Henry Perrine (5 April 1797 – 7 August 1840) was a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
,
horticulturist
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
, United States
Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, and an enthusiast for introducing
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in
the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...
plant
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclud ...
Henry Edward Perrine was born April 5, 1797, at either
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. or
Cranbury, New Jersey
Cranbury is a township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. Located within the Raritan Valley region, Cranbury is roughly equidistant between New York City and Philadelphia in the heart of the state. As of the 2010 United States Ce ...
, a son of Peter and Sarah Rozengrant Perrine, and a descendant of
Daniel Perrin
Daniel Perrin (1642–1719) was one of the first permanent European inhabitants of Staten Island, New York. Known as " The Huguenot", he arrived in New York Harbor from the Isle of Jersey on July 29, 1665, aboard the ship ''Philip'', under the c ...
, "The
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
". He taught school for two years while still a youth, studied
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...
, and then at age 22 moved to
Ripley, Illinois
Ripley is a village in Brown County, Illinois, United States, named after the popular books and television show "Ripley's Believe It Or Not," located along La Moine River. The population was 53 according to the 2020 census.
History
Ripley was o ...
where he practiced medicine for five years, while also helping with 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. ...
in the area. In 1821 he was accidentally poisoned with
arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
, from which he never fully recovered. He married Ann Fuller Townsend in 1822 while living in Illinois.
Studies of quinine
Cold weather particularly bothered Perrine after his
arsenic poisoning
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, bu ...
, and in 1824 he moved to
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...
(leaving his family in Illinois) in the hope that the climate would aid his recovery. He began studying
herb
In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
was common in the Natchez area, and Perrine began studying the use of
quinine
Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria and babesiosis. This includes the treatment of malaria due to '' Plasmodium falciparum'' that is resistant to chloroquine when artesunate is not available. While sometimes used for nocturnal le ...
to treat it. He published the results of his research in the '' Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences'' in 1826, and that report remained an important source on the subject for a century. In 1825 Perrine and his family moved to his wife Ann's hometown of
Sodus, New York
Sodus is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Wayne County, New York, Wayne County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 8,384 at the 2010 census. The town takes its name from a native word for the bay in ...
. Believing that he needed to move to a climate even warmer than that of Natchez, Perrine had applied in 1824 for a diplomatic position in a tropical country. In 1827 he sent copies of his report on the use of quinine to Washington. Shortly thereafter he was appointed United States Consul in Campeche, Mexico, where he served for ten years.
Mexico to the Florida Keys
Soon after Perrine arrived in Campeche, the
United States Treasury Department
The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the Treasury, national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an United States federal executive departments, executive department. The departme ...
asked all U. S. Consuls to find useful plants that could be introduced to the United States. Perrine began investigating tropical crops for introduction into the United States. He sent seeds and plants to people he corresponded with in the southern United States, some of his specimens now reside at the
New York Botanical Garden
The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden at Bronx Park in the Bronx, New York City. Established in 1891, it is located on a site that contains a landscape with over one million living plants; the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, ...
. Perrine was the only U.S. Consul to respond to the Treasury Department's request, and newspapers in the United States began writing about his work. Through correspondence with Captain DeBose, the keeper at the
Cape Florida Light
The Cape Florida Light is a lighthouse on Cape florida, Cape Florida at the south end of Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Constructed in 1825, it guided mariners off the Florida Reef, which starts near Key Biscayne and extends southwar ...
Key West, Florida
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...
, Perrine became convinced that the southern tip of Florida was the only place in the United States suitable for the introduction of tropical plants. While still in Campeche and on his return to the United States, he campaigned for a land grant on which he could start a plant introduction station. Upon his return to the United States, Perrine was offered a site in
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
for his plant introduction station, but he rejected it, believing that only southern Florida offered the necessary climate conditions. Perrine, Judge James Webb of Key West and Charles Howe of Indian Key incorporated the Tropical Plant Company, which was chartered by the territory of Florida in 1838. Also in 1838, the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
granted Perrine his request for a survey township (36 sq. mi.) in southern Florida.
While waiting for hostilities with the Seminoles to die down so that his land grant could be surveyed and settled, Perrine had in late 1838 taken up residence with his family on Indian Key in the Florida Keys. While resident on Indian Key, Perrine started a tropical plant nursery on
Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys, United States, located on U.S. 1 between mile markers 75–78.
All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated.
It is home to the mai ...
. He also visited the settlement at
Key Vaca
Key Vaca is an island in the middle Florida Keys, located entirely within the borders of the city of Marathon, Florida.
Geography
Key Vaca is located in between Fat Deer Key and Knight's Key. Vaca Key was also connected via bridge to Boot Key ...
to treat the
Bahamians
Bahamians are people originating or having roots from The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. One can also become a Bahamian by acquiring citizenship.
History
Culture
Olympic Games
World Championships in Athletics
List
* Sidney Poitier, firs ...
living there, and to try to convince them to grow some of the tropical plants he was trying to establish in Florida. In April, 1840 Perrine spent several days on and near
Cape Sable
Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the United States mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park.
The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeast ...
planting seeds despite the presence of Seminoles in the area (his party could see the light of a campfire one night as they camped on the cape).
Death
On August 7, 1840, Indians attacked Indian Key. The Perrines were awoken by gunfire and shouts. Henry Perrine sent his family into the space under the house and then covered the trap-door with a chest. Ann Perrine and the three children moved to the enclosed turtle
crawl
Crawl, The Crawl, or crawling may refer to:
Biology
* Crawling (human), any of several types of human quadrupedal gait
* Limbless locomotion, the movement of limbless animals over the ground
* Undulatory locomotion, a type of motion characteriz ...
under the wharf behind the house. They were able to take a boat that had been partly loaded with plunder by the Seminoles, and head for the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
base on nearby
Tea Table Key
Tea Table Key also known as "Terra's Key" is an island in the upper Florida Keys.
It is located on U.S. 1 at mile marker 79.
All of the key is within the Villages of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated.
The island lies ...
. They were chased by two Seminoles in a canoe, but were rescued by sailors in a whale boat. Dr. Perrine was killed in his house, which was burned by the Seminoles. Several other people on the island were also killed. Some bones found in the burned ruins of the Perrine house were buried on Lower Matecumbe Key.
Legacy
Perrine had apparently selected
Cape Sable
Cape Sable is the southernmost point of the United States mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park.
The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeast ...
as the site of his grant, but after his death his widow successfully petitioned to have the grant transferred to the shore of
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...
, and to remain with the Perrine family. Part of the Perrine Grant eventually became the community of
Perrine, Florida
Perrine, Florida was an unincorporated community in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, about midway between Miami and Homestead. It is at The community was named after Henry Perrine, who in 1839 had been granted a survey township of lan ...
. Perrine introduced the
Key lime
The Key lime or acid lime (''Citrus'' × ''aurantiifolia'' or ''C. aurantifolia'') is a citrus hybrid ('' C. hystrix'' × '' C. medica'') native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, in diameter. The Key lime is usually picked ...
to the United States and it has been subsequently used to develop many citrus hybrids.