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Melville Davisson Post was born on April 19, 1869, the son of Florence May Davisson (1843-1914) and Ira Carper Post (1842-1923). Florence and Ira Post married in October 1866 and had five children: Maud, Melville, Emma, Sydney, and Florence. Ira raised cattle in Harrison County, West Virginia, and held numerous herds of cattle as well as pasture land. In 1878 the Posts built a new home, "Templemoor," where Melville spent the rest of his youth.
Melville Post attended the Academy in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 1885 and took courses in Morgantown the following year. He formally entered West Virginia University in 1887 and graduated in 1891. He returned for a year of legal studies, and received his LL.B. in 1892. Post served as a prosecuting attorney in Wheeling, West Virginia, and was also involved in the state's Democratic Party.
Post began writing short stories while in Wheeling, and his first work centered on the character of Randolph Mason. The Strange Schemes of Randolph Mason was published in 1896, followed by The Man of Last Resort, of the Clients of Randolph Mason one year later. Other books included Dwellers in the Hills (1901), The Corrector of Destinies (1908), The Gilded Chair (1910), and The Nameless Thing (1912).
In 1903, Post married Ann Bloomfield "Bloom" Gamble Schoolfield. The couple lived in Grafton, West Virginia, where Post had formed a law partnership with another attorney. They had one son, Ira C. Post II, who died in 1906. Melville and Bloom left Grafton and from 1907 to 1914 spent their time traveling in Europe and enjoying extended stays with their families.
Beginning in 1908, Post's crime stories as well as his legal writing began to appear frequently in American popular magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post, The Atlantic Monthly, and Harper's Monthly Magazine. One of Post's most well-known characters, Uncle Abner, first appeared in 1911; Uncle Abner continued to figure prominently in Post's stories, and in 1918 a collection of stories featuring Abner was published: Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries. Post's later work included The Mystery at the Blue Villa (1919), The Sleuth of St. James Square (1920), The Mountain School-Teacher (1922), Monsieur Jonquelle: Prefect of Police of Paris (1923), Randolph Mason, Corrector of Destinies (1923), Walker of the Secret Service (1924), The Man Hunters (1926), The Revolt of the Birds (1927), The Bradmoor Murder (1929), The Garden in Asia (1929), and The Silent Witness (1930). He also continued to publish stories in serial publications.
Post built a home near Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1914-1915 that was based on Swiss architecture and that he nicknamed "The Chalet." Bloom died of pneumonia in 1919. Melville Davisson Post lived at the Chalet until his death from a horse accident in 1930. He is buried in Clarksburg.
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Melville Davisson Post (1871-1930) Papers, A&M 3673, West Virginia and Regional History Center, West Virginia University Libraries, Morgantown, West Virginia.
693, 1143, 1635, 3673
Papers of Melville Davisson Post (1869-1930), an American mystery and detective short story writer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The bulk of the materials date from 1850 to 1929 and primarily consist of Melville Davisson Post's personal and business letters and family financial and legal papers. Business letters mainly document the process of soliciting or accepting and then publishing Post's stories. Financial papers pertain to Post's personal finances in the 1920s, and legal documents from the 18th and early 19th century relate to several members of the Post and Davisson families. Collection also contains a manuscript and typescript draft of the story "The Hole in the Glass" (
Series include:
Series 1a. Letters -- Personal, 1890–1928 (box 1)
Series 1b. Letters -- Business, 1909–1929 (box 1)
Series 2. Writings, 1973, undated (box 2)
Series 3a. Financial and Legal Papers -- Melville Davisson Post, 1914-1928 (box 2)
Series 3b. Financial and Legal Papers -- Davisson and Post Families, 1811-1913, 1949 (boxes 2-3)
Series 3c. Financial and Legal Papers -- Miscellaneous, 1852–1952 (box 3)
Series 4. Personal Materials, 1956-1957, undated (box 3)
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
This series, mainly from 1919 to 1935, primarily consists of notes sent to Melville Post from friends and other writers, including Katharine Fullerton Gerould and Meredith Nicholson. Topics include social activities and Post's writing and his collections of stories. There are also several letters from Post to his niece, Florence Ritchie, about visits to the Chalet, buying ponies, and a trip to London.
Researchers are encouraged to consult both Series 1a. and Series 1b. since personal and professional topics often overlap in correspondence.
The letters in this series were chiefly written to Melville Post from various publishers and editors, including G.P. Putnam's Sons, Harper and Brothers, D. Appleton and Co., International Magazine Company, the Saturday Evening Post, and A.P. Watt & Company, from 1909 to 1929. These letters document the publication of Post's stories, with topics including inquiries and solicitations of manuscripts, publication agreements, payment, rights to publication, scheduling, and contracts. Some letters include editors' comments on Post's stories and characters, and there are a couple of letters related to Post's research for his books. Also includes letters regarding a private game refuge proposed by Post and his neighbors and Post's polo field and health.
Researchers are encouraged to consult both Series 1a. and Series 1b. since personal and professional topics often overlap in correspondence.
This series contains a manuscript and typescript draft of the story "The Hole in the Glass" published as part of the collection "The Bradmoor Murder" in 1929 and a 1973 biography of Melville Post by Charles Norton. Also includes article "Lawyer, Gentleman, West Virginian" by Richard Eaton (undated).
This series includes records pertaining to Post's personal finances in the 1920s. It also includes materials related to Melville Post, such as deeds from 1914, a power of attorney to his brother in the 1920s, and financial documents such as receipts and letters that pertain to Post's various bank accounts and bonds in the 1920s.
This series includes legal documents for members of the Post and Davisson families from the 19th and early 20th centuries. These documents chiefly consist of deeds, land surveys, and receipts from 1811 to 1949, with the bulk spanning from 1830 to 1915. There are materials for Isaac and Prudence Copelin/Copeland, Post's great-grandparents; Melville and Martha Davisson, Post's maternal grandparents; Ira C. and Florence Post, Post's parents; Isaac and Emily Carper Post, Post's paternal grandparents; and Sydney Post, Melville Post's brother.
This series includes miscellaneous financial and legal documents related to various coal companies in West Virginia from 1852-1952.
This series contains black-and-white photographs of Post's boyhood home, Templemoor, from 1956 and 1957, an unidentified photograph, and stamp. Also includes two photos of his home and a portrait (ca. 1920s).
This series includes blueprints, maps, and other material regarding strip mining and coal tracts of the Hutchinson Coal Company of West Virginia, in which Post had stakes.