George Merritt (businessman)

George Merritt (14 August 1807 in White Creek, New York – 5 October 1873 in Irvington, New York) 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.[1]

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 (the old one was reworked as a glass walled vestibule) and a new dining room, two bedrooms, and servants quarters.

Merritt moved to New York City in 1822 and was in the dry goods business until 1853, residing six years in Georgia. He was Owner and President of the New England Car Spring Co. from 1853 to 1868.[2]

Merritt held a patent for a railroad car spring.[3]