Robert Merriman was born in England and graduated from Westminster school. Other family members took over the family business and Robert left England and settled in Hamilton. He went to work in Greening Wireworks, which was a major supplier of fence wire. He married the boss’s daughter, Charlotte.
They had four children:
- Bertha Merriman, Dad’s Mom,
- Owen Merriman who was an economist at Queens,
- Ida was Bertha’s companion later in life;
- and Horace.