Merrick's most profitable and noteworthy undertaking was the creation of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company. He cultivated his relationships with Durham's influential white families that had developed from his selfless personality and reliable business practices here, as he accepted loans from Washington Duke, his willing friend and customer, in order to start the business.Durham: A Self- Portrait, produced by Dr. Steven Channing (2009, Durham: North Carolina, The Southern Documentary Fund) Being Duke's personal barber, the two became such close companions that Duke was more than willing to loan Merrick the money to cover the start up costs of his new company. Together with Dr. Aaron Moore and Charles C. Spaulding, Merrick helped increase the wealth of the “oldest and largest African American life insurance company in the United States”. North Carolina Mutual was hugely successful—the company sold $4,986,344.40 of insurance and conducted business in many southern states across America.James A. Padgett, From Slavery to Prominence in North Carolina: Preparation (Washington D.C., Association for the Study of African American Life and History, Inc., 1937), 433-487 The enterprise grew into the “world’s largest Negro business” of the time, making Merrick one of the most successful black men of the time.
