[4CJ]

They were the product of Maryland aristocratic society. Of course they knew each other and were friends.

PROVE IT. It should be simple - a letter from Taney to Merryman or vice-versa. A cewnsus showing them living with a few blocks - not 23 miles might help. Chief Justice Taney and Merry lived in the same state - that's the extent of their relationship.

[4CJ]

Cewnsus? Southernspeak ;o)

[GOPcapitalist]

Chief Justice Taney and Merry lived in the same state - that's the extent of their relationship.

No! Wait! Don't forget that Taney's mother-in-law's great uncle's niece Gertrude Tawney Higginbotham is buried in the same cemetary as Olaf Merriman, the bastard son of Merryman's great great great grandfather's stepdaughter from his third marriage! If that doesn't make Taney and Merryman friends I don't know what else can!