SKETCH OF JOHN AND WILLIAM B ARTE AM. 837 



a society in Edinburgh, founded in 17G4, for obtaining seeds of 

 useful trees and shrubs from other countries. This medal is in- 

 scribed, " To Mr. John Bartram, from a Society of Gentlemen at 

 Edinburgh, 1772 " ; and on the reverse, " Merenti," in a wreath. 

 The medal is figured in Darlington's Memorials, and when that 

 book was published was in the possession of a Mrs. Jones, a de- 

 scendant of the botanist. April 2G, 1769, the Royal Academy of 

 Sciences, of Stockholm, on the proposal of Prof. Bergius, elected 

 Bartram to membership. Another honor that he received from 

 the same country was a letter from Queen Ulrica, and with this 

 may be mentioned the opinion passed upon him by Linnaeus, who 

 called Bartram the greatest natural botanist in the world. Bar- 

 tram was one of the original members of the American Philo- 

 sophical Society, and contributed many papers to its Trans- 

 actions. 



The closing years of John Bartram's life were the opening years 

 of the Revolution. He was living when independence was declared 

 in the neighboring city of Philadelphia, but died the following 

 year, September 22, 1777, at the age of seventy-eight. A grand- 

 daughter, who remembered him distinctly, has stated that he was 

 exceedingly agitated by the approach of the British army after 

 the battle of Brandywine, and that his days were probably short- 

 ened in consequence. The royal troops had been ravaging the 

 country, and he was apprehensive lest they should lay waste his 

 darling garden. 



His son William describes him as " a man of modest and gentle 

 manners, frank, cheerful, and of great good nature ; a lover of 

 justice, truth, and charity. . . . During the whole course of his 

 life there was not a single instance of his engaging in a litigious 

 contest with any of his neighbors or others. He zealously testified 

 against slavery, and, that his philanthropic precepts on this sub- 

 ject might have their due weight and force, he gave liberty to a 

 most valuable male slave, then in the prime of his life, who had 

 been bred up in the family almost from infancy." He was of an 

 active temperament, and often expressed the wish that he might 

 not live to be helpless. This desire was gratified, for he died after 

 only a short illness. 



No picture of him is known to exist. In regard to his physical 

 appearance William states : " His stature was rather above the 

 middle size, and upright. His visage was long, and his counte- 

 nance expressive of a degree of dignity with a happy mixture of 

 animation and sensibility." Concerning Bartram's ability as a 

 naturalist there are enthusiastic opinions extant in letters by 

 Franklin, Collinson, Golden, and others well qualified to judge. 



William Bartram, after the death of his father, continued in 

 the pursuit of natural history. The Botanic Garden was inher- 



