In his store, L.D. sold everything from Chinese sugarcane to manufactured tin. One advertisement showed a willingness to deal by mentioning low prices, “splendid” stock arriving and a motto “Quick sales and short profits.” 34 During the Civil War, L.D. provided goods and services to the Confederate government. 35 Post-war, Louisa Jane and L.D. “either gave or sold” their home to Greenwood Methodist Church for use as a parsonage and bought Albert Waller’s property on Main Street. 36 Later, with her husband ill and unable to find relief at springs he visited, Louisa Jane moved herself, L.D. and teenage daughter Fannie to Seneca, where two married daughters lived. L.D. died there. His body was brought back to Greenwood by train and buried in Greenwood Cemetery, the cemetery founded by Greenwood Methodist Church. He died 31 August 1885. 37 Had he lived a few weeks longer, he would have seen Fannie marry the son of a Methodist bishop. 38 Louisa Jane returned to Greenwood to live. She became paralyzed probably because of a stroke and lost her ability to speak. She was bedridden the last few months of her life and died 15 May 1891. 39 34 “Chinese Sugar Cane For Sale,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Banner , 4 March 1858, online archives (http://www.newspapers.com : 25 August 2020), p. 3, col. 3. Also, “Messrs. L.D. Merriman & Co.,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Press , 21 September 1865, online archives (http://www.newspapers.com : 25 August 2020), p. 1, col. 1. 35 Confederate Citizens File, L.D. Merriman, Civil War; database and images, Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com : 16 September 2020), citing NARA microfilm publication M346. A cross-reference in the entry for L.D. was to personal papers in the compiled service record of S.W. Tarrant, probably a neighbor’s son who died in a Virginia hospital in 1861. In the Tarrant record, details of the goods and services L.D. furnished are not legible. 36 James F. Davis, “Pen Picture of Greenwood Dating Back 85 Years,” The (Greenwood, South Carolina) Index Journal , 16 March 1941, online archives (https://www.newspapers.com) : 14 October 2019), p. 3, col. 5, para. 1. 37 “Death of Mr. L.D. Merriman,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Messenger , 2 September 1885, online archives, (https://www.newspapers.com : 26 July 2020), p. 3, col. 1. Also, “Greenwood News,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Press and Banner , 2 September 1885, online archives, (https://www.newspapers.com : 26 July 2020), last 2 items, p. 3, col. 2. Also, Ancestry, Find A Grave , database with images (http://www.findagrave.com : 29 August 2020), memorial 120625358, Louis D. Merriman, Greenwood Cemetery, Greenwood County, South Carolina; gravestone photographs by JTarasidis. Also, Greenwood Co., S.C. Cemetery Records , 2:61. 38 “At the Bridal Altar,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Press and Banner , 16 September 1885, online archives (https://www.newspapers.com : 6 September 2020), p. 3, col. 2. 39 “Merriman,” obituary, 6, col. 4. Also, “Busy, Bustling Greenwood,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Press and Banner , 4 February 1891, online archives, (http://www.newspapers.com : 19 September 2020), p. 4, col. 3. Also, “Deaths,” The Abbeville (South Carolina) Press and Banner , 27 May 1891, online archives,
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