Merlin Mead

Merlin Mead (August 18, 1794 – December 23, 1874) was an Underground Railroad conductor and station master, one of several people from the hamlet of Cadiz within Franklinville, New York that sheltered and aided enslaved people who escaped and headed for freedom in Canada. He was a farmer, schoolmaster, town clerk, postmaster, and justice of the peace. He operated a public house, until he attended a temperance meeting and stopped selling liquor. Mead was ordained an elder and was an active leader of the First Presbyterian Church in Franklinville.

Early life Merlin was born August 18, 1794, in South Salem, Westchester County, New York. His parents were Lois and Clark Mead. For two winters, Mead taught at the old red schoolhouse. He served as Town Clerk and Justice of the Peace in Franklinville. He was also a farmer.

The Meads were a fixture within the town's First Presbyterian Church. Mead was ordained an elder of the church. The Meads moved to Cadiz in 1841, where he was known and subject to some harassment for being an abolitionist. They lived first in the Howe-Prescott House, See: Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 and 1850

Throughout the Underground Railroad network, railroad terms were used to communicate their activities. Lines were the routes north and into Canada. Conductors transported people, identified as passengers and freight, between stations, meaning Underground Railroad people's property. Stationmasters hid and aided freedom seekers on their property. Stockholders provided the funds for clothing, food, and money. Along the way, men, women, and children hid under straw for their safety.

A historical marker was installed along Route 90 near Ischua Creek by the Pomeroy Foundation. It is located where travelers left the rafts in Cadiz and went one of four places. They walked to the Mead's house, went through a tunnel to the Stagecoach Inn, went to John Burlingame's house or went to Isaac Searl's farm. Located in the hamlet of Cadiz in Franklinville, it recognizes the efforts taken in Cattaraugus County to help escaped slaves make it to Canada from the 1830s through the Civil War. The part of the Cadiz marker that refers to the Underground Railroad states:

Parcel post system Mead's Congressman introduced a bill to send packages to soldiers. Mead had written to his Congressman when he learned that a neighbor's son had not been able to receive the boots he requested from home. The bill was passed so that all soldiers could receive packages. The program led to the current parcel post system.

Death Mead died on December 23, 1874, at his home in Cadiz. Polly died May 19, 1882. They were interred at the Mount Prospect Cemetery.