An Open Letter to John Gretchko about His Discovery of Melville Documents

John Gretchko is, in my opinion, the best researcher in the public records in the Melville field today.

Gretchko announced some time ago that he had found a trove of documents more important, as I recall his wording, than the Augusta Papers. Soon he gave a tantalizing sample. He reported that on 21 September 1847, one day before her marriage, Sophia Thurston signed an ante-nuptial agreement with her fiancé, Allan Melville. In it Allan Melville establishes a trust for his wife with her brother, Charles Thurston, and Alexander S. Johnson as the trustees. Sophia by her right of dower through her mother, Rachel Thurston, is entitled to 1/5 of the house at 7 Bond Street, 1/5 of a house and other real estate in Newport, Rhode Island, 1/5 of her father's estate which has not been divided, and several stocks in debt and securities, namely $4,000 of the debt of the state of New York, issued to the New York and Erie Railroad; $2,000 of the debt of New York issued to the Auburn and Syracuse RR Company; $1,000 of the debt of New York issued for the Chemung Canal; $300 for the improvement of the Oneida River; $400 for the Genesee Valley Canal; $600 of the debt if the state of New York for the enlargement of the Erie Canal; $6,200 of the debt for the Black River Canal; $4,000 of the debt of the city of New York commonly called the Water Loan. $5,000 is to be lent to Herman Melville upon a bond and mortgage for a house and lot in Leyden Place [Fourth Avenue] in New York City for the joint residence of Herman and Allan with the loan to be simultaneous with the assignment of the lease to Herman Melville.

I hope that is an accurate reporting of what Gretchko put out.

Of course, I would love to see the document and the other important documents Gretchko has discovered.

Not too long ago he sent me a room-by-room inventory of the house in Gansevoort. How I wish I had had that while I was making up my room placements for the 2nd volume of my biography—for of course I made a floor plan of the house, as best I could.

I hope I have always showed proper respect to Gretchko as a researcher in the public records.

Some people are reluctant to share their discoveries. Dr. Murray sat for decades on important documents. He reveled in knowing more than the rest of the Melville world. I disapprove of that sort of miserliness. I shared important discoveries even when a rival biographer was sitting in the front row taking notes, taking notes fast oh fast.

Now, some people accused me of hiding Melville’s marginalia in his Milton. No. You can’t do everything. If you stop for weeks to make something available, something else suffers. For a long time my job was as news giver and after a certain point my job was to hold my strength together long enough to finish the biography.

Gretchko may feel it is not his job to make his discoveries public right away. Well, then please don’t tease us, John. I’m 75 and I may not have a long time to wait. Sure, I want to see the original of the ante-nuptial document, sure I want to know whatever else Gretchko has found. But I have gone as far toward begging as I reasonably can!