Jonathan Pearson (February 23, 1813 - June 20, 1887) was an American

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

and historian.

Life

Pearson was born in

Chichester, New Hampshire Chichester is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 2,665 at the 2020 census. History Chichester was granted in 1727 to Nathaniel Gookin and others,Article i''Statistics and Gazetteer of New-Hampshire'' ...

, where his father worked as a miller. From 1832 to 1835 he attended

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

, as a student before taking a position as a tutor in 1836, eventually becoming a professor. Along with professorial positions, Pearson was the college's librarian from 1839 to 1886, and treasurer. In April 1841 he married Mary Lord Hosford, and they had three children. He died in Schenectady on June 20, 1887.

Published major works

* Pearson, Jonathan, ''A general catalogue of the officers, graduates and students of Union College from 1795 to 1854.'' (Schenectady : printed by S. S. Riggs, 1854) * Pearson, Jonathan, ''Early records of the city and county of Albany, and colony of Rensselaerswyck (1656-1675)'' (Albany, N.Y. : J. Munsell, 1869) (Four volumes) * Pearson, Jonathan, ''Contributions for the genealogies of the first settlers of the ancient county of Albany, from 1630 to 1800.'' (Albany, J. Munsell, 1872) * Pearson, Jonathan, ''Two hundredth anniversary of the First Reformed Protestant Dutch church, of Schenectady, N. Y., June 20th and 21st ... 1880.'' (Schenectady : Daily and Weekly Union Steam Printing House, 1880) * Jonathan Pearson, A. M. and others, edited by J. W. MacMurray. ''A History of the Schenectady Patent in the Dutch and English Times; being contributions toward a history of the lower Mohawk Valley'' (Albany, NY: J. Munsell's Sons, Printers, 1883) * Jonathan Pearson, and Harold C. Martin (editor) ''The diary of Jonathan Pearson.'' (Schenectady: Union College Press, 2004)

Unpublished sources

His diaries are held by the Union College library.

Legacy

Pearson appears to be best known as a local historian who was particularly focused upon the history of Schenectady. He was also a plant collector and accomplished

, and was particularly interested in the local flora of his town.

Botanical collections

A small number of specimens collected by Pearson are held by the National Herbarium of Victoria

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria are botanical garden, botanic gardens across two sites–Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, Melbourne and Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Cranbourne. Melbourne Gardens was founded in 1846 when land was rese ...

, and the

National Museum of Natural History, France The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...

. His collecting labels are identifiable through their Latinisation; Pearson is identified as ''Iona. Pearson'' and his collections are from ''Schenectadiae, Nov. Ebor.'' MNHN-P-P00328454

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, Jonathan 1813 births 1887 deaths American botanists American historians Plant collectors 19th-century naturalists