DECEMBER 1989 VOL 6 NO 1
WILLIAM RHODES HERVEY of Los Angeles, CA (1870-1953)
By Joyce P. Hervey
The life and accomplishments of William Rhodes Hervey, who was generally known as Rhodes Hervey, were eulogized at his funeral by Ellsworth Meyer, friend and brother in Freemasonry. The eulogy, printed below in its entirety, tells much about the man from the viewpoint of a longtime associate, who knew him as a professional person and as a friend. Before the eulogy begins, excerpts from various letters by family members, along with some information researched by the author, give an insight into other aspectsof his life and ancestry.
Rhodes Hervey, a descendant of Col. Thomas Hervey of North Carolina, was interested in researching Hervey family history. He was a personal acquaintance of the Herveys of Ickworth, Suffolk, England, and hoped for many years to find a common ancestry with that family. Because of his efforts and the efforts of others, including his cousin, Melbourne Moose, much more is known of the Hervey family than might have otherwise been known by present generations.
The earliest two generations in the proven Hervey lineage of William Rhodes Hervey are 1st) Col. Thomas Hervey1 of Halifax Co., NC and 2nd) Oney S. Hervey2 of Hardeman Co., TN, both of whom are well documented in prior issues of the Bulletin [See, e.g., Vol. 4 No. 4, p. 161-166].
Thomas W. Hervey3, third in line of descent, was born Feb. 25, 1815/1816 in NC to Oney S. and his first wife, Elizabeth (Williams) Hervey and moved to Tennessee about 1820.3,6 About Thomas W., Rhodes wrote, "... Thomas W. Hervey [my grandfather] came from Tenn., spent a short time in Hickory Plains, Ark., and then went on to Portland, Conway Co. [Ark.], before the Civil War."1 Melbourne Moose wrote (1926): "Thomas William Hervey married in 1835 to Elizabet[h] Miller, [On the 1850 census she was listed as Elizabeth B.], a native of Virginia, whose parents, Simon and Martha (Rivers) were living in Fayette County, Tenn. Their children were: Wm. Blount [b. 18376], Martha Ann [b. 18396], Fountain Pitts [b. 18416], Simon Marcus [b. 18446], [Sarah6] ('Sallie') Miller [b. 18466], Thomas Chapman [b. 18506], Elizabeth Emily, and James W. ... Martha Ann Hervey married first Dr. Marion Davis. They have a son, S? P. Davis, a Broker in Little Rock. She married second Wm. Dickson and they have a son and daughter living in Okla. Fountain Pitts Hervey served during the Confederacy and after the war married Miss Rachel Lewis. He later moved to Shawnee, Okla. and has four daughters living. Simon Marcus Hervey was wounded in the battle of Pocahontas, Ark., contracted Pneumonia from exposure and died soon afterward. Sallie Wilkins Hervey married Daniel W. Mason of Iowa, who served in the Federal Army as Major. They have three children: Clarence Mason of Little Rock, Dan Mason of Toledo, Ohio, and a daughter in Morrilton, Ark. Thomas Chapman Hervey married a Miss Miller at Plummerville, Ark. T. C. Hervey was prominent in this County during reconstruction period, and was Sheriff of Conway County five terms. He has children living in Okla."4
Fourth in line of descent was William Blount Hervey4, born 1837 in NC; died 1922 in CA9,10: "William Blount Hervey married Joanna Rhodes in Fayette County, Tenn."4 Joanna (1849-1938) was born in Somerville, TN and died in Los Angeles, CA. Both were buried at the Inglewood Park Memorial Cem.9,10 The family lived in Fayette Co., Tennessee at the time of the birth of their first child on March 26, 1870, but moved shortly afterward to Morrilton, Arkansas. "He [William Blount] moved to Arkansas where he served in the Confederate Army as Captain. In 1884 he moved to California where several of his children live."4 " ... my father, William Blount Hervey, ... a planter and merchant who removed to Orange County, Calif. in 1887 and died in 1923 ..."1 [Note the difference in the year mentioned in the two accounts regarding the move to California.]
About the move to California, William Rhodes Hervey Jr. wrote, "I believe that Blount was the only one of our Hervey line to move to California. He sold his Morrilton properties to Albert Bowdre - my Aunt Ada's husband and reinvested the proceeds in land around Santa Ana - and a bunch of worthless gold mines ..."2 He became a successful businessman and banker in Los Angeles. The children of William Blount and Joanna (Rhodes) Hervey were:
William Rhodes Hervey, subject of this article, was the eldest of seven children of William Blount Hervey and Joanna (Rhodes) Hervey. He was named after his maternal grandfather, William Rhodes, a Tennessee planter and doctor. After his graduation from the University of Arkansas, Rhodes Hervey went on to get a law degree at the University of Michigan. Following this, he joined his family in California and set up his law practice in Los Angeles. On June 1, 1907, he married a young widow, Browning (Clark) Blades and became a father to her two children, whom he adopted: Harcourt Blades/Hervey and Edward Blades/Hervey. Then on June 24, 1909, their only other child, William Rhodes Hervey, Jr., was born. Some of the honors and offices he held were: Judge Superior Court, Los Angeles Sovereign Grand Inspector General Scottish Rite, Grand Master of Masons in Calif. & Hawaii, Senior Partner Hervey & Hervey, Exec. Vice Pres. Los Angeles Trust & Savings Bank.8
Rhodes Hervey is fondly remember by his grand-daughter, Patricia (Hervey) Schneider (daughter of Edward Blades/Hervey and Mary Lauretta Hughes Patterson Hervey) in this reminiscent letter: "He was a twinkly, grayish person to us. Since our father was a lawyer, Sis [Nancy Anne Hervey Schneider, 1925-1966] and I were impressed that he had the title "Judge" and we did not understand then that he had not been reelected to that post. ... We called him 'Pater Dear'. I guess no one used 'grandfather' to him in those days. Uncle Bill (William Rhodes, Jr.) called him 'Father' and 'Grandfather' began to replace 'Pater Dear' by the time I grew up.
"Pater Dear took Sis and me on our first train ride from Los Angeles to El Paso. We spent a night in an El Paso Hotel and then went in rented car to Carlsbad Caverns. I have never forgotten the train, the tracks, the porters, the food and berth, El Paso, the drive. We were quite little girls and now I think it brave of him to do it! (It is interesting to think, right now, that Sissy was killed [later] on the road back from Carlsbad to El Paso.)
"Sis and I loved going to his great big house in the hills in Los Angeles. There was a huge glittery chandelier in the two story entry hall. A piano was there, too, and a huge old French clock with horses and people coming out of it. The living room seemed to be ankle-deep in Persian carpets. The chairs around the room would usually hold a ring of 'old ladies' who had to be greeted and kissed by the two little girls. Family dinners were served around a huge table loaded with candles, crystal, and silver---especially the flexible silver fish in the middle. The 'children' usually ate in the round breakfast room off of the dining room. Our Dad and Uncle Harcourt usually came out to entertain us and make us feel that we belonged. Pater Dear presided and would always carve the turkey. And when he got through serving everyone the first persons would appear for seconds, even if they weren't ready---this became a tradition.
"Pater Dear was more distant than 'Mamee', our grandmother and his wife. But we wanted to please and visit him, too. And we were pleased to have a judge and banker for a grandfather. His success was educational for us. It was a delight to know a person with a big house, a driver/butler, a maid and a cook and TWO houses. The big house was sold long ago. The beach house is now home for his son, WRH, Jr. and can still be visited and remembered in."
The descendants of William Rhodes Hervey and Browning Clark Blades Hervey:
"My hobbies are yachting and travel. My first long trip was to Europe and Egypt in 1922. We went 1,000 miles up the Nile by side and stern wheel steamers. Since then I have crossed both the arctic and antarctic circles and have been around the world several times. In fact, my wife and I have visited most of the world. We sail next month for our seventh voyage around South America through the Strait of Magellan. And we have cruised around Cape Horn Island.
"I have had boats since I was small, gradually buying larger vessels. Our last one was named Valinda and was 111 feet long with cruising endurance of over 5,000 miles. In her we spent five summers in Alaska and British Columbia, cruised to South America, Mexico, through the Panama Canal to the Caribbean, and to Hawaii.
"I am now restricted to day sailors and cruising on commercial vessels. However, as secretary of the American Foundation for Oceanography and as director and general counsel of Lido Shipyard here at Newport Beach, I keep up with maritime affairs.
"I would like to add that I am following in my father's path in Freemasonry to a minor extent. I am a 33o Mason, active in the Grand Lodge of California and Hawaii, a Past Master of William Rhodes Hervey Lodge, No. 767 F.&A.M., a Shriner, Knight Templar, and other Masonic orders. Father was Grand Master in 1917-1918 and the Sovereign Grand Inspector General of the Scottish Rite in California. This is the top of the Masonic hierarchy.
[Note inserted. Email dated 12/19/00 from Patti Schneider, informed that William Rhodes HERVEY, Jr. , born 24 June 1909 has died on 15 August 2000 at Hoag Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, California ---- per Certificate of Death, State of California. His second wife: Mildred Freels Hervey born 30 May 1909 and died 26 June 1994 at the Eisenhower medical Center in Palm Springs, California. ]
* * * * * * * * * *
THE EULOGY
The following eulogy was delivered at the funeral of Ill. William Rhodes Hervey, 33o Sovereign Grand Inspector General in California, at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Los Angeles, California, February 4, 1953, by Ill. Ellsworth Meyer 33o Venerable Master, Los Angeles Lodge ofPerfection A.A.S.R.
"When we gather, as we have today, to speak words of respect, of gratitude and of deep affection for William Rhodes Hervey, it is fitting that we should assemble in this edifice. This temple was conceived in his mind. He, with Perry Weidner, gathered the means for its erection and as its walls rose, he came here night after night, when the craftsmen were called from their labors, to view the work and see that it was being builded strong and according to the master plan. He gathered the art objects which ornament its several rooms, and the portraits within it he commissioned. He selected it as the place wherein he recited his first marriage vows and where his son was baptized. Along its corridors he walked. In its halls and this sanctuary he lectured to thousands of initiates in the course of forty odd years. He was truly the master builder of the structure and so long the spiritual architect of the life within it. This temple was so much a part of him and he so much a part of it that "death shall not separate" and it will stand a monument to his genius.
"It is no secret that Freemasons are men from every walk of life banded together to build character, their communities, state and nation upon principles which all may read in the Bible, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
"William Rhodes Hervey was a master craftsman among these builders. From the time he became a permanent resident in Los Angeles in 1893, a young graduate of the University of Arkansas and the law school of the University of Michigan, he helped build this city, state and nation.
"He was a lawyer, jurist and banker, as well as a fraternal leader. After practicing for fifteen years, he served as a judge of the Superior Court in this county from 1908 until January 1911. From 1911 to 1930 he was an executive officer of the Los Angeles Trust Company and the American Savings Bank, which by successive mergers became the Security-First National Bank of Los Angeles. After he returned to the practice of law in 1930, he continued to handle numerous trust estatesand the investment of the extensive reserve funds of our cathedral association. He served as vice-president, president and chairman of the board of the State Mutual Building and Loan Association, as a member of the trust committee of the Bank of America and on the boards of several corporations. To enumerate all his directorates and the capacities in which he served would be a presumption upon time. Let it be sufficient to say that his advice was in wide demand and his opinions highly respected.
"Throughout his crowded years, he found time to devote to charitable activities and a satisfaction in service to others. He had many philanthropies of a personal nature and for more than a score of years last past, had served on the board of the Midnight Mission. His was the inspiration and, at crucial periods, the genius behind the endowment fund of the Masonic Home for the Aged, in northern California, and the Masonic Home for Children, at Covina. Even his closest friends never knew the full number of those he had helped, through established institutions and from his own purse, but if, as has been said, the thanks and gratitude of the widow and orphan are a most acceptable gift to God, our friend has built a spacious mansion in his Father's house.
"It is in Masonry that his friends think of him most often as a master builder. He received the basic degrees in Pentalpha Lodge in 1895, those of the Royal Arch in 1899 and those of a Knight Templar in 1901. He served as Master of Pentalpha Lodge in 1899 and again in 1910 and was its treasurer for over fifty years. He served as Commander of Golden West Commandery and assisted in the formation of the local conclave of the Red Cross of Constantine, serving as Sovereign from 1907 to 1914. From 1909 to his passing he served as an officer of Al Malaikah Temple of the Shrine.
"In the Grand Lodge of California he first served as a committee chairman in 1902, as Grand Orator in 1913 and in 1914 he was elected Junior Grand Warden. Thereafter he was advanced until he became Grand Master in October of 1917. As GrandMaster he met the unusual problems of that wartime with courage, resourcefulness and high devotion to the principles of Masonry. Since 1919 he has been a member and since 1921 the chairman of its Committee on Policy and General Purposes and from time to time has served on several special committees. Because of his visits abroad and wide personal acquaintance with Masonic leaders in the British Isles and on the continent, his brethren considered him an authority on foreign Masonry.
"It was in 1900 that he received the degrees of the Scottish Rite from the fourth to the thirty-second. He often said that he early realized that here he had found his life-work. He received the rank and decoration of Knight Commander of the Court of Honor in 1903, and in 1906 was coroneted with the Thirty-third Degree and received the Grand Cross of the Court of Honor in 1935. His first office was that of Chancellor in the Consistory and he retained it for sentimental reasons until 1943. In 1903 he was elected Commander of the Council and held that office for the next ten years. In 1904 he was elected Venerable Master and was reelected at each annual meeting until after he became the active member of the Supreme Council from California in 1943.
"When he became Venerable Master in 1904, these bodies of the rite were meeting in a small lodge room over on Hill Street and had a membership of less than two hundred. Within two years this temple had been built and three years later the mortgage was burned. During the forty years he served as Venerable Master, very substantial assets were built up for the inevitable requirements of expansion and the Los Angeles bodies came to occupy a preeminent position financially as well as numerically.
"Great as were his achievements in these material things, yet his brethren recall more vividly his lectures to the candidates each Friday evening, almost without exception until 1945, a span of forty-two years. Here was the real Rhodes, scholarly, the world-traveller, witty, mischievously risque on occasion, but with a clear perception of true valuesand the objectives of Freemasonry. Only those who have heard his lectures can fully appreciate him as the master builder.
"It is out of gratitude and proper respect for his manifold services that his activities and offices have been enumerated in part. But those who knew him best are, in these moments, not thinking of his honors and offices, for other men, collectively, have received the same degrees and served in these posts and of necessity, other men, collectively, will fill the positions which he has vacated, rather they are thinking of William Rhodes Hervey the man, for they have not known another who was the same and they do not anticipate another to match him.
"His friends are thinking of the breadth of his mind and perception, of the fund of knowledge he retained, of mental faculties which did not grow old as his body yielded slowly to the fiat of nature. He grew tired but not narrow and at eighty-two was in tune with the times and civilization as he had been at thirty-two.
"His friends are feeling admiration for his unwavering loyalty to God, to country, to his family and to his friends. Many are grateful for the hand he extended in an hour of need or sorrow and of which they know there is no other record, except in the great book on the other side of the veil.
"His friends are recalling his unfailing sense of humor, which kept a smile at his lips, warmth in his greeting and a twinkle in his eyes. He genuinely loved people in spite of their faults and they loved him.
"Blessed with a goodly share of material things, he possessed them gracefully, as so few men can, and held a share in trust for others. The recipient of many honors, he never came to regard himself too seriously.
"Scholarly but unaffected, courageous but without bravado, capable but without ostentation, basically serious yet humorous, he was a man of remarkable highlights and colors kaleidoscopic, but every color was true. He achieved to a remarkable degree that balance ofpersonality which is the essence of the philosophy of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite.
"He was a man and a Mason, a Grand Master among a craft of builders; a prince and sovereign of the Rite and a prince and sovereign of the hearts of his friends. His richest possession was that which money can never buy, the love of those who knew him best.
"It has been said, "to live in the hearts of those we leave behind, is not to die." Of William Rhodes Hervey we declare, he yet lives in our hearts and ever shall."12
References:
1 Hervey, Rev. James W., "The Hervey Family Tree or History", 1962, letter written by William Rhodes Hervey to Charles S. Hervey, 1945.
2 Hervey, William Rhodes, Correspondence from Wm. Rhodes Hervey, Jr., to D. G. Hervey, 1989.
3 HFA Bulletin, Vol. 4 No. 4, Aug. 1988, p. 165
4 Hervey, Rev. James W., "Hervey Family Tree or History", 1962, letter from Melbourne Moose, 1926.
5 Schneider, Patricia (Hervey), Correspondence to Joyce P. Hervey, 1985-1989.
6 1850 Census, Fayette Co., Tenn
7 Family group sheet completed Nov. 1989 by Helen Hervey Jasper, of Sonora, CA.
8 Family group sheet completed Nov 1989 by William Rhodes Hervey Jr. & Joanna Chapman
9 Family group sheet completed Nov. 1989 by Elizabeth R. Callaway
10 Family group sheets completed Nov. 1989 by William Rhodes Hervey
11 Death Certificates: Carey L. Hervey, Worth Hervey Butler, Ada Hervey Bowdre, and Harcourt Hervey
12 Eulogy delivered at the funeral of William Rhodes Hervey at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 4, 1953, by Ellsworth Meyer
________________________________________
Camp Bayou Robert 11 miles South Alexandria [Louisiana] May 12th 1864
Dear Matt. I wrote you but two days since but as Robt Cooksey & Willis Bonner will leave for home tomorrow I write again. My health is still good. Our Battalion has just been relieved from picquet & we were all day yesterday in full view of the Fed picquetts[.] they made a dash at our videtts [small boats used for scouting] with some 75 Cavalry[,] only a few of which fell back[.] they charged up within ?3? hundred yards of the reserve which fired on them & drove them back in the afternoon[.] the ?3rd? Squadron was on duty[,] Comp. 1 & Comp. ?_?[.] all was quiet while my Squadron was on duty. I was relieved at dark, just at that time we received orders from Gen Steel to charge the enemys camp to ascertain the strength of the enemy as it was reported they were leaving[.] Afterwards in going down on the opposite side of the River, the 12th & 19th came out to support me while we made the charge with the Battalion. we marched up within a short distance of their Videtts, formed a line of Battle at the order charge we swept down on their videtts with the ?___? yell. their videtts fled without the fire of a gun[.] we then moved up their line of videtts near their camp[.] when they commenced firing on us we formed right into line & gave them the best we could[.] we stood & fired until the enemy reinforced from their camp only a few hundred yards distant[.] some of their picquetts fired on us not more than 20 feet from a ditch[.], their fire became too heavy for us & we were ordered to fall back which we did in good order[.] under a heavy fire we retreated in column of four[.] they did not fire on us with their artillery[.] the charge was made about 8 o'clock at night[.] it was a daring feat[.] providence seems to smile upon us[;] not a man or horse was hurt though the balls drove amongst us like hail[.] after the retreat the enemy sent out a number of scouting parties who in their confusion would every few moments fire upon each other. I dont know what damage was done them but am pretty certain that my comp killed one of them that fired on us so_? ?---? & ran off[.] a number of shots were fired at him & he fell either killed or to escape the balls. these are stirring times [-] it is saddle up & fall in two or three times a day[.] when we are not on duty we have been allowed to unsaddle [-] two days this week are so now but would not be surprised at any moment to hear the saddle call was recd[.] orders from Gen Smith complimenting our army & speaking in the highest terms of our fightg from Na[t]chitoches to Alexandria[.] in his order he says that since the 8th April to 3rd May the army of Trans Miss dep. has killed & wounded 8000 Feds[,] have now in our possession 6000 prisoners[,] 1250 wagons[,] 34 ps artillery & captured 1 Gun Boat & 3 Transports, glorious victory, since the date of his order Gen Majors has captured five Gun Boats & severall Transports below Alexandria[.] I hear firing below to day. Gen Poli____? left here with the infantry this morning[,] going below [-] we will have it again soon[.] the infantry have not been engaged yet. they have kept all their movements very close not even the cavalry knows where they are half the time[.] the enemy may strike across to Natchez which is some 80 miles from Alexandria, & let the Gun Boats take care of themselves or they will turn down the River to endeavor to drive off our Batteries which if they attempt they will meet with more opposition than they expect, they are getting short of Rations & no possible chance to supply themselves[.] they must fight their way back to the Miss. River or do worse. they say that Parsons Brigade beat all the men they ever had to contend with [-] they come out in force & drive us back & by the time they get back to their camp we are back shelling them or firing on their picquetts[.] they say we wont let them have any rest & they cant catch us[.] I have to wear very dirty clothes as I have but a change of small clothes with me & no chance to get washing done[.] I wash my own socks & hdkf's and would wash all my clothes if I could be still long enough[.] I get along very well without Nash[;] dont trouble yourself on that score[;] he would only be in my way such times as this.
On yesterday the enemy burned a number of houses in the direction of Alexandria which is an indication of a move some way & the only way they will move will be towards the Miss. River. we have troops in their front flank & rear [-] they will suffer much on the retreat[.] they will be annoyed from every side, the villains have laid waste to the Red River Valley [-] the finest country I ever beheld[.] if I had a waggon I could send you sugar & molasses enough to do you for a great while at no cost scarcely[.] I regret that I cannot send it[.] the men have it at will to eat & make as much candy as they want[.] it is left on the sugar farms without protection, corn & sugar crops left without any one to cultivate them[.] our Cavalry have fought & tramped over many fine fields of both[.] this country is all fields hedges & ditches Bayous &c. Gen Bartlett is out as nurse for one of the comps. left sick[.] Wm Stokes & David are with me [-] as well as usual. Diarrhea has prevailed to some extent in our camp but not serious[;] our horses stand it very well. Dash has traded for a horse & came in to day for duty[.] ?Brint Tate is still dismounted & out of camp.
Dr. ?Lentrip says camp life is just the thing for David [-] thinks that it may have a tendency to break up the predisposition to consumption[.] he says that if he were to go home now & take good care of himself it would hasten the disease[.] he is disposed to favour him all that he can[,] giving him frequent rests from active service[.] John Oneal is well[.] Say to my friends that I have not had time to write to them[.] after this raid is over I will write[.] this is my last paper and envelope that I have with me[.] tell Anna & Gus that I will write as soon as I can[.] the little watch keeps good time. My love to all our friends[.] say to Mr. Hodge that Cheesman declined a transfer as he finds he can do better in the Batt. I am riding Be______? horse yet he has not come up with mine[.] I look for Mr. Merrell every day with Jack[.] My love & many kisses to yourself & children Write every chance
Yours ever A G Hervey
IN MEMORIUM - ALBERT CREEL HERVEY
by Donald G. Hervey
Albert Creel Hervey, age 79, of Longmont, Colorado died Saturday, October 21, 1989 at his home following a lengthy illness.(1)
Albert Creel Hervey, the first child of Gladys A. (Creel) and Wilbur Eugene "Bill" Hervey, was born October 26, 1909 in Fort Morgan, Colorado where he started to school.2 His parents were homesteading a farm northeast of town at the time.(3)
He helped his father farm in the St. Vrain valley from 1919 through 1923 raising pumpkins, raspberries, and other fruits and vegetables. The family subsequently farmed two miles up the North St. Vrain Canyon and later another mile north at a farm they termed the Cottonwoods. Albert attended Potatoe Hill School, Lakeview School north of Longmont, Colorado and Bashor School.(2,3)
Albert met Francis Mary Mondragon in 1927.(2) They were married in Greeley, Colorado on January 20, 1928.(1)
Albert and Francis were physically quite different. He was tall, sturdy, solidly built, and had the forth-right manner of a rural man. She was a slightly built woman.
Albert worked sixteen campaigns plus several summers for the Great Western Sugar Company of Longmont. In 1931 and 1932 he farmed in the Lyons area. He worked the next five seasons during the depression on a farm west of Longmont. In 1937 the family moved to Lyons and Albert worked for the Smuggler Mine up the South St. Vrain Canyon. In 1940 they moved to Longmont and Albert worked for the Slide Mine located up Lefthand Canyon.(2)
Beginning in 1943 Albert worked in the Rocky Mountains Arsenal northeast of Denver,(1,2) but he maintained his interest in farming, raising Red Angus cattle. He held various maintenance supervisory jobs and retired as superintendent of roads and grounds in February of 1970.(2)
When he had a heart attack he reduced his herd from 25 to 10 head and still kepta couple of head to tend to as a 75 year old man. Albert maintained an active interest in the Hervey line, buying any books he could find about the family and traveling from Colorado to Corsicana, Texas for the 1971 Hervey family reunion, which he fondly remembered.(5)
Albert was president of the Longmont Shrine Club in 1984.(1)
Albert had his right leg amputated below the knee in January 1985 in Longmont due to a diabetic condition and having the foot stepped on by one of his cows. He also had problems with his heart, lungs, and kidneys. He had not been fitted with a prothesis by mid-May of 1985. None of this dampened his spirit. He was quick with a smile, warm, and interested in life and family. He talked several members of his family (two sons, a daughter, and his wife) into venturing to yet another family reunion in the summer of 1985 in Corsicana, Texas where he spoke as the oldest representative of his branch of the family.(3,5)
Albert was a member of the St. Vrain Masonic Lodge No. 23, the Longs Peak Grange and the Eastern Star and Colorado Consistry.(1)
Children of Francis Mary (Mondragon) and Albert C. Hervey were:
Albert was preceded in death by one son, Walter; two sisters, Waneta and Virginia; and a brother, Melvin.(1)
Albert was survived by his wife, Francis; two daughters, Betty Leonard with husband Glen of Erie and Shirley Richendifer with husband Clay of Longmont; three sons, Wilbur with wife Nancy of Sacramento, California, Roy with wife Ramona of Longmont, and Robert with wife Charlotte of Williams, Oregon; a brother, Wilbur Bud with wife Dorothy of Loveland, Colorado; three sisters, Wilma L. (Hervey) Clinton with husband Walter of Sun City, Arizona, Helen A. (Hervey) Mize of Pueblo, Colorado and Hazel E. (Hervey) Bagley with husband Don of Englewood, Colorado; an aunt, Myrtle Meyers of Arcata, California; 16 grandchildren; 26 great-grandchildren; 13 step-grandchildren; and a variety of nieces, nephews, and cousins.(1)
Albert was cremated in a private burial in Foothills Gardens of Memory. Memorial services were held at the Lewellen Longmont Memorial Chapel on October 24, 1989 with the Rev. Victor V. McIntire of the Nazarene Church officiating.(1)
1 Longmont, Colorado newspaper obituaries ca. October 22, 1989.
2 Hervey, Albert Creel, typed memories of the Wilbur E. "Bill" Hervey family dated June 1984.
3 Hervey, Albert Creel, address given to Hervey Families Reunion in Corsicana, Texas, June 1985.
4 Hervey Families of America Bulletin Vol. 3, No. 4, p. 119f
5 Conversation between Albert Creel Hervey and Donald G. Hervey by telephone on May 11, 1985.
________________________________________
GENEALOGICAL DATA ABSTRACTED FROM REVOLUTIONARY WAR PENSION & BOUNTY LAND WARRANT APPLICATIONS - PART 6
[The following abstracts are from National Archives film series M805, roll #406, entitled "Selected Records from Revolutionary War Pension & Bounty Land Warrant Application Files." The series reproduces all records from envelope files containing up to 10 pages of records, but only significant genealogical documents are microfilmed from larger files.]
* * * * *
Kimber Harvey, New Hampshire line, May 1777 to May 1780.
On 4 Nov. 1819, Kimber Harvey, aged 64, resident of Marlborough, Cheshire Co., NH, appeared in Court of Common Pleas to make declaration: he enl. about 10 May 1777 in company commanded by William Ellis of the Regt. of Infantry commanded by Col. Smammel of the NH line and served until 10 May 1780 and was discharged in West Point, NY. He fought in battle at Ticonderoga (where he lost all his clothes), two battles at Stillwater, and fought the Indians with Gen. Sullivan.
About his personal affairs: he is in reduced circumstances. Most of his wages he received for military service went to support his parents throughout theirlives, the last of which died six months ago. He supported his wife's mother until her death about four years ago. He owned a small hand farm worth about $1,000, but owes as much as his personal estate could be sold for. In the last war with Great Britain his oldest son, who was the only one healthy enough to do much labor, died in the service of his country. His wife had 15 children, 12 of whom are still living -- the oldest son at home is not able to labor.
Kimber Harvey appeared at the same court again on 18 July 1820, now aged 65 to declare: he is unable to do much labor at his occupation of farming, due to infirmities of age and a lame shoulder. His family consists of wife Polly, aged 56, who is in a feeble state of health. His children residing with him are: Roxanna, aged 17, in a feeble state of health, can half support herself; George, aged 15, subject to sores in his head, can about half support himself; James, aged 9, is able to work as boys generally are of his age.
On 4 Sept. 1838, Mary Harvey, age 74, widow of Kimber Harvey, appeared in the same court as mentioned above to apply for a widows pension. She declared she was married to Kimber Harvey on 17 Sept. 1783 and her husband died 1 Feb. 1828. A marriage record attached shows that Kemper Harvey and Mary Hasseltine, both of Swanzey, Cheshire Co., NH, were joined in marriage by P.? C. Frink, J. P.
Levi Harvey, NH. On 15 May 1857, Orleans Co., Vermont, appeared Judith Scribner, a resident of Salem, VT, to declare: she is the daughter of Levi Harvey, now deceased, who was an officer in the Rev. War and she thinks he served under Capt. Sanborn in Col. Evans Regt. near the close of the war. The following are the only other surviving children of Levi Harvey: Dolly Morgan and James Harvey. She once had a brother, Levi Harvey, who went west a number of years ago and is now supposed to be dead. She remembers a three edged sword, a large gun labeled Queens arms, and other army equipment her father brought home from the service. She thinks her father served on two different occasions, that the last time he enlisted he was promised a lieutenants commission.
HERVEYS OF NOTE
ALPHEUS BAKER HERVEY
A clergyman and educator, Alpheus Baker Hervey, was born on March 31, 1839 in Triangle, New York. His parents were Joseph and Rhoda (Baker) Hervey. His education, which began in New York private schools, continued at St. Lawrence Univ., where he studied theology and graduated in 1861. He later earned advanced degrees: hon. A.M. at Tufts College, 1880; A.M., 1878, Ph.D., 1885, and L.L.D., 1928 from St. Lawrence Univ. In 1863 Alpheus Hervey married Sarah Eliza Andrew who died in 1884. He married a second time on June 1, 1921 to Hanna Rion who died in 1924. Although Alpheus enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War, he was not mustered in. His ministry began in 1861, and he variously served as pastor of Universalist churches in Malone, Afton and Troy, New York, at Southbridge, Peabody and Taunton, Mass., and at Bath, Maine. He served as president, then trustee of St. Lawrence Univ, from which he retired in 1909. He was a member of the Democratic party. He was a specialist in marine algae. Among his botanical writings are Sea Mosses, 1881; Beautiful Wild Flowers, 1881; and Flowers of Field and Forest, 1882. He translated from the German, Guide to the Microscope in Botany in 1885 and Manual of Microscopical Investigation in Botany in 1886. He made his home in Bath, Maine and died on March 10, 1931.
________________________________________
[A copy of the following letter, sent to the Bulletin, is a reply to a letter from Mr. George E. Hervey, which was printed previously.]
October 16, 1989
Regarding your letter in Volume 5, No. 4 "HERVEY" concerning Hervey Junction, Canada---my information is stale, to say the least.
Quite a few years ago I had a call from General C. Longley Hervey, retired general of the Canadian army, simply because of similarity of names. We met but I am not sure what year. At that time he was living at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., an engineering club. He was retired and elderly but had a good mind and was a good conversationalist. He was handsome with excellent posture. He visited us several times but always stayed at a hotel despite the fact he had the option, and offer, of staying with us.
Time has me confused. We, my wife and I, both recall our daughters were greatly entertained by the general's watch which had a charm. Jeanne (now 51) and Ann (would be 49), our daughters, sat in his lap principally because of the watch. That places time out of reach. We determined that if we were related, it was surely distant. General Hervey told us of Hervey Junction--named for him. We cannot recall if he was an engineer on the railroad or with the Canadian army at the time. I seem to think it was a kind of end of the line at that time for the railroad. I do not recall his birth place but do recall that he had a sister, a widow, I believe but I cannot recall her name, who ran a rooming house in Charlottesville, home of University of Virginia. She moved out west during his lifetime. I recall some of her student roomers helped her move. As I vaguely recall, General Hervey had two daughters, one married and divorced from a mid-western Senator or Congressman.
Everything is so vague that I feel this is of little help. I would think the best start would be Archives of the Canadian Army.If you come up with anything, I would certainly appreciate being advised.
D. Rankin Hervey