Son of Thomas and Lydia (Abbot) Merrill, Thomas Merrill (1780-1855) was born in Andover, Mass., Jan. 18, 1780.  He prepared for College in Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass.  As an undergraduate, he attended Dartmouth College, where he received his A.B. in 1801. He was a preceptor, at the Hanover Academy, Hanover, N.H., from 1801-1803, and a Tutor at Dartmouth, from 1803-1804. He came to Middlebury College in 1804, serving as a tutor from 1804-1805.  Merrill studied theology with Rev. Asa Burton and was ordained in 1805. He served as Pastor of the Congregational Church, in Middlebury from 1805-1842. Appointed a Trustee of Middlebury College in 1806, Merrill served in that capacity until his death. He authored “Complete List of Congregational Ministers in Addison Co., Vt,”  “Essay on Study of Latin Language,” and the “Semi-centennial Sermon Containing History of Middlebury, Vt.”  He married Eliza Allen, with whom he had five children: Allen Kent; Thomas; Henry; Edward; Eliza Ann.  On November 15, 1837, he married his second wife Lydia Boardman. He was granted A.M. degrees from Middlebury and Dartmouth in 1805, and D.D., from Middlebury in 1837.  Rev. Merrill died in Middlebury, Vt., on April 29, 1855.