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In Memoriam: Charles Barney Cory

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In Memoriam: Charles Barney Cory THE AUK- A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY. VOL. XXXXX. Ara•L, 1922. No. 2 IN MEMORIAM: CHARLES BARNEY CORY. BORNJANUARY 31, 1857--DIED JULY31, 1921. BY WILFRED H. OSGOOD. Plate IV. Yr•R by year the numberof survivingfounders of the American Ornithologists'Union is beingreduced until onefeels the pressure of comingtime when it will be a distinctioneven to have known them. To those of another generation,their gradual passinghas a peculiarsadness and a grimsignificance, which bring a reali- zation that not only they themselvesbut the pioneerdays in which they moved are gone forever. Their names and their works stand monumentally and their personal memories will linger long, but no one can ever replacethem becausethey and their times are inextricablylinked together. In the death of CharlesB. Cory duringthe past year, we have lost anotherpioneer and one who will be rememberednot only as a productiveornithologist, but alsoas a manof greatindividual- ity andalmost picturesque character. Mr. Cory was born in Boston ' January31, 1857. His birthplacewas a housebuilt by his father at 1225 WashingtonSt., facing the Catholic Cathedral on the site later occupiedby the Arlington Hotel. On his father's side, he came of sturdy old New England sea-faringstock--son of BarneyCory, grandsonof NathanielB. Cory and great-grandson of Philip Cory, whosegrandfather came to America in the first 151 Tnr. Aunt, VOL. XXXIX. P•aq's IV. 152 Osooo.,In Memoriam:Charles Barney Cory. AprilAuk half of the seventeenth century and settled ia Rhode Island. His grandmother,on his father's side,was Meribah Gatdinerwho was directly descendedfrom GeorgeSoule, reputed to have reached Massachusettsin 1620. One of Mr. Cory's possessionsat the time of his death was an old-fashionedmirror which belonged to Soule and had been passeddown dlreetly. His mother was Eliza Ann Bell (Glynn) Cory of Newport, Rhode Island. His father, Barney Cory, beginningas an apprenticeat the age of fourteenin the firm of J. D. & 3/I. Williams of Boston,soon becamea parruer in a large importing business,dealing principally in fine wines, silks, and luxuries, and amassedwhat for the times was a very large fortune. Young Cory, therefore,came into the world with the proverbial silver spoon in his mouth. He had no brothersand but one sisterwho reachedmaturity so his early life was doubtless that of a favored child where to wish was to have. At tl•eage of eight or nine he was sent to a privateschool on Park St., Boston,called Park Latin School. Later he went to William Eayr's Schoolon Tremont St., and it was there that he was preparedfor college. In 1870,his father built a very largehouse at 8 ArlingtonSt., Boston,and the familyremoved there. This was Cory's home until 1892, when he sold it ten years after he had comeinto full possessionof it throughthe death of his parents. At the present time, this housestill standsand all, or part of it, is occupiedby officesof the 'Atlantic Monthly.' The boy Cory showeda decidedinterest in outdoorsports and in animal life. When only eleven,it is related that he saved money and secretlybought a pistol with which he and another youngsterattempted to shootsome Birds. His father encouraged his desiresand had him expertly instructedin shooting,boxing, fencing, riding, and general athletics. At the age of sixteen, he made what might be called his first expedition,a hunting and fishingtrip to the Maine woodswith a youngfriend named Bieknell. This evidently fixed his inte•'estin natural history, for within a year he had activelybegun the formationof a' collectionof bird skins. This was in 1874, the year followingthe formal organi- zation of the Nuttall OrnithologicalClub, which Cory joined in February 1876,and in whichhe madethe acquaintanceof William Vol.1922XXXIX] J 0$GOOD,In Memoriam:Charles Barney Cory. 153 Brewster, Henry Henshaw, and Ruthyen Deane, all of whom were senior to him by six or seven years. In 1875,although only eighteenyears of age,he took his mother on a foreigntour on which they saw the usualsights in England, France, and Italy. In Florence,Italy, plans were made for a trip to Egypt, and just beforestarting, while pitchingpennies to beggarsin the Arno, Cory made the acquaintanceof another young Ameriean, Martin Ryerson by name. Later, finding themselveson 'the same steamer bound for Alexandria, the two formed a lasting friendship. Together they organized an ex- peditionby dahabeeyadown the Nile, wherethey did eonsiderable shootingand Cory madeimportant additions to his collectionof birds. His mother accompaniedthem on this trip, which was fraught with adve.nture,Egypt beingin an unsettledstate at the time. About a year later, on August30, 1876,Cory and Ryerson went to Harvard togetherand were roommatesthere, occupying suite 32 in Beck Hall. Mr. Ryersonafterwards beeame one of America's most useful and influential eitizens. He is now Presi- dent of the Board of Trusteesof the University of Chieago,First Vice-President of the Trustees of the Field Museum of Natural History, and a trusteeof the CarnegieInstitution of Washington, while he holdsmany other positionsof responsibilityand trust. Cory entered the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard, and while there had the advantageof working at the Museum of ComparativeZoology, where Dr. J. A. Allen was then Curator of Mammals and Birds. His collegework was somewhatinter- rupted by periodsof travel and short abseneesand it is evident that hereas elsewherehe followedhis bent without regardto rules and regulations. Although he did not continueat Harvard until graduation,h{s studiesthere, pursuedalong the lineswhich most interestedhim, covereda considerableproportion of the require- ments. The fall of 1878 found him entered at the Boston Law School,lout his studieshere were pursuedonly a few months. At this time he wasinterested in manythings besides ornithology, notably athleticsand other sports,but his bird-collectingwas never forgotten and was pursuedin conjunctionwith many other activities. As amply evidencedlater, it •as alwayshis para- mount interest. 154 Os•oo•,In Memoriam:Charles Barney Cory. AprilAuk In Noxember 1877, during his collegedays, a slightindisposition, probablyplus a desirefor an outingwith the birds,mused him to .run down to Florida, where he knockedabout with a friend until January •878. During this time he wrote a small book called 'SouthernRambles,' a sortof diary of the trip writtenin nonsense style. It was publishedby A. Williams & Companyof Boston in 1881, and, althoughother titles appearedmeanwhile, was really his first literary effort. With this trip to Florida in 1877 when twenty years of age, Cory begana life of freedomand pleasure in the pursuit of natural history and sport which has scarcely beenequalled and whichmight well be the envy of many a man. For nearly thirty years he made trip after trip, collectingbirds, hunting and fishing,and pursuingvarious hobbiesand sports. With ample allowancesfrom his father, he spent money freely and doubtlessforesaw no future in which money ever would be a problem. His expeditionsas a rule were not very lengthyand were alternatedwith periodsat the home in Boston. In •878, he spent the monthsof July and Auguston the Mag- dalenIslands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,and the followingautumn, while playingat the study of law, wrote the book'A Naturalist in the Magdalen Islands.' In Decemberof the same year he started for the BahamaIslands, taking with him, as becamehis customon later trips, a friend, who sometimesacted as secretary, and alsoa taxidermist,in this caseArthur Smith, who accompanied him on severalother occasions. They remainedunGl July 1879, and six months later the well known book 'Birds of the Bahamas' was written and published. In 1880, he again went to Europe, this time mainly to visit ornithologistsand to purchasebooks and specimens.In England he met Sclater, Seebohm,Salvin, Godman,Porter and others. In France, Boucard and Sall• were among those with whom he fraternized. Returningto the United States,he beganimmedi- ately to plan to followup his work in the Bahamaswith morein the WestIndies, and on February4, 1881,he sailedfor Haiti, remainingthere only a shorttime as a guestof thethen president, but makingimportant collections and laying foundationsfor the later work which made his collection of West Indian birds the bestin existenceand himself the leading authority in thatfield. Vol.1922XXXIX] J OsoooD,In Memoriam:Charles Barney Cory. 155 On August18, 1882, his father died, and later his mother and his sisterJennie Louise (Cory) Tyler havingalso passed away, the entireestate came into his hands,making him, if not quite,then very nearlya millionaire,in a day whenmillionaires were far less numerousthan they are now. Asidefrom the bereavementand the addedresponsibility, however, this made little differenceto him, for his father had alwaysliberally supplied him with money. His friendswere naturally amongmen of large meansand he moved in a circle which included some of the wealthiest men in America at that time. He wasmarried May 31, 1883,to Harriet W. Peterson,daughter of the Hon. JosiahPeterson of Duxbury, Mass., and a woman of of fine character and much charm. Thereafter his wife accom- panied lfim on many of his shootingand collectingtrips and entered with spirit into the life he loved. In later years her loyalty and devotionwere a sourceof strengthto him in'many trying times. Two children were born to them, a daughter, Marion, who died in childhood,and a son, Charles B. Cory, Jr., now 30 yearsof age and successfullyengaged in advertisingwork in Chicago. Shortlyafter his marriagehe built his summerplace on a thousand acre estate near Hyannis, Mass., on Nantucket Sound,where he had a largegame park in whichhe kept elk, deer, antelopes,pheasants and other animals. Here he protectednon- game birds and made what was one of the first (if, not the very first,) bird sanctuariesin America. When the American Ornithologists'Union was organizedin 1883, Cory was one of the noted company who attended the original meeting in New York and earned the title of founder. He almostimmediately became a life member.
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