To Anonymous,
Thank you for the observation. It is weird!
I highly doubt he is a close relative, though the Merz name is rare in the U.S., especially the spelling.
some spell Merz with a "t" (i.e. the neighboors in "I love Lucy"-I got teased alot in school because of that!). Some spell Merz with an "i" (Mierz), which was a family close to where I lived.
Most of my relatives of the Merz name are in Wisconsin, I'd have to ask my dad if his grandfather was the first generation to the U.S., or second generation.
Strangely, A visitor from a company in France came to call, and as I introduced myself, he soon noticed the name from German descent. My father told me we were of Swiss-German descent, and I was glad to see the Frenchman was impressed.
Excluding my ex-wife who never changed back to her maiden name, I'm the only Merz in Japan! However I gotta keep my name out of the white pages so rude people won't call me at 3 am to harrass me. (It's funny until you're on the receiving end)
I haven't seen the spool related to your topic, so I'm gonna look for it...
