George Merritt

Who was George Merritt?

George Merritt was a businessman from New York. He owned the mansion Lyndhurst on the Hudson River, which was sold to financier Jay Gould by Merritt's widow, Julia Merritt, after Merritt's death in 1873.

Julia Douglas and George Merritt were married 5 November 1845 in Troy, New York and had six children.

He hired architect Alexander Jackson Davis to expand the estate. Merritt was the home's second owner, and doubled the house's size in 1864-65, renaming it "Lyndenhurst" for the estate's linden trees. His new north wing added an imposing four-story tower, new porte-cochere and a new dining room, two bedrooms, and servants quarters.

Merritt held a patent for a railroad car spring.