Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1877-01-24
J. H. MERRILL & CO.

j. III. MERRILL & CO.
One of Our Ross HOuacs.
A Few Items About One Of ottum-
was Leading Wholesale
establishments.
About 1858 there came to Ottumwa,
Joseph Ii. Merrill and Chas. w. Kit
tredgc, seeking business opening.
Merrill had been recently employed
as freight agent of the b. & NJ. rail-
road, and before that, had been one
of Bret Hartc's Argonauts, picking up
much more valuable experience on
the Pacific coast than golden nuggets.
Kittredge had been in the lumber
business at Mt. Pleasant, and came
here with Merrill in obedience to the
law of gravitation, which had pro-
PEELED him from Bangor, Maine, and
which has pushed him ont still fur
thcr west, to Colorado, where he is
now leading republican member
of the legislature and which will
probably bring him up ultimately at
the lands end on the Pacific.
They formed partnership here d.
rectly after their arrival, in the gro
Gerry and provision business in a rath-
err limited way, under the firm name
of Kittredgc & Merrill, and opened
out in the Curlcw block, where Capt.
Sam. Swiggett now sells boots and
shoes. They sold groceries and pro-
visions, and bought all sorts of coun-
try produce, doing the hard work for
the most part themselves, until the
war broke out, when we find that in
less than four years kittredge & Mer-
rill had come to the front among our
best and most thrifty merchants.
We believe that the credit belongs
to Charles G. Cloutman (slain at Don
nelson) and Charles w. Kittrcdge, of
being the first two prominent demo-
Gratis in this community, who threw
their entire influence, and whole souls
into the cause of their country. AT
anyrate no man in this community
done more to rally the loyal spirit,
than c. w. kittredge, and as soon as
Capt. Cloutman was fairly off to the
front with his. company, for the i'm
mortal I'd Iowa, Kittredge set to work
raising his company, "F," for the It'll
Iowa infantry, and got it to the front
in time to receive very severe
wound at Belmont, the first serious
battle of the war.
Increasing business drove Kittredgc
Il Merrill into Richards block, and
during the war 10 Merrill built and
moved into fine store in Union
Block, which was, however, destroyed
in the great fire of 1878.
Temporarily, after that, this house
coupled Masonic building, on Main
street, now used by Lote Gray, and
later on, one of Gillaspy's buildings,
on Main street.
In 1862, when Capt. Kittrilge was
commissioned Colonel of the Both
Iowa, and it became apparent that
the war was to be long and bloody
one, he went out of the firm, which
was continued under the name Of j.
III. Merrill until the close of the war
when Col. Sam. Mahon, who had
been Lieutenant, Captain and Lieu.
tenant Colonel, of Kittredgc's old reg
imcnt-the famous 7th-was taken in
to partnership with Mr.. Merrill, Jan
LIST 1866, since which time the concern
has been j. ii. Merrill Il Co.
AT an early day, just at what time
we cannot now say, Kittredge & Mer
rill commenced jobbing groceries
and it is probable that they were thu
pioneer wholesale merchants of OF
tumWa.
Their constantly and rapidly in
creasing business compelled them to
build, last year, and they now occupy
a building of their own, corner o.
Market and Third, two stories ant
basement, l20x50 feet which is il
every respect, one of the most conven
lent and substantial brick stores il
the state.
Their trade comes from overa large
portion of the state, their custom ex-
tending i'm every direction on all the
lines of railroad concentrating il
this city.
They sold last year, six hundred
thousand dollars worth of groceries
at wholesale, and paid freight on two
thousand and seven hundred tons o.
merchandise received.
This will give the reader fair ide'
OF the trade which, by fair dealing
and close attention to business this
house has built up from small begin
nings, in eighteen years.
A Wellman, the enterprising grocer
on End. street, travelled fifteen years
for this house, and Charley Graves
also doing a successful grocery bus
mess on lower Main street, graduated
with j. II. Merrill 4 Co.
! w. w. Douglass has presided at TIKI
desk for seven years, and now is as
sisted by Frank L. Lang and Herman
w. Merrill.
!. l.. d. Bosworth and James r
Young arc at present the princlpa
travelling salesman of the concern
and last but not least, faithful Mike
Roland presidcs over the shipping
department., which position he ha'
held for twelve years. His two as
sistants are John johnson and d. II
Vancleve.
j Buying goods from first hands fol
, cash, doing much oftheir own worl
themselves and doing business il
their own house at the minimum
rate of expense, enables this estab
lishment to successfully compel,
, with Chicago and st. Louis Houses
We may remark in conclusion tina
, the supervisor of this large and con
, stantly increasing business, has no
, prevented Mr.. Merrill from scrvin.
II his countPv several FERNS with mucl