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Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume 1607 - 1896

Meserve, Nathaniel, army officier; b. Newingham, N. H., circa 1705; s. Clement and Elizabeth (Jones) M.; m. Jane Libby, 1725; m. 2d, Mary (Odiorne) Jackson, June 18, 1747; 11 children. Servered as lt, col. Moore's N. H. Regt. in seige of Louisbourg, 1745; built Brit. frigate America, 1749; served as col. N.H. Regt. at Ft. Edward, 1758; built barracks and storehouses, Halifax, 1757. Died of smallpox, Louisburg, N. H., June 28, 1758

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Who Was Who in America, Vol. I, 1897 - 1942

MESERVE, Charles Francis, educator; b. North Abington, Mass., July 15, 1850; s. Charles and Susanna (Blanchard) M.; A. B. Colby Univ., 1877, A. M. 1880 (LL.D., 1899); m. Abbie Mary Whittier, Nov. 19, 1878; children -- Alice Whittier, Meserve; m. 2d, Julia Frances Philbrick, May 16, 1900.  Prin. high sch., Rockland, Mass., 1877-85, Oak St. Sch., Springfield, Mass., 1885-89; supt., Haskell Inst., U.S. Indian Industrial training sch., Lawrence, Kan., 1889-94; pres. Shaw U., 1894-1920, pres. emeritus, 1920 --, also trustee.  Frequently gives public addresses on the Negro and Indian problems.  In 1896, as agt. Nat. Indian Right Assn. of Phila., facilitated the work of the Dawes Commn. in Indian Ty. by a personal investigation and a favorable report.   Elected pres. Me. Meserve Family Assn., 1922, reelected for life, 1920.   Baptist, Republician. Died April 20, 1936.

MESERVE, Harry Chamberlain, sec. Nat. Assn. Cotton Mfrs.; b. Quincy, Ill., July 12, 1868; s. Harry and Nancy Lucenia (Chamberlain) M.; grad. Lowell (Mass) High School., 1886; B. D., Yale, 1894; post-grad study, Yale, 1895; m. Bertha Francis Murkland, may 23, 1894.  Ordained Congl. ministry, 1894; pastor Faith Ch., Springfield, Mass., 1893-1900, Plymouth Ch., Indianapolis, 1900-03, First Ch., Danbury, Conn., 1903-14, Rye, N. Y., 1914-17. Captain, chaplain 68th Coast Arty., A.E.F., 1917-19; maj. M.I.O.R.C. Lecturer Nat. Industrial Conf. Bd., 1920-21; sec. nat. Assn. Cotton Mfrs., 1921 --. Mem. Loyal Legion, Republician, Mason, Home: Brookline, Mass. Deceased.

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Who Was Who in America - Vol II

Meserve, John Bartlett, lawyer; b. Waterloo, Ind., Nov. 17, 1869; s. True Whitcher and Atline Nancy ( Stearns ) M. ; grad. Dickinson County High Sch., Chapman; Kan., 1892; m. Elizabeth Myrtle Broughton, Dec. 28, 1898; 1 dau., Naomi Helen ( Mrs. Glen Arthur Campbell ). Admitted to Colo. bar, 1895, and began practice at Las Animas, Mem. Colo. Ho. of Rep., 1903; pres. bd. of free-holders which framed municipal charter of Tulsa, Okla., 1908; asst. U.S. atty. for Eastern Dist. of Okla., 1908-13; municipal counsellor, Tulsa, 1915-17; asst. counsel U.S. Shipping Bd., Washington, D. C., 1914-1925. Mem. Am. and Okla. state bar assns., Okla. Soc. S.A.R. ( state pres. 1928 ) Okla. State Hist. Soc. (dir.), N.H. State Hist. Soc., Soc. Colonial Wars. Republican, Episcopalian, Mason ( K. T., Shriner ). Club; Tulsa. Contbr. many hist. and biog. sketches to eastern mags. Home: Ambassador Hotel. Office Kennedy Bldg., Tulsa, Okla. Died Jan. 1, 1943


Who Was Who in America, Vol. IV, 1961-1968

MESERVE, Frederic Hill, textile mfg. exec.; b. Boston, Nov. 1, 1865; s. Rec. William Neal and Abby Augusta (Hill) M.; student Colo. Coll., 1882-85, Mass. Inst. Tech., 1889-91; Litt. D., Lincoln Meml. U., 1940; m. Edith Turner, Nov 6, 1899; children -- Frederick Leighton, Dorothy Turner (Mrs. Phillip B. Kunhardt), Helen (Mrs. R. Townley Paton), Engring. and archtl. work, colo., 1884-89; treas. Farnsworth Co., Cowen Woolen Co., otherwoolen mills in N.E., 1897 --; exec. dir. Deering Milliken & Co. Corps., 1897 --. Mem. N.Y. Stock Exchange, 1909-19, N.Y. Cotton Exchange, 1932-48. Mem. N.Y. Hist. Soc., N. Y. Civil War Round Table (hon. Pres.), other hist. socs., Century Assn., Order of Loyal Legion. Author: Photographs of Abraham Lincoln; also privately printed hist. monographs, Owner large collection hist. Matters. Home: 148 E. 78th St., N.Y.C. 10021, Office: 240 Church Street., N.Y.C. 10013. Died June 25, 1962.

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Who's Who in America 47th Edition, Vol II

MESERVE, RICHARD ANDREW, lawyer; b. Medford, Mass., Nov. 20, 1944; s. Robert William and Gladys Evangline (Swenson) M.; m. Martha Ann Richards, Sept. 20, 1966; children: Amy, Lauren, BA, Tufts U., 1966; JD, Harvard U., 1975; PhD in Applied Physics, Stamford U., 1976. Bar; Mass. 1975, D.C. 1980. U.S. Supreme Ct. 1982. Law clk. Mass. Supreme Jud. Ct., Boston, 1975-76; law clk. to presiding justice U.S. Supreme Ct., Washington, 1976-77; legal counsel Pres. Sci. Adviser, Washington, 1977-81; ptnr. Covington & Burling, Washington, 1981--; chmn. NAScom. to assess safety and technical issues at Dept. of Energy Reactors, 1987-88 and com. on fuel economy of automobiles and light trucks, 1991-92.  Fellow Am. Physical Soc. Democrat. Avocations: tennis, sailing, hiking. Home: 708 Berry St Falls Church VA 22042-2402 Office: Covington & Burling PO Box 7566 1201 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington DC 20044

MESERVE, ROBERT WILLIAM, lawyer; b. Chelsa, Mass., Jan. 12, 1909; s. George Harris and Florence Elizabeth (Small) M.; m. Gladys E. Swenson, Oct. 17, 1936; children -- Roberta Ann (Mrs. Gordon Weil), William George, Richard Andrew, John Eric, Jeanne-Marthe Meserve Blount, A.B., Tufts Coll., 1931; L.L.B., Harvard, 1934; L.L.D., Villanova U., 1972, Drury Coll., 1972, Suffolk U., 1972, St. Michael's Coll., 1972, Wm.  Mitchell Law Sch., 1977, Tufts U., 1979, Vt. Law Sch., 1984.  Bar: Mass. bar 1934,  Asst. U.S. atty. Boston, 1936-41, 83-85; lectr. Boston Coll. Law Sch., 1938-40, Harvard Law Sch., 1957-61; assoc., then partner firm Nutter, McClennen & Fish, Boston, 1934-36, 41-43, 46-73; ptnr, firm Newman & Meserve, 1973-78; ptnr. Palmer & Dodge, 1978-83, of counsel, 1986--; Mem. Mass. Bd. Bar Examiners, 1961-71, sec., 1964-71; chmn. Mass. Bd. Bar Overseers, 1974-77; Mem. sch. com., Medford, Mass. 1936-40, chmn., 1940.  Editor: Harvard Law Rev, 1933-34.  Mem. bd. alderman, Medford, 1941-43; Trustee Tufts Coll., 1955-79, chmn., 1965-70, emeritus, 1979 --. Served to lt. (s.g.) USNR, 1943-46. Mem. ABA (past chmn. standing com. fed. Judiciary, Pres. 1972-73), Mass. Bar Assn., Boston Bar Assn. (past pres.) Am. Bar Found. (pres. 1978-80), Am. Acad. Arts and Sci., Am. Coll. Trial Lawyers (regent, pres. 1968-69), Inst. Jud. Adminstrn. (pres. 1980-82), Phi Beta Kappa (pres. assocs. 1983-85). Democrat. Unitarian. Home: 109 Worcester Ln Waltham MA 02154-7592 Office: 1 Beacon St. Boston MA 02108-3106

MESERVE, WALTER JOSEPH, drama studies educator; b. Portland, Maine,  Mar. 10, 1923; s. Walter Joseph and Bessie Adelia (Bailey) M.; m. Mollie Ann Lacey, June 18, 1981; children by revious marriage -- Gayle Ellen, Peter haynes, Jo Alison, David Bryan.  Student, Portland Jr. Coll., 1941-42; A. B. Bates Coll., Lewiston, Maine, 1947; MA, Boston U., 1948; PhD, U. Wash, Seattle, 1952. Instr. to prof. U. Kans, Lawrence, 1951-68; prof. dramatic lit. and theory Ind. U., Bloomington, 1968-88, assoc. dean rsch. and grad. devel., 1980-83, dir. Inst. for Am. Theatre Studies, 1983-88; disting. prof. grad. ctr. CUNY, N.Y.C. 1988 --; v.p. Feedback Svcs., N.Y.C. 1983 --.  Author; History of American Drama, 1965, Robert Sherwood, 1970, An Emerging Entertainment, 1977, Heralds of Promise, 1986, A Chronological Outline of World Threatre, 1992; editor; Plays of WD Howells, 1960; editor in chief Feedback Theatrebooks, 1985 --; co-editor jour. Am. Drama and Theatre 1989 --; co-compiler; Who's Where in the American Theatre, 1990, 3rd edit., 1992; mem. adv. bd. College Literature, 1990 --; co-compiler Playhouse America!, 1991, The Theatre Lover's Cookbook, 1992.   With AC. US Army, 1943-46.  Fellow NEH, 1974-75. 83-84, 88-89, Rockefeller Found., 1979, Guggenheim Found, 1984-85.  Mem. Am. Soc. for Threatre Rsch. (exec. com. 1980-83), Cosmos Club.  Office: CUNY Grad Ctr PhD Theater and English Programs 33 W 42nd St New York NY 10036-8003 also: Feedback Sves 305 Madison Ave Ste 1146 New York NY 10165

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History of Gorham

Meserve

Of the dwellers in the fort on Fort Hill, during the seven year Indian war commencing in 1745, was one Clement Meserve, or as the name was often called, "Harvey."

On consulting the best authorities within our reach, we have come to the conclusion that the Meserves of Scarboro and Gorham cane from Dover or Portsmouth, N. H., where the name appears to have been quite common. There was a Lieut. Col. Nathaniel Meserve, of the New Hampshire troops, who distinguished himself in the Louisburg expedition in 1745: he is said to have been of the same family tat came to Maine, and a brother to the Gorham Clement.

Southgate, in his history of Scarboro, says Clement Meserve was in that town in 1725, that he was a joiner by trade, and was succeeded by John and Daniel. This is right, but these latter Meserves were not a mew emigration from the west, but were the sons of Clement. This Clement left to his son Clement, by will proved Nov. 5. 1746). 30 acres of land. The latter, who was the Clement Meserve of Gorham, was the eldest son of the Clement of Scarboro of 1725, and was born, either in Newington or Portsmouth M. H., about the year 1703. When Clement Meserve first lived in Scarboro his residence is said to have been on what has latterly been known as the Seth Storer farm, near the old Scarboro turnpike, near the family afterwards settled near what has since been known as Wescott's Hill. On coming to Gorham, Clement brought with him a family of children, some of them nearly grown up. That Clement Meserve was on of the active men in the fort, is made quite certain from the fact, which has been handed down in the family, that when Edmund Phinney went out in pursuit of the cows was attacked, wounded, and came near being captured by the Indians, as mentioned elsewhere, Clement Meserve was one of those who sallied forth to the rescue, and brought young Phinney into the fort, which act was highly commended by all as a display of great bravery by the little party, as the Indians were much superior in numbers. Whether this act of the elder brought about any remarkable fondness between the younger member of the families, we cannot say.

Clement Meserve married in Newington, Oct. 13, 1726, Sarah Decker. Aug. 14, 1738 he married Mrs. Sarah Stone of Scarboro. His children were Betty, born Sept. 2. 1730; Clement, born Sept. 2, 1733; John; Margaret; Hannah; Joseph; Benjamin; bapt. July 4, 1744, and Nathaniel, born Jan. 26, 1749. Elizabeth, or Betty, was the first married; she married Edmund Phinney after the close of the Indian war, probably in 1750. The next was Hannah; she married Timothy Crocker. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Solomon Lombard, December, 1754. Who Crocker was, or from whence he came, we do not know; it was not a Gorham name. It is believed they settled in Scarboro, though at this time no trace of them can be found. Some of the name left Scarboro colony went to Machias, and the name is fount there amongst the early settlers of that town. One of the descendants of the Meserve family now (1873) living, recollects of hearing his parents speak of visiting, and being visited by, uncle and aunt Crocker, and that they lived in one of the neighboring towns, but cannot remember wee it was. Clement, the son married Mary Wooster of Pearsonstown, now Standish, Sept. 19, 1757. There was another Wooster girl of Pearsonstown who married Dennis Larry of Gorham. We can find no other record than the marriages to enlighten us as to who these young ladies were; but we have found, after much inquiry, that the region around Sebago Pond was sometimes called Sebago town in early times. That part of the country was often known as Hobbstown, then Pearsonstown, and finally incorporated as Standish. And then we find, in Parson Smith’s Journal, under date of 1757, March 13, "One Clark, of Sebago-town, killed Wooster, and wounded Gray and Sands." The history of these persons, or what was the cause of the affray, is now lost; but if these girls were the daughters of this possibly both, have descendants now living in town. Clement Meserve, the husband of Mary Wooster, moved to Bristol about 1771. The last we find of his name is where he was paid for aiding John Phinney and Hugh McLellan in clearing the road from Gorham corner to Bragdon’s mill about 1762. John Meserve married Mary Yaton of Pearsonstown, in March 1757, and if there was no other John, which we believe to be the fact, John married a second wife, Sarah Strout of Gorham, Jan. 28, 1762. He purchased, lot, 51, on which he lived, of David Gorham – deed dated, Aug. 29, 1753. We find no other record of him in the town, but he appears in Standish, where he had a family, and died, probably in Bridgton, within the memory of some now (1873) living. Margaret Meserve married, in February, 1757, William Wescott, whose father lived on what was known as Skillings’ Hill, then in Falmouth. They settled on the farm in Scarboro since known as the Theodore Libby farm. Nathaniel Meserve married Rebecca Martin.

Clement Meserve did not remain in town many years, -- going to Pearsonstown in or before 1753 – and there is no record showing the number of the lot he owned or occupied in Gorham. The early settlers were not always particular to have their titles recorded. Some of them thought it sufficient to have their names entered on their lot on the Proprietors’ plan. There was such a plan, with sub entries, for which I have made diligent search. The last known ?? It was that it was in the hands of Rev. Solomon Lombard at ?? decease, and went into the hands of his executor. Some of his children have seen this old plan, then very much dilapidated and used ??.

The descendants of Clement Meserve, the elder, through his children and the various intermarriages of his kindred, have become numerous in Gorham, and among them we reckon some of ?? citizens.

Samuel Meserve was the son of Andrew and Eunice Meserve ? Scarboro, in which town he was born, Aug. 17, 1804. He ? Parker’s corner, on the Scarboro Strip, now Gorham. Mr. Meserve was a deacon of the Free Baptist Church. He married, Sept. ?, 1826, Hannah, daughter of John and Elizabeth Rand Green.

Children:

William H., b. Oct. 24, 1827, m. and d. in Gold Hill, Nevada.

Alvin R., b. June 23, 1833, m. in Cal.

Mary E., b. Feb. 20, 1836, m. Nelson H. G. Merrill, Apr. 27, 1856, ??

Files, Nov. 10, 1861.

Sarah M., b. July 10, 1841, m. Gardner M. Parker.

Esther R., b. Dec. 17, 1845, d. Jan. 9, 1871.

Dea. Samuel Meserve died Jan. 28, 1870, age 65. M? ?? died March 8, 1894,

aged 90.

Robert Meserve came to Gorham from Limington about ?? lived in the Quaker neighborhood, on what is now ?? Ansel Stone place. His wife was Mehitable Sawyer.

Children:

Lucy R., b. Apr. 23, 1829, m. Ansel Stone; d. Feb. 28, 18?

Mary A., b. Nov. 25, 1830.

Catherine, b. June 5, 1833, m. Solomon Brackett, and ?

Almon, b. Jan. 8, 1836, d. Mar. 13, 1852.

Ellen F., b. Nov. 12, 1837, d. Sept. 11, 1858.

Mrs. Mehitable Meserve died June 17, 1865, aged 70, and Mr. Meserve married Mrs. Phebe (Cates) Willis, daughter of Ebenezer and Anna Cates, and widow of Ebenezer Willis. Robert Meserve died Dec. 8, 1880, aged 81; his widow died May 22, 1884, aged 80.

Source:  History of Gorham, p. 674-677


  George Meserve

MESERVE, GEORGE. Distributer of Stamps for New Hampshire, and Collector of the Customs at Portsmouth; was proscribed by the Act of New Hampshire of 1778, and his estate confiscated. He was a native of Portsmouth, and his father, who was a ship-carpenter by trade, was Lieutenant-Colonel of the New Hampshire troops at the siege of Louisburg in 1745, and was engaged in the expedition against that city in 1758. History assigns to Colonel Meserve the device of constructing the rude sledges on which the cannon were drawn over the morasses near Louisburg during the first siege. George, the son, while in England, received the appointment of' Stamp Distributer; and embarking for home, arrived at Boston in September of' 1765. Before landing, he was informed of the opposition to the Act, and was advised to resign his office, which he did. Before his resignation was known at Portsmouth, "the people" placed an effigy in the front of the jail, representing Lord Bute, Meserve, and the Devil. "A board was extended from the mouth of the Devil to Meserve's ear, on which was written:--

" George, my son, you are rich in station,

  But I would have you serve this nation."

After his arrival at town, and before going to his family, he resigned a second time, on the parade-ground. Subsequently, on receiving his commission, the Sons of Liberty compelled him publicly to surrender that instrument, which they bore about the town on the point of a sword; and required of him on oath, before Justice Claggett, that he would not directly or indirectly attempt the performance of official duty.    After the repeal of' the Act, and on the arrival of Secretary Conway's circular in 1766, enclosing a resolution of Parliament to the effect that the Colonies should make recompence to such persons as had suffered injury or damage in consequence of their assisting to execute the Act, Meserve applied to the Assembly of New Hampshire for compensation, which application was referred to a committee, who made a report adverse to his claim, and it was dismissed. He afterwards went to England, and obtained the office of Comptroller of the Customs at Boston; but, by permission of the British Government, he exchanged places with Robert Hallowell, Collector of the Customs at Portsmouth. This collectorship was worth about £600 sterling per annum; and Meserve held it for some years, until the beginning of the Revolution. He retired from New Hampshire in 1776, and accompanied the British Army to Halifax. One of his daughters was wife of James Sheafe, Senator in Congress, who purchased the family mansion.

Source: Biographical Sketches of Loyalists of the American Revolution with an Historical Essay, Volume II, p. 77-78 by Lorenzo Sabine, Little Brown & Co. Boston  1864


A. B. MESERVEY

A_B_Meservey.gif (94761 bytes)

Source: p. 83 from Reminiscences of New Hamptom, NH Also A Genealogical Sketch of The Kelly and Simpson Families and an Autobiography by Frank H. Kelley MD Fellow of The Mass. Medical Society -  Worcester, MA - Printed by Charles Hamilton

A. B. Meservey bought store at toll bridge across from the Pemigewasset River, previous owner was daughter of Capt. Daniel Smith.  Source: p. 52, from the above.


Lucy Meserve Smith

December, 1846

"We moved down to Winter Quarters when my babe was two weeks old. There we lived in a cloth tent until December, then we moved into a log cabin, ten feet square with sod roof, chimney and only the soft ground for a floor and poor worn cattle beef and corn cracked on a hand mill, for our food. Here I got scurvy, not having any vegetables to eat. I got so low I had to wean my baby and he had to be fed on that coarse cracked corn bread when he was only five months old. We had no milk for a while till we could send to the herd and then he did very well till I got better. My husband took me in his arms and held me till my bed was made nearly every day for nine weeks. I could not move an inch. Then on the 9th of February I was 30 years old. I had nothing to eat but a little corn meal gruel. I told the folks I would remember my birthday dinner when I was 30 years old. My dear baby used to cry till It seemed as tho I would jump off my bed when it came night. I would get so nervous, but I could not even speak to him. I was so helpless I could not move myself in bed or speak out loud . . . When I got better I had not a morsel in the house I could eat, as my mouth was so sore. I could not eat corn bread and I have cried hours for a morsel to put in my mouth. Then my companion would take a plate and go around among the neighbors and find some one cooking maybe a calf’s pluck. He would beg a bit to keep me from starving. I would taste it and then I would say oh do feed my baby. My appetite would leave me when I would think of my dear child. My stomach was hardening from the want of food.

The next July my darling boy took sick and on the 22nd, the same day that his father and Orson Pratt came into the valley of the great Salt lake my only child died. I felt so overcome in my feelings. I was afraid I would loose my mind, as I had not fully recovered from my sickness the previous winter."

(Lucy Meserve Smith, Autobiography, 1888-1890, typescript, HDC.)


Meservey, Robert Preston (Am. act.)

Preston, Robert

original name ROBERT PRESTON MESERVEY (b. June 8, 1918, Newton Highlands, Mass., U.S.--d. March 21, 1987, Santa Barbara, Calif.), versatile American actor best known for his role as Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man on the Broadway stage in 1957 and in the 1962 film.

Source: Britannica Online



THE ALEXANDER MESERVE FAMILY

Alexander Meserve was presumably born in Brownfield around 1835. He married a widow, Mrs. Mary Thurston Seavey of the Conway Road in Brownfield on the place now owned and occupied by Burton Brooks and his family.

Alex, as he was always known, and Mary had three children - Wilbur, Ida May, and Gertrude. All attended the ungraded public school at Merrill's Corner. Wilbur, the eldest, married and moved to another town while his sisters were still in the school. He married first, Genevieve Moulton, who
died in 1902, second, Angie Chadbourne, who died in 1964. He lived in Parsonsfield, then in Waterboro, and later in Portland, where he died in 1965.

Alex Meserve died in 1888. His widow and younger children continued to live in Brownfield for a number of years. Later they moved to So. Conway, Known as Goshen, N. H. Afterwards, to Parsonsfield where Mary Meserve died.  Her daughter Ida married Horace Wyman Phillips of Portland, Maine and moved there where she spent the rest of her life.

Ida and Horace had two children- a daughter who died in childhood and a son, Norman, who is married and lives with his family not far from his father's home in Portland. Ida died on May 31, 1965. Horace is still living.

Gertrude Meserve, the youngest daughter of Alex and Mary Meserve, married George Mathes and moved with him to Oakland, California, where she spent the rest of her life. Gertrude and George had two daughters. Gertrude died in 1941, her husband in 1956. At last report the daughters are living.

Source: THE HISTORY OF BROWNFIELD, MAINE by William Teg, D.P.T., D.O. and Phd. Printed in Cornish in 1966.


MESERVE, FRANK PIERCE, merchant, was born Nov. 30, 1852, in Rochester, N. H. He attended the West Lebanon academy, Maine, and subsequently moved to Redlands, Cal., where he is a successful clothing merchant. For four years he was a member of the city council, and for two years was library trustee. In 1894 he was a candidate for the California state assembly. He is a prominent member of various fraternal orders, and takes an active part in public affairs.

Source: Thomas William Herringshaw, Encyclopedia of American Biography, p.564


MESERVE, Charles Francis, educator, was born in North Abington, Mass., July 15, 1850; son of Charles and Susanna (Blanchard) Meserve; grandson of Solomon Meserve, of Dresden, Maine, who died in the service of his country in the war of 1812, and a descendant of Clement Meserve, who came from the Isle of Jersey and settled in New Hampshire about 1670.

He attended the public schools of North Abington; assisted his father in shoemaking, 1864-69; was prepared for college at the Classical institute, Waterville, Maine, and was graduated at Colby university, Waterville, A.B., 1877, A.M., 1880. He was the principal of the high school at Rockland, Mass., 1877-85; principal of the Oak Street school, Springfield, Mass., 1885-89; superintendent of Haskell institute, the U.S. Indian industrial training school at Lawrence, Kan., 1889-94, and in 1894 became president of Shaw university at Raleigh, N.C. He served as a special agent of the National Indian Rights association of Philadelphia in 1896, making a personal investigation of the work of the Dawes Commission among the five civilized tribes in the Indian Territory. His report was favorable to the work of the commission, Ex-Senator Dawes stating that this report made possible the subsequent success of the Dawes Commission.

He was married, Dec. 19, 1878, to Abbie Mary, daughter of David and Mary (Ricker) Whittier, of Bangor, Maine. His wife died Oct. 6, 1898, leaving a daughter, Alice Whittier, who was in 1902 a student at, Vassar college. On May 16, 1900, he was married to Julia Francis, daughter of John White and Julia (Moore) Philbrick, of Waterville, Maine.

He received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Colby in 1900. He delivered addresses, contributed articles on the Negro and Indian problems, and is the author of the History of the Towns of Abington, Whitman and Rockland, in Lewis's History of Plymouth County, Mass. (1884).

Source: The 20th Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Vol.7, p.360


Clement Messervy, age 54 in Dec. 1706, undoubtedly from Jersey and considered son of Jean and Marie (Machon). Clement came to Strawberry Banke, (the early name for Portsmouth, NH) and lived early with Richard Cutts to keep his cattle. Clement is on the tax list of Portsmouth, NH, in 1673 and he took the oath of allegiance on Aug 28, 1685.

In 1693 he owned a pew in the North Church, Portsmouth. On Feb 23, 1705 he deeded his home at Welch Cove to wife Elizabeth, then in the event of her death to son John, with 1 shilling each to other sons and daughters. On Aug 6, 1710, Clement signed an agreement giving the home to his son Clement in return for care which indicates that John must of died between 1705 and 1710.

Sources: Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire by Noyes, Libby & Davis and from "The Meserve Family, the First Four Generations" with Ancestry of Clement Meserve of Portsmouth, NH. Compiled by the Meserve Family Association; Edited by Michael J. Denis; Published by Danbury House, P.O. Box 253, Oakland, ME 04963 (R 929.2 M 559)


"Pioneers of Popular Litature"

New Hampshire Authors Among Them

By George Waldo Browne

Arthur.jpg (23828 bytes)

Col. Arthur L. Meserve

Two more New Hampshire authors won their first recognition here, Clara Augusta Jones, better known "Clara Augusta," and Col. Arthur L. Meserve, who wrote under more than a dozen pen names, and used to turn out a novel of from fifty to sixty thousand words in a week. He at one time wrote every alternate number of Munro’s "Ten-Cent Novels." Among his pseudonyms were "Burke Brentford," "Capt. L. C. Carleton," "L. Augustus Jones."

Col. Arthur Livermore Meserve was the only son Isaac and Louisa (Garland) Meserve, and he came from talented ancestors. The Meserves were Huguenots who were driven from France on account of their religion. They first went to the Isle of Jersey, and from there’, Portsmouth, N. H., about 1638. They were active in the border wars of New England. Arthur wrote his first sketch for the Olive Branch when he was only fifteen. Besides his literary work, he was active for several years in political affairs, holding many positions of trust and honor winning his title on the staff of Governor Weston. He never married, living with his sister until his death, December 13, 1896. He was one of the handsomest men I ever met, tall and superb of figure, and his cordiality won for him friends wherever he was known.

Source: Granite State Magazine, Vol III, No. 2, Feb 1907 -- Photo from p. 49, above excerpt taken from p. 55 - 56.


Some of books written by Arthur L. Meserve 1836-1896

  • The Chief of the Miami or The Hand of Fire
    Call# 813 B358f, No. 36
  • A story of Idaho
    Call# 813 B35f, No.34
  • The Indian Spirit or Perils of the Border
    A story of Indian warfare
    Call# 813 B358f, No. 79
  • The Painted Paleface or The Source of the River
    Call# 813 B358f, No. 97
  • The Scout of the Sciota
    A story of border life
    Call# 813 B358f, No. 88
  • The Silver Seekers or The Trail of the Redskins
    A Story of the white pine district
    Call# 813 M926, No. 177
  • The Spirit Hunter
    Call# 813 M926, No. 201
  • Trapper Joe or The Outlaw of Lake Huron
    A story of the Northern Lakes
    Call# 813 B358f, No. 55

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