From Stony Brook University to the TVHS Archives: A Gardiner Fellow Explores the Melville Family

Nicholas Dean is a 2026 Fellow at the Three Village Historical Society & Museum through the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation's Semiquincentennial Fellowship Program.

A rising sophomore at Stony Brook University, Nicholas is pursuing a degree in History with a concentration in empire, violence, and global connectivity. His academic interests focus primarily on Early Modern Europe, with a secondary emphasis on the post-colonial development of the United States.

During his summer fellowship, Nicholas is working alongside the staff at the Three Village Historical Society & Museum to archive the Melville Family Papers, conduct original research, and contribute interpretive content that helps connect local history to broader historical narratives.

Nicholas Dean at Three Village Historical Society & Museum, July 2026

photo credit: Kimberly Phyfe

Housed at the Emma S. Clark Memorial Library are extensive documents on the subject of my summer project: the Melville Family. The Melville Family Collection spans over a century, which includes more than three generations worth of records. While the Melvilles were an accomplished family of the Three Village area, they were one of many significant families in the area; so this begs the question, why the specific focus on the Melvilles? The origins of the Melville family can be traced back to Scotland, with members first coming to the United States in the early 1800’s. Francis Melville Senior (1832-1916) was the first Melville to be born in the United States as he was born in Brooklyn [1]. Francis would then marry Mary A. Bannam Melville (1838-1907) to which their son, Frank Melville Jr (1860-1939), would then be born in New York City [1]. The family’s connection to Stony Brook and Old Field begins with Frank Melville Jr. and his wife Jennifer ‘Jennie’ Florence MacConnell Melville (1857-1939) who would summer in Stony Brook each summer [1]. After Frank commissioned their home known as the “Sunwood Estate” in 1919 (Figure 1.), the Melville family would begin to establish various community organizations in the Three Village area. Jennie Melville would later see the establishment of the Three Village Garden Club [2] and the restoration of the Three Village Inn [3] in 1929.

[Figure 1. Front cover of Sunwood at Old Field booklet, depicting the gardens of the Sunwood Estate (1919–1986). Collections of the Three Village Historical Society & Museum, Emma S. Clark Memorial Library.]

Their son, John Ward Melville (1887-1977), would eventually build upon his parents’ legacy through his own remarkable contributions to the community. According to “SBU History and Timeline: Timeline 1940s-1964,” the land that the main campus of Stony Brook University occupies was donated by Ward Melville in 1956. The estate before its donation was a part of the ‘Sunwood Estate,’ in which its acreage was valued at $4.5 million before its donation [4].

Perhaps the largest undertaking by Ward Meville was his redevelopment project for Stony Brook Village (Figure 2.). Ward Melville donated $500,000 in 1940 to assist in the demolition and modifications of 35 houses in downtown Stony Brook [5]. By the summer of 1941, the village was open. Such establishments have continued to outlast the original family members who have founded them, particularly for myself being Stony Brook University. 

[Figure 2.Village Green and Shopping Center design plans, January 19, 1940. Collections of the Three Village Historical Society & Museum, Emma S. Clark Memorial Library]

The accomplishments of the Melville family shaped the history of the Three Village community, but their legacy in my opinion is perhaps best understood through the everyday records they left behind. From the personal correspondence between Jennie and Frank Melville Jr. to Ward Melville's business letters, these documents reveal the people behind the history. 

[Figure 3.Christmas letter dated December 24, 1884, written by Jennie Florence MacConnell Melville to her fiancé, Frank Melville Jr. Melville Family Papers (TVHS–Emma S. Clark Memorial Library), Collections of the Three Village Historical Society & Museum.]

“                                                12-24-84

I do not wish you a Merry Xmas

 because I am selfish enough not to 

want you to be merry without me, but willingly send 

you my best wishes for a 

glad New Year. 

                     Lovingly from Jennie.”  

For instance, the above letter (Figure 3.) written by Jennie Melville, is one of my favorites. Jennie, who was then living in Bayport with family, wrote to her then fiancé Frank Melville Jr. who was living in the Bronx for a considerable period of time for work. The two would seldom see each other on a regular basis during the early and latter 1880’s; in response to this distance, their mode for communication was through letters.

In this instance, Frank was unable to see Jennie during Christmas, and as such, Jennie wrote a teasingly sarcastic letter that points at her love for Frank as well as the simultaneous and humorous detestation of the distance that kept them separated from each other. Reading this letter for the first time, it is easy to forget that it was written in 1884, perhaps the biggest tell of the letter’s age is the fact that it’s handwritten in the first place! The youthful energy of Jennie, a woman in her mid twenties at the time this letter was written, is plainly felt; such energy could be felt in many modern day couples' correspondence.

Another moment that reveals the similarity of our lives to the lives of the Melville family is revealed through one of the documents of Ward Melville, and his business dealings with the McElwain Merger. The McElwain company was the primary manufacturer of the Melville Shoe Corporation’s most popular brand of shoe: the Thom McAn (Figure 4.). 

[Figure 4.1934 Thom McAn shoe advertisement. Melville Family Papers (TVHS–Emma S. Clark Memorial Library), Collections of the Three Village Historical Society & Museum.]

Both the companies and their presidents had a close relationship since J. Franklin McElwain (1874-1958) [6] and Ward were friends outside the office. As a result of  the interconnected success of the two companies, there was a push between the two to merge their companies together. The process had hiccups as competing interests emerged, especially as J. F. McElwain desired a majority allocation of revenue into the McElwain company. 

[Figure 5. 1937 business correspondence between John Ward Melville and J. Franklin McElwain regarding a company merger. Melville Family Papers (TVHS - Emma S. Clark Library), Collections of the Three Village Historical Society & Museum.] 

Based on the typewritten letter above (Figure 5.), several lines point to the anger and irritation that Ward Melville, the author of this letter, felt at the time of typing it. Perhaps the line that best expresses this is when Ward had the, ‘strong inclination was to throw up my hands…” When we read on, Ward outright says that he could comb through McElwain’s response and find all the, "items that are so annoying to read.” Despite the fact Ward Melville was the president of a huge company, which outwardly implies mastery over his own emotions, this notion is almost thrown out the window as Ward explains the sheer unfairness of McElwain’s suggestion, while also shielding both from any personal conflict.

[Figure 6. Ward Melville on the botanical path at Frank Melville Memorial Park in Setauket, from Ward Melville… Service to the Community (1968). Collections of the Three Village Historical Society & Museum, Emma S. Clark Memorial Library.] 

As we look at these documents, we can see much of our lives reflected in their own. For Jennie, her letter reveals what the love of two mid-twenty year olds looked like in the 1880s–something that is perhaps similar to the love of people today. When we look at Ward, we can see how a person dedicated to the success of his family’s company responded to someone who, inadvertently or not, tried to manipulate that success. In two documents alone, we get a glimpse into this family in a very different way that without the collection would be impossible.  

For the Three Village community, the Melville name is closely associated with the institutions, buildings, and parks that continue to bear their legacy. Through this collection, however, we have the opportunity to see the family from a more personal perspective. The Melvilles' influence can be found throughout the community, and by learning about their lives, we gain a deeper understanding of the people, places, and history that have shaped the Three Village area.

It is work like this that drives my work as a history student at Stony Brook University, and that makes the Gardiner Fellowship at TVHS such a rewarding opportunity. When I return to campus this Fall, I’ll walk into Frank Melville Jr. Library the same as ever, but now I’ll have the knowledge of the people behind that name and what it took to get there. This fellowship will forever shape how I view not only Stony Brook, but the entire Three Village community. 

Author: Nicholas Dean, July 2026

Works Cited

[1] Melville Family. Papers, 1825-1979, as inventoried by Charles L. Sachs 

[2] “About | Grow Your Passion Today — Three Village Garden Club.” Three Village Garden Club, www.threevillagegardenclub.org/about.

[3] Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern. “About | Mirabelle Restaurant and Tavern in Stony Brook, NY.” Mirabelle Restaurant & Tavern | French Restaurant in Stony Brook, NY, www.mirabelleatthreevillageinn.com/about-us.

[4] Research and Subject Guides: SBU: History and Timeline: Timeline: 1940s-1964. guides.library.stonybrook.edu/c.php?g=139990&p=917562.

[5] “About Us - Stony Brook Village.” Stony Brook Village, 28 Aug. 2024, stonybrookvillage.com/about-us.

[6] “New Hampshire Historical Society - From a Trade to a Science :Progressive Management of the McElwain Shoe Manufacturing and Retailing Empire: Historical New Hampshire / Brian O’Donnell.” New Hampshire Historical Society, www.nhhistory.org/object/712847/from-a-trade-to-a-science-progressive-management-of-the-mcelwain-shoe-manufacturing-and-retailing-e.