A Portrait of Harriet Merry in the Follett House Museum

Have you ever been to the Follett House Museum and noticed this painting on a wall? Here is a little about the young woman in the portrait.

Miss Harriet Emily Merry was born on September 6, 1841 to Henry and Caroline (Sprague) Merry. Henry Merry was a master carpenter, who was active in the building and business interests of the city of Sandusky. It is believed that Caroline Sprague was the first white child to have been born in Florence Township. According to an article in volume 9 of the Firelands Pioneer, both Henry and Caroline Merry participated in the Underground Railroad, and their home at 330 East Adams Street was considered a “safe house.” 

Harriet Emily Merry married Alonzo William Nason in the Merry family residence in 1863. Mrs. Nason died on January 25, 1895. In 1965, William Lawrence Nason, Harriet’s grandson, donated the lovely oil painting of Harriet Merry Nason to the historical museum of the Sandusky Library. The painting now is on display at the Follett House Museum. To read more about the Merry home in Sandusky, read the book, At Home in Early Sandusky, by Helen Hansen.