Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography… (1900)
“ The demand for this oil increased rapidly, and it was obtained from the Albertite till the discovery of petroleum in Pennsylvania in 1861. Another result of these experiments, made principally by Mr. Joshua Merrill, superintendent of the Downer works, was the discovery in 1869 of “mineral sperm oil,” and these and other products of the distillation of crude petroleum are manufactured by the company under Mr. ”
