Bartram Family Papers [Volume 5 ( William Bartram Commonplace Book)]

Bartram Family Papers [Volume 5 ( William Bartram Commonplace Book)]

Botany > Eighteenth Century.

Botany > Nomenclature.

Botany > Surveying.

Florida > Travel and description.

Georgia > Travel and description.

This is a collection of the papers of the John Bartram and his sons William, Isaac, and Moses. The majority of materials relate to John and William Bartram. Items of note in the collection include the incoming correspondence of John, incoming and outgoing correspondence of William Bartram and fragments of the journals both men kept during various exploratory missions. Among the correspondents represented are William Byrd, Alexander Calhoun, Mark Catesby, Peter Collinson, Benjamin Franklin and John Fothergill. Texts written by John Bartram consist of his "Journal through the Catskill mountains with Billy," 1753; a portion of his observations made on his journey through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, 1765; and the full text of the diary, 1765-1766, transcribed by William Darlington, "with illustrative notes from his correspondence." William Bartram's writings are represented by his "Travels through the Carolinas, Georgia and East and West Floridas, 1773-1777" and his Engravings of Plants add a visual representation of his work to the collection. Items such as William Bartram's commonplace book and Pharmacopaeia complete his section of the collection. Papers of Isaac and Moses Bartram comprise a small section of the collection. The materials representing these two men includes a letter book, 1790-1814, of Isaac Bartram, four of Moses Bartram's diplomas, 1782-1790, and several family letters.

John Bartram was an eighteenth-century botanist. He established a premier botanic garden in America and made extensive journeys throughout the eastern United States, during which gathered many hitherto unknown American plants. His son William was also an eminent botanist. This collection contains papers of John Bartram and his sons William, Isaac, and Moses. Included are journals written by John Bartram, observations of his journeys, and correspondence. William Bartram is represented by correspondence, photostats of his journey observations, illustrations, a commonplace book, and his Pharmacopoeia. Also included in the collection are Moses Bartram’s diplomas, Isaac Bartram’s letter book, and miscellaneous family letters, checks, and receipts.

Bartram, Isaac. (Creator)

Bartram, John 1699-1777. (Creator)

Bartram, Moses 1732-1809. (Creator),

Bartram, William 1739-1823. (Creator)

Historical Society of Pennsylvania

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