[7] One of three brothers, Merrick attended Bergen County public schools before graduating from Stevens Institute of Technology in 1892 with a Mechanical Engineering degree.

[2] Intrigued by the need for simple conveyor scales that can accurately record weight, Merrick sought to invent a device that could fulfill that demand.

In 1907, he designed an experimental conveyor scale called the 'Conveyor Weightometer' for Fraser & Chalmers, Ltd., who introduced the new device at a mining machinery exhibition in London the next year.

After examinations and tests by British government officials, the Weightometer was issued a certificate of allowance for use as a legal weighing instrument in trade.

[6] Merrick was also a member of the First Reformed Church of Passaic and director of the People's Bank and Trust Company.