Townshend Stith Brandegee

Background

Townshend Stith Brandegee was born on February 16, 1843 in Berlin, Connecticut to Elishama and Florence (Stith) Brandegee. His father was a physician with a taste for natural history.

Education

Townshend Brandegee entered the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale in 1866, graduating in 1870. Primarily he was preparing to be an engineer, but he pursued botanical studies under Professor A. A. Eaton, having as a boy devoted especial attention to ferns. He is mentioned in reports on the flora of Connecticut as "having made rare finds" in the vicinity of Yale.

Career

The next year after his graduation from the Sheffield Scientific School of Yale in 1870, he was made county surveyor and city engineer of Canon City, Colorado, where he spent spare time in collecting ferns for the well known Connecticut botanist, John Redfield. His specimens at length reached Asa Gray who in 1875 recommended him as botanical collector and assistant topographer to Hayden's exploring expedition of south-western Colorado and adjacent Utah.

He was successively attached as engineer to the survey of the Royal Gorge, the Santa Fe surveys in New Mexico and Arizona, and the Northern Transcontinental survey through Wyoming to Washington and Oregon. In spare hours he discovered many new western species, and assembled for Professor C. S. Sargent several splendid collections of western timbers, first in connection with the United States Census work and later for the Jesup collection of the American Museum of Natural History.

Carrying out a commission, in 1886, to obtain certain rare timbers, he visited Santa Cruz Island off Santa Barbara, California, which turned his attention to the peculiar fascination of the biology of islands. This determined him definitely to devote his life to botany, and so he relinquished his engineering work, although on subsequent occasions he prepared forest maps of various western regions, combining his engineering training with his botanical knowledge.

In 1889 he made a memorable trip to Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico, as a volunteer in the California Academy of Sciences expedition. From that time until the close of his life he was intermittently active as a botanist of Baja California and was indeed the leading authority upon its flora, as upon that of the islands of the Gulf of California.

His explorations extended into Sonora, Sinaloa, Puebla, and Vera Cruz. At the same time he pursued assiduously his explorations of California itself, especially its southern half.

At first he sent his specimens to Eastern authorities, for identification, but as he gained confidence he began publishing his own species and many notes (some ninety in all), contributory to the habits, habitats, and life histories of the plants of the western states and Mexico.

From 1909 to 1924 he was engaged upon his most important undertaking, Plantae Mexicanae Purpusianae, of which twelve fascicles appeared (1909 - 24) through the University of California Publications. These were descriptions of new species collected by Dr. C. A. Purpus in Mexico.

His death at Berkeley, California, from pneumonia released him from the rather pitiful last years of his life, when deafness, blindness, and partial paralysis had put a stop to his long activity.

Achievements

• Brandegee's accomplishments began after he was attached as an engineer to the survey of the Royal Gorge, the Santa Fe surveys in New Mexico and Arizona, and the Northern Transcontinental survey through Wyoming to Washington and Oregon. During this time many new western species were discovered by him. He also assembled several remarkable collections of western timbers, first in connection with the United States Census work and later for the Jesup collection of the American Museum of Natural History. Then his scientific attention was turned in a direction of Santa Cruz Island off Santa Barbara, California. His fascination with the biology of islands determined his life devotion with botany, and so he prepared a series of forest maps of various western regions, combining his engineering training with his botanical knowledge. After his memorable trip to Magdalena Bay, Baja California, Mexico, as a volunteer in the California Academy of Sciences expedition, he became the leading authority upon its flora, as upon that of the islands of the Gulf of California. But his scientific thirst for new discoveries extended far beyond these territories. He routed his explorations to Sonora, Sinaloa, Puebla, and Vera Cruz. Brandegee was also acknowledged by his written work titled "Plantae Mexicanae Purpusianae" containing valuable descriptions of new species collected by Dr. C. A. Purpus in Mexico.

Works

More photos

• book

  • The Teton and Yellowstone park (southern part) forest reserves

    (This book, "The Teton and Yellowstone Park (southern Part...)

  • Flora of the Santa Barbara Islands...

    (Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)

  • The Flora of Southwestern Colorado

    (Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)

  • Zoe, Volume 3

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

  • Zoe, Volume 2

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

  • Zoe, Volume 1

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

  • Zoe, Volume 4

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • The Flora of Southwestern Colorado

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • Flora of the Santa Barbara Islands

    (This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curat...)

  • Plantae mexicanae purpusianae (University of California publications in botany)
  • Additions to the flora of the Cape Region of Baja California

Views

Quotations: Brandegee wrote on the subject of his early education: "in a little red schoolhouse where they hired a new teacher every term, who always made the pupils begin at the first lesson. Consequently in geography we never reached Asia or Oceania. . My father owned a small farm, of which I have ploughed the field with oxen, cut the grass with a scythe, etc. . At the age of 19 I enlisted in First Regiment Connecticut, Artillery, Co. G, and served two years until discharged as private in the rear rank. General Grant and I took Richmond. "

Membership

Brandegee was a member of Botanical Society of America, National Geographical Society, Sigma Xi and a fellow at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Personality

Brandegee was a man of retiring manner, reticent of his opinions but holding them staunchly. He was able to retain the bodily vigor of his early days throughout most of his life.

Interests

• Throughout most of his life he retained the bodily vigor of his early days as a plowboy and as a mountain surveyor, and his love of sports was unquenchable.

Connections

On May 29, 1889, Townshend Brandegee married Dr. Mary Katherine (Layne) Curran (October 28, 1844 - April 3, 1920), best known to science as Katherine Brandegee, curator of the herbarium of the California Academy of Sciences. Their wedding trip took the form of a botanical collecting journey afoot from San Diego to San Francisco.

Father:

Elishama Brandegee

physician

Mother:

Florence (Stith) Brandegee

mentor:

A. A. Eaton

Professor

collaborator:

Carl A. Purpus

He collaborated with Brandegee on his research called "Plantae Mexicanae Purpusianae".

collaborator:

Ferdinand V. Hayden

geologist Brandegee joined the Ferdinand V. Hayden's expedition to southwest Colorado and Utah where he used his surveyor skills as well as botanical.

Wife:

Mary Katherine (Layne) Curran

curator 1844 -1920

associate:

Asa Gray

botanist

associate:

John Redfield

botanist