Jennie May (Merriman) Verge (1868 - 1920)

Born 12 Oct 1868 in Jefferson City, Montana

Ancestors

Wife of Norman John Verge — married 18 Jul 1891 in Great Falls, Montana

Died 25 Dec 1920 at age 52 in Spokane, Washington

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Biography

Jennie was born in 1868. She was the daughter of Nathaniel Merriman and Celestia Skinner. She passed away in 1920. ^[1]

Jennie's parents were among the early pioneers of Montana. In her youth, she attended school in Jefferson City and Helena, Montana. Newspaper articles attest to her interest in drama. In Jefferson City, on April 8, 1880, she was in a production of "John Robb and Anna Cobb," playing a character named Betsy, a servant girl. (Jennie's sister, Pearl, played a character named Mrs. Flury.) Later, she also served as one of the chief clerks for the Montana Constitutional Convention.

Jennie's husband, Norman Verge, was the owner of a ready-to-wear shop at Great Falls Montana. Jennie and Norman were the parents of two children, Cecil and Harold.

Obituary^[2]

On Saturday, December 25, Mrs. Jennie M. Verge died in Spokane of cerebral hemorrhage. Mrs. Verge was a member of the Society of Montana Pioneers, and was the daughter of Nathaniel and Olive Skinner Merriman who came to Montana in 1864 and moved to Jefferson City in 1867, where for many years they conducted a hotel when Jefferson City was a hustling thriving community.

Mrs. Verge was born there October 12, 1868. Most of her life was spent in and about Helena. She was one of the chief clerks in the Constitutional convention of the state.

On July 18, 1891, she was married to Norman J. Verge in Great Falls,^[3] where with her husband she was engage for many years in the millinery business. They removed to Spokane in 1917, where they have since been engaged in the same line of business.

Mrs. Verge is survived by her husband, of Spokane; one brother, DeForest Merriman of MIssoula, and a sister, Mrs. Charles Z. Pond of Bozeman, and two sons, Cecil of Spokane, who was with the A.E.F. in France, and Harold, who is in the United State navy.

Mrs. Verge was a distant relative of ex-President Taft and a second cousin of Ella Wheller Wilcox.

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave Memorial for Jennie May Verge.
2. ↑ Obituary: Great Falls daily tribune., January 02, 1921, Page 4.
3. ↑ "Montana, County Marriages, 1865-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3QR-LDG : 21 May 2019), Norman J. Verge and Jennie Mae Merriman, 18 Jul 1891; citing Marriage, Great Falls, Cascade, Montana, various county courthouses, Montana; FHL microfilm 1,939,913.

• 1870, 1880, 1900, 1920 U.S. Federal Censuses.