Monadnock Moment No. 097

Era 3: Revolution and the New Nation - 1763 to 1820

The Case of Samuel Meservey

At the turn of the ninetieth century, John McCurdy, his wife, and five children lived on their homestead in the southeast corner of Surry, New Hampshire. McCurdy was a prosperous farmer, storekeeper, blacksmith and innkeeper. He had served the town as moderator, selectman, constable, and representative to the general court.

In the autumn of 1802 a seaman by the name of Samuel Meservey came to Surry and began to work cutting shingles for innkeeper McCurdy. It was rumored that Meservey was carrying a great deal of money with him. On the night of December 24, 1802, Meservey suddenly disappeared from McCurdy's inn. Soon thereafter, some townspeople accused McCurdy of murdering the seaman for his money. Suspicions ran high. Some people claimed that the body was buried in McCurdy's cellar, or had been thrown in the south mill pond, or perhaps even in the Lily Pond at the top of Surry Mountain.

McCurdy proclaimed his innocence and had two articles published in the Keene Sentinel in which witnesses claimed to have seen Meservey in Lempster, New Hampshire and Concord, Massachusetts after the date of his disappearance from Surry. This, however, did little to end the suspicions of local residents. No one was ever arrested in the case, but the constant rumors eventually ruined McCurdy's business and forced him to leave town and settle elsewhere. Although McCurdy's departure lessened the local excitement, the case of Samuel Meservey was a frequent topic of discussion in Surry for many years.