60 THE EVOLUTION OP OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



daughter, Mrs. J. W. Henry, of Washington, to draw a 

 rapid picture of the man. John Adlum was the son of 

 Joseph and Catherine Adlum, and was born in York, 

 Pennsylvania, April 29, 1759. At the age of 54, he 

 married his cousin, Miss Margaret Adlum, daughter of 

 John Adlum, of Fredericktown, Md. They had two 

 children, Margaret C., afterwards Mrs. Cornelius Barber, 

 of Washington, D. C., and Anna Maria, afterwards 

 Mrs. H. Dent. They lived several years near Havre 

 de Grace, when Mr. Adlum moved to Montgomery 

 county, Md., where he lived for a few years. His last 

 change of residence was to "The Vineyard," two miles 

 from Georgetown, D. C., where he died March 1, 1836. 

 It was at " The Vineyard" that he first began the culti- 

 vation of grapes. He was a soldier in the Revolution, a 

 major in the Provisional Army during the administration 

 of the elder Adams, and afterwards a brigadier -general 

 in the militia of Pennsylvania. It is said of him, that, 

 "as a scientific agriculturist, he had few superiors. He 

 devoted almost the whole of his life to the acquisition 

 and diffusion of useful information." "In early life he 

 was a great friend of Dr. Joseph Priestly, of Northum- 

 berland, and the knowledge he acquired of chemical 

 science from that learned philosopher he applied with 

 signal success to various agricultural operations." His 

 wife died at the residence of their daughter, Mrs. 

 Barber, July 16, 1852, at the age of 86. Major Adlum 

 was also a surveyor, and in 1789 he was directed by 

 Surveyor General Lukens to survey the reserved tracts 

 of land at Presque Isle (Erie), Le Boeuf, etc. The 

 same year he was appointed by the government, on 

 the recommendation of William Maclay, Benjamin 

 Rush, Professor Nicholson, and Colonel Thomas Hart- 



