Thomas Melvill (American patriot)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Melvill or Thomas Melville (1751-1832) of Boston
, Massachusetts
, was a merchant, member of the Sons of Liberty
, participant in the Boston Tea Party
, a major in the American Revolution
, a longtime fireman
in the Boston Fire Department
, state legislator
, and paternal grandfather of writer Herman Melville
.
. He married Priscilla Scollay in 1774. Friends included Samuel Adams
.
"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." He 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."
After the war he worked as a "naval officer" (1786-1820), and "surveyor and port inspector of excise" (ca.1796) at the customhouse
on State Street. "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); 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
. ... It was a wooden house of two stories."
In 1830, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
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."
Melvill's portrait was painted by Francis Alexander
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
"said to have been worn by Major Melvill at the Boston Massacre
."
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, was a merchant, member of the Sons of Liberty
Sons of Liberty
The Sons of Liberty were a political group made up of American patriots that originated in the pre-independence North American British colonies. The group was formed to protect the rights of the colonists from the usurpations by the British government after 1766...
, participant in the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
, a major in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, a longtime fireman
Firefighter
Firefighters are rescuers extensively trained primarily to put out hazardous fires that threaten civilian populations and property, to rescue people from car incidents, collapsed and burning buildings and other such situations...
in the Boston Fire Department
Boston Fire Department
The Boston Fire Department provides fire protection services for Boston, Massachusetts, USA. In addition to fire protection, the Boston Fire department also provides basic emergency medical services and respond to a variety of emergencies such as, but not limited to, motor vehicle accidents,...
, state legislator
Massachusetts General Court
The Massachusetts General Court is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name "General Court" is a hold-over from the Colonial Era, when this body also sat in judgment of judicial appeals cases...
, and paternal grandfather of writer Herman Melville
Herman Melville
Herman Melville was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet. He is best known for his novel Moby-Dick and the posthumous novella Billy Budd....
.
Biography
Born in Boston to Scottish-born merchant Allan Melvill (d.1761) and Jean Cargill, Thomas Melvill attended New Jersey College. In July 1773 he was awarded an honorary MA degree by Harvard CollegeHarvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
. He married Priscilla Scollay in 1774. Friends included Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams was an American statesman, political philosopher, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. As a politician in colonial Massachusetts, Adams was a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, and was one of the architects of the principles of American...
.
"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." He 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
Evacuation Day (Massachusetts)
March 17 is Evacuation Day, a holiday observed in Suffolk County and also by the public schools in Cambridge and Somerville, Massachusetts. The holiday commemorates the evacuation of British forces from the city of Boston following the Siege of Boston, early in the American Revolutionary War...
from Boston harbor, Captain Melvill discharged the first guns at the hostile ships, from his battery, at Nantasket
Hull, Massachusetts
Hull is a peninsula town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 10,293 at the 2010 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the fourth smallest in the state...
." During the war he "served in the Rhode Island campaigns of 1777 and 1779."
After the war he worked as a "naval officer" (1786-1820), and "surveyor and port inspector of excise" (ca.1796) at the customhouse
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 Street; it remains the "Custom House" known to Bostonians...
on State Street. "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
Boston Fire Department
The Boston Fire Department provides fire protection services for Boston, Massachusetts, USA. In addition to fire protection, the Boston Fire department also provides basic emergency medical services and respond to a variety of emergencies such as, but not limited to, motor vehicle accidents,...
(1779-1825); an incorporator of Boston's Scots Charitable Society
Scots Charitable Society of Boston
The Scots Charitable Society of Boston, Massachusetts, was established to provide relief for local, "needy Scotch people, after proper investigation." It "enjoys the distinction of being the oldest Scots society in America." It "became the prototype for thousands of other groups" of private...
(1786); a founder of the Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General Hospital is a teaching hospital and biomedical research facility in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts...
(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 Square (Boston)
Bowdoin Square in Boston, Massachusetts was located in the West End. In the 18th-19th centuries it featured residential houses, leafy trees, a church, hotel, theatre and other buildings. Among the notables who have lived in the square: physician Thomas Bulfinch; merchant Kirk Boott; and mayor...
. ... It was a wooden house of two stories."
In 1830, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. was an American physician, professor, lecturer, and author. Regarded by his peers as one of the best writers of the 19th century, he is considered a member of the Fireside Poets. His most famous prose works are the "Breakfast-Table" series, which began with The Autocrat...
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."
Melvill's portrait was painted by Francis Alexander
Francis Alexander
Francis Alexander was an American portrait-painter.He was born in Killingly, Connecticut. Brought up on a farm, he taught himself the use of colors, and in 1820 went to New York City and studied painting with Alexander Robertson. He spent the winters of 1831 and 1832 in Rome...
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
Tricorne
The tricorne or tricorn is a style of hat that was popular during the 18th century, falling out of style by 1800. At the peak of its popularity, the tricorne was worn as civilian dress and as part of military and naval uniforms...
"said to have been worn by Major Melvill at the Boston Massacre
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, called the Boston Riot by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five civilian men. British troops had been stationed in Boston, capital of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, since 1768 in order to protect and support...
."
Further reading
- Obituary notice of Major Thomas Melvill. Farmers' Cabinet, 10-05-1832.
- Francis Samuel Drake. Tea leaves: being a collection of letters and documents. Boston: A.O. Crane, 1884.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes. The last leaf: poem. Boston: Houghton, Mifflin & Co., 1895. Illus. by George Wharton EdwardsGeorge Wharton EdwardsGeorge Wharton Edwards was an American impressionist painter and illustrator and author of several books of travel and historical subjects. His books which included his own illustrations included such titles as Holland, London, and Vanished Halls and Cathedrals of France.Edwards was educated at...
and F. Hopkinson SmithFrancis Hopkinson SmithFrancis Hopkinson Smith was a United States author, artist and engineer. He built the foundation for the Statue of Liberty, wrote many famous stories and received awards for his paintings.-Biography:...
. - National cyclopaedia of American biography. J. T. White company, 1901
- Daniel A. Cohen. Passing the Torch: Boston Firemen, "Tea Party" Patriots, and the Burning of the Charlestown Convent. Journal of the Early Republic, Vol. 24, No. 4 (Winter, 2004), pp. 527-586.
External links
- http://www.boston-tea-party.org/participants/Thomas-Melvill.html
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Double chair-back settee made about 1770–1780. Owned by Melvill.
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. One of a pair of side chairs, made about 1770–90? Owned by Melvill.
- Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. One of a pair of side chairs, made about 1770–90? Owned by Melvill.
- http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/id?1686939