Jane Colden

Jane Colden (March 27, 1724 – March 10, 1766) is considered the first woman botanist in America. Employing Linneas's new system of botanical classification, she documented over 300 plants native to the Catskill region of New York where she spend most of her life. The dissemination of Colden's detailed descriptions among European and American botanists led to increased knowledge of the plants of the New World.

History

--Robyn Asleson

Texts

• Garden, Alexander, February 18, 1755, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 5)

"I have had severall Letters from Europe & a pretty parcell of Seeds from Russia from Dr Mounsey cheif Physician to the Army & Physician to the Prince Royal of Russia they are mostly Persian seeds I have sent a few to Miss Colden.... I mentioned to Miss Colden that the Small Bags of Shells something like Hops that she has are the reall Matrices of the Buccinum ampullatum of Dr Lister.... I shall in my next mention to Miss Colden the method of preserving Butterflies &c."

• Garden, Alexander, May 23, 1755, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 10-11)

"It gives me great pleasure that you give me leave to send Miss Colden's Description of that new plant to any of my Correspondents[,] as I had before sent it to Dr Whytt at Edinburgh[.] By your second letter I find that I have very innocently offended Both you & Miss Colden by some expressions that insensibly dropt from my pen as archetypes of what my heart dictated in was on sincerity. This gives me real concern & give me leave to assure you I shall endeavour as far as in my power to amend any thing in my conduct or manner of writing that you are kind enough to point out as wrong. I trust that Both you & your Daughter will forgive me for once, I shall be more sparing in saying what I think is due to such merit for the future[.] The Expression which you say gave her most offence, gives me now a great deal of uneasiness as I suspect it has deprived me of the pleasure of a letter from her by last opportunity. Your observations on the Sexes are very good but these & such Experiments dont seem to convince my old Master, who quotes some carefully made experiments on the Contrary side you'll read the paper w[i]t[h] little pleasure & less satisfaction when it falls in your way[.] I think none of his Experiments are at all conclusive.

"Its now passed the Season of Seeds but I'll endeavour to procure Such as Miss Colden may want this year, tho my present Business confines me much to Town. I have not had an hour to spend in the woods this 2 months which makes me turn rusty in Botany.

• Colden, Cadwallader, October 1, 1755, letter to John Frederic Gronovius (1923: 5: 29-31)

"I thought that Botany is an Amusement which may be made agreable for the Ladies who are often at a loss to fill up their time if it could be made agreable to them[.] Their natural curiosity & the pleasure they take in the beauty & variety of dress seems to fit them for it[.] The chief reason that few or none of them have hitherto applied themselves to this study I believe is because all the books of any value are wrote in Latin & so filled with technical words that the obtaining the necessary previous knowlege is so tiresome & disagreable that they are discouraged at the first setting out & give it over before they can receive any pleasure in the pursuit.

"I have a daughter who has an inclination to reading & a curiosity for natural phylosophy or natural History & a sufficient capacity for attaining a competent nowlege[.] I took the pains to explain Linnaeus's system & to put it in English for her use by fre[e]ing it from the Technical terms which was easily don[e] by useing two or three words in place of one[.] She is now grown very fond of the study and has made such progress in it as I believe would please you if you saw her performance[.]e Tho' perhaps she could not have been persuaded to learn the terms at first[,] she now understands in some degree Linnaeus's characters notwithstanding that she does not understand Latin[.] She has allready a pretty large volume in writing of the Description of plants. She was shewn a method of takeing the impression of the leaves on paper with printers ink by a simple kind of rolling press which is of use in distinguishing the species by their leaves. No description in words alone can give so clear an idea as when the description is assisted with a picture She has the impression of 300 plants in the manner you'l[l] see by the sample sent you[.] That you may have some conception of her performance & her manner of describing I propose to inclose some samples in her own writting some of which I think are new Genus's. One is of the anax foliis ternis ternatis in the Flora Virg. I never had seen the fruit of it till she discover'd it[.] The fruit is ripe in the beginning of June & the plant dies immediately after the fruit is ripe & no longer to be seen. Two more I have not found described any where & in the others you will find some things particular which I think are not taken notice of by any author I have seen[.] If you think S[i]r that she can be of any use to you she will be extremely pleased in being imployed by you either in sending descriptions or any seeds you shall desire or dryed Specimens of any particular plants you shall mention to me[.] She has time to apply her self to gratify your curiosity more than I ever had & now when I have time the infirmities of age disable me."

• Colden, Cadwallader, n.d. [October 1755?], letter to Peter Collinson (1923: 5: 37-38)

"I shall [...] send you a Sample of my daughter Jenny's performances in Botany. As it is not usual for woemen to take pleasure in Botany as a Science I shall do what I can to incourage her in this amusement which fills up her idle hours to much better purpose that the usual amusements eagerly pursued by others of her sex[.] As she cannot have the opportunity of seeing plants in a Botanical Garden I think the next best is to see the best cuts or pictures of them[,] for which purpose I would buy for her Tourneforts Institutes & Morison's Historia plantarum, or if you know any better books for this purpose[,] as you are a better judge than I am[,] I will be obliged to you in making the choice[.] If Mr Calm's [sic]] Observations in America be published pray send it to me or any thing else which is new & you like on that subject. At the bottom I shall annex a list of some things & other books I must desire the favour of you to send to me....

Ainsworth's Latin & English Dictionary

Supplement to Chambers's Dictionary

Tournfort Institutiones herbarise

Morison's Historia Plantarum

Fred. Hoffman Opera omnia

• Colden, Cadwallader, n.d. [October 1755?], letter to Peter Collinson (1923: 5: 39)

"In the bundle with the papers I have mentioned there are some descriptions of plants by my daughter Jane which I designed to have sent by a ship from hence to .... I am pleased that they go to you that you may perceive how far she deserves incouragement in giving such an example to others of her sex & please to convey them with my letter to Dr Gronovius when you have a proper opportunity."

• Garden, Alexander, November 22, 1755, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 41)

"Your most obliging fav[o]r of the first of Octo[be]r last now lyes before me, which came very safe to hand by Schermerhorn as Did the Papers & seeds which your Daughter was kind enough to honour me w[i]t[h] by his former trip. "

• Colden, Alexander, May 8, 1756, to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 72)

"I... wish you had left her [Jane's sister Caty] in Town[.] My Mother & Sister Jenny I know will divert themselves in the Garden [at Coldengham] but as Caty takes no delight that way nor any other amusement to divert her thoughts she will in all probability be continually ruminating on the danger you may be in & I am afraid will from the uneasiness of her mind get quite low spirited & fall into a bad state of health."

• Garden, Alexander, August 14, 1756, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923) 4: 91-92)

"I remember that Miss Colden sent me the Seed of an Arbutus which she took to be a new Genus I imagine it is the Epigaea of Linnaeus's new Genera or the Arbutus foliis ovalis integris, petiolis laxis longitudine foliorani of Gron. Flor. Virg. p. 49 Please compare them & let me know.

"You may likewise compare it with the Anonyma pedunculis armatis of the Flor. Coldengham. No. 98 or p. 98 Linnaeus calls this Gualtheria in his Genera nova & Quotes Peter Kalm for the first Discoverer, which I think is injurious to you who he quotes just in the next line & certainly you sent it over long before Kalm came from Sweden."

• Garden, Alexander, January 10, 1757, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 114-16)

"Its now about 6 weeks since I had yours of the 19th of May last; by what chance it happened to be so long of coming I know not, but I can assure you, that a Line from you or Miss Colden very sensibly affects me....

"I have little new but the late Edition of Linnaeus's Genera Plantarum in which there is 1105 Genera so that we have many new Genera, amongst which are all Mr Kalm's & other's new Genera & some usefull emendations of the old ones with aditions[.]

"There is one Called the Gualtheria by Kalm which I take to be the new Plant of which Miss Colden sent me the seed last Spring—Its a kind of red berry within a red Berry, the seed is contained in the inner&mdas;Seeds are Small—You told me (when I had the pleasure to be with you) that you once imagined it akin to the arbutus, but you marked it incerti generis amongst the seeds —John Bartram calls it Jersey tea— I have inclosed Linnaeus's Characters, that you may compare them & let me know your opinion."

• Colden, Alexander, March 4, 1757, to Cadwallader colden (1923: 5: 120)

"I wrote to you last Night by the Albany Post in answer to yours which I was agreably Surprized with receiving by Post & Inclosed you and Sister Jane each a letter from Doctr Garden. Some seeds he Sent I kept to go by Watter or some Surer Conveyance then by Post."

• Collinson, Peter, April 6, 1757, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923) 5: 39)

"I have att last been So luckky to gett you a fine Tournforts Herbal & his History of Plants via Martin in Excellent preservation to which have added the 2 Vol. of Edinburgh Essays for the Sake of the Curious Botanic Desertation of your Ingenious Daughter. Being the Only Lady that I have yett heard off [sic] that is a proffessor the Linnaean System of which He is not a Little proud."

• Garden, Alexander, April 15, 1757, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 141-42)

"Its now so long since I had the honour of hearing from you or from Miss Colden that I'm entirely at Loss to what to attribute it to. Conveyances indeed are uncertain, but I have wrote severall times both by Sea & By Post both to Your Daughter & You that I scarce can imagine but that some of them must have come to hand. Let me Beg You'll be so kind as releive my present uneasiness....

"Did Miss Colden receive the Seeds which I sent; they were the following The Chionanthus or Fringetree. 2d The Hop-tree a new genus—3 Yellow Jessamy 4 Campellia a most beautifull flowring shrub—yucca foliis filamentosis—Pavia or scarlet Horsechesnut— Umbrella tree or the Magnolia foliis Amplissimis flore ingenti Candidi....

"I will be greatly obliged to you [sic] Da[ugh]t[er] for for any seeds or Insects that she can pick up, very soon I'll write her at great Length."

• Collinson, Peter, October 5, 1757, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 190)

"I have in Mrs Alexanders Trunk Sent you the Herbals you wanted and putt in 2 or 3 of Erhetts Plants, for your Ingenious Daughter to take Sketches of the fine Turn of the Leaves &c. & Lin: Genera.

"I wish your fair Daug[hte]r was Near Wm Bartram he would much assist her at first Setting out. Johns Son a very Ingenious Ladd who without any Instructor has not only attained to the Drawing of Plants & Birds, but He paints them in their Natural Colours So Elegantly So Masterly that the best Judges Here think they come the Nearest to Mr Ehrets, of any they have Seen[.] it is a fine amusement for her[;] the More She practices the more She Will Improve, by another Ship, I will Send Some more prints but as they are Liable to be taken I Send a few at a Time."

• Colden, Cadwallader, October 18, 1757, letter to John Fothergill in London (Colden, 1923: 5: 202-03)

"For this reason [the medicinal use of newly discovered plants] I send you the Description & figure of a Plant don[e] by my Daughter Jenny which I think has not been before described & likewise makes a New Genus. Perhaps it may be in the new Edition of Linnaeus's Characters I have not as yet seen that Edition but if it be there is no figure of it in that book & it may be of use to have the description of a new plant by different hands.

"When I removed my family into the country & thereby my children were deprived of all those amusements in which young people take delight I thought the putting them at some research[,] which would fix their attention & at the same time please their fancy[,] might remove that disgust to their present situation which I apprehended otherwise could not be avoided. For that purpose I put an explication of the principles of Botany in writing into my daughter Jenny's hands[,] don[e] in such manner as I thought would excite her curiosity[,] & afterwards translated Linnaeus's method[,] but in some parts altered to make it the more easy for her[,] avoiding all the terms of art through the whole & makeing use of common english expressions[.] She eagerly swallow'd the bait & you cannot imagine with what pleasure she has passed many an hour which otherwise might have been very dull & heavy[.] She has described between 3 & 400 American plants in the manner this is don[e] & of late has begun to draw figures of the plants which she thinks have not been allready well described. When it is considered that she has no instructor in drawing[,] has few or no good copies & was only shewn how to use china ink with a pencil you will easily pardon where she has failed in the art & yet allow her some genius for that kind of drawing. After she had advanced a little in the knowledge of plants her fondness for the amusement made her acquire some Knowledge of botanic latin tho' she does not otherwise understand anything of the language.

"Perhaps from her example young ladies in a like situation may find an agreable way to fill up some part of time which otherwise may be heavy on their hand[,] May amuse & please themselves & at the same time be usefull to others."

• Colden, Cadwallader, December 31, 1757, letter to Peter Collinson (1923: 5: 214)

"In my former I told you that No. 18, 19, 36 & 37 of the Brittish Herbal of Dr Hill by mistake were not sent & desired you to send the new Edition of Linnaeus's

Genera et Characteres plantarum & his Species plantarum if not too dear.... My daughter Jenny makes great Progress in Botany[.] She delights in it."

• Colden, Cadwallader, February 15, 1758, letter to unknown correspondence [Dr. Robert Whytt?] (1923: 5: 217)

"The characters I made of the plants I was sensible were very imperfect not only from the want of sufficient knowledge in botany but from my not having sufficient opportunity to repeat my examinations of the plants which I only met casually & did not see many of them more than once. Soon after this I was so much engaged in public business that I was obliged to lay aside my botanical researches.

"I was exceedingly pleased that soon after that time my daughter Jane took an inclination to Botany after I had explained the principles of it to her in familiar language. She now fills up a good deal of idle time agreably to her self & as she is more curious & accurate than I could have been[,] her descriptions are more perfect & I believe few or none exceed them. As her fondness for this study grew upon her She attempted likewise drawings of the plants & considering that she had no instructor the proficiency she has made & the justness of her figures surprise those who have seen them. Last summer she sent a drawing of the Filipendula foliis ternis of Gronovius or the Virginian Ipecocuana to Dr Garden but we know not whether it is come to his hand. She observed that the seeds of this plant are contained in Capsule & for that reason she thought that it makes a distinct Genus from the Filipendula. I shall desire her to subjoin to this paper a Description of that Species of the Lobelia [torn] above mentioned for the cure of the lui[?] venera. The differences in the cup or empalement as well as the colour of the flower makes it a distinct species from that with Scarlet flowers commonly called the Cardinal flower."

• Garden, Alexander, March 14,1758, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 227)

"I was unlucky enough never to receive your Letter which you mention of the 23 d of June last year, neither that of Miss Colden's with the seeds & Filupendula, the loss of all which I greatly Lament."

• Robert Whytt, October 27, 1758, letter from Edinburgh to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 262)

"Doctor Alston to whom I shewed your letter desires his respectfull compliments may be transmitted to your Daughter & you : he received Miss Coldens letter & says he would have wrote her before now but had nothing to

offer which he thought worth giving her the trouble of a letter."

• Collinson, Peter, March 6, 1759, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 297)

"Pray give Mr Ellis's & my Respects to Miss Jenny all that Wee have done, & said, is Due to Her Wee hope to See more of her Works.

• Garden, Alexander, March 31, 1759, letter to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 300-01)

"My Confinement In town is so close that I have no Botanical Rambles now so can write you of nothing new in that way, but will be glad to have something from you or from Miss Colden whom I'm told is nearly on the matrimonial shore. May that happiness & joy attend her which my warmest & sincerest wishes send

her & that her merit & Accomplishments claim. My hearty congratulations attend you & your family on this occasion & beg they may likewise be offered in my name to my good freind Dr Farqhuar in whose judicious choice & future happiness I will equally rejoice. ... I had almost forgot to tell you that I lately received a Copy of the Hortus Cliffortianus the most superb & Elegant Book that ever I saw."

• Whytt, Robert, October 20, 1760, letter from Edinburgh to Cadwallader Colden (1923: 5: 356)

"It gives me particular pleasure to hear of your Daughter Miss Jennys being happily Married. Doctor Alston desires to Join with me in Compliments to her.

He thinks, altho he had not had a wife, that Miss Colden has Judged well in preferring Dr Farquhar to one of 76 years of age."