Letters from an American Botanist the Correspondences of Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Mühlenberg (1753–1815) Letters Fromletters an American Botanist
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The Lutheran Pastor Gotthilf Heinrich and within the botanical discourse of his Ernst Mühlenberg (1753–1815) is remem- time. The result is a multi-faceted depic- bered today as one of the pioneering tion of contemporary standards, codes figures in early American botany, which and pitfalls of scientific communication earned him the posthumous epithet “The in the so-called “Republic of Letters”. As American Linnaeus”. This study traces Mühlenberg’s example shows, the very Mühlenberg’s contributions to American fabric of this Republic – open exchange of botany by reconstructing his vast transat- information – had a strong impact on the lantic correspondence network over a pe- course and outcome of scientific research riod of more than 30 years. Working on the itself. This “Network Factor” becomes tenets of modern network studies and with clearly visible in Mühlenberg’s networking information gathered from close to 700 strategies, which he developed to protect original letters, diaries and publications, his original work against the negative ef- the present study places Mühlenberg both fects of the very medium he was working within his own web of correspondences with. Matthias Schönhofer Letters from an American Botanist The Correspondences of Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Mühlenberg (1753–1815) Letters fromLetters an American Botanist www.steiner-verlag.de BEÜ Geschichte Beiträge zur Europäischen Überseegeschichte – 101 Franz Steiner Verlag Franz Steiner Verlag ISBN 978-3-515-10796-9 Matthias Schönhofer Matthias Schönhofer Letters from an American Botanist beiträge zur europäischen überseegeschichte vormals: Beiträge zur Kolonial- und Überseegeschichte Im Auftrag der Forschungsstiftung für vergleichende europäische Überseegeschichte herausgegeben von Markus A. Denzel, Hermann Joseph Hiery und Eberhard Schmitt Band 101 Matthias Schönhofer Letters from an American Botanist The Correspondences of Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Mühlenberg (1753–1815) Franz Steiner Verlag Gedruckt mit freundlicher Unterstützung der Gesellschaft für Überseegeschichte (e.V.) und des DFG-Projektes Atlantische Korrespondenzen: Genese und Transformation deutsch-amerikanischer Netzwerke 1740–1870 Umschlagabbildung: Rev. Gotthilf Henry Ernest Muhlenberg by Jacob Eichholtz, 1811, Object number 1984, The Phillips Museum of Art, Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster, PA, USA Bibliografische Information der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek: Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek verzeichnet diese Publikation in der Deutschen Nationalbibliografie; detaillierte bibliografische Daten sind im Internet über <http://dnb.d-nb.de> abrufbar. Dieses Werk einschließlich aller seiner Teile ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Jede Verwertung außerhalb der engen Grenzen des Urheberrechtsgesetzes ist unzulässig und strafbar. © Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2014 Druck: Offsetdruck Bokor, Bad Tölz Gedruckt auf säurefreiem, alterungsbeständigem Papier. Printed in Germany. ISBN 978-3-515-10796-9 (Print) ISBN 978-3-515-10802-7 (E-Book) Für Eva TABLE OF CONTENTS I Introduction 11 II List of Abbreviations 15 III Networks and History 16 1. Network Theory Basics 17 2. Applications – Rosenthal et al., Gould and Bearman 25 3. A Critique 31 4. Aims and Methodology – The Plurality of Mühlenberg’s Network 34 IV A Prelude – Mühlenberg’s Correspondences from 1771 to 1784 45 1 The Lutheran Context 45 1.2 Studies at the Francke Foundations (1763–1770) 48 1.3 The Pennsylvania Field 53 1.4 Pious Trade in Halle Medicines I (before 1770) 57 1.5 Pious Trade in Halle Medicines II (after 1770) 61 1.6 Halle’s Private Intermediaries 63 2 The Family Context 70 2.1 Family Life prior to the War of Independence 71 2.2 Brothers–in–Law 77 2.3 A Band of Brothers 81 2.4 The only Son 86 2.5 Conflict with Kunze 89 2.6 In the Wake of the War 93 3. The Scientific Context – the Respublica Litteraria 98 3.1 The Handmaiden of Medicine 102 3.2 American Botanical Fellows 104 3.3 Carl Linnaeus and America 108 3.4 Mühlenberg and Linnaeus 111 3.5 American Botany in the Early National Period (1775–1815) 115 3.6 The Challenges of Independence 116 V Letters from an American Botanist 122 1 Confederate Botany (Phase 1, 1784–1790) 122 1.1 A Franconian Physician at Lancaster – Schöpf 126 1.2 The Prince of Erlangen Science – Schreber 128 1.3 Commercium Litterarium with Schreber and Schöpf 131 1.4 The Hinterlands of Botanical Science 138 1.5 Franklin College and Botany 140 1.6 Old Trade along New Channels 148 8 Table of Contents 1.7 Family and Friends 152 1.8 Network Analysis: Phase 1 154 2 Transatlantic Botany (Phase 2, 1790–1797) 158 2.1 The Philosopher of Kingsessing – William Bartram 165 2.2 More Gardeners and Seedsmen – the Marshalls and William Hamilton 171 2.3 Mühlenberg’s Antagonist – Benjamin Smith Barton 174 2.4 Networks and Network Strategies 178 2.5 A Swabian in Lancaster – Autenrieth 183 2.6 Spinning the Web at the American Periphery 186 2.7 Moravians Botanists – Kramsch and Kampman 188 2.8 Cutler and the Gap in the North 192 2.9 Mitchill, New York and Agriculture 196 2.10 Erlangen falls behind 198 2.11 Hoffmann goes to Göttingen 201 2.12 Palm in Erlangen 204 2.13 Johann Hedwig’s Cryptogamia 208 2.14 James Edward Smith – Linneaus’ English Heir 211 2.15 Changes at the Orphanage 215 2.16 Yellow Fever and American Medicine 221 2.17 Network Analysis: Phase 2 228 3 A Network in Transition (Phase 3, 1797–1802) 233 3.1 The Failures of Smith, Schreber and Hoffmann 236 3.2 The Cryptogamic Circle I 243 3.3 Postbox Halle 254 3.4 Moravians on the Move 256 3.5 Dormant America 262 3.6 Network Analysis: Phase 3 264 4 Network Strategies (Phase 4, 1802–1805) 266 4.1 The South 273 4.2 Europeans in the American Wilderness I – Lyon and Pursh 280 4.3 Europeans in the American Wilderness II – Kin, Enslin and van der Schott 287 4.4 Europeans in the American Wilderness III – Rafinesque 292 4.5 The Cryptogamic Circle II 297 4.6 The Herbarium of André Michaux 301 4.7 Old Europe – Smith, Turner, Hoffmann, Schrader and Schreber 306 4.8 Network Strategies and Publications 312 4.9 The Halle Network 323 4.10 Changes in the Family 327 4.11 Network Analysis: Phase 4 329 Ta ble of Contents 9 5 An American Network (Phase 5, 1805–1811) 332 5.1 The Troubles of Erlangen and Halle 335 5.2 Nulla Salus Bello – Pacem te poscimus 340 5.3 France, England and Sweden 345 5.4 North and South – Peck, Elliott, Dunbar, Moore and Logan 355 5.5 Moravians in the South 372 5.6 The West – Müller and the Planthunters 377 5.7 The Aftermath of the great Expeditions 383 5.8 The Failure of American Botany 390 5.9 Family Matters 399 5.10 Network Analysis: Phase 5 401 6. Towards Botanical Independence (Phase 6, 1811–1815) 403 6.1 Philadelphia and Western Pennsylvania 411 6.2 The patient and successful cultivator – Collins 418 6.3 The Southern Constellation – Oemler, Dörry, Logan, Elliott and Baldwin 425 6.4 The Last of the Moravian Contacts – Schweinitz 441 6.5 Friends and Fraud in New York City 446 6.6 The North and the West – Cutler, Peck, Bigelow, Rich and Moore 453 6.7 The End of an Era 460 6.8 Ars longa, vita brevis 467 6.9 Network Analysis: Phase 6 469 VI Conclusion 472 VII Appendices 483 1. Appendix A – Flow Charts 486 2. Appendix B – Tables 494 3. Appendix C – Lists of Correspondences 535 4. Appendix D – Exchange Charts 550 5. Appendix E – Networks 554 6. Appendix F – Network Documentation 565 VIII Bibliography 569 IX Register of Persons 585 X Register of Places 598 I INTRODUCTION This study attempts to resconstruct the correspondence network of the Lutheran pastor Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Mühlenberg (1753–1815), the so–called “American Linnaeus.” Today, Mühlenberg is particularly remembered for his contributions to the establishment of a national scientific infrastructure in the wake of American Independence. From 1771 to 1815, he exchanged letters and specimens with Euro- pean and American botanists, plant collectors and seed traders, but he also wrote to merchants, family members, fellow Lutheran pastors and ordinary citizens. For the present study, 109 direct contacts1 of Mühlenberg could be identified from this pe- riod, exchanging a total of 998 letters with him. This number is composed of 693 actual and dated letters, and 297 reconstructed letters, which must be presumed lost or destroyed. Eight additional letters from or to Mühlenberg were undated. Recon- structed letters were identified through references found in the actual source corpus of 693 letters and Mühlenberg’s botanical diaries in the archives of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. In total, a data loss rate of approximately 29,76 % must be assumed,2 which could partially be amended through Mühlen- berg’s diaries. These contained a plethora of crucial information on the develop- ment of individual correspondences, the dimensions of his botanical exchanges and personal remarks on most of his contacts and were for the first time systematically read and analyzed in the context of this study. In general, however, historical re- search has so far eluded Mühlenberg’s network, as a large portion of the letters were scattered across a number of American and European archives. By far the largest collections of Mühlenberg letters are found today at the Lu- theran Theological Seminary Mt. Airy, in the archives of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the American Philosophical Society and the Academy of Natural Sci- ences, which are all located in Philadelphia, PA.3 Minor holdings, individual letters and other manuscript material could be located at the Library Company of Philadel- phia, the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections, Ohio University, Ath- 1 This number is split up between 107 individual persons and two institutions, counted as indi- vidual actors of his network.