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The Florists' Review 



July 11, 1012. 



OBITUARY. 



r John Algood Pettigrew. 



Since last week 's issue of The Review 

 went to press the craft has lost, in John 

 Algood Pettigrew, the dean of Amer- 

 ican park superintendents, who died at 

 Boston July 2. 



Mr. Pettigrew was born at Gates- 

 head, England, in 1844 and at a 

 youthful age followed in the footsteps 

 of his father, who was a prominent 

 gardener. He worked, among other 

 places, at Biddick Hall, near Durham, 

 and could always on occasion talk in 

 the true vernacular of the Tyneside dis- 

 trict. He worked at several other 

 places in England before coming to 

 America when 21 years of age and 

 gained a good fundamental knowledge 

 not only of general gardening but also 

 roadmaking and nursery work, which 

 stood him in excellent stead in later 

 years. 



He settled first in Chicago, where 

 floriculture and landscape gardening oc- 

 cupied him for many years. His flower 

 store in that city was destroyed in the 

 great fire of 1871. He then became 

 manager for a large concern handling 

 building stone and remained with them 

 for eighteen years. He then became 

 superintendent of Lincoln park, Chi- 

 cago. During his years there he ac- 

 complished a great deal, some things 

 being deemed almost impossible, and 

 rose to the top of the ranks of park 

 superintendents. The political intrigues 

 which necessitated his removal from 

 Chicago were mourned by everyone hav- 

 ing a spark of civic pride in his make- 

 up. Mr. Pettigrew next went to Mil- 

 waukee as. head of its park system, 

 and a year later was called to Prospect 

 park, Brooklyn, which he immensely im- 

 proved, and 80 enhanced his reputation. 

 that when Boston was in need of the 

 ablest park superintendent procurable, 

 eminent authorities, both in England 

 and America, were a unit in advising 

 his selection. 



As head of the entire Boston park 

 system, which included the Riverway, 

 Fenway, Franklin park, Franklin field, 

 Jamaica pond and the many beautiful 

 boulevards and playgrounds of the city, 

 Mr. Pettigrew did a notable work since 

 he started, January 1, 1897, to change 

 what was practical chaos into one of 

 the most beautiful park systems in the 

 world, and the title of "Father of the 

 Boston Park System" is his without 

 any qualification. 



Mr. Pettigrew was as well known 

 horticulturally in England as in Amer- 

 ica and counted among his intimate 

 friends such men as Sir Henry J. 

 Veitch, William Robinson, William 

 Watson, of Kew, and others. On his 

 last visit there he was complimented 

 by being asked to serve on one of the 

 committees of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society. His knowledge of trees, 

 shrubs and their proper planting was a 

 revelation to those accustomed to hap- 

 hazard mass plantings for immediate 

 effect. 



The deceased was for many years a 

 member of the Massachusetts Horticul- 

 tural Society, being at the time of his 

 death chairman of the prizes and exhi- 

 bitions committee and a member of the 

 Board of Trustees for the sixth consecu- 

 tive year. When he came to Boston the 

 Gardeners ' aild Florists ' Club was 

 barely existing and interest in it was at 

 a low ebb. Mr. Pettigrew served as vice- 



John A. Pettigrew. 



president in 1901 and 1902 and under 

 his presidency in 1903 and 1904 he, by 

 his efforts and personal , magnetism, 

 galvanized it into new life and a great 

 part of the club's present prosperity is 

 due to him, a fact which the members 

 appreciated when they made him a 

 presentation after his term had expired. 

 Of the new Horticultural Club Mr. Pet- 

 tigrew was one of the original twenty 

 members. The Park Superintendents' 

 Association of America owes its incep- 

 tion to him and when this body, during 

 the present summer, meets in Boston it 

 will miss his genial smile and kindly 

 welcome. Mr, Pettigrew also belonged to 

 the Boston Club, Boston Bowling Club, 

 Appalachian Mountain Club and Royal 

 Arcanum. He was married in 1868 to 

 Miss Anne Good, of Chicago, who sur- 

 vives, with four children. 



Funeral services were held at the 

 home July 5 and were attended by the 

 mayor and other prominent officials of 

 the city of Boston, in addition to a 

 host of friends in other walks of life. 

 A wealth of beautiful floral tributes 

 attested the esteem in which he was 

 held. W. N. Craig. 



Mrs. S. Muir. 



Isabelle Robertson Muir, widow of 

 the late Samuel Muir, one of the pio- 

 neer florists of Chicago, died July 7 at 

 her home, 4104 Prairie avenue, where 

 she had lived for the last sixteen years. 



Mrs. Muir was born in Scotland, Feb- 

 ruary 22, 1836. She came to the United 

 States with her parents when she was 

 only 15 years of age. Marrying Samuel 

 Muir, she became identified with the 

 early history of the florists' business in 

 Chicago, of which city she has been 



a resident for forty-six years. The 

 Muir establishment is the second oldest 

 in Chicago, the business having been 

 founded in 1865, by Samuel Muir, him- 

 self the son of a Scotch gardener. The 

 first location was at Thirty-third street 

 and South Park avenue, then called 

 Kankakee avenue. Greenhouses and a 

 residence occupied this site, then well 

 outside the city, and here John T. Muir 

 was born, March 26, 1869. In the early 

 days, Samuel Muir had a retail store 

 at 121 Lake street, being burned out in 

 the big fire of 1871. The store was 

 reestablished on Congress street, be- 

 tween Michigan and Wabash, where 

 the Auditorium now stands. This store 

 also was destroyed by fire. The next 

 location was on Wabash, but subse- 

 quently the store was removed to 2205 

 Michigan. In the meantime the South 

 Park avenue property had been sold 

 and the greenhouses located at Fifty- 

 fifth and Center. The store at 2205 

 Michigan was sold to J. T. Anthony, 

 who conducted it a number of years in 

 connection with greenhouses at Thirty- 

 fourth and Praine. 



It was in 1883 that Samuel Muir lo- 

 cated at 3530 Michigan avenue, within 

 a few blocks of his first stand. Here 

 he continued until the day of his death, 

 January 12, 1895. In the following 

 year the son, John T., took charge of 

 the estate. The old place on Michigan 

 avenue is still operated, and is doing a 

 steadily increasing trade in spite of the 

 natural withdrawal of patronage by 

 those living nearer a fine branch store 

 on Grand boulevard near Forty-seventh 

 street. 



Mrs. Muir had suffered for years 

 from valvular lesion of the heart and 



