Daniel R. Merritt, born in Todd County, was a Graves County businessman with an outstanding medical and business career. He was a Confederate surgeon from 1861 to 1865 in the 3rd and 7th Kentucky Infantry Regiments. In 1899 he founded Merit Clothing Co., located in the brick building across Sixth Street, and he also organized the Mayfield Exchange Bank that year. He was buried in Maplewood Cemetery.