Bartram, John

March 23, 1699

Marple, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

September 22, 1777

Kingsessing, Pennsylvania

Botanist and gardener

John Bartram was "the greatest contemporary 'natural botanist' in the world."

Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus.

John Bartram, an eighteenth-century botanist (a specialist in plant life), was well known in colonial America and Europe. He grew up in Pennsylvania, where he was inspired by the beautiful countryside to study nature. As a young man, Bartram ventured to the nearby city of Philadelphia, one of the scientific centers of colonial America, where he met important scientific figures of the time, including James Logan. He introduced Bartram to the study of botany and, through Logan, Bartram became acquainted with the work of the great Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. Bartram is best known for the five-acre botanical garden, called "the Garden," that he began planting at Kingsessing, Pennsylvania, in 1728. While conducting a correspondence with English botanist Peter Collinson, Bartram imported (to bring from a foreign external source) rare and exotic plant specimens. (A specimen is an individual item typical of a whole.) Because of its extensive variety of plant species, the Garden was the pride of the colonial American scientific community. While conducting expeditions throughout the countryside of the eastern colonies, Bartram commented not only on the plant life, but on the cultural aspects of the colonies as well. These proved to be an insightful and influential study of early America.

Inspired by local countryside

John Bartram was born on March 23, 1699, in Marple, which is located near Darby in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. His father was William Bartram, and his mother was Elizabeth Hunt. Bartram's grandfather, John Bartram, had settled near Darby after leaving England in 1682. When Bartram was born several years later in 1699, his extended family had already been Quakers for three generations. (The Quakers, members of the Religious Society of Friends, believe that the individual can receive divine truth from the Holy Spirit through his or her own "inner light" without the guidance of a minister or priest.) Bartram himself remained a Quaker all his life. However, as he grew older and learned more about science and nature, he found it increasingly difficult to remain an orthodox Quaker (one who conforms to established doctrine).

Bartram first became interested in nature as a young man. He was particularly intrigued by the beautiful Pennsylvania countryside south of Philadelphia. As he was growing up, Bartram increasingly spent his time outdoors. In order to acquire more information about his newfound fascination, Bartram traveled to Philadelphia, where he could find the appropriate books on plants. It was there that he met James Logan, an influential Philadelphia scientific scholar and patron (one who gives financial support). Logan introduced Bartram to Latin, which was the language of scientific correspondence. Logan also loaned books to Bartram, helped him master the microscope, and turned the young man's attention to the work of the great Swedish botanist Carolus Linnaeus. Bartram eventually carried on a fruitful correspondence with Linnaeus.

Bartram was married twice during his lifetime. In 1723 he wed Mary Morris, with whom he had two sons. After her death, Bartram married Ann Mendenhall in 1729. With Mendenhall, Bartram had five sons and four daughters. One of his sons from his second marriage was named William who, like his father, became a great botanist.

Starts botanical garden

Even though Bartram studied important books about plants early in his career, he preferred to grow plants rather than read about them. This enthusiasm for nature led Bartram to gather and distribute plants. He also became an accomplished gardener. In 1728 Bartram began his great five-acre Garden on land he purchased in Kingsessing, Pennsylvania, three miles from Philadelphia on the banks of the Schuylkill River. After laying out the Garden, he conducted what might have been the first experiments in hybridization (interbreeding of offspring of two animals or plants of different breeds) in America.

One of Bartram's activities as a gardener was the trading of plants with other botanists throughout the world. Mainly, he received requests for plant and animal specimens from European scientists. In about 1733 Bartram began a correspondence with the English botanist Peter Collinson. Bartram and Collinson were both Quakers, and although they became lifelong friends, they never met. Their letter exchange greatly benefitted both men. Bartram fulfilled Collinson's endless requests for specimens of butterflies and such trees as sasparilla, cypress, white cedar, laurel, and locust. In return Collinson sent seeds from plants found in England and Europe that Bartram planted in the Garden.

Bartram was so accommodating that Collinson found other patrons for his activities. Bartram conducted correspondences with Mark Catesby, Hans Sloane, John Fothergill, J. F. Gronovius, and other leading European scientists. Gaining fame in Europe, he even corresponded with Linnaeus, who believed that Bartram was the greatest botanist in the world at the time. Bartram also corresponded with American colleagues of Linnaeus, including Alexander Garden, Cadwallader Colden (see box in Jane Colden entry), John Mitchell, and John Clayton. As a result of these contacts and the constant exchange of plants between America and Europe, Bartram's Garden became varied and exotic. In fact, it was the talk of the entire colonial American scientific community. Even scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin (see entry) and future American president George Washington would stop in the Garden to view the beautiful plants and have philosophical conversations. Despite Bartram's worldwide reputation, however, he continued to be a humble farmer.

Travels throughout colonial America

In addition to being an active gardener, Bartram traveled thousands of miles throughout America collecting specimens of plant life. There were few regions that Bartram did not visit. In 1738 he journeyed 1,100 miles through Maryland and Virginia and crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains. Four years later, he traveled up the Hudson River to the Catskill Mountains, journeyed along the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Rivers in Pennsylvania, and crossed the Allegheny Mountains to upstate New York and Lake Ontario. Along the way he made notes on the topography (configuration of a surface including the position of its natural and man-made features) and described Native American customs. Bartram's account of his journeys was published in London as Observations on the Inhabitants, Climate, Soil, Rivers, Productions, Animals, and Other Matters Worthy of Notice (1751). Beginning in 1754 Bartram took his son William, the future botanist, along with him on his travels. In 1761, during a trip to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania—which was then a fort on the western frontier—Bartram encountered a group of Native Americans. One of them reportedly snatched his hat and began eating it. A distressed Bartram interpreted this act as a threat of cannibalism (the eating human flesh by a human being).

In 1765, through the help of Collinson, Bartram became the royal botanist to King George III of England. This position involved the study and description of plant life in North America, and he immediately set off for Charleston (in present-day South Carolina) to observe plant life in the South. Bartram then traveled by land through Georgia to Saint Augustine, Florida. After obtaining a canoe, he explored the San Juan (St. John's) River and prepared a detailed map of the waterway. During this expedition Bartram also discovered the royal palm tree. This was considered an important finding because the royal palm is rare and can be found only in the southernmost part of Florida and Cuba.

Remembered as influential American

After taking his numerous journeys, Bartram became disappointed that most Americans were not more interested in nature or science. He also disagreed with colonial Americans on the issue of slavery. A strong abolitionist (a person who takes measures to end slavery), he freed his own slaves even though it was unpopular to do so at the time. They remained in his household as paid servants and regularly took meals with the Bartram family and guests. Bartram was an enthusiastic scientist throughout his life, collecting shells, birds, insects, fish, and turtles. Acquiring an interest in geology (study of the Earth), he proposed the creation of a map of the rocks underlying the vast American landscape. This job was eventually performed by the United States Geological Survey. Bartram also suggested a massive voyage to survey the American West. Historians speculate that this idea was later passed on by Franklin to President Thomas Jefferson and may have led to the famous expedition headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in search of an overland route to the Pacific Ocean (1803–06). Meanwhile, the Garden at Kingsessing remained one of the greatest in the world. Over the years, it has been studied by many prominent naturalists. The first memorial to an American botanist, the Garden later became part of the Philadelphia park system.

For further reference

Berkeley, Edmund, and Dorothy Smith Berkeley. The Life and Travels of John Bartram from Lake Ontario to the River St. John. Tallahassee: University Presses of Florida, 1982.

Herbst, Josephine. New Green World. New York: Hastings House, 1954.

Historic Bartram's Garden.http://www.libertynet.org/bartram/story/index.html Available July 13, 1999.

Slaughter, Thomas P. The Natures of John and William Bartram. New York: Vintage Books, 1997.