Charles Francis Meserve
3rd President of Shaw University
In office
1894–1919
Preceded byNicholas Franklin Roberts
Succeeded byJoseph Leishman Peacock
Personal details
BornJuly 15, 1850
Abington, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 20, 1935
Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S.
Resting placePine Grove Cemetery, Waterville, Maine, U.S.
Spouse(s)Abbie Mary Whittier,
Fannie J. Philbrick
Alma materColby College
OccupationEducator, university president, academic administrator, author

Charles Francis Meserve (1850–1936) was an American educator, university president, academic administrator, and author. He served as president of Shaw University from 1894 to 1919, a historically Black university in Raleigh, North Carolina.[1][2]

Early life and education

Charles Francis Meserve was born on July 15, 1850, in Abington, Massachusetts.[3][2] His parents were Susan Smith Blanchard and Charles Meserve, a shoemaker and farmer. His family was descendants of Clement Meserve, a native from the Isle of Jersey (now Jersey) who emigrated to the United States in 1673.[3] Meserve attended Waterville Classical Institute (later known as Coburn Classical Institute) for three years.[3]

In 1873, he enrolled in Colby College; where he graduated with an A.B. degree in 1877; an A.M. degree in 1880; and a LL.D. degree in 1899.[3]

Career

Advertising for the school in 1900
Advertising for the school in 1900

After graduation Meserve worked as principal of the high school in Rockland, Massachusetts (1877 to 1885), and at the Oak Street School in Springfield, Massachusetts (1885 to 1889).[3] This was followed by a role as superintendent of the Haskell Institute (now Haskell Indian Nations University) in Lawrence, Kansas (1889 to 1894).[3]

From 1894 until 1919, Meserve served as president of Shaw University.[3] Under his leadership Shaw University improved the curriculum, and increased the size of the industrial department.[2]

He was a Baptist and was licensed to preach at a specific church, the First Baptist Church in Raleigh, but he was not ordained.[2] Merserve helped found the Capon Springs Conference (later known as the Conference on Education for the South) in Capon Springs, West Virginia.[2] He also gave lectures on "Indian and negro problems".[2]

Death and archives

He died on April 20, 1935, in Raleigh, North Carolina.[4] He is buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Waterville, Maine.

The National Archives and Records Administration contains a 1897 letter from Meserve to Daniel M. Browning concerning the recent punishment of Richard Henry Pratt.[5] The W. E. B. Du Bois Papers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst library contains a 1908 letter from Meserve to Du Bois.[6] The American Baptist Historical Society Repository contains his papers.[7]

Personal life

He was married to Abbie Mary Whittier from 1878 until her death in 1898, together they had one daughter.[2] In 1900, Merserve married Fannie J. Philbrick.[2]

Merserve was a member of the Republican party.[2]

Writings

  • Meserve, Charles Francis (1894). A Tour of Observation Among Indians and Indian Schools; In Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Kansas. Office of the Indian Rights Association.
  • Meserve, Charles Francis (1896). The Dawes Commission and the Five Civilized Tribes of Indian Territory. Five Civilized Tribes Commission. Office of the Indian Rights Association.
  • Meserve, Charles Francis (1928). Shell Heaps at Damariscotta. Bath Daily Times.
  • Meserve, Charles Francis (1930). Abington's Part in the Building of a Great Commonwealth and a Powerful Nation. Squirrel Island, Maine.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles Francis Meserve.
  1. ↑ Amis, Moses Neal (1913). Historical Raleigh. With sketches of Wake County (from 1771) and its important towns; descriptive, biographical, educational, industrial, religious. The Library of Congress. Raleigh, N.C., Commercial Printing Co. p. 110 – via Internet Archive.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Ashe, Samuel A'Court (1905). Biographical History of North Carolina From Colonial Times to the Present. New York Public Library. Greensboro, N.C., C.L. Van Noppen. pp. 342–348 – via Internet Archive.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Carroll, Grady L. E. (1991). "Meserve, Charles Francis". NCpedia. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  4. ↑ "Dr. Charles F. Meserve; President for 25 Years of haw University for Negroes". The New York Times. April 22, 1936. p. 23. ISSN 0362-4331.
  5. ↑ "Charles Meserve Writes Concerning the Punishment of Pratt". Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center. Dickinson College. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  6. ↑ "Letter from Charles F. Meserve to W. E. B. Du Bois, January 13, 1908". University of Massachusetts Amherst library. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  7. ↑ "Collection: Meserve, Charles Francis". American Baptist Historical Society. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
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