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Merritts History
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While the actual Merritt’s Antiques company history begins with the opening of Mary’s
Antiques on Mulberry Street in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1938. The seeds of what was
to become one of the largest antique suppliers in North America, however, can be
traced to a physician and his ante-bellum home in Weavertown, Pennsylvania.
In 1857, Dr. Elias Carey Kitchin had a three-story home built on Weavertown Road just
about halfway between Weavertown and Amityville. He and his family lived there and as
one of the few physicians in the rural farmland of the time cared for the health of
the families in the surrounding countryside. As a leading member of the community, he
was involved in the political structure of the area as well as recruiting soldiers as
the Civil War began. In 1863 as word spread from travelers and peddlers that the
Confederate Army was invading Pennsylvania, Dr. Kitchin traveled to Harrisburg, the
State capitol, to enlist, and the surgeon general offered him a commission so he could
serve the Union Army to help the wounded and ill among the soldiers. During one
campaign near Petersburg, Virginia in 1864 he and the Union Army were so close to the
front lines several of the horses in his group were shot. As a result of this bravery
and devotion to duty, Dr. Kitchin was promoted to the rank of Major. During the siege
and battle at Appomattox, the Confederate corps commander asked if the Union Army
could send a physician to help treat his soldiers. Under a flag of truce, Dr. Kitchin
crossed the Confederate lines to provide medical treatment for them. It was just a
few days later, April 12, 1865, that General Lee surrendered. Dr. Kitchin returned to
his home and resumed his practice of medicine until just a few years before his death
in 1909. He is buried less than a quarter mile from that home in Amityville.
Robert Merritt who, along with members of his family and relatives, was in the produce
business purchased the home and land surrounding it in 1933. The home was so very
large that it was sparsely furnished with the furniture Robert brought with him to
his new home. He began to go to sales of furniture in the area, most of which were
auctions on the premises, to properly outfit twelve rooms of the home. It was during
this time that he met Mary Lesher Zerbe who had owned an antique store and was also
searching the sales and shops of the area for antiques for her business. The two
would be married in 1946 and Mary would move her antique business to the front parlor
and, for rough furniture, the wagon shed of their home in Amityville. Later, as their
stock of antiques increased, some would be moved to the basement of the house and to
the barn.
One day, the exact date is lost to memory, Robert and those who worked with him had
an entire truckload of potatoes spoil, resulting in a considerable loss of income
for the family. When he came home and told Mary about it, she told him that several
antiques had sold that day. The profit from those sales was more than Robert had lost
in the spoilage of the potatoes and all the work that had gone into digging them up
and stacking them. He decided to join Mary in the antiques business, and Robert and
Mary Merritt’s antique business was on its way just as World War II was drawing to a
close. After the Berlin crisis of 1948, Robert and Mary began making what would be
regular visits to Germany, England, Holland, Scotland and France, mostly Mary’s idea
Robert said, to purchase antiques, sometimes in entire estates, and have them shipped
to their growing business. They incorporated as Merritt’s Antiques in 1957 and began
a building project on some of the land around the house that would continue for a
decade to house the mounting inventory of antiques the couple was acquiring.
Throughout this period of the 1960’s and early 1970’s Merritt’s Antiques was listed
in many journals and magazines both in and out of the trade as one of the largest
antique dealers in the country. As this aerial photo shows, with the home built by
Dr Kitchin in which Robert and Mary lived in the lower right; warehouses, a clock
shop, and a delivery facility were constructed. More buildings have been erected
since this photo was taken.
Members of their family were always active in various phases of the family business,
taking over increasing responsibilities while Robert and Mary aged. They advised and
supported the family as the expansion and modernization of the business continued until
their deaths: Robert in 1987 and Mary in 1994. Members of their family carry on that
modernization, led by Matt Yocum, great-grandson of Robert and Mary Merritt. Advancing
the content and visibility of Merritts.com is one example of that modernization, poising Merritt’s Antiques to
move into another generation with the best variety and quality of antiques available.
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