James Henry Ferriss (1849-1926) was an American politician and amateur
conchologist
Conchology () is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of molluscs; however, malacology is the study of molluscs as whole organisms, whereas conchology is confined to the study of their shells. It includ ...
. According to
Henry Augustus Pilsbry
Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a centu ...
, Ferriss was "the fore-most of American landshell collectors... as a collector he has probably never been surpassed."
Biography
James H. Ferriss was born November 18, 1849, in Kendall Township,
Kendall County, Illinois
Kendall County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 131,869. Its county seat is Yorkville, and its most populous municipality is Oswego.
Kendal ...
, Ferriss moved to southeastern
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
in 1869 to stake a claim as a farmer, freighter, and storekeeper. He returned to Illinois in 1872 to work as a
reporter
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
and
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...
of several
newspapers
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
in
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...
.
A fiery
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
ist, he purchased and edited the ''Joliet News'' in 1877 but was
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
ed that year for an editorial which offended a local
political boss
In politics, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of their greatest influence. Numerous off ...
. He moved to
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
after the incident, but returned in 1882 to edit the ''Joliet News'' until 1915. He was elected National Chairman of the
People's Party in 1904.
Ferriss died on March 17, 1926. He was 76 years old at the time of his death.
Footnotes
Works
* * "The Populist View," i
"Lessons of the Election: A Symposium,"''To-Morrow: A Monthly Hand-Book of the Changing Order,'' vol. 1, no. 1 (January 1905), pp. 36–38.
*
Pilsbry H. A. & Ferris J. H. (1906). "Mollusca of Southern States. II". ''
Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
The ''Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly the Academ ...
'' 58
123175.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1907. ''Mollusca of the Ozarkian Fauna''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 58: 529–567.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1910. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States, III: The Huachuca Mountains, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 61: 495–516.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1910. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States: IV. The Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 62: 44–147.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1915. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States VII: The Dragoon, Mule, Santa Rita, Baboquivari, and Tucson Ranges, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 68: 363–418.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1917. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States VIII: The Black Range, New Mexico''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 69: 83–107.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1919. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States IX: The
Santa Catalina,
Rincon,
Tortolita and
Galiuro Mountains
The Galiuro Mountains are a large sky island mountain range of southeast Arizona, United States. It is a northerly mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona, northern Sonora in northwestern Mexico, and the extreme ...
. X. The mountains of the Gila headwaters''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 70: 282–333.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1923. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States, XI - From the Tucson Range to Ajo, and mountain ranges between the San Padro and Santa Cruz rivers, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 75: 47–103.
External links
James Henry Ferriss biography
Conchologists
1849 births
1926 deaths
American malacologists
{{Illinois-politician-stub