from Book of Biographies, Grafton County, New Hampshire

Melvin J. Mann, a passenger conductor on the Baltimore and Maryland Railroad, was born in Benton, of this county, May 8, 1856, and lives at present in Woodsville.  He is a son of George W. and Sarah T. (Bisbee) Mann, a grandson of Samuel and Mary (Howe) Mann, and great-grandson of Solomon Mann.  Mr. Mann is of Scotch descent, his great-great-grandfather coming from Scotland, and settling in Hartford, Connecticut.  Solomon Mann was born in Hartford, and lived the calm, peaceful life of a tiller of the soil; in politics he was a Whig, but could never be persuaded to take a prominent part.

Samuel Mann was born in New Haven, Connecticut, October 20, 1773, and received his education in the schools of his native town, which were private institutions, for there were no schools of a public character in that locality at that time.  When he was 16 years of age, he went to Landaff, Grafton County, New Hampshire, where he worked as a farmhand for eight dollars a month.  After six years of scanty wages, he had, by strict economy and the closest figuring, saved enough to buy a small farm, which he cultivated for 40 years.  He finally sold it and removed to Benton, and bought a farm, now owned and occupied by his son, George W. Mann, who is the only survivor of eight children born to Samuel Mann.

Honorable George W. Mann, the father of our subject, was born in Landaff, New Hampshire, February 20, 1821, and obtained his early education at Newbury Seminary, Vermont.  For a short time after leaving the Seminary, he was engaged in farming, and teaching school in the winters; but having learned the carpenter’s trade, he finally gave all of his time and attention to building; his farm was still cultivated, however.  He has been very successful at his trade; his work as a contractor and a builder has taken him to all parts of the county.  He was very conscientious in all of his work, and no faulty construction or poor lumber was allowed in any of his work.  His first wife was Susan M., daughter of William Whitcher of Benton.  Five children blessed this union, of whom Ezra B., whose sketch appears elsewhere, and George H., are the only ones living.  Edward F., who died at the age for forty-eight, was at the time of his death Superintendent of the Concord and Montreal Railroad.  The other two deceased were Osmond C. and Orrin L., who were twins.  Mr. Mann’s first wife died at the age of 29, and he married as his second wife Sarah T., daughter of Gad and Lilla Bisbee of Haverhill.  Five children, all of whom are living, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Mann by this marriage:  Melvin J., Hosea B., Susan M., Minnie S., and Moses B.  Mr. Mann is a strong Democrat, and occupies an important place in party politics.  He has been Collector of Taxes; Superintendent of the School Committee; a member of the Highway Commission; Justice of the Peace for 40 years, and still the incumbent; Notary Public; delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1876; member of the State Board of Agriculture; and Representative from the town for eight years.

Melvin J. Mann lived in Benton until he was 21, and attended the common schools, working on the farm after he was 20.  For six years before he was 21, he carried the mail from Benton to North Haverhill.  At the age of 21, he became a brakeman on a freight train, working at that job for three years, when he was made a conductor of the train.  For three more years he had charge of his freight train, when he was transferred to a passenger run, in 1883.

On January 31, 1883, our subject united his fortunes with those of Mary, daughter of John A. and Elizabeth (Davis) Merrill; Mary Merrill was born in Kennebunkport, Maine.  John A. Merrill was born in Kennebunkport March 10, 1830, and followed the pursuit of agriculture; he was a son of John and Elizabeth (Record) Merrill of Kennebunkport, and a grandson of Obed and Judith (Durrell) Merrill, and a great-grandson of John Merrill, who married a Miss Huckins.  Elizabeth Record’s father died when Elizabeth was four years old; her mother, who was a Miss Brown before marriage, married again after the death of her first husband, her second partner being Seth Huff.  Elizabeth Davis, our subject’s mother-in-law, was born at Center Harbor, November 28, 1832, and died at Woodsville, August 6, 1895; she was a daughter of Ira and Mary (Lord) Davis.  Our subject and his wife attend the Methodist Episcopal Church.  Mr. Mann is a member of the Moosehillock Lodge, No. 25, of the I. O. O. F.  He is also a member of the Order of Railway Conductors, Concord Division, No. 335.  In politics he is a Democrat, and an enthusiastic advocate of the white metal.  Mr. and Mrs. Mann have an adopted daughter, Maude P. Mann.