Alexander Hamilton, by John Trumbull, oil painting, c. 1806. Andrew W. Mellon Collection, National Gallery of Art.
The Grange with Sweetgum, 2018. Photograph courtesy of Daniel Atha, New York Botanical Garden.
Thomas Jefferson, by Rembrandt Peale, oil painting, 1800. © 2018 White House Historical Association.
The Artist in His Museum, by Charles Willson Peale, oil painting, 1822. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Gift of Mrs. Sarah Harrison (The Joseph Harrison Jr. Collection).
William Bartram, by Charles Willson Peale, oil painting from life, 1808. Courtesy of the Independence National Historical Park Collection.
Sir Joseph Banks, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, oil painting, 1771–1773. © National Portrait Gallery, London.
Sir James Edward Smith, by John Rising, oil painting, 1793. Courtesy of the Linnean Society of London.
Benjamin Rush, by Thomas Sully, oil painting, c. 1813. Courtesy of the Trout Gallery at Dickinson College, Carlisle, PA.
AUTHOR NOTE: The Trout Gallery notes that this painting was owned by the Rush family continuously until 2009, when the family donated it. It is unclear whether this is the Sully portrait of Rush commissioned by Hosack or another one done by Sully at the same time. In 1814, Hosack published an engraving of a Sully portrait of Rush and noted that it was “Engraved from the Original Picture in the possession of Dr. D. Hosack.” Hosack’s engraving of his Rush portrait has the same composition as the Sully oil painting now owned by Dickinson College, suggesting either that Sully painted two paintings of Rush around the same time or that Hosack made a gift of his painting to the Rush family sometime after Rush’s death.
John Vanderlyn, Aaron Burr, 1802. Oil on canvas, 22¼ in. × 16½ in. Object #1931.58, New-York Historical Society. Photography © New-York Historical Society.
Carl Linnaeus’s house in Uppsala. Photo courtesy of Jesper Kårehed, the Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Uppsala University.
Linneanum. Photo courtesy of Jesper Kårehed, the Linnaean Gardens of Uppsala, Uppsala University.
Detail from Map of the Country Thirty Miles Round the City of New York, by John H. Eddy, engraving, 1811. Courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection, www.davidrumsey.com.
Mary Eddy Hosack and David Hosack Jr., by Thomas Sully, oil painting, 1815. Property of Alice B. Lloyd. Photo by Haley W. White. Used with the kind permission of Alice B. Lloyd.
Thomas Cole, American (born in England), 1801–1848. Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, 1828. Oil on canvas, 100.96 cm × 138.43 cm (39¾ in. × 54½ in.). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gift of Martha C. Karolik for the M. and M. Karolik Collection of American Paintings, 1815–1865, 47.1188.
INDEX
Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text
Page numbers in italics indicate illustrations.
Page numbers followed by n refer to notes; n followed by a number identifies the page reference for the key phrase endnote.
Acacia nilotica (gum arabic tree), 235
Academy of Fine Arts, See New-York Academy of Fine Arts
Achillea ptarmica (sneezewort yarrow), 188
Aconitum napellus (wolfsbane), 133
Adams, Abigail, 101
Adams, John
and botany, 12
death of, 299
election of 1800, 116
Alexander Hamilton and, 104
and New-York Horticultural Society, 292
and Richmond Hill, 101
Benjamin Rush and, 29, 254
Adams, John Quincy, 300, 303
Aedes aegypti mosquito, 106, 107n
Aethusa cynapium (fool’s parsley), 47
African Burial Ground, 22–23
Afzelius, Adam, 223
Agrimonia eupatoria (common agrimony), 45–46
Albany, New York, 23, 113, 155, 171–72, 175, 225–27
Aletris farinosa (colicroot), 189
Alexandria, Virginia, 31–32
Alexandria Times, 112
Allen, Howard, 61–63, 65, 66, 68
Aloe lingua (tongue aloe), 179
Alopecurus geniculatus (floating foxtail grass), 46
Alston, Aaron Burr, 156
Alston, Joseph, 156, 212
Alston, Theodosia Burr (Theo), 212
at Ballston Spa, 214
and Jeremy Bentham’s plant specimens, 216–17
correspondence with father, 12, 100–103, 156, 222
death of, 252–53
and father’s arrest and trial, 211, 212
health issues, 4, 212–16
American Botany, or a Flora of the United States (Hosack), 222; See also Flora of North America American Citizen and General Advertiser, 124
American Gardener’s Calendar, The, 176–77; See also McMahon, Bernard
American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), 95, 188
American Minerva, 86–87
American Philosophical Society, 29, 147, 149, 186, 279
American Transcendentalism, 9
Amorpha fruticosa (bastard indigo), 208
Anagallis arvensis (scarlet pimpernel), 51
anatomy, Hosack’s study of, 22, 52–54
Anchusa officinalis (common bugloss), 187–88
Anderson, Alexander, 89
Anderson, Andrew, 256
Anemone quinquefolia (wood anemone), 143
Anemone virginiana (tall thimbleweed), 281
Ansichten der Natur (Views of Nature) (Humboldt), 224
antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), 202
Anthemis tinctoria (dyers’ chamomile), 208
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass), 46, 51
Antifederalists, 23, 27, 71; See also Democratic-Republicans
Antirrhinum triste (melancholy toad-flax), 48
apothecaries, 20
Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac), 179
Arabis reptans (rock cress), 281
arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis), 35
Aristolochia macrophylla (Dutchman’s pipe), 161
Aristolochia serpentaria (Virginia snakeroot), 88, 188, 190
Arnold Arboretum (Boston), 333
arrow arum (Arum virginicum), 281
Artemisia annua (sweet wormwood), 314n
Artemisia dracunculus (estragon), 239
Artemisia vulgaris (mugwort), 34–35
Artocarpus incisa (breadfruit tree), 234
Arum maculatum (Lords and Ladies), 43
Arum virginicum (arrow arum), 281
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly milkweed or pleurisy root), 95
Asclepias variegata (white milkweed), 281
Astor, John Jacob, 167, 168, 184, 322
Astor, William, 288
Aucuba japonica (Japanese gold-dust tree), 181
Augusta (princess of Great Britain), 57
Aurora (ship), 250–51
autopsies, 6, 36, 54, 164, 264
Bache, Catharine Wistar, 109, 112, 169, 203, 204
Bache, William, 109
Bailey, Theodorus, 245
Ballston Spa, 213, 214
balsam tree (Copaifera officinalis), 235
banana tree (Musa sapientum), 234
Banks, Sir Joseph
death of, 285
Hosack and, 3, 57, 60, 312
Peale brothers and, 135
and plan to elect DeWitt Clinton to Royal Society, 279
on Lewis and Clark, 268
Bard, John, 307
Bard, Samuel, 98, 98–100
and College of Physicians and Surgeons, 206, 246
death of, 286
Hosack and, 25, 123, 212, 263–64
and Hosack’s position as Hamilton family physician, 103, 104
and Hyde Park estate, 226, 240, 307
and Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York, 261
Samuel Latham Mitchill and, 78
on support for Elgin, 222
and yellow fever, 111<
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Bard, William, 307, 308
Barnum, P.T., 302
Barton, Benjamin Smith, 97, 149, 198, 201, 259, 269–70
Bartram, Isaac, 96, 97
Bartram, John, 29, 59, 94–96, 98, 99, 188, 189
Bartram, John, Jr., 94
Bartram, Moses, 96, 97
Bartram, William
botanical garden in Philadelphia, 94–98, 129
and Aaron Burr’s interest in botany, 168
Jane Colden and, 99
death of, 289
and Hosack, 145, 147
François André and André Michaux and, 131
basket willow (Salix viminalis), 208
bastard indigo (Amorpha fruticosa), 208
Bayard, William, 162, 167
Bayley, Richard, 22–24, 31, 52, 83, 86, 109
Beaumont, Gustave de, 297, 404–5n330
Beekman, John, 19
Bentham, Jeremy, 213, 215–17
Bigelow, Jacob, 269–70
bindweed (Convolvulus), 44
bird-of-paradise (Strelitzia reginae), 234
bitterroot (Lewisia rediviva), 201
black raspberry (Rubus occidentalis), 161
Blodget, Rebecca, 277
bloodletting, 19, 84–85, 88, 302
bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), 94
Bloomingdale asylum, 283, 287, 304, 323, 324
blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), 185
blue succory (Cichorium intybus), 45
Boerhaave, Herman, 82, 92
bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), 35
Bolton, James, 48
Bonaparte, Charles, 297
boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), 111, 132, 141, 190, 243, 256, 263
Bonpland, Aimé, 152, 153, 234, 329–30
Boston (British frigate), 72–73
botanical gardens (generally); See also specific gardens, e.g.: Elgin Botanic Garden
in Europe, 36, 217
Hosack’s experiences as medical student, 34, 36–37
Hosack’s proposal for national network, 198, 303–4
spread of after Hosack’s death, 10
Botanical Magazine, 43–44, 47–49, 123, 143
botany, Hosack’s influence on American interest in, 331–33
Boudinot, Elias, 274, 276
Bradbury, John, 249
brain, 53–54
Brant, Joseph, 100–101
breadfruit tree (Artocarpus incisa), 234
Brissot de Warville, Jacques-Pierre, 26, 118, 121
Britton, Elizabeth Knight, 333
Britton, Nathaniel Lord, 333
Brodie Castle, 39
Brodie family, 39
Brompton, 40
Brompton Botanic Garden, 41–52, 78, 129, 133, 134, 191, 351n41
Broome, John, 68, 87
Bryant, William Cullen, 297
Burnham, Daniel, 398n300
Burns, Robert, 32
Burpee, 331
Burr, Aaron
Rebecca Blodget and, 277
and Cabinet of Natural History, 159, 160
correspondence with daughter, 100–103, 156, 214–17
and daughter’s death, 252–53
death of, 329
duel with Hamilton, See Hamilton-Burr duel
election of 1800, 115–16
European travels (1808–1810), 4, 211–17, 222–25, 237–39
exclusion from New York organizations, 290
and medical botany, 12–13, 101–2
and Michaux garden in New Jersey, 132
and Peale’s mastodon bone discovery, 119
return to US, 250–52
in Senate chamber, 170–71
treason trial, 212
and wife Theodosia’s death, 102–3
Burr, Theodosia (wife), 100–102
Burr, Theodosia “Theo” (daughter), See Alston, Theodosia Burr
Butler, Nicholas Murray, 325, 326
buttercup (Ranunculus acris), 142
butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), 95
Cabinet of Natural History, 151–52, 159–60, 168
Caddo Nation, 198–99
Cairo Botanical and Agricultural Garden, 185
Calendula officinalis (pot marigold), 45
Calmelet, Étienne, 238–39
Camellia hosackia (camellia), 288, 321
Camellia japonica (Japan rose), 179, 248, 258–59
camphor tree (Laurus camphora/Cinnamomum camphora), 76, 235
Canada thistle (Cnicus arvensis), 236, 266, 267
Capsicum annuum (pepper), 182
Carnegie, Andrew, 324, 333
Carolina rose (Rosa carolina), 143
Carthamus tinctorius (safflower), 208
castor oil, 20
catchfly (Silene ornata), 234
Catesby, Mark, 59
catnip (Nepeta cataria), 188
Celastrus scandens (climbing bittersweet), 189
Central Park (New York City), 324, 332
Chamaecyparis thyoides (white cedar), 131
Chambers Street, New York, townhouse, 295–97, 307, 318–20
Champion, Moses, 91
Charlotte (queen of Great Britain), 57
Charlton, John, 22, 24, 78, 104–5, 109
Chase, Samuel, 171
Chelsea Physic Garden, 40–41, 57
Chesapeake incident, 207–8
childbirth, Hosack’s lectures on, 89–90
cholera, 31
Church, Angelica Schuyler, 103, 124, 165, 321n
Church, John Barker, 124, 165
Cichorium intybus (blue succory), 45
Cineraria lanata (woolly cineraria), 49
Cinnamomum camphora (camphor tree), 76
cinnamon tree (Laurus cinnamomum), 182
Clark, William, 150, 175; See also Lewis and Clark expedition
Clarkia pulchella (ragged robin), 202
Clarkson, Matthew, 24
climbing bittersweet (Celastrus scandens), 189
Clinton, DeWitt, 114
and Cabinet of Natural History, 159, 160
death of, 302
election of 1812, 252
Elgin advocacy in speeches before state legislature, 113–15, 228, 231–32
Elgin appraisal, 218, 245
and Erie Canal, 278, 289, 298
Hosack and, 16–17
and Literary and Philosophical Society of New-York, 260–62
as mayor of New York, 146, 252, 262
and Mohawk River expedition, 241–44
and New York City support for Elgin, 222
and New York fine arts museum proposal, 137
and New-York Historical Society, 169, 170, 221, 283
and Triticum americanum, 278–79
on Verplanck’s satire of Hosack, 285
and War of 1812, 252
Clinton, George
DeWitt Clinton and, 17, 113
defense of New York City during Britain’s wars with France, 61
election of 1800, 115
as governor of New York, 17
and political polarization in 1790s NYC, 71, 73
and ratification disputes, 23, 27
as vice president, 171
Clinton, Maria Franklin, 113, 203
clubmoss (Lycopodium), 235
Cnicus arvensis (Canada thistle), 236, 266, 267
Coix lacryma (Job’s tears), 179
Colden, Cadwallader (1688–1776), 99
Colden, Cadwallader D. (1769–1834), 245, 261, 284, 287
Colden, Jane, 99, 307
Cole, Thomas, 161, 226, 297, 305–7, 316, 322
colicroot (Aletris farinosa), 189
College Hall, Columbia College, 16, 17, 81, 90, 323
College of New Jersey, 24
College of Philadelphia, 28
College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia’s acquisition of, 324
and Elgin, 217, 227–28, 246–48, 253, 258, 271
founding of, 206
Hosack and, 209, 246–47, 268
and War of 1812, 255–56
Collinson, Peter, 94, 95, 99
Collinsonia canadensis (horse weed), 95
Columbia College, 325
Alire Delile and, 190, 205–6
donation of herbarium to New York Botanical Garden, 334
and Elgin property, 247–49, 271–73, 282–83, 286–87, 304
John Francis and, 183
Hosack as professor, 77–79, 81–82, 89–93, 99, 106
Hosack as student, 16–17, 21–22
Hosack’s botanical garden proposal, 2–3, 108, 113
and Hosack’s decision to join faculty of College of Physicians and Surgeons, 246–47
Hosack’s lecture about Elgin, 144
inadequacies of medical school, 205–6
origins, 16
Benjamin Rush and, 107
sale of Elgin land to developers, 323–27
and War of 1812, 255
Columbian Institute for the Promotion of the Arts and Sciences, 300, 398n300
Commercial Advertiser, 206
common agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria), 45–46
common bugloss (Anchusa officinalis), 187–88
Common Council of New York City
and New-York Institution, 266
and relocation of New-York Historical Society, 265
support for Elgin, 222, 245
and urban development, 121
yellow fever countermeasures, 110
conservatory, 180, 181
Constitution of the United States of America, 23, 24, 26, 27
consumption (tuberculosis), 63, 190
Convallaria multiflora (Solomon’s seal), 45
Convolvulus (bindweed), 44
Cook, James, 15, 57
Cooper, Charles, 155
Cooper, James Fenimore, 297
Copaifera officinalis (balsam tree), 235
coral bean (Erythrina herbacea), 139–40
Cornus sericea (dogwood), 142
corpse dissections, 4, 5, 22, 52–54
Corps of Discovery, 147–48, 200, 268; See also Lewis and Clark expedition
Coster, Henry, 256, 295–97
Coster, Magdalena, See Hosack, Magdalena Coster
cotton (Gossypium herbaceum), 133, 208
Course of Empire, The (Cole), 307
crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), 180
Crocus vernus (spring crocus), 47
Cullen, William, 33, 97
Curcuma longa (turmeric), 235
Curtis, William, 40
and Botanical Magazine, 43, 123
and Brompton Botanic Garden, 40–51, 351n41
epitaph, 129
and Hosack’s advocacy of medicinal plants, 93, 330
and Hosack’s plans for botanical garden, 73, 80
and medicinals, 59
nomination of Hosack to Linnean Society, 56
on urtication, 188
American Eden Page 50