22 LIFE OF 



mentioned, and Br. Benjamin 8. Earton, died within 

 a short period of each other. Williams was deeply 

 skilled in natural philosophy ; his valuable commu- 

 nications enriched their memoirs, and some of them 

 received the honours of a translation in various Eu- 

 ropean languages, even into the Russian. The fame 

 of Barton as a naturalist and phylologist, extended 

 over both worlds. His Elements of Botany were 

 re-printed in England, and translated at St. Peters- 

 burg. His numerous memoirs and dissertations threw 

 considerable light on the natural history of our coun- 

 try. And he was the first who, by the publication of 

 his ^^ New Views,'^ drew the attention of the learned 

 to the languages of our American Indians, which 

 now constitute so interesting a part of the philological 

 science. 



At the election of officers which took place in Ja- 

 nuary, 1816, Mr. Tilghman was chosen to succeed 

 Dr. Barton, as one of the vice-presidents of the so- 

 ciety, while he remained at the same time at the head 

 of the Historical and Literary Committee. In this 

 double capacity he displayed the greatest activity 

 and zeal. 



The Historical Committee was then engaged in an 

 -extensive correspondence, in order to collect the 

 fleeting materials of the history of our country. For 

 that purpose they met regularly every week, and their 

 labours were crowned with success. They obtained 

 a large quantity of important documents, which pro- 

 bably otlierwise would have been lost to our pos- 



