Background
Born Henry Silvertop, he married Eliza, daughter of Thomas Witham, esq.
Born Henry Silvertop, he married Eliza, daughter of Thomas Witham, esq.
He was a fellow of the Geological Society of London and of the Royal and Wernerian Societies of Edinburgh. of Cliffe, in Richmondshire, North Yorkshire, and thus inherited the Witham name and Coat of arms. Though having no botanical training, he applied William Nicol"s method of examining fossils and rocks under the microscope by slicing them into thin sections. Nicol"s first published account of this process is contained in Witham"s 1831 publication, Observations of Fossil Vegetables.
Witham"s findings were also published in his 1833 book The Internal Structure of Fossil Vegetables found in the Carboniferous and Oolitic deposits of Great Britain, illustrated by William MacGillivray.
He worked strenuously for the Mechanics Institute, which provided education for the working classes and the Relief of the Sick Poor.