Merrick, Caroline (1825–1908)

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Merrick, Caroline (1825–1908)

American suffragist and temperance reformer. Born Caroline Elizabeth Thomas, Nov 24, 1825, in East Feliciana Parish, LA; died Mar 29, 1908, in New Orleans, LA; dau. of David Thomas and Elizabeth Patillo; m. Edwin Thomas Merrick (lawyer and chief justice of Louisiana Supreme Court), Dec 3, 1840 (died 1897); children: 2 sons, 2 daughters.

Publicly addressed Louisiana constitutional convention to ask for limited suffrage for women (1879); despite initial lack of conviction for the temperance issue, elected president of New Orleans branch of Woman's Christian Temperance Union (1882); established Portia Club, women's club which dealt with laws affecting women and children (1892); served as president of state woman suffrage association to 1900.

See also autobiography Old Times in Dixie Land: A Southern Matron's Memories (1901).

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