Phil Merrick was born in Maryland around 1781. He remained in Maryland working on the St. Inigoes plantation until 1838.
Phil and his family were sold to Jesse Batey and transported to Louisiana on the Katharine Jackson. Phil and his wife, Nelly (b.1785), had two children together: Lewis (b.1826) and Augustin “Gusty” (b.1830). By 1851, Augustin and both his parents passed away.
Lewis was married to his first wife, Fanny (b.1831), from the 1850s until her death. On February 25, 1876, Lewis married Lucy Ann Scott (b.1827). Together, Lucy and Lewis had four children: Phillip (b.1862), Cecilia (b.1864), Nelly (b.1868), and Lucy (b.1871). Lewis died in 1909 at the age of 83 and is buried in Louisiana.
