In October 1987 Part I of this article was printed, in which Dorothy Bigelow Baer and Marion E. Bigelow, both of Fresno, CA, recounted the early years of their father Meritt H. Bigelow, a commercial teacher. This included some of Meritt's personal reminiscences of life in the late 1800's in Geneseo, NY.
In printing the material an editorial problem arose: Meritt's name appeared as Merit, Merrit, Meritt, and Merritt in different records, yet his daughters only recalled his using the signature "M.H. Bigelow”. Last August they visited relatives in New York, and were given a copy of a letter written by their father in 1926. He signed it Meritt, so at this point we set the record straight: Meritt Harmon Bigelow, born 1864. We now continue his life story:
In the summer of 1907 Meritt H. Bigelow went to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor to take some work to improve his teaching skills. He had gone to Ann Arbor by boat across Lake Erie and his family met him at Buffalo on his return. He had shaved off his mustache and we hardly recognized him.
Our dad devised advanced work for his classes in Atlantic City High School and was al-ways going to publish his ideas so they could be used in other schools, but each year he updated the material and never did publish it. He was a very creative teacher and used innovative ideas and gimmicks to challenge his students.
In the front of his bookkeeping classroom there was a large rectangular area which simulated the likes of a bank teller's cage. Play money was used, while students learned to deposit or cash checks and balance monthly accounts. Cartons, wrapping paper, and cord were brought to class to learn the most efficient way to send parcels through the U.S. mail. Various types of calligraphy were practiced in penmanship classes, then used to properly address the packages for mailing.
Meritt was always interested in various methods of shorthand and stenography. Isaac Pitman was the type taught at A.C.H.S., but I remember my dad working on Gregg at home, trying to decide whether it might be the more efficient method. I remember also his being interested in Basic English. I never heard him mention Esperanto, which years later became my(Marion's) intense interest.
He was a true scholar. He was very interested in the subjects that his daughters were studying. He followed our pursuit of Latin very closely, and was able to solve some translations when we were unable to achieve a solution. He was an able student of algebra and trigonometry. I suppose that history and geography were his special favorites. On trips that our family made in our Maxwell and Franklin cars, he always selected routes that traversed historical happenings. We might stay in a "Tourist Home”, but Dad was roaming the town and talking with grocery or drug store owners to find out about the town's historical beginnings.
One thing that Meritt impressed upon his daughters firmly was that we must secure our Bachelor degrees.
Meritt Bigelow believed strongly in the future of Atlantic City and as soon as he was financially able, he bought a large house on the beach in the Chelsea area. It was four stories above the ground level, had front and back staircases, eight bedrooms plus one in the basement, four bathrooms, and a powder room on the main floor. We all had chores to do, up early Monday mornings to get the laundry done before the three of us left for school.
Eventually we had four teachers room and board with us during the school year, then rented the house to a family from Philadelphia for the summer.
This paid the property taxes, but we girls were delighted, because we spent the summers on our Grandfather Bristol's farm near East Avon, NY. There we learned the joys of farm work both in the fields and in the farmhouse. Meals were often for as many as ten or fifteen people, and more when there were thrashers.
About 1915 Meritt--then called "Professor "--Bigelow bought the first automobile we ever had. It was a Maxwell and when the joyous last day of school arrived we headed for western New York state. Dad loved to stop along the way to visit with local people and learn the history of the area, and inquire about the condition of the roads. It would take us three or four days to make the trip of over 400 miles. Of course Dad had learned to drive in flat southern Jersey and when we started to chug up the mountains of Pennsylvania, the Maxwell didn't conquer them easily. Marion and I became expert at jumping out and putting stones behind the back wheels. Our top speed was probably 35 miles an hour and poor Mother would cry, “Meritt, don't drive so fast. I don’t want to be taken home in a basket!"
By 1917 our dad aspired to a bigger car so we could go camping. A Franklin touring car was bought and he cut the back of the front seat so it would let down and form a comfortable bed. He built a couple of boxes, outfitted them with utensils and shelves for food and secured them on the running board. Entrance to the car therefore was on one side only.
Dad was always very active in Atlantic City civic affairs, belonging to the Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club. He had joined the Masonic order in Ontario, NY, and became a 32nd-degree Mason in Atlantic City. He loved the parades and conventions. He was Superintendent of the Sunday School at the first Presbyterian church, and served as Deacon and Elder.
He had a fatal heart attack at high school on 17 May 1927, aged 62 years. He is buried at East Avon, NY, as is our mother, who died 30 Nov 1944 in Fresno, CA.
Article and photos submitted by Mrs. Thaddeus (Dorothty) Baer and Miss Marion Bigelow, 2909 E. Joaquin Pl., Fresno, CA.
LEFT: Harold10 (Bigelow) Davis (Paul 9 Davis, Harriet A. 8 (Bigelow) Davis, Daniel 7, Epaphroditus 6 , Daniel 5 ,David4, Lt. John3, Joshua2, John1) BIGELOW, standing in front of the old Bigelow home--compare with photo on front cover.
from Forge; The Bigelow Society Quarterly;
Vol 17, No 1; pg 5; January 1988 Part II, conclusion
rodbigelow@netzero.net 
