Henry Perrine (5 April 1797 – 7 August 1840) was a physician,

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 ...

Campeche, Campeche San Francisco de Campeche (; yua, Ahk'ìin Pech, ), 19th c., also known simply as Campeche, is a city in Campeche Municipality in the state of Campeche, Mexico on the shore of the Bay of Campeche of the Gulf of Mexico. Both the seat of the munic ...

, Mexico, 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 ...

plants into cultivation in the United States.

Early life

Henry Edward Perrine was born April 5, 1797, at either

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city in and the seat of government of 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 ...

, 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 Bez ...

". He taught school for two years while still a youth, studied medicine, 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 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, but ...

, 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, Na ...

(leaving his family in Illinois) in the hope that the climate would aid his recovery. He began studying herbs and medicinal plants while in Natchez. Malaria was common in the Natchez area, and Perrine began studying the use of quinine 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 town in Wayne County, 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 the eastern part of the town: "Assorodus," meaning "silvery water." The Town of Sod ...

. 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 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, with Charles Howe, postmaster and inspector of customs at

Indian Key Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South A ...

and with William A. Whitehead, mayor of Key West, Florida, 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 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

incorporated the Tropical Plant Company, which was chartered by the territory of Florida in 1838. Also in 1838, the United States Congress 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 m ...

. 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, fir ...

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 southeastern ...

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 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

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 l ...

, 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 to the United States and it has been subsequently used to develop many citrus hybrids.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perrine, Henry 1797 births 1840 deaths American horticulturists People from Brown County, Illinois People from Cranbury, New Jersey People from New Brunswick, New Jersey People murdered in Florida Male murder victims American murder victims Underground Railroad people People from Sodus, New York Activists from New York (state)