Biography - William D. Mercer

WILLIAM D. MERCER has been highly successful as a planter, and his plantation, which is one of the best in the parish, comprises 1,145 acres, situated about twenty miles below Shreveport, the home farm containing 260 acres. He started out in life for himself with nothing, but now has one of the loveliest homes in this section of the country, and as he is a thoroughgoing and industrious citizen, he raises about 300 bales of cotton annually. He was born in Butler County, Ala., in 1836, being the fifth of seven children born to the marriage of William Mercer and Delilah Ganby, who were born and married in South Carolina, their removal to Alabama being soon after their marriage. The father was a farmer by calling, and followed this occupation in his native State and Alabama until his death, which occurred in the latter State in 1878, his widow following him to his long home the following year, she being an earnest and consistent member of the Methodist Church at the time of her demise. Seth Mercer, the paternal grandfather, died in Butler County, Ala., and the maternal grandfather, Bookey Ganby, died in South Carolina. William D. Mercer unfortunately never attended school more than six months in his life, but by his own efforts, and by contact with the worked, he became an excellent and perfectly capable man of business. He left the shelter of his parents' roof at the age of eighteen years, and when twenty years old he came to Natchitoches Parish, La., moving shortly after to Caddo Parish, where, in 1862, he joined Company B, Second Louisiana Cavalry, and took an active part in numerous skirmishes. At the close of the war he returned to farm life, and in 1872 was married in Bossier Parish to Miss Ella, daughter of Edward B. Lock, who removed from Mississippi to this parish before the war, and died here soon after the close of hostilities. Mrs. Mercer was born in Mississippi, and has borne her husband eight children-three sons and five daughters. The family has resided on their present farm since 1871, and are among the substantial and honored families of the parish, Mrs. Mercer being a member of the Methodist Church.

Contributed 29 Aug 2020 by Norma Hass, extracted from Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana, published in 1890, pages 138-139.