DR. JOHN 1.. LKCONTt;. Vll 



Ciipo uf(!(KKl H(i]);'. and a lahmatory, in wliitli lie tL.strd ilu- di.scovi rics 

 of" the clieiuists ut' liis day. He devoted iiiucli tiiuo al.su tii luatlieinatital 

 stiidie.s. and luaiiuscrips on this subject. a.s well a.s on tlie aninial.s and 

 ])lants of (xeori;ia, were in the po.s.iession oi" lii.^ laniily. l)Ut jieri.shcd 

 diirinii- the war in the burning of Cohunbia. in February. 1805.* Of 

 his four sons two died at about tlie age of thirty, one of tlieui (Lewis)"}" 



«■" While in college (Coliiml>ia Colleire) with his younger brother, Jf>hn Eatton, 

 Lewis manifested a markeil fundness for natnnil stnenoe. He tnarle a botanical 

 exploration of Manhattan Island before his removal to Georgia, where the enlarge- 

 ment of the field of observation and research led to the cultivation of nearly all 

 the branches of natural science, including botany, zooIol'v, chemistry and plivsics. 

 Aided by liis brother, .John Eatton, he introduced improvements in the culture of 

 rice lands, reclaiming much of ' Bulltown township,' which traversed his estates. 

 The country was subject to occasional incursions from the Creek Indians, and on 

 one occasion Lewis was besieged by them, hut succeeded in repulsing them after 

 a severe contest, in which he was aided by his negro slaves, into whose hands he 

 put su(;h firearms as could be obtained. . . . Lewis established a botanical gar- 

 den . . . especially rich in bulbous plants. He was among the first to produce 

 the beautiful hybrid known as Amaryllis Johnsonii. His camelias, which were 

 cultivated in the open air, were famous; the trunk of one of these trees, a double 

 white, attaining a diameter of thirteen inches or more near the ground, and a 

 height of nearly twenty feet. As late as ISfiO this garden, though abandoned, was 

 remarkable, and during that year I saw in it camelia trees over twelve feet in 

 height. ... In consequence of an unconquerable aversion to appearing in print, 

 he published nothing himself, but handed the fruits of his investigations over to 

 his scientific friends. The monographs of his brother, Major LeConte, . . . were 

 enriched by his observations. In like manner Stephen Elliott, of the South Caro- 

 lina, and other (lontemporary botanists, acknowledged their obligations to him. 

 He made excursions into the adjacent cf>unties, including one of tlie regions bor- 

 dering on the Altahama River, in company with the botanist. Dr. William Bald- 

 win. U. S. A., and a subsequent exc^ursion with Mr. Gordon, the Scotch collector 

 and botanist, who published an account in Gardner's Magazine, vol. viii, of the 

 result of many months residence with Mr. LeConte. . . . Mr. Gordon asserts that 

 Lewis LeConte's garden is the richest in bulbs that he has seen. He gives Mr. 

 LeConte the credit of having solved the problem of the 'natural succession of 

 forest trees.' In one of the upper rooms of his house at Woodmanston, Lewis 

 LeConte established a chemical laboratory. . . . His varied and accurate know- 

 Icilge of science, especially of medicine, was of grent service to the community in 

 which he lived. He also devoted considerable attention to mathematical subjects, 

 and among others to that of ' magic squares.' " — Family records by Prof LeConte 

 Stevens. 



t " Lewis LeConte . . . entered Franklin College, Athens, Ga., in 1837. and after 

 graduation went to Cambridge, Mass., where he studied law. ... In boyhood 

 Lewis manifested much mechanical ingenuity; was very fond of the chase, and 

 attained extraordinary skill in the use of the rifle. At college he was specially 

 interested in chemistry, and this interest he retained afterward. . . . His love of 

 scien<!e was for its own sake rather than for anv material benefit to be derived 



