Melvin E. Sherwin
Melvin E. Sherwin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Melvin Ernest Sherwin July 17, 1881 – January 5, 1924 South Dakota, U.S. |
| Died | January 5, 1924 (aged 42) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Burial place | Oakwood Cemetery (Raleigh, North Carolina) |
| Education | University of Missouri, B.S. Agriculture, 1908 University of California, Berkeley, M.A. Agriculture, 1909 |
| Occupation | Adacemic |
| Known for | Founding FarmHouse fraternity |
| Academic career | |
| Discipline | Agriculture |
| Sub-discipline | Soil Science |
| Institutions | University of Maine North Carolina State University |
Melvin Ernest Sherwin (July 17, 1881 – January 5, 1924) was an American soil scientist, agronomist, academic, and founding member of FarmHouse fraternity. He was a professor and department head in soil sciences at what is now North Carolina State University.
Early life
[edit]Serwin was born in South Dakota on July 17, 1881.[1][2] He enrolled in the University of Missouri in 1903 and graduated with a B.S. in agriculture in 1908.[3] While there, he became one of the seven founders of the FarmHouse fraternity on April 15, 1905.[4]
He received an M.A. in agriculture from the University of California, Berkeley in 1909.[5]
Career
[edit]While he was a graduate student, Shewin was an instructor of agronomy at the University of California.[6] In the fall of 1909, he became an assistant professor of agronomy at the University of Maine.[6][5] In 1910, he joined the faculty the North Carolina State College of Agriculture & Mechanical Arts (now North Carolina State University) as a professor of soils and the head of its soils department.[5][7] This was the first professional position in soils at the university.[7]
Sherwin was noted for his investigative work with drainage lines.[2] In November 1936, he was elected president of the North Carolina Drainage Association.[8] He wrote a laboratory guide on soils that was used as a textbook in North Carolina's agricultural high schools.[2] He also helped train county agricultural agents, spoke at the North Carolina Drainage Convention, and presented a paper at the conference of the North Carolina Academy of Science.[9][10][11] He also spoke at the Association of Southern Agricultural Workers in February 1921.[12]
Personal life
[edit]Sherwin was married Edith Dodson of Centrilia, Missouri.[13] The couple had five children, including Sidney T Sherwin and Edith Evelyn Sherwin.[2][14][15] He lived on Avent Ferry Road in Raleigh, North Carolina and owned a farm in Hyde County, near Lake Mattamuskeet.[2][1]
On January 3, 1924, he became ill and fell unconscious from uremic acidosis.[2] After contracting spinal meningitis two days later and never regaining consciousness, he died on January 5, 1924, in Rex Hospital in Raleigh at the age of 42.[5][1][2] His funeral was held at the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh.[16] He was buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Raleigh.[3][16]
After his death, his widow married his brother, Herbert A. Sherwin, and lived in Greensboro, North Carolina.[15][13]
Select publications
[edit]- Observations on the status of corn growing in California. (College of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station Circular 70) Berkeley: University of California, August 1911
- The production of the lima bean: the need and possibility of its improvement. with George Wright Shaw. (College of Agriculture Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 224) Berkeley: University of California Publications, November 1911.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Prof. M. E. Sherwin". News and Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. 1924-01-07. p. 6. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g "State Professor Dies in Hospital. M. E. Sherwin, Head of Department of Soils, Passes Away Here". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1924-01-06. p. 15. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Harris, Chad, ed. (2016). Our Founders' Momument Road (PDF). FarmHouse Fraternity. pp. 30–31. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
- ^ Becque, Fran (2017-04-15). "Happy Founders' Day, Triangle and FarmHouse Fraternities!". Fraternity History & More. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
- ^ a b c d "Notes: North Carolina College and Station". Experiment Staton Record. 50 (7): 699. 1924.
- ^ a b "College Notes". Journal of Education: 249. September 9, 1909 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b McCracken, Ralph J. (2003). "History of Soil Science at North Carolina State University". Papers Commemorating a Century of Soil Science (PDF). Soil Science Society of North Carolina. p. 132.
- ^ "Prof. M. E. Sherwin". The Greensboro Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. 1936-11-24. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eastern County Agents Will Meet this Week in Beaufort". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1923-07-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Academy of Science Will Meet on Friday". News and Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. 1923-05-03. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Drain Congress in Annual Meet". The Daily Southerner. Tarboro, North Carolina. 1922-05-03. p. 4. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Raleigh Men to Speak at Agricultural Meeting". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1921-02-02. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Mrs. H. A. Sherwin Furneral to be Held Tomorrow Afternoon". The Greensboro Record. North Carolina. 1955-11-08. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sidney T. Sherwin". The Charlotte News. North Carolina. 1957-08-05. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Miss Sherwin and G. F. Beaven to Be Married Soon". News and Record. Greensboro, North Carolina. 1935-12-08. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Sherwin Funeral Takes Place Today". The News and Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. 1924-01-08. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-07-31 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Shaw, George Wright; Sherwin, M. E. (Melvin Ernest) (1911). The production of the lima bean: the need and possibility of its improvement. Davis Libraries University of California. Berkeley, Cal. : Agricultural Experiment Station.
