Born: January 29, 1810, Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
Died: March 5, 1894, Delaware, Ohio.
Buried: Oak Grove Cemetery, Delaware, Ohio. Tullius O’Kane, composer of the music for Merrick’s More Like Jesus, is also buried here.
Frederick was the son of Noah Merrick, and husband of Fidelia Griswold.
After coming to Christ, he studied at the Wesleyan Academy near Wilbraham, then at Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut.
In 1836, he was elected principal of the Conference Seminary in Amenia, New York. In 1838, he was called to the chair of Natural Science at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
In 1842, Merrick joined the Ohio Conference, and became pastor of a church in Marietta, Ohio.
In 1843, the Conference appointed him a financial agent for Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio, which had opened the previous year.
Merrick served the university for over five decades: two years as agent, 15 as professor, 13 as president (1860–73), and 21 as emeritus professor and lecturer on Natural and Revealed Religion. Merrick Hall at the school is named for him.