Edwin P. James (August 27, 1797 – October 28, 1861), a 19th-century American botanist, geologist, linguist, and medical practitioner, was an important figure in the early exploration of the
American West
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
. James was also known for his time spent creating relationships with
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans, also known as American Indians, First Americans, Indigenous Americans, and other terms, are the Indigenous peoples of the mainland United States ( Indigenous peoples of Hawaii, Alaska and territories of the United State ...
, and also aiding
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to escape slavery.
James is primarily remembered for his participation in the
expedition of 1819-1820 led by Major
Stephen Harriman Long, into still largely unknown territory acquired in the
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (french: Vente de la Louisiane, translation=Sale of Louisiana) was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from the French First Republic in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, or app ...
. James served during the expedition's more productive second year. That expedition "was the first scientific survey of the region and dramatically increased the country’s geographical knowledge of the West." James was primarily responsible for producing the report, ''Account of an Expedition from Pittsburgh to the Rocky Mountains, Performed in the Years 1819, 1820'', published in 1823.
![Aquilegia coerulea1JOST](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Aquilegia_coerulea1JOST.jpg)
During the expedition, James accomplished the first recorded mountain ascent in North America to over 14,000 ft. elevation, and was the first to collect many alpine plant species, including what he called "the mountain Columbine" ''
Aquilegia coerulea'',
later to become the state flower of Colorado, now with the common name Colorado Blue Columbine.
The expedition's extensive collection of information on flora, fauna, geology and geography, as recounted in James' ''Account'', is reminiscent of the efforts, just two decades earlier, by
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
in Central and South America. A copy of Humboldt's ''Personal Narrative of Travels of the Equinocial Regions of the New Continent'' was carried by the Long expedition.
The ''Account'' influenced the literature of the Far West. Historian
William H. Goetzmann William Harry Goetzmann (July 20, 1930 – September 7, 2010) was an American historian and emeritus professor in the American Studies and American Civilization Programs at the University of Texas at Austin. He attended Yale University as a graduate ...
suggested "the most important literary event of 1823 was the publication of Dr. Edwin James's Account of an Expedition."
[ ] In a more recent homage to James, Lyndgaard said: "The passages that deal with landscape description, bison, and Native Americans, especially the Pawnee, were immediately recognized for their quality, and were thus mined by novelists as well as celebrated by reviewers."
Early life and education
Born in
Weybridge, Vermont
Weybridge is a town in Addison County, Vermont, United States. The population was 814 at the 2020 census.
Geography
Weybridge is located in central Addison County in the Champlain Valley. It is bordered by the town of Middlebury to the southeast ...
, to Mary (Emmes) and Daniel James,
a deacon. The youngest child, he grew up in a log house set among wooded hills.
James inherited several of his father's traits. He was thoughtful, studious, and had "untiring perseverance". He was "accustomed to cull treasures of rich thought from works of nature and a wide range of readings."
![old chapel wiki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Old_chapel_wiki.jpg)
James prepared for college at Addison County Grammar School.
He often walked the five miles to
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...
, which he began attending in 1812.
After receiving his
A.B.
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in 1816, James moved to
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
, to continue study in medicine (with his physician brother), botany with
John Torrey
John Torrey (August 15, 1796 – March 10, 1873) was an American botany, botanist, chemist, and physician. Throughout much of his career, he was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, while he also pursued botanical work, focus ...
, and botany and geology with
Amos Eaton.
In 1819 James became a part of the
American Geological Society
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.
History
The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchco ...
and within one year had authored articles on the subject. Within this same time frame he also prepared the first list of Vermont plants.
Expedition to the Rocky Mountains
The second year of the Long Expedition began June 6, 1820 when the members, now including 22-year-old Edwin James, left the overwintering camp,
Engineer Cantonment
Engineer Cantonment is an archaeological site in Washington County, in the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. Located in the floodplain of the Missouri River near present-day Omaha, Nebraska, it was the temporary winter camp of ...
, near the eastern border of the current state of Nebraska. They headed west toward the Rockies, following, for the most part, the
Platte River, then south along the Rocky Mountain
Front Range, before heading east toward the expedition's ending location (which occurred on September 13, 1820) at
Fort Smith, in what is now western Arkansas.
On July 13, James and two others set out to climb
Pikes Peak. As James writes in his ''Account'':
On the morning of the 14th... we continued the ascent, hoping to be able to reach the summit of the Peak, and return to the same camp in the evening... A little above the point where the timber disappears entirely, commences a region of astonishing beauty... covered with a carpet of low but brilliantly flowering alpine plants... We now found it would be impossible to reach the summit of the mountain, and return to our camp of the preceding night, during that part of the day which remained; but as we could not persuade ourselves to turn back, after having so nearly accomplished the ascent, we resolved to take our chance of spending the night, on whatever part of the mountain, it might overtake us... We met, as we proceeded, such numbers of unknown and interesting plants, as to occasion much delay in collecting, and were under the disagreeable necessity of passing by numbers which we saw in situations difficult of access.
Historian
Roger Lawrence Williams
Roger Lawrence Williams (June 22, 1923 – July 4, 2017), was an American historian with major interests in French political history, particularly the Second Empire associated with Napoleon III. He served on the faculty in History departments at ...
used the phrase "a region of astonishing beauty", from the above, for the title of his 2003 book on Rocky Mountains botanical history. After reaching the Peak, James describes the natural history of the summit, and goes on to describe the view in all directions in some detail, including smoke in a valley to the north "supposed to indicate the encampment of a party of Indians."
It was the first time in recorded history that a mountain of such height (4,302 m/14,115 feet) had been scaled in North America by a white man.
(In South America,
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 17696 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, p ...
reached around 5,800 m / 19,000 ft on Mt.
Chimborazo
Chimborazo () is a currently inactive stratovolcano in the Cordillera Occidental range of the Andes. Its last known eruption is believed to have occurred around 550 A.D.
Chimborazo's summit is the farthest point on the Earth's surface from th ...
in 1802.) For a time, the mountain was called "James Peak".
In a commemoration 100 years later, the day was considered as "undoubtedly the most notable day of the expedition for botanical collecting" by
George Everett Osterhout
George Everett Osterhout (March 31, 1858 – April 2, 1937) was an American businessman and botanist. A Pennsylvania native, he later moved to Colorado and became known for his research into the flora of the Rocky Mountains.
Early life and educ ...
, a prominent Colorado botanist.
![Telesonix jamesii crags lg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/Telesonix_jamesii_crags_lg.jpg)
Due to traversing a largely uncharted country, it was not always clear from James' journal exactly where each camp and collecting site was. The expedition's path was retraced 170 years later, using James' diary and scenic paintings of the expedition's artist,
Samuel Seymour. In spite of considerable change over the years, sites were located with accuracy.
![Pinus flexilis USDA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Pinus_flexilis_USDA.jpg)
During the Expedition James collected around 700 plant species in the mountains and over the prairies, of which 140 were new to science.
In addition to ''
Aquilegia coerulea'', James named many other species (e.g., Limber Pine, ''
Pinus flexilis
''Pinus flexilis'', the limber pine, is a species of pine tree-the family Pinaceae that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Rocky Mountain white pine.
A limber pine in Eagle Cap Wilderness ...
'' E.James), and many were later named after him by John Torrey (notably the Cliffbush, ''
Jamesia americana
''Jamesia americana'', also called cliffbush, waxflower or five petal cliffbush, is a species of flowering plant in the Hydrangeaceae.
Description
''Jamesia americana'' is a perennial shrub distributed throughout the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Moun ...
'' Torr & A.Gray, often found at high elevations growing in cracks in vertical rock surfaces), and by others who worked on his collections (e.g., ''
Telesonix jamesii
''Telesonix'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Saxifragaceae.
Its native range is Alberta in west-central Canada to Colorado, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming in the west-central United States.
Species:
*''T ...
'' (Torr.) Raf.). All in all, 24 plant species were named in James' honor.
In his 1920 100 year anniversary commemoration, Osterhout noted: "In general the native plants still grow and blossom as they did when Dr. James saw them in 1820; but a great change has been wrought in the country. Fruitful farms have replaced much of what seemed to be sterile soil, and towns and cities and a busy industry have come to their silent and uninhabited plains and hills."
After completing the expedition, most members went, by various routes, back to the East Coast. Most (especially James) suffered from malaria, which delayed returning. James did not get to Philadelphia, the meeting place, until the autumn of 1821. James was assigned the primary responsibility (with collaboration by Long and Say) of writing the ''Account'' 's narrative, to append the collected data, and to prepare the results for publication, a job completed near the end of 1822.
The
James Peak Wilderness and its
summit
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used ...
in Colorado were named for James.
Army surgeon
Subsequently James was appointed US Army surgeon to serve at various frontier outposts including the
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
region; he served from 1823 to 1833.
Native American subagent and linguist
While with the Army he interacted with Native Americans, most notably the
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains.
According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...
with whose language he became familiar. A Euro-American,
John Tanner, captured by the Ojibwe when a child and raised among them, worked closely with James in the production of the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
in the
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian lan ...
, and in the telling of Tanner's life story.
He also observed the use of
Broken Oghibbeway
During the fur trade era, a pidgin form of Ojibwe known as Broken Oghibbeway was used as a trade language in the Wisconsin and Mississippi River valleys. Data on the language was collected during the 1820s at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin by Edw ...
there, and gave the pidgin its name.
Edwin was an Indian subagent to the
Potawatomi
The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a m ...
in
Bellevue, Nebraska
Bellevue ( French for "beautiful view"; previously named Belleview) is a suburban city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and had a population of 64,176 as of the 2020 Census, m ...
, where he created grade-school spellers for the children’s education.
Personal life and career in Iowa
In 1827, while still working for the Army but during a return visit to the East, James married Clara Rogers, who was describes as a beautiful woman "of talent and fond of society".
They had one child, a son named Edwin Jr., born in 1828.
He was elected to the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1833.
In 1836, James established a medical practice, he built a large stone house four miles west of
Burlington, Iowa
Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...
in
Union Township,
and established a productive farm.
There James maintained, in his house, a station on the
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...
.
He hid escaped enslaved people in baskets, barrels, and sacks.
He built a secret room in his house behind a fireplace. James helped fugitives travel north along the Underground Railroad. The
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers.
The Act was one of the most co ...
required people in
free states to return runaway people back to slavery, but James was against the law. James picked up a black man who had stayed at the Western Hotel in his farm wagon. Two bounty hunters from Missouri, a slave state, came to town in search of a man named Dick who escaped from a farm in
Clark County. It was assumed that the man would be sent to Missouri, but it was determined that he was not the man from Clark County, so he was released to travel along the Underground Railroad, at the cheers of James' neighbors. Although now openly known as an abolitionist and Underground Railroad operative, James continued to assist runaways throughout his life.
Clara died in 1854, leaving James in great sorrow.
James himself died in 1861, when he was crushed after falling under the wheels of his wagon while loading firewood.
Both of them were buried in the Rock Spring Cemetery. Years later, Rocky Mountain Blue Columbine were planted around his grave by the Des Moines County Medical Society.
Works
* James, Edwin (1823, ''Philadelphia edition'').
* James, Edwin (1823, ''Philadelphia edition'') .
* James, Edwin (1823, ''London edition'').
in three volumes.
*
*
* James, Edwin (ed). (1830)
* James, Edwin, with John Tanner. (1833)
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Edwin
1797 births
1861 deaths
People from Weybridge, Vermont
People from Burlington, Iowa
Middlebury College alumni
American geologists
American botanists
American non-fiction writers
Underground Railroad in Iowa
Underground Railroad people
American explorers
Explorers of the United States
Members of the American Philosophical Society
Military personnel from Vermont
19th-century physicians