Thomas Melvill or Thomas Melville (January 16, 1751 – September 16, 1832) was a merchant, member of the

Sons of Liberty The Sons of Liberty was a loosely organized, clandestine, sometimes violent, political organization active in the Thirteen American Colonies founded to advance the rights of the colonists and to fight taxation by the British government. It pl ...

, participant in the

Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts, on December 16, 1773. The target was the Tea Act of May 10, 1773, which allowed the British East India Company to sell t ...

, a major in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, a longtime

fireman A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

in the

Boston Fire Department The Boston Fire Department provides fire protection and first responder emergency medical services to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It also responds to such incidents as motor vehicle accidents, hazardous material spills, utility mishaps, ...

state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United S ...

, and paternal grandfather of writer

Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are ''Moby-Dick'' (1851); ''Typee'' (1846), a rom ...

Life and work

Melvill was born on January 16, 1751 in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

to Scottish-born merchant Allan Melvill (1728-1761) and Jean Cargill (ca. 1730-1759). His paternal grandfather, Thomas Melvill was minister of

Scoonie Scoonie is a settlement and parish in Fife, Scotland, the parish contains the town of Leven. It is bordered on the north by the parishes of Kettle and Ceres, on the east by the parish of Largo, on the south by the parishes of Markinch and Wem ...

Fifeshire Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i.e ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. Melvill was orphaned at the age of 10 and was raised by his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mary Cargill, a relative of the eccentric Dr. John Abernethy. He intended to become a minister, and attended the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

), from which he graduated in 1769. In July 1773, he was awarded an honorary

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

degree by

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

. Melvill was a close friend of

Samuel Adams Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, an ...

Career

"When the citizens of Boston began to evince a determination to resist the arbitrary, offensive and onerous exactions of the British government, Melvill was conspicuous among the ardent and gallant young men of the capital, for his zeal and intrepidity, during that momentous advent of ... national independence."Obituary notice of Major Thomas Melvill. Farmers' Cabinet, 10-05-1832 Melvill participated in the Boston Tea Party, "that immortal band which in December, 1773, in presence of the Royal fleet, boarded the tea ships in Boston harbor, and threw their rich cargoes into the ocean." In March 1776, when "the British fleet was driven from Boston harbor, Captain Melvill discharged the first guns at the hostile ships, from his battery, at Nantasket." During the war he "served in the Rhode Island campaigns of 1777 and 1779." 1832 MelvillHouse GreenSt Boston

Post Revolutionary War

After the war, he worked as a naval officer (1786–1820), and Surveyor (ca.1796) of the

Port of Boston The Port of Boston ( AMS Seaport Code: 0401, UN/LOCODE: US BOS) is a major seaport located in Boston Harbor and adjacent to the City of Boston. It is the largest port in Massachusetts and one of the principal ports on the East Coast of the Unite ...

at the

Boston Custom House The Custom House in Boston, Massachusetts, was established in the 17th century and stood near the waterfront in several successive locations through the years. In 1849 the U.S. federal government constructed a neoclassical building on State Stre ...

on State Street. (Customs houses were administered by three political appointees: the collector, naval officer and surveyor. These individuals supervised a staff which received cargo manifests from incoming ships, inspected cargoes, assessed customs duties, collected the amounts due for remittance to the

United States Department of the Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

, and fined those who attempted to evade paying the duties. The collector, naval officer and surveyor were paid a portion of the duties and fines they collected, making them lucrative and sought after positions.)Fleet's register and pocket almanack. Boston: T. & J. Fleet, 1800. "When the custom house was established in Boston, in 1786, he was appointed surveyor; in 1789 was made inspector, and ... in 1814, he was appointed naval officer of the port." He served as a town fireward (1779–1825);, and for twenty-five years was chairman of the board;Parker (1996), 76 an incorporator of Boston's Scots Charitable Society (1786); a founder of the Massachusetts General Hospital (est.1811); and president of the Massachusetts Charitable Society (ca.1825-1826); "He was in the state legislature in 1832." Melvill lived in Boston's West End "in an old wooden house on the south side of Green Street, between Staniford Street and

Bowdoin Square Bowdoin Street in Boston, Massachusetts extends from the top of Beacon Street, down Beacon Hill to Cambridge Street, near the West End. It was originally called "Middlecott Street" as early as the 1750s. In 1805 it was renamed after the Governor ...

. ... It was a wooden house of two stories." In 1830,

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...

published a poem entitled "The Last Leaf", which was inspired in part by Melvill, "the last of the cocked hats." Holmes would later write that Melvill had reminded him of "a withered leaf which has held to its stem through the storms of autumn and winter, and finds itself still clinging to its bough while the new growths of spring are bursting their buds and spreading their foliage all around it."

Death

When Major Melvill retired from the fire department, the ''Columbian Centinel'' for 31 October 1832 wrote, "his associates presented him with a Silver Pitcher, as a token of personal respect, and a public testimonial of his faithful services." In addition, the younger firemen named an engine for him. When a fire broke out at noon on 7 September 1832, in a brick building on Green Street, opposite the Melvill house, the eighty-one-year-old major responded in character. He was active by "furnishing the firemen with refreshments, having an open house to all of them," wrote the ''Firemen's Advocate''. But in the events he "took a violent cold, which terminated in the diarrhea; and owing to his advanced age, and the violence of the disorder, medicine had no effect in checking its progress." The major died on Sunday evening, 16 September. One of the city's most prominent and colorful citizens, he was mourned and eulogized for weeks. Firemen paid him a meaningful tribute, the Boston ''Evening Gazette'' reported on 22 September. "The members of the 'Melville Fire Association,' attached to the Melville Engine, No. 13, met at their Engine House - attended the funeral - and voted to wear the usual badge of mourning for thirty days."

Personal life

In 1774, Melvill married Priscilla Scollay (1755–1833), the daughter of prominent Boston merchant John Scollay, and sister of

William Scollay Colonel William Scollay (1756–1809) was an American developer and militia officer from Boston during the American Revolution who gave his name to the infamous Scollay Square. He was the only surviving son of John Scollay, a strong supporter ...

(1756–1809), a developer and militia officer. Together, Thomas and Priscilla were the parents of 11 children, including: * Thomas Melvill (1776–1845), who married Françoise Raymonde Eulogie Marie des Douleurs Lamé-Fleury (1781–1814) in 1802. After her death, he married Mary Anna Augusta Hobart (1796–1884), a widow, in 1815. * Mary Melvill (1778–1859), who married John De Wolf (1779–1872), a brother of U.S. Senator James De Wolf. * Nancy Wroe Melvill (1780–1813) * Allan Melville (1782–1832), who married Maria Gansevoort (1791–1872), the daughter of Gen.

Peter Gansevoort Peter Gansevoort (July 17, 1749 – July 2, 1812) was a Colonel in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He is best known for leading the resistance to Barry St. Leger's Siege of Fort Stanwix in 1777. Gansevoort was also ...

, in 1814. * Priscilla Melvill (1784–1862), who did not marry.

Portrait

Melvill's portrait was painted by

Francis Alexander Francis Alexander (February 3, 1800 – March 27, 1880) was an American portrait-painter. Biography Alexander was born in Windham county Connecticut in February 1800. Brought up on a farm, he taught himself the use of colors, and in 1820 we ...

in the 1780s. It is now in the collection of the Bostonian Society, along with a portrait attributed to Benjamin Blyth, and the

tricorn hat The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800, though actually not called a "tricorne" until the mid-19th century. During the 18th century, hats of this general style were referr ...

"said to have been worn by Major Melvill at the

Boston Massacre The Boston Massacre (known in Great Britain as the Incident on King Street) was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which a group of nine British soldiers shot five people out of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing t ...

References

Sources

* Parker, Hershel. (1996).
Herman Melville: A Biography. Volume One, 1819-1852
', Johns Hopkins University Press.

Images

File:1758 Melvill BostonWeeklyNewsLetter Oct5.png, Advertisement for Allan & John Melvill, merchants, Boston, 1758. Allan Melvill was the father of Thomas Melvill File:1773 Parker Melvill BostonGazette Dec20.png, Advertisement for Parker & Melvill, Cornhill, Boston, 1773 File:Tea - Old State House Museum, Boston, MA - IMG 6667.JPG, Tea taken from the boots of Thomas Melvill, after the Boston Tea Party in 1773 (Old State House Museum, Boston) File:ThomasMelvill BostonianSociety.png, Portrait of Thomas Melvill, ca.1770s-1780s (Bostonian Society)

External links

* * . Items owned by Melvill, such as a double chair-back settee made about 1770–1780; and pair of side chairs, made about 1770–90 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Melvill, Thomas 1751 births 1832 deaths Businesspeople from Boston 18th century in Boston 19th century in Boston Patriots in the American Revolution Members of the Massachusetts General Court American firefighters Princeton University alumni Colonial American merchants American people of Scottish descent People of colonial Massachusetts Continental Army officers from Massachusetts