Background
William Baldwin was born on March 29, 1779, in Newlin, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Baldwin, a Quaker minister, and Elizabeth (Garretson) Baldwin.
William Baldwin was born on March 29, 1779, in Newlin, Pennsylvania, the son of Thomas Baldwin, a Quaker minister, and Elizabeth (Garretson) Baldwin.
At the age of twenty-three he attended one term of medical lectures at the University of Pennsylvania, where he met William Darlington, with whom he formed what proved to be a lifelong friendship. He later became acquainted with Dr. Moses Marshall, the botanist, and from him acquired an early interest in the biology of plants. He would have liked to continue his botanical studies with Marshall, but his health was poor and he already suspected that he had incipient pulmonary tuberculosis.
In 1805, he enlisted as a ship's surgeon on a merchant ship from Philadelphia to Canton, China. He again attended the University of Pennsylvania and was graduated as a doctor of medicine, April 10, 1807. His graduation thesis described his experiences as a physician on the merchant ship (A Short Practical Narrative of the Diseases which Prevailed among the American Seamen, at Wampoa, in China, in the Year 1805; with some Account of Diseases which Appeared among the Crew of the Ship New Jersey, on the Passage from thence to Philadelphia, 1807).
In 1805, he enlisted as a ship's surgeon on a merchant ship from Philadelphia to Canton, China.
His interest in botany, already stimulated by Marshall, and more especially by Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, began to show itself. He collected the local flora and started a correspondence with Henry Muhlenberg of Lancaster, which lasted until Muhlenberg's death in 1815. In 1811, Baldwin felt that it was necessary to move to a milder climate on account of his health. He therefore went to Georgia, where he made numerous trips on foot into the western part of the state, spending a number of months with the Creek Indians. He was appointed a naval surgeon in 1812 and was stationed at St. Mary's. Here he spent a number of years doing his duty as a surgeon at the post, but also continually gathering botanical specimens and sending them, or descriptions of them, to his friend, Muhlenberg. Only one observation made at St. Mary's was published by Baldwin. In the winter of 1816-17 he was in East Florida. His descriptions of the flora found there will be found in his letters to his old friend, William Darlington. He went, also, with Rodney, Graham, and Bland, in the frigate Congress, to South America in 1817. Although Baldwin's name is rarely mentioned in the official account of the voyage, his botanical experiences are carefully described in his letters.
The next year he returned to Wilmington, where he began to prepare a report on the South American excursion. Only one fragment, however, was published. His health by this time was extremely precarious and he therefore requested opportunities for further travel. He was, consequently, chosen to go as botanist on an expedition to the Rocky Mountains commanded by Maj. Stephen H. Long. The expedition left Pittsburgh May 5, 1819, by river steamer. Baldwin was almost too ill to go. He lived on the boat and had botanical specimens, collected by others, brought to him. In spite of the great fatigue caused by any exercise, he proceeded with his work. Major Long noted in his journal of July 5 that Baldwin's "devotion to a fascinating pursuit stimulated him to exertions for which the strength of his wasted frame seemed wholly inadequate; and it is not, perhaps, improbable that his efforts may have somewhat hastened the termination of his life". By July 13 the party had reached Franklin, where Baldwin was taken to the house of Dr. John Lowry, in which he died.
The best estimate of his character is contained in Darlington's words: "His rare industry and sagacity entitled him to take rank with the most deserving of our pioneers in the field of American botany. "
He married Hannah Webster, a young lady who had far more education than most women of her time. They would eventually have four daughters.