Bartram, John (1699-1777)
John Bartram was our first native American botanist. Born in Darby, Pensylvania, he was the son of John Bartram a Quaker farmer. He became Chief Botanist of the American colonies and was the founder in 1728 of the Philadelphia Botanical Garden at Kingsessing. He grew native plants on his farm near Philadelphia and was a central figure of botanical activity.
The early 1700s were characterized by a lively traffic in seeds and plants from America to England. He was responsible, through his correspondence with Peter Collinson, for introducing many American trees to Europe. Unfortunately, his early collections were set aside in England, and not described for many years.
Although he never visited Britain, in 1765 he was appointed Botanist to King George III. Linnaeus called him "the worlds greatest botanist". Bartramia, a genus of mosses is named in his honor.
Top of page
Bartram, William (1739-1823)
William was the son of John and Ann Bartram, the fifth of nine children. He showed an interest in the natural sciences at an early age, and accompanied his father on numerous collecting trips.
In 1773 he set out on a four-year solitary journey through North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. He made numerous drawings and took meticulous notes, documenting plants, animals and native peoples of the region.
In 1791, he published a series of writings under the name Travels, which reflected on his many plant hunting expeditions. Today "Travels" is regarded as an American natural history classic.
Top of page
Colden, Cadwallader
One of the botanist in the eighteenth century was Cadwallader Colden. He came to New York in 1715 and had a large estate "Coldenham" near Newburgh. He collected and described many of the plants native to his area.
He wrote a paper entitled Plantae Coldenhamiae which was published in Upsala in 1742, and it was one of the earliest contributions to the knowledge of the botany of New York. His paper was highly praised by Linnaeus.
His daughter, Jane Colden was also a well known botanist. She exchanged many seeds and plants with European and American botanists and gardeners. Peter Collinson wrote a letter to Linnaeus in 1756 stating that "Jane Colden was the first lady who is scientifically skilled in the Linnaean system."
Top of page
Collison, Peter
Peter Collinson, was a businessman who was looking for an American plant collector that could supply the needs of prominent Englishmen, who were eager to obtain new plant material for their gardens. John Bartram was the just the man he was looking for. A long and interesting association grew between these two men.
In 1756 he wrote a letter to Linnaeus stating that "Jane Colden, daughter of Cadwallader Colden, was the first lady who is scientifically skilled in the Linnaean system."
Top of page
Gerard, John
John Gerard produced the earliest catalogue of the contents of an English garden Catalogus arborum fruticumet plantarum, dated 1596 (British Museum). In it he refers to the medicinal uses for herbs.
Top of page
Josselyn, John
On August 16,1663 John Josselyn of London, came to Maine to visit his brother Henry Josselyn in Scarborough. John stayed for eight years and made it his business to study and discover all of the natural and physical rarities of this new found world.
He returned to London in 1671 and began writing a book about all of his discoveries. In 1672 his book New England Rarities Discovered was published. His second book An Account of Two Voyages to New England was published in 1674.
Top of page
Kalm, Peter
In 1748 Peter Kalm was sent to America by the Royal Acamedy of Sweden to explore all of the plant life of the new world. He is considered one of the greatest botanists of all time. He was most interested in the laurel family. Linnaeus later honored him by naming the laurels (Kalmia) after him.
Peter Kalm collected in the northeastern part of North America from 1748 to 1751. His botanical collections, extensively cited by Linnaeus in Species Plantarum (1753), are nomenclatural types for many of our northeastern United States and southeastern Canadian species.
Top of page
Marshall, Humphrey
Humphrey Marshall was a cousin of the Bartrams who was also intrested in plants. He correspondenced with many people from England, and shipped them plants that he had collected. In 1764 he built himself a greenhouse, which was one of the earliest in this country.
In 1785 he published, Arboretum Americanum, the American Grove, or an Alphabetical Catalogue of Forest Trees Native of the American United States. This book is supposed to be the first book of American plants published in this country.
Top of page
Michaux, Andre
Andre Michaux, a French botanist, explored the Champlain Valley in the summer of 1792. He collected and recorded about 175 plants on his journey. His son, Francois Michaux made the very same expedition through the valley about fourteen years later.
Top of page
Michaux, Francois
Francois Michaux, was the son of the French botanist Andre Michaux. Like his father he explored the Champlain Valley some 14 years later (1806) collecting and recording many new plants.
Top of page
Prince, William
The first commercial nursery in the country was established at Flushing, by Robert Prince in 1737. The nursery was carried on by four generations of Princes.
William Prince, the son enlarged the nursery and had the first extensive collection of fruit trees in the country.
William Prince II, renamed the nursery to The Linnaean Botanic Garden. He imported trees, shrubs, and many herbaceous plants from Europe, and also collected many American species. Most of these were grown from his love of horticulture and botany, not for their perspective commercial value. His personal collection grew to over 4,000 species and varities.
William Prince III was a botanist of wide experiences, and worked with Professor Torrey and Professor Nuttal. In 1839 he wrote Treatise on the Vine,in 1840 he wrote Pomological Manual, and in 1846 Manual of Roses, all of which were important horticultural books. Their nursery catalogues were among the standard horticultural publications of the country.
Top of page
Read, Charles
Charles Read has contributed greatly to our knowledge of the way of life and the agricultural practices of his day, through his many notes and journals. He describes the farms as being mostly large plantations of 500-1000 acres, with self-sustaining agriculture and having substantial exports. He often corresponded with his friends John Bartram and Colonel Schuyler, exchanging their experiences and observations with one another.
Some other notes from his journals might be of some intrest to modern day gardeners, such as his solution to peach borers or "ye worm at ye root--ye Hulls of Walnutts mixed with Earth keeps worms from them." Or how about "Horsereddish planted round Plumb trees, tis said, prevents the Bugg from destroying them."
Top of page
Tradescant, John (1608-1662)
The name of Tradescant is of the first importance. Many of our best known garden plants are associated with their names. The Tradescants were an East Anglian family of Dutch origin.
His name is chiefly associated with Hatfield, from where he was sent abroad several times to buy fruit trees. Amongst the fruits his name is particularly associated with is the Tradescant's Cherry.
The cherry is featured in the collection of paintings of fruits known as "Tradescant's Orchard", in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Also at Oxford, is their collection of "all things strange and rare".
Top of page
Winthrop, John
A small group of Puritan families, under the guidance of John Winthrop, came to this strange new land called America in 1639, and landed in New Haven, Connecticut.
| 
