Melvin Ernest Sherwin (July 17, 1881 – January 5, 1924) was an American soil scientist, agronomist, academic, and founding member of

FarmHouse FarmHouse (FH) is a social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity founded at the University of Missouri on April 15, 1905. It became a national organization in 1921. Today FarmHouse has 33 active chapters and four associate ch ...

fraternity. He was a professor and department head in soil sciences at what is now

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

Early life

Serwin was born in South Dakota on July 17, 1881. He enrolled in the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1903 and graduated with a B.S. in agriculture in 1908. While there, he became one of the seven founders of the

fraternity on April 15, 1905. He received an M.A. in agriculture from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1909.

Career

While he was a graduate student, Shewin was an instructor of agronomy at the University of California. In the fall of 1909, he became an assistant professor of agronomy at the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the Flagship universities, flagshi ...

. In 1910, he joined the faculty the North Carolina State College of Agriculture & Mechanical Arts (now

) as a professor of soils and the head of its soils department. This was the first professional position in soils at the university. Sherwin was noted for his investigative work with drainage lines. In November 1936, he was elected president of the North Carolina Drainage Association. He wrote a laboratory guide on soils that was used as a textbook in North Carolina's agricultural high schools. He also helped train county agricultural agents, spoke at the North Carolina Drainage Convention, and presented a paper at the conference of the North Carolina Academy of Science. He also spoke at the Association of Southern Agricultural Workers in February 1921.

Personal life

Sherwin was married Edith Dodson of Centrilia, Missouri. The couple had five children, including Sidney T Sherwin and Edith Evelyn Sherwin. He lived on Avent Ferry Road in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

and owned a farm in Hyde County, near Lake Mattamuskeet. On January 3, 1924, he became ill and fell unconscious from uremic acidosis. After contracting

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or a ...

two days later and never regaining consciousness, he died on January 5, 1924, in

Rex Hospital UNC Rex Hospital is a general hospital located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is the capital city's oldest hospital, founded by a bequest from John T. Rex (1771-1839), a local tanner. Originally located on what is now Dorothea Dix campus, and ...

in Raleigh at the age of 42. His funeral was held at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh. He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh. After his death, his widow married his brother, Herbert A. Sherwin, and lived in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Select publications

* ''Observations on the status of corn growing in California.'' (College of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 70) Berkeley: University of California, August 1911 * ''The production of the lima bean: the need and possibility of its improvement''. with George Wright Shaw. (College of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 224) Berkeley: University of California Publications, November 1911.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sherwin, Melvin E. 1881 births 1924 deaths University of Missouri alumni FarmHouse founders University of California, Berkeley alumni University of California, Berkeley faculty University of Maine faculty North Carolina State University faculty American agronomists American soil scientists 20th-century American academics