Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
July,  1904. 
Obituaries. 
349 
Frank  Luerssen. — Mr.  Luerssen  was  born  in  Philadelphia  on 
March  22,  1861,  and  spent  practically  all  of  his  life  there  until  he 
graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
During  his  lifetime  he  had  managed  pharmacies  in  New  York 
and  Washington.  At  one  time  he  was  in  charge  of  Llewellyn's 
pharmacy,  at  Broad  and  Chestnut  Streets,  Philadelphia. 
On  April  19,  1893,  he  was  married  to  Mrs.  Aurelia  Schaeffer,  of 
Salem,  New  Jersey,  and  shortly  thereafter  established  a  pharmacy 
in  the  city  of  Salem,  which  he  carried  on  with  success  until  about 
one  year  prior  to  his  death,  when  failing  health  made  it  necessary 
for  him  to  retire  from  active  business.   He  died  on  January  6,  1904. 
Mr.  J.  W.  Acton,  Esq.,  of  Salem,  adds  :  "  In  submitting  this  brief 
outline  of  Mr.  Luerssen's  career,  I  feel  an  impulse  to  add  that  he 
was  much  esteemed  here  for  his  gentleness  and  kindness  of  heart, 
and  his  unostentatious  generosity.  He  had  great  pride  in  his  pro- 
fession and  exhibited  great  zeal  in  his  efforts  to  establish  here  a 
pharmacy  that  would  be  more  than  a  'country  drug  store,'  and 
compare  favorably  with  those  of  larger  cities.  He  was  public- 
spirited  and  took  an  earnest  interest  in  the  permanent  betterment 
of  our  little  city.  At  all  times  he  stood  for  improvement  and 
municipal  progress."  C.  A.  W. 
William  M.  Canby. — By  the  death  of  William  M.  Canby  lovers 
of  botany  have  lost  a  comrade,  and  the  world  has  been  deprived 
of  the  presence  of  one  of  nature's  noblemen — a  man  who  was  almost 
unceasing  in  his  efforts  to  give  to  others  a  part  of  what  he  had 
learned,  and  who,  endowed  as  he  was  with  the  gilt  of  genius,  largely 
enriched  our  knowledge  of  plant  life. 
To  those  not  familiar  with  botanical  work  Mr.  Canby's  abilities  in 
this  field  of  study  were  little  known,  his  innate  modesty  preventing 
him  from  accepting  degrees  from  colleges,  who  would  have  been 
only  too  glad  to  bestow  honor  upon  him. 
In  his  home  city,  Wilmington,  Del.,  it  may  safely  be  said  that 
many  did  not  know  there  lived  among  them  a  man  to  whom  they 
were  indebted  for  their  beautiful  parks — a  man  who  kept  in  touch 
with  and  was  so  much  loved  and  appreciated  by  the  leading  bot- 
anists of  the  world. 
His  love  for  botany  began  early  in  life,  and,  being  an  enthusiastic 
collector,  he  in  1858  began  a  systematic  collection  which,  augmented 
by  exchanges  and  purchases,  resulted,  some  forty  years  later,  in  an 
