Grenville Mellen Weeks (1837 - 1919)

Born 22 Nov 1837 in New York, United States

Died 25 Apr 1919 at age 81 in Kearny Twp, Hudson, New Jersey, United States

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Biography

Grenville was born in 1837. He passed away in 1919. Grenville Weeks, M.D. (1837-1919). Grenville Weeks, son of Dr. Cyrus Weeks (1806-1875, b. Sanbornton, N.H., d. Hoboken, N.J.) and Maria Child, followed in his father's footsteps and became a surgeon. He spent many years among Native American tribes serving as a surgeon, and became secretary of the New York Indian Commission. During the Civil War he served aboard the USS Monitor, which sank on December 31, 1862 during a violent storm off of Cape Hatteras. The Monitor was overhauled in Washington, D.C. in the fall of 1862 and returned to duty in November. She was ordered to join the USS Rhode Island and head to Beaufort, N.C. to participate in the Union blockade of the Carolinas. The Monitor would never make it. On December 30, she encountered a strong storm in the dangerous waters off of Cape Hatteras. Water began to flood the ship, faster than the pumps could pump it out. As the evening wore on, and no relief was in sight, it became obvious that the Monitor was in serious danger of sinking. She sent out distress signals to the Rhode Island, anchored nearby. Throughout the night, the men of the Monitor were removed via whaleboat to the safety of the Rhode Island. Only sixteen men out of a crew of sixty-two were lost --- a remarkable feat of rescue given the deadly conditions. At 1:30 a.m., December 31, the Monitor sank. The wreck would be found 112 years later. Grenville Weeks wrote about his experience and the last hours of the Monitor. The Atlantic Monthly published "The Last Cruise of the Monitor" in March 1863 (http://www.weeksbrickhouse.org/WeeksGenealogy.html).

Sources

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 June 2020), memorial page for Dr Grenville Mellen Weeks (22 Nov 1837–25 Apr 1919), Find a Grave Memorial no. 88319233, ; Maintained by Rubbings (contributor 47671529) Body lost or destroyed.
• Wikipedia
• The Biographical dictionary of women inmscience, edited by Marilyn Ogilvie and Joy Harvey.
• A Woman of the century, 1893, by Frances E. Willard.