JOHN BARTRAM, 



1699-1777, AND 



WILLIAM BARTRAM, 



1739-1823. 



DURING the century which preceded the American Revolu- 

 tion the science of the colonies, like their commerce, was tribu- 

 tary to that of the Old World. Fabulous reports in regard to 

 the natural resources of America had been brought home by 

 European voyagers, and the cultivators of all sciences and arts 

 were looking to that vast unexplored region for products which 

 should increase the knowledge of the naturalist, the resources 

 of the physician and the agriculturist, the profits of the mer- 

 chant, and the enjoyment of the man of leisure. The function 

 of those colonists who inclined to natural history was that of 

 explorers and collectors, and among the earliest and most no- 

 table of these American collectors were the subjects of this 

 sketch. 



The grandfather of the elder Bartram, also named John, 

 came from Derbyshire, England, to Pennsylvania in 1682. He 

 brought his wife, three sons, and one daughter, and settled 

 near Darby, in Delaware (then Chester) County. The third 

 son, William, was the only one who married, his wife being 

 Elizabeth, daughter of James Hunt. Both families belonged 

 to the Society of Friends. The children of William were John 

 (the botanist), James, William, and a daughter who died young. 

 The second William went to North Carolina and settled near 

 Cape Fear; John and James remained in Pennsylvania. 



The date of John Bartram's birth was March 23, 1699. But 

 little is on record concerning his early years. Like the ma- 

 jority of boys in the colonies, he was brought up to a farming 

 life, and his education was only such as the country schools of 

 the time afforded. After reaching adult years he studied Latin 



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