James Lyman Merrick was born into a farming family in western Massachusetts in 1803. In his youth, while completing a school project, he developed an enduring love for Persia that became a guiding light for his entire life. As a committed Christian of a Reformed tradition, Merrick felt a calling to become a missionary to Persia. He entered Persia in 1835 under the umbrella of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His task was to explore mission prospects for the American Board by extensively traveling within the country and learning about the language, religion, and culture of the Persians. His explorations made him the first American to enter the interior of Persia, setting foot in places that no American had ever visited before. His ten years among the Persians also made him the first American to become fully fluent in the Persian language and the author of multiple Persian and English translations and original texts. During his time in Persia, Merrick came to the view that cultural and literary efforts focusing on translation and education have a greater positive impact than evangelizing efforts of missions focused on proselytizing native populations. His views, often expressed in the form of direct and unfiltered mission reports, were in direct conflict with the worldview of the American Board, which ultimately recalled him from Persia in 1845. His recall by the powerful missionary board that had sent him to Persia resulted in much of his writings not being published or distributed among the Persians and the modern erasure of his legacy in the historical records of early US-Iran relations. As such, most Orientalists and Iranian studies scholars today know very little about James Lyman Merrick, if anything at all. Nevertheless, Merrick’s love for Persia and the Persians endured until his last living day, as he desired to “lie down to rest among the Persians,” called them his “brothers and sisters,” and considered Persia as his “adopted land.” By relying on archival records, mission reports, personal correspondences, and other historical sources, this biography intends to improve our modern awareness of James Lyman Merrick and recognize him as the pioneering American he was.