DELAWARE VALLEY ORNITHOLOGICAL CLUB. 7 



returned within a day or two; I have not seen him." This 

 refers to the late Thomas Beesley of Beesleys Point, N. J., but 

 none of his surviving relatives could tell me anything of Gambel, 

 nor could the late Dr. S. W. Woodhouse, who knew him only 

 from meeting him at the Academy, and never heard him men- 

 tion his family or personal history. 



Two brief sketches of Dr. Gambel that have only recently 

 come to my attention give a little additional information about 

 the ornithologist. 



One of Dr. C. S. Sargent * is based mainly upon information 

 received from General Wistar similar to that given above. Dr. 

 Sargent states positively that Gambel was born in New Jersey 

 but General Wistar was not certain about this when I talked 

 with him. To the details of travel given me by General Wistar 

 he adds the following in his letter to Dr. Sargent: "Gambel was 

 a genial, kindly man and delightful companion but averse to the 

 rough life, hard work and short commons then inseparable from 

 such a journey. He was about twenty-eight at the time of his 

 death, and had he lived to cultivate more congenial pursuits at 

 home, would certainly have attained increased distinction as a 

 naturalist. His taste for natural science was great, his attain- 

 ments considerable, and his work even in youth valuable. ' ' 



The other sketch is by Thomas Meehan,t who says : " He 

 passed the early part of his life in Philadelphia, with his mother 

 and sister, who were in humble circumstances. He pursued 

 successfully a course of study in the medical department of the 

 University of Pennsylvania, taking the degree of M. D. in 

 March, 1848, adopting for his inaugural thesis "Organic Forms 

 or Species." His death occurred on December 13, of the fol- 

 lowing year. His services to science commenced in 1842, when 

 at the solicitation of Mr. Nuttall, whom some think was his 

 uncle, he made an overland trip to California " with a party of 

 trappers according to Sargent. 



The newspaper clipping to the Philadelphia North American, 

 above referred to contains the following : 



♦Silva of North America, Vol. VIII, p. 33. 



t American Wild Flowers and Ferns, Series 2, Vol. II, p. 62. 



