An Illustrated History of the State of Washington, by Rev. H.K. Hines, D.D., The Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, IL., 1893, page 358 GEORGE MERDIAN, a successful fruit-grower of Clarke county, has been a resident of Washington since 1879. He was born in Marshall county, Illinois, May 11, 1847, a son of John J. and Mary (Burgun) Merdian; the father was a native of Germany, but emigrated to the United States in 1836; he located in Illinois in 1847; his wife was a native of France; they reared a family of twelve children, George being the fourth in order of birth. He grew to maturity among the scenes of his birth, and in connection with the duties that fell to his lot as a farmer's son learned the trade of a wheelwright from his father, who was a master of that vocation. When he started out in life for himself he removed to Shelby county, Iowa, and there was engaged in agricultural pursuits for a term of seven years. The tide of emigration to the West steadily growing stronger, Mr. Merdian was caught in its sweep, and in 1879 found himself in Clarke county, Washington. He now owns a tract of twenty acres, eleven acres of which are devoted to prune culture; he has also a fine assortment of apples, cherries and strawberries, and markets the entire crop in Vancouver. He has made a specialty of drying his prunes before placing them on the market, and has met with great success in this department. Mr. Merdian was married, October 19, 1869, to Miss Lona Hider, a native daughter of the Buckeye State. Of this union four children have been born, Annie, Mary, George and Fred. Submitted to the WA. Bios Project in September 2003 by Jeffrey L. Elmer * * * * Notice: These biographies were transcribed for the Washington Biographies Project. Unless otherwise stated, no further information is available on the individual featured in the biographies.