William Coxe

Background

William Coxe, a grandson of Colonel Daniel Coxe, was born on May, 3, 1762 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. His parents were William and Mary (Francis) Coxe, and Tench Coxe was an older brother.

Education

William’s schooling was imperfect, but he had a great fondness for reading, and through his own efforts, and with the aid of a member of his family, laid the foundation for an education which eventually fitted him for a wide and influential public service.

Career

For some time Coxe was engaged in a mercantile business in Philadelphia, but apparently without results that justified its continuance. He moved to Burlington, New Jersey, where he materially improved extensive property owned by his wife, and laid out the work which in due course was to make him known as the father of American pomology.

There he began the cultivation of fruit, assembling in his orchards varieties not only from all parts of the United States, but from England and France as well. His first-hand observations and experience gained him a position of authority probably held by no other at that time. The demands made upon him for scions and for information became so great that he decided to give the public the benefit of his knowledge in print, which he did in the book entitled: A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider". This book was published in 1817. Coxe planned a new edition and collected material with it in view. His daughters, Mrs. McMurtrie and her sisters, prepared illustrations in color of about 160 varieties of apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries, more than one hundred of the paintings being of apples and crabs. The book was not published, however, and in succeeding years the paintings were lost.

Coxe was recognized abroad as well as at home. He was instrumental in introducing the Seckel pear into England and for this service was made an honorary member of the Royal Horticultural Society. He withdrew his membership, however, after a few years, feeling that the recognition was out of proportion to the service.

Always public-spirited though in no sense a politician, he was a member of the state legislature, 1796-1804, 1806-1809, 1816 and 1817, and speaker of the Assembly from 1798 to 1800, and also in 1802. In 1813 he went to Congress as a Federalist, remaining for one term.

For financial reasons he sold his residence in Burlington and moved to his farm located on the Delaware River, near town, where he spent the last years of his life in comparative retirement, devoting himself to his family, his books, the interests of his church, and the welfare of those about him.

Achievements

• Pomologist William Coxe was considered to be one of the foremost fruit growers in America. His work "A View of Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider" (1817) had a marked influence on the development of American pomology during the first half of the nineteenth century.

Works

More photos

• book

  • View of The Cultivation of Fruit Trees: and the Management of Orchards and Cider; with Accurate Descriptions of the Most Estimable Varieties of Native ... States of America (Gardening in America)

    ( ""Pomologist William Coxe (1762-1831) is considered to ...)

Membership

Coxe was a member of the Royal Horticultural Society.

Personality

Coxe was a handsome man, of gentlemanly bearing and kindly spirit, generously sharing with his neighbors his knowledge, his fruit, and his extensive library.

Connections

Coxe married Rachel Smith in 1789. One of his daughters married Bishop Mcllvaine, and a son, Richard Smith Coxe attained distinction as a lawyer.

Father:

William Coxe

Mother:

Mary (Francis) Coxe

Spouse:

Rachel Smith

Grandfather:

Daniel Coxe

Son:

Richard Smith Coxe