MERRY, Frederick Charles (1837-1900) was a successful architect in Philadelphia, Penn. from 1858. Born in Edgbarton, Birmingham, England on 16 June 1837, he was brought to America by his family when he was ten years of age. After taking up the profession of architecture in Philadelphia, he moved to New York City in 1866 where he was employed as the 'principal assistant in the office of the late H.H. Richardson in New York' (see the obituary for F.C. Merry in American Architect & Building News [Boston], lxvii, 17 March 1900, 82). In June 1877 he received news about the disastrous fire in Saint John, N.B. and within weeks he decided to move to New Brunswick to take advantage of the need for help from architects and builders in rebuilding the city. He designed the new Orphan Asylum to replace the home planned by John Munroe in 1868 and destroyed in the fire, and designed several substantial dwellings 'in the American Cottage style' in the Portland neighbourhood of Saint John. In 1879 he was one of fourteen architects from the United States and Canada to submit plans in competition for the New Brunswick Legislative Buildings at Fredericton, but his scheme was not premiated (American Architect & Building News [Boston], v, 5 April 1879, 109). Merry returned to New York in 1880 and was active there until his death there on 4 March 1900 (obit. New York Daily Tribune, 5 March 1900, 7; obituary and biog. New York Times, 6 March 1900, 9; D.S. Francis, Architects in Practise in New York City 1840-1900, 54; biog. S. Tatman, Biographical Dictionary of Philadelphia Architects, 1985, 531-2)
WIGGINS MALE ORPHAN ASYLUM, St. James Street, 1877-78 (Saint John Daily Telegraph, 24 Aug. 1877, 2, t.c.; Daily News [Saint John], 24 Dec. 1877, 3)
WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CO., King Street at Germain Street, commercial block, 1877 (Morning Freeman [Saint John], 28 Sept. 1877, 3, descrip.; Daily News [Saint John], 26 Nov. 1877, 3, descrip.)
BARNES HOTEL, Prince William Street at King Street, 1877 (Saint John Daily Telegraph, 9 Oct. 1877, 2, t.c.)
KING STREET, commercial block for R.T. Clinch, 1877 (Daily News [Saint John], 26 Nov. 1877, 3)
PORTLAND, bell tower for the Fire Hall, 1878 (Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 11 March 1878, 1, t.c.)
GERMAIN STREET, residence for Dr. William Bayard, 1878-79 (Daily News [Saint John], 20 Nov. 1878, 3; Daily Sun [Saint John], 21 Oct. 1879, 3)
PORTLAND, pair of houses for Jamed F. Hamilton and H.W. Miller, Bridge Road, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 23 May 1879, 3, descrip.)
MECKLENBURG STREET, residence for John W. Nicholson, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 20 June 1879, 3, descrip.)
PORTLAND, residence for Charles G. Turnbull, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 21 Oct. 1879, 3, descrip.)
PORTLAND, two pairs of cottages for Robert Reed, Mount Pleasant Avenue, 1879 (Daily Sun [Saint John], 21 Oct. 1879, 3, descrip.)
COMPETITIONS
FREDERICTON, N.B., Legislative Building, 1879. F.C. Merry was one of 14 competitors who submitted plans for this important commission (American Architect & Building News [Boston], v, 5 April 1879, 109). His scheme was not premiated, and J.C. Dumaresq was awarded First Prize. A detailed description of the design prepared by Merry, and presented in the Gothic style, was published in the Daily Telegraph [Saint John], 21 March 1879, 2, and 16 Feb. 1882, page 5.