1865.J 173 [Gross. 



parting with his beloved preceptor and friend. As a proof of this 

 attachment, I may mention that Dr. Wistar presented to his pupil a 

 cherished case of eye instruments, the trusty companions of a lon|^ 

 lifetime, which now, that his own eye was becoming dimmed with 

 age, he hoped would be of service in restoring the sight of the blind 

 in the hands of his promising young friend after his return to the 

 wilds of Kentucky. 



In November, 1815, Dr. Short was united in matrimony to Mary 

 Henry Churchill, only child of Armistead and Jane Henry Churchill, 

 the latter of whom, after the death of her husband, became the second 

 wife of Mr. Peyton Short. This circumstance occurred while Charles 

 W. Short, the subject of this sketch, and Mary H. Churchill were 

 children, who were thus brought into the same family circle. Of this 

 alliance, in every respect one of supreme happiness, six children sur- 

 vive, one son and five daughters, all of whom, excepting the youngest, 

 are married, and in a prosperous condition. 



Soon after his marriage he returned with his wife to Kentucky, 

 travelling the entire distance in a spring wagon. The journey, al- 

 though tedious and fatiguing, was replete with interest, on account 

 of the beauty of the scenery along the route, and often formed the 

 topic of pleasant reminiscences in after years. He now settled at 

 Lexington, in his native State, but, not succeeding to his wishes, he 

 shortly after removed to Hopkinsville, where he entered into partner- 

 ship with Dr. Webber, and very soon obtained a large practice. It 

 was while living here, in a wild, hilly, and romantic region of coun- 

 try, now highly cultivated and densely populated, that he devoted 

 himself, with all the ardor of an enthusiast, to those botanical re- 

 searches which formed the basis of his future reputation and the 

 great source of his future happiness. No plant, or shrub, or tree 

 escaped his notice. His daily rides through the country, rendered 

 necessary by his practice, were invariably productive of some botanical 

 trophies, which, carefully dried and preserved, thus assisted in laying 

 the foundation of one of the richest and most valuable private her- 

 bariums ever collected in this or any other country. The researches 

 in which he was thus so assiduously engaged soon brought him into 

 favorable notice with scientific men, and served to establish for him 

 a certain degree of reputation, apart from that of the mere practice 

 of his profession, for which he seems never to have had any particu- 

 lar fondness. 



In 1825 he was called to the chair of Materia Medica and Medical 

 Botany in Transylvania University at Lexington, his former home. 

 This school, then recently organized, was rapidly rising into distinc- 



