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The late
1830’s and the 1840’s were productive and prosperous times
for Galena. In 1840, there were over 300 steamboats on the levee
and by 1845, the Galena mines were producing 83 percent of the
nation’s lead. Galena was a “boom town” and was attracting
a broad spectrum of people from all walks of life. In contrast
to the more transient “get-rich-quick” miners, the farmers,
merchants and professionals from New England were adding to
Galena’s stable population. Counted among the New Englanders
to arrive in 1837 was an aristocratic older gentleman by the
name of Major Thomas Melvill, Jr.. It had taken Major Melvill
six decades to make his way to Galena but the journey had been,
indeed, a fascinating one.
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Image
of Thomas Melvill, Jr. from "The History of
Pittsfield by Merton M. Seatts, Jr. Courtesy of Galena
Public Library and Jean Melvill. |
Born in
Revolutionary Boston in 1776, Thomas was acquainted, both
personnally and through the stories of his father, with many of
the heroic figures of the time. Major Melvill, Sr.,
Princeton class of 1769, was a distinguished and prominent
figure in early Boston. An officer in the American
Revolutionary Army, Major Melvill, Sr. was closely connected to
many important early American patriots, including a long
standing friendship with Samuel Adams; he also served with
distinction alongside fellow officer Paul Revere in a
Revolutionary Army artillery regiment. In addition, Melvill Sr.
was regarded as a hero for being one of the “brave and
patriotic band” who helped to unload the tea ships in Boston
Harbor. From time to time during his life, Thomas Melvill, Jr.
would display a small glass vial containing tea leaves that were
found in his father’s shoes after the Boston Tea Party.
The vial remained a Melvill family couriosity for generations to
come. A colorful and accomplished gentleman, Major Melvill, Sr.
was to remain both a stabilizing influence and a source of
financial support during several episodes in Thomas’ life.
By 1795, the
Revolutionary War was a distant memory and Thomas, Jr. was
working as an apprentice for a Mr. Tisdale of Boston. A
wholesale merchant in the West Indies, Tisdale offered Melvill
an opportunity that was to change his life forever. He
asked his young apprentice to manage his mercantile business in
Paris. Just 19 years of age, Melvill accepted the
challenge and sailed to France in the fall of 1795. Arriving in
Paris shortly after the French Revolution, Melvill was faced
with a difficult and uncertain business climate. Less than
two years earlier King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette had lost
their heads to the guillotine. And, shortly before his
arrival, the infamous “Reign of Terror” had taken its toll
with “heads falling like slates off a roof”. Political
and financial dealings during this chaotic period were often
tainted by corruption. French businessmen would often have
to resort to devious measures just to survive.
Unfortunately,
Thomas Melvill failed in his mercantile mission but was able to
successfully establish a solid banking and commercial business
in Paris. It was a remarkable accomplishment that a young
man in a foreign country, conducting business in a foreign
language and during an era of such uncertainty, could succeed in
gaining the respect and confidence of the international business
community, which Melvill succeeded in doing. During his
years in Paris he was frequently called upon to be a
confidential advisor or a trusted liaison to many important
people of the time – not all of whom were innocent of
corruptive practices.
The American
community in Paris was not large and by 1794, relations between
the United States and France began to deteriorate. France
took exception to the Jay Treaty of 1794, which had established
friendlier relations between the United States and Great
Britain. The French viewed this partnership as hostile to
France and broke off relations with the United States in 1797.
At this time United States Minister to France, James Monroe,
officially left France along with many others in the American
community. The Americans who chose to remain could no
longer depend on the American government for assistance.
Seeing the need for a United States agent in Paris, Melvill
assumed this responsibility by aiding fellow countrymen in their
dealings with the French government. He successfully
fulfilled this role until 1803. During these strained
years with France the success of an American in Paris was
totally dependent upon the individual. It appears that
during this time Melvill was not only welcomed into the French
business community but was also welcomed into French Society.
Influenced by the courtier and elegance of Parisian society,
Melvill stylishly entertained the rich and powerful. The
colorful military general, Marquis d’Lafayette and the
influential Parisian banker, Jacque Recamier were among the
frequent guests at Melvill’s table. It was through
Recamier that Melvill met his first wife, Francoise Lame Fleury.
Mademoiselle Fleury was an exceptionally accomplished and
strikingly beautiful young French aristocrat whom Melvill
married in 1802. They spent the next nine years observing
first hand the pomp and circumstance of Napoleon Bonaparte’s
empire. Melvill was fascinated by “those martial
displays and spectacles of state which he had witnessed”.
He eventually swung politically from a republican to a
monarchist and further underlined his fascination with the
monarchy by naming one of his sons Napoleon.
Melvill’s
sixteen years in Europe brought him both great successes in
business and, ultimately, failure. By 1811, he was
overtaken by several serious financial reverses and had to
borrow $15,000 from his father to help extricate himself from
his financial woes. The sizeable loan also enabled him to
transport he, his wife and their four children to his father’s
home in Boston.
Arriving on
American soil just prior to the War of 1812, Melvill, through
his personal contacts, was soon able to secure himself a
government appointment as a Superintendent of Prisoners at a
military cantonment in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He was
given the military rank of Major just like his father before
him. Unfortunately, the war years brought great tragedy to
Melvill’s personal life. On April 1, 1814 he lost his
beloved wife in childbirth; ten days later his infant son,
Peter, died; and, to further add to his overwhelming grief, his
6 year old son, Napoleon, died six days after Peter. Major
Mellvill was left with the responsibility of rearing his four
surviving young children.
By the fall of
1815, Melvill had met an “exemplary” young woman from a
well-connected New England family. On November 21, 1845
Melvill married Mary Ann Hobart, the granddaughter of General
Henry Dearborn. General Dearborn was a distinguished
veteran of the Revolutionary War who had served in Congress and
had been Thomas Jefferson’s Secretary of War.
In 1816,
Major Melvill, Sr. bought “Broad Hall”, a 35 acre farm near
Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Thomas, Jr. rented “Broad
Hall” from his father and shifted his interests from
international business to agriculture. Establishing
himself in the Pittsfield area, Thomas quickly secured a place
for himself and his growing family in the Pittsfield community.
It was during these years in Pittsfield that Thomas experienced
more serious financial problems that resulted in a short term in
debtor’s prison. In spite of this difficulty, Thomas
continued to be held in high regard by the people of Pittsfield,
who frequently appointed Melvill to responsible positions on
municipal committees. In 1814, he was elected President of
the Berkshire Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and
Manufacturing. In 1815, he delivered a notable address to
the Society that was published in pamphlet form.
In 1836
Melvill’s nephew, Herman Melville, (the writer added an
“e” to the family name but Thomas’ family kept the
original spelling) son of his younger brother, Allan, arrived at
“Broad Hall” to help his uncle work the farm. Herman,
not yet known as the great writer, enjoyed hearing his uncle reminisce about
Parisian life. Years later, remembering his visit to his
uncle’s farm, Herman wrote:
“His
manners were mild and kindly, with a faded brocade of old French
breeding which – contrasted with the surroundings at the time
– impressed me as not a little interesting, nor wholly without
a touch of pathos”.
In 1836, after
twenty hard years of farming, Melvill’s fortunes finally
seemed to take an unexpected turn for the better. Captain
Hezekiah H. Gear, a very successful lead miner from that “boom
town” out west, Galena, Illinois, was visiting in Pittsfield.
Having heard of Melvill’s “straitened circumstances” and
knowing of his extensive experience in banking and finance, Gear
offered Melvill a responsible position in his merchantile house
back in Galena. Melvill saw Galena as an opportunity for
he and his family. Great fortunes were being made in the
new frontier. Melvill had to look no further than Captain Gear
for affirmation; after all, Gear was worth a small fortune
because of his lead mining activities in Galena. In 1837,
Melvill headed west to Galena, temporarily leaving his wife and
children in Pittsfield. When he arrived he found a rough and
tumble town that was fast becoming the most important commercial
point on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis. Melvill
rented a comfortable house at 1009 Third Street on the east side
of the river – only two blocks from the levee.
After assuming his duties as manager of
the Gear store on Main Street, Melvill and his family were
finally reunited in Galena in the fall of 1838.
Just as he had done in Pittsfield, Melvill quickly
involved himself in the community affairs of Galena.
Helping to establish the first Galena Chamber of Commerce
in 1838, Melvill was elected its first Secretary/Treasure in
1840. It was during
that summer that Herman Melville came to spend several weeks in
Galena with his uncle. Arriving
in the ”sometimes crude frontier community” of Galena,
Herman was again “…struck by the contrast between the man
and his environment”. At the time of Herman’s visit the Melvill’s were enjoying
a prominent position in the community and living an appropriate
life style for a family with an aristocratic heritage.
However, after a few years, the enormous financial
demands of a large family required Melvill to supplement his
employment at Captain Gear’s store with a side business.
By 1840, Melvill was already advertising in the Northwestern
Gazette and the Galena Advertiser as a notary public for Jo Daviess County and a
commissioner for the states of Massachusetts and Maine.
His advertisement further offered his services “for the
purchase and sale of real estate, land office business, payment
of taxes, the adjustment of accounts and claims, making
collections, and commissions generally”.
Unfortunately,
around 1841, Melvill’s close personal and business
relationship with Captain Gear and his family came to an abrupt
end. There were rumors of financial improprieties but no
substantive proof. Major Melvill quietly left his position
at the Gear store. Always a survivor in the face of
adversity, Melvill managed to successfully provide for his
family’s sustenance and welfare until his death in 1845.
His obituary in the weekly Northwestern Gazette of August 8,
1845 is testimony to the respect and admiration that the town of
Galena had for Major Thomas Melvill Jr. –
“…the deceased was an old and much esteemed citizen of this place
and leaves a large family and an extensive circle of friends to
mourn their bereavement. His remains were attended…by a large
concourse of citizens”.
Regretfully,
Thomas’ life in Galena did not lead to the road of great
prosperity; however, “he died not without the
consolation of knowing that his venturous removal so late in
life to what was the remote west, had in part been already
attended with many happy results to his family…” *
* From a sketch of Major Thomas Melvill, Jr. by a
nephew, Herman Melville,
a prolific American
author whose work included the classic novel Moby Dick.
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