and presided over the Magneso-Calcite Company, which specialized in producing fireproofing materials.
Mayoral Campaigns
In 1888, Merrill pursued the Republican nomination for Boston's mayoralty but was defeated by former alderman Thomas N. Hart, who secured 165 votes to Merrill's 133. Hart subsequently won the mayoral race that year. The following year, 1889, Merrill endorsed Hart's unanimous renomination. In 1890, Merrill reversed fortunes by winning the Republican nomination over Hart with a vote count of 167 to 131. Nevertheless, his association with the Tremont Water Meter Company—where he served as a director and played a role in obtaining an exclusive contract despite the company providing faulty meters to Boston—became a contentious issue during the campaign. Merrill was ultimately defeated in the 1890 Boston mayoral election by Democrat Nathan Matthews Jr., receiving only 37% of the vote compared to Matthews' 59%. Merrill partly attributed this loss to Hart's lack of support.
Financial and Legal Difficulties
By 1892, Merrill had significant investments in the Boston Gas Company, a venture that proved lucrative for majority stakeholder J. Edward Addicks but not for Merrill and other local investors. The financial turmoil caused by the Panic of 1893 left him in dire straits, leading to his declaration of insolvency by May of that year. On June 7, 1893, reports indicated that attachments totaling $157,000 had been placed on his property, alongside a lawsuit seeking nearly $75,000 filed by his sister-in-law. Creditors petitioned the insolvency court for control over his estate. At a creditors' meeting in June concerning the Magneso-Calcite Company, it emerged that Merrill had issued $50,000 in bonds despite previous denials. By June 30, court-appointed assignees were managing his financial affairs. In December, Merrill’s furniture and other possessions were sold at auction. His debts amounted to approximately $300,000; however, many affluent creditors absorbed these losses to avoid public scandal.
New Identity as Charles F. Grayson
On May 26, 1893, Merrill departed Boston aboard a steamer bound for Halifax, Nova Scotia. He subsequently spent time in Montreal, St. Louis, and Chihuahua City. In 1895, he convinced Callie Smith, a housekeeper at the Hotel Bellevue, to accompany him to El Paso, Texas, where they married. The couple later settled in Silver City, New Mexico, where Merrill assumed the alias Charles F. Grayson, adopting the identity of an acquaintance. By 1897, he was acting as New Mexico agent for Calvin S. Brice and later served as western representative for W. N. Coler & Co., a banking firm requiring frequent travel to New York City, where he maintained a secondary residence. Both Brice and Coler invested in the Silver City National Bank and installed Merrill as its president. Between 1899 and 1901, Merrill owned the Silver City Enterprise newspaper.
Judge John R. McFie facilitated an introduction between Merrill and Territorial Governor Miguel Antonio Otero. Merrill obtained an option on the Hanover Mines on behalf of Otero and Chief Justice William J. Mills, competing against interests from New York. In recognition of his efforts, Otero appointed Merrill as a regent of the New Mexico Normal School. However, disputes over proposals concerning territorial securities refunds and board appointments caused a rift between Merrill and Otero. Merrill opposed Otero’s reappointment in 1901, which triggered an investigation that uncovered Merrill’s true identity by United States Secretary of the Interior Ethan A. Hitchcock. Following this revelation, Merrill ceased his opposition to Otero’s reappointment.
Arrest and death
On May 7, 1903, a Boston detective observed Merrill's wife accompanied by a man believed to be Merrill near the Harlem Opera House in New York. After briefly losing sight of them, the detective reported that Merrill was wanted on an embezzlement charge dating back to 1893. With assistance from a second detective, Merrill was located and apprehended on May 13. He opposed extradition, arguing that his debts had been settled through John Fottier Jr., but creditor Sarah Cohen pursued legal action. On June 2, New York Governor Benjamin Odell approved Merrill’s extradition to Massachusetts, asserting the state's authority despite partial repayments.
Merrill was transferred to Boston’s Charles Street Jail and formally charged with embezzling $19,000 from Cohen. He entered a not guilty plea and was released on $10,000 bail provided by Mariellus Coggan and theatre owner Issac B. Rich. The trial was delayed indefinitely in July 1903 due to illness of Merrill’s attorney. Following this, Suffolk County District Attorney Oliver Stevens received numerous fraud allegations against Merrill from several other women. By October 1903, Merrill faced indictment on six counts of embezzlement, seventeen counts of larceny, and one count of false pretenses.
After returning to New Mexico, Merrill failed to appear in court on October 15, resulting in an arrest warrant being issued. He passed away on December 24, 1903, at his apartment in Silver City due to pneumonia complicated by additional health issues. His remains were sent back to Boston and identified by Police Captain Joseph Dugan on December 31. Funeral services took place on January 1, 1904, at the Walnut Avenue Congregational Church located in Roxbury.