Birth Name: Merrick Brian Garland
Place of Birth: Chicago, Illinois
Date of Birth: November 13, 1952
Ethnicity: Ashkenazi Jewish
Merrick Garland is an American federal judge. He has served as Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, since February 12, 2013, and as Judge on that Court, since March 20, 1997.
Merrick is the son of Shirley (Horwitz) and Cyril Garland.
His parents were both Jewish (of Lithuanian Jewish, Polish Jewish, Belarusian Jewish, and Russian Jewish descent). Media statements that Merrick was “born to a Jewish mother and a Protestant father” are not correct.
Merrick is a second cousin of politician Terry Branstad, the Governor of Iowa. Merrick’s paternal grandfather, Max Harry Garland, and Terry’s maternal grandfather, Louis Edward Garland, were siblings. They had both moved from Lithuania to Iowa.
Merrick’s paternal grandparents were Max Harry/L. Garland (the son of Nachman Garland and Rose Friedman) and Rose B. Kaplan. Max was born in Karklon, Lithuania. Merrick’s grandmother Rose was born in Poland.
Merrick’s maternal grandparents were Abraham Meyer Horwitz (the son of Binyamin Horwitz and Rivkah Esther Sverdlov) and Bessie Loretta Fish (the daughter of Berke Fish and Hodl). Abraham was born in Vitebsk Oblast, Belarus. Bessie was born in Illinois, to parents from Russia.
Sources: Genealogy of Merrick Garland – https://www.geni.com
Merrick’s father on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org
Obituary of Merrick’s father – http://articles.chicagotribune.com
Death record of Merrick’s paternal grandfather, Max Harry Garland – https://familysearch.org
Merrick’s mother on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org