Pearl of the Sea by Karl Merz

In 1878 Karl Merz wrote the sheet music for a waltz entitled Pearl of the Sea. It was published by S. Brainard & Sons in Cleveland, Ohio. The sheet music was sold in Sandusky in the late 1870s at Hammond’s Music Store on Columbus Avenue. 

Karl Merz had been born in Germany in the 1830s. He learned how to play the organ and violin while quite young. In 1854, he emigrated to the United States, and by 1861 was was on the faculty of the Oxford Female College in Oxford, Ohio (later incorporated into Miami University). In 1882, he was asked to organize the music department at the College of Wooster. While at Wooster, he also wrote a column for Brainard’s Musical World. Eventually he became the editor of this publication. 

As a prolific composer, many of his musical pieces are preserved at the Library of Congress. During the summer of 1888, when Mrs. P.A. Follett operated a Summer Musical Institute, she arranged for  Merz to give a series of lectures at the Sandusky High School. Merz often visited Sandusky to pay a visit to his son, Dr. Charles Merz, and family. Dr. Merz was a leading Sandusky physician, and he was also an expert on Masonic history. 

Karl Merz's grandson, who was also named Charles Merz, was the editor of the New York Times from 1938 to 1961. 

Karl Merz died from pneumonia on January 30, 1890. The March 1890 issue of Brainard’s Musical World was dedicated to the memory of its former editor. An obituary honoring the memory of Karl Merz appeared in the February 1, 1890 issue of the Sandusky Register. 

Karl Merz was greatly missed by the musical community. A beautiful monument honoring the memory of Karl Merz was unveiled at the Wooster Cemetery on Memorial Day in 1894.