William Bartram

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William Bartram (April 20, 1739 — July 22, 1823) was an American naturalist, the son of John Bartram. Bartram was born in Kingsessing, Pennsylvania. He accompanied his father on many of his travels, to the Catskill Mountains and Florida, and was noted at a young age for the quality of the drawings he produced of botanical specimens his father had gathered. He also had an increasing role in the maintenance of his father's showcase garden, and added several rare species to it.

In 1773, he set off alone on a four-year journey through eight southern colonies. He made many drawings and took notes on the native flora and fauna, and the native American Indians. He found great cooperation from Ahaya the Cowkeeper, chief of the Alachua band of the Seminole tribe. In 1774, he celebrated Bartram's visit to his principal village at Cuskowilla with a great feast. When Bartram explained to the Cowkeeper that he was interested in studying the local plants and animals, the chief was amused and began calling him "Puc-puggee," or "the flower hunter." But, he also gave him free rein to explore his territory on Payne's Prairie.

Bartram returned to Philadelphia in January, 1777 and spent his later years working at the Bartram's Garden. During this period he compiled the most complete list of American birds up to that time.

Upon his return, Bartram published his journal in 1791, under the title Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, etc., which was considered at the time to be one of the foremost books on American natural history. In addition to its contributions to scientific knowledge, Travels is noted for its original descriptions of the American countryside, which in turn influenced many of the Romantic writers of the day. William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and François René de Chateaubriand are known to have read the book, and its influence can be seen in many of their works.

In 1802 Bartram met the school teacher Alexander Wilson and began to teach him the rudiments of ornithology and natural history illustration. Wilson's American Ornithology includes many references to Bartram and the area around Bartram's Garden.

The Bartram's Sandpiper, now known as the Upland Sandpiper, and its genus Bartramia were named by Wilson in honour of his mentor in volume 7 (published in 1813) of American Ornithology.

Bartram spent most of the final decades of his life in quiet work and study at his home and garden in Kingsessing, refusing several requests to teach botany and declining an invitation from Thomas Jefferson to accompany an expedition up the Red River in the Louisiana Territory in 1806. He died at his home at the age of 84.

The William Bartram Scenic Highway runs along the east side of the St. Johns River from Jacksonville south in to northwestern St. Johns County on State Road 13. Bartram Trail high school in Switzerland, Florida (just south of Jacksonville) is named for William Bartram. The Bartram Trail is a hiking trail in North Carolina, Georgia, and South Carolina that commerates his journeys through the area.

[edit] Bibliography

• Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida, the Cherokee Country, etc. Philadelphia, 1791. Modern editions include:
  • William Bartram: Travels and Other Writings. Thomas Slaughter, editor. Library of America, 1996. ISBN 1-883011-11-6
  • Travels and Other Writings: Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida... Ronald E. Latham, editor. Penguin, 1988. ISBN 0140170081
  • Travels Through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida. University of Virginia Press, 1980. ISBN 081390871X
  • William Bartram, 1739-1823: Travels etc. Documenting the American South, University Library, University of North Carolina.

[edit] References

• Borland, Hal. The Memorable Bartrams. American Heritage Magazine. April, 1975. Volume 26, Issue 3. Accessed March 2, 2007.
• Cashin, Edward J. William Bartram in Georgia. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Accessed March 2, 2007.
• Savage, Henry Jr. Discovering America, 1700-1875. p. 63-70. Harper & Row, 1979.
• "William Bartram" Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 37: American Writers of the Early Republic. Emory Elliot, ed. The Gale Group, 1985, pp. 31-38.
• "William Bartram 1739-1823" Dictionary of American Biography. American Council of Learned Societies, 1928-1936.

[edit] Additional information

• Fishman, Gail. (2001) Journeys Through Paradise, University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1874-9
• Bartram's Garden, long-time residence of William Bartram.
• Bartram Trail Conference.

Persondata
NAME	Bartram, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	W.B. Bartram
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American botanist
DATE OF BIRTH	April 20, 1739
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kingsessing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH	July 22, 1823
PLACE OF DEATH	Kingsessing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania