Robert Greenhow

1800 (age 54)

Robert ostensibly practised medicine in New York City from 1825 to 1828 and also lectured on chemistry before a New York literary and scientific society. In 1828 he was appointed translator to the Department of State at Washington, where he remained until 1850 when he removed to California. In August 1852 he was appointed law officer to the United States land commission in California and two years later died in San Francisco from injuries received in a fall. Greenhow excelled as a linguist, being especially proficient in French and Spanish. As translator for the state department it was his duty to become familiar with all documents bearing on special problems in America’s foreign relations, which led him, in 1835, to prepare his first book, The History and Present Condition of Tripoli. In 1839, the Oregon question being in course of agitation in and out of Congress, he prepared at the request of Senator Lewis F. Linn, head of a congressional committee on American claims to the Oregon Territory, a treatise on the geography and history of the Northwest coast of America which was published by order of Congress. Five years later that work was enlarged, partly rewritten, and published as The History of Oregon and California. It was brought out in London in 1844 and in America in 1844 and 1846. Greenhow also prepared a history of the Spanish colonies within the United States, which was privately printed in 1856. In 1848 he read before the New York Historical Society a critical paper on the supposed labors of Archbishop Fénelon among the Iroquois. He assembled bits of evidence from widely divergent sources, and, while recognizing their imperfection, thought they justified a belief that the celebrated Bishop of Cam- bray, in his youth, had actually spent some years in the wilds of North America. At a later time it was found that the Fénelon who was a missionary in America was the bishop’s brother. The authorship of the History of Oregon and California constitutes Greenhow’s chief claim to consideration as a historian. It is a pioneer work, for which the materials had to be quarried from the original sources in the form of journals of explorers, who wrote in Spanish, French, and English; the diplomatic acts and correspondence of various nations, and a wide range of literary and historical works. Greenhow was devoted to the source method of study, refusing to accept the statement of a secondary writer where a first-hand witness could be found, and making a careful independent translation of such as were in languages other than English. He was violently attacked by Falconer for alleged unfairness to England in his discussion of the Oregon question, but the Englishman’s argument was vitiated by innumerable errors due to faulty research as well as biased reasoning. On the whole, despite the circumstances of national partisanship under which the book was produced, it must be accounted a valuable compendium of authentic material on its subject. The style is pure, elevated, and has an epic swing, and the notes, which are numerous, supply much valuable information about the sources used. There are seventy-five pages of “Proofs and Illustrations” after the manner of Robertson’s America and other substantial works.

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The History of Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and California, and of the Adjoining Countries, Vol. 1: Including the Whole Valley of the Mississippi, From ... United States of America (Classic Reprint)

(Excerpt from The History of Florida, Louisiana, Texas, an...)

The History of Oregon and California, and the Other Territories of the North-West Coast of North America; from Their Discovery to the Present Day: ... of Documents As Proofs and Illustrations

(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

The Geography of Oregon and California, and the Other Territories on the North-west Coast of North America: Illustrated by a New and Beautiful Map of Those Countries

(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

The History of Oregon and California, and the Other Territories of the North-west Coast of North America: Accompanied by a Geographical View and Map of ... as Proofs and Illustrations of the History

(This is a reproduction of a classic text optimised for ki...)

The history of Oregon and California, and the other territories of the north-west coast of North America;

(This book was originally published prior to 1923, and rep...)

Robert Greenhow

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historian linguist physician scientist

Background

Robert Greenhow was born about 1800 in Richmond, Virginia, son of Robert Greenhow, who was a son of John Greenhow, merchant of Williamsburg, and an immigrant from England. His mother was Mary Ann Wills Greenhow, who lost her life in the Richmond theatre fire in 1811.

Education

Robert was graduated in 1816 from the College of William and Mary after which he studied medicine in New York City under David Hosack, and his distinguished pupil, John W. Francis, receiving his M. D. degree at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, in 1821.

He then completed his medical education in Paris, making the acquaintance in Europe of many famous men including Lord Byron.

Career

Robert ostensibly practised medicine in New York City from 1825 to 1828 and also lectured on chemistry before a New York literary and scientific society. In 1828 he was appointed translator to the Department of State at Washington, where he remained until 1850 when he removed to California.

In August 1852 he was appointed law officer to the United States land commission in California and two years later died in San Francisco from injuries received in a fall.

Greenhow excelled as a linguist, being especially proficient in French and Spanish. As translator for the state department it was his duty to become familiar with all documents bearing on special problems in America’s foreign relations, which led him, in 1835, to prepare his first book, The History and Present Condition of Tripoli.

In 1839, the Oregon question being in course of agitation in and out of Congress, he prepared at the request of Senator Lewis F. Linn, head of a congressional committee on American claims to the Oregon Territory, a treatise on the geography and history of the Northwest coast of America which was published by order of Congress.

Five years later that work was enlarged, partly rewritten, and published as The History of Oregon and California. It was brought out in London in 1844 and in America in 1844 and 1846. Greenhow also prepared a history of the Spanish colonies within the United States, which was privately printed in 1856. In 1848 he read before the New York Historical Society a critical paper on the supposed labors of Archbishop Fénelon among the Iroquois.

He assembled bits of evidence from widely divergent sources, and, while recognizing their imperfection, thought they justified a belief that the celebrated Bishop of Cam- bray, in his youth, had actually spent some years in the wilds of North America. At a later time it was found that the Fénelon who was a missionary in America was the bishop’s brother. The authorship of the History of Oregon and California constitutes Greenhow’s chief claim to consideration as a historian.

It is a pioneer work, for which the materials had to be quarried from the original sources in the form of journals of explorers, who wrote in Spanish, French, and English; the diplomatic acts and correspondence of various nations, and a wide range of literary and historical works. Greenhow was devoted to the source method of study, refusing to accept the statement of a secondary writer where a first-hand witness could be found, and making a careful independent translation of such as were in languages other than English. He was violently attacked by Falconer for alleged unfairness to England in his discussion of the Oregon question, but the Englishman’s argument was vitiated by innumerable errors due to faulty research as well as biased reasoning.

On the whole, despite the circumstances of national partisanship under which the book was produced, it must be accounted a valuable compendium of authentic material on its subject. The style is pure, elevated, and has an epic swing, and the notes, which are numerous, supply much valuable information about the sources used. There are seventy-five pages of “Proofs and Illustrations” after the manner of Robertson’s America and other substantial works.