Melville was born in New York City, on August 1, 1819, the third of eight children to Allan Melvill (1782–1832) and Maria (Gansevoort) Melvill (1791–1872), who were of Scottish and Dutch descent.
New Century Book of Facts (Wikipedia) The New Century Book of Facts was a single volume general reference work published in the United States from 1909 to 1964.