Henry Shimer (September 21, 1828 – July 28, 1895) was a naturalist and

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 ...

in Mount Carroll,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He was also a teacher at the

Mount Carroll Seminary The Mount Carroll Seminary was the name of Shimer College from 1853 to 1896. The Seminary was located in Mount Carroll, Illinois, in the United States. A pioneering institution in its time and place, the Mount Carroll Seminary served as a center ...

, which later became

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School (pronounced ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of ...

; he was the husband of the seminary's founder,

Frances Shimer Frances Shimer (August 21, 1826 – November 10, 1901), born Frances Ann Wood, was an American educator. She was the founder of the Mount Carroll Seminary, which later became Shimer College, in Mount Carroll, Illinois. She was also the sole pr ...

Biography

Early life

Shimer was born on September 21, 1828, in

West Vincent Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania West Vincent Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania. The population was 4,567 at the 2010 census. History The township was named after Sir Mathias Vincent. West Vincent was formed in 1832 when Vincent Township was divided. The r ...

. He worked as a stone mason in his youth and took up teaching at the age of 18. In March 1854, Shimer left Pennsylvania and traveled west to

Mount Carroll, Illinois Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States. It is the Carroll County seat. The population was 1479 at the 2020 census. Due to its elevation and northwesterly location, Mount Carroll is subject to unusually cold winter wea ...

after a failed love affair. He may have done work on the construction or expansion of the Mount Carroll Seminary, for which the owners were unable to pay him.

Marriage

On December 22, 1857, Shimer and Frances Ann Wood, the co-principal of the Mount Carroll Seminary, were married. Their union was widely reputed to be a

marriage of convenience A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than that of love and commitment. Instead, such a marriage is entered into for personal gain, or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as a political marriage. There are ...

Vocations

Shimer subsequently left for Chicago to study medicine. He graduated from the

Chicago Medical College (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on March 1, 1866. Shimer also obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago by examination. He was a prolific entomologist and published widely, describing a number of novel species and genera. He also served for a time as the assistant State Entomologist of Illinois. In addition, he was an expert

taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...

, and had a collection of over 1000 mounted birds. His collections were provided to the seminary for educational purposes. In the 1880s, Shimer became wealthy by speculating on real estate in Iowa, allegedly inspired by a dream. At the time of his death his estate was worth approximately $200,000.

Travels

Shimer traveled widely within the United States, stopping along the way to work as a

stone mason In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

. He sometimes covered more than a thousand miles on foot. He is said to have worn boots at all times.

Death

On July 28, 1895, Henry Shimer committed suicide, either with a

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

or by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

. He had amended his will five days previously to leave his entire fortune to his wife, leaving his mother and sister destitute. In a highly publicized trial, the will was successfully contested.

Published works

*1865, "Description of the Imago and Larva of a New Species of Chrysopa", ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia'' *1867, "Description of a New Species of Aleyrodes", ''Transactions of the American Entomological Society'

*1867, "Description of a New Species of Cecidomyia", ''Transactions of the American Entomological Society'

*1867, "On a New Genus of Aphidae", ''Transactions of the American Entomological Society'

*1867, "Notes on the Apple Bark Louse (''Lepidosaphes conchiformis''), with a Description of a supposed new Acarus" *1867, "Notes on ''Micropus (Lygarus) leucopterus'' Say ('The chinch bug')", ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' *1867, "Additional Note on the Chinch-Bug", ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' *1867, "On a new genus in Homoptera (Section Monomera)''", ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' *1868, "Descriptions of two Acarians bred from White Maple", ''Transactions of the American Entomological Society'' *1868, "Notes on ''Chermes pinicorticis'' (white pine louse)", ''Transactions of the American Entomological Society'' *1868, "A Summer's Study of the Hickory Galls, with Descriptions of supposed New Species bred therefrom", ''Transactions of the American Entomological Society'' *1868, "The Wavy-Striped Flea Beetle", ''The American Naturalist'' *1869, "Insects Injurious to the Potato", ''The American Naturalist'' *1872, "Additional Notes on the Striped Squash Beetle", ''The American Naturalist'

*1891, "Consciousness in Protoplasm", ''The Microscope'

References

External links

Guide to Henry Shimer, Epidemic Diseases 1866
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimer, Henry 1828 births 1895 deaths People from Chester County, Pennsylvania People from Mount Carroll, Illinois Shimer College faculty Feinberg School of Medicine alumni University of Chicago alumni American entomologists Writers from Chicago Writers from Pennsylvania 1890s suicides