Dr. Joseph Stayman (October 7, 1817 - October 4, 1903) was an American

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 ...

. He was widely known among 19th century horticulturalists in

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 th ...

, and it was through his influence the Kansas State Horticultural Society was organized in 1866. He left the practice of medicine at an early age to specialize in horticultural research and experimentation, developing numerous varieties of apples, strawberries, and grapes in his Leavenworth orchards. His goal was to learn which varieties of apples and other fruits were most suited to the soil and climate of northeast Kansas, the region being one of two in the state where fruit trees were grown extensively in the late 19th century. Dr. Stayman oversaw two orchards containing some 3,000 trees.

Birth and early life

Dr. Stayman was born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania on October 7, 1817. He moved with his parents to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 1839 being associated with his fathers milling business but meanwhile studying medicine and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

. In 1849 he was married and established a residence in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Several years later he moved to

Abingdon, Illinois Abingdon is a city in Knox County, Illinois, United States, west of Peoria. It is part of the Galesburg Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city was first settled in 1828 and was incorporated in 1857. In june of 1907, the patent for the commo ...

, where he practiced medicine. In 1858, he purchased a nursery business, and two years later decided to move to Kansas. The pioneer fruit grower took up residence at Maple Avenue and Santa Fe, and devoted the remainder of his life to the development and improvement of various strains of fruit. He originated the Clyde strawberry as well as several varieties of grapes, apples and raspberries. Dr. Stayman studied the drawing of fruit varieties, and his sketches were regarded as extremely precise. These sketches were given to the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

He was one of the founders of the Leavenworth County Horticultural Society, serving as its secretary for many years.

Kansas State Horticultural Society

In 1866, with William Tanner, his neighbor on Maple Avenue, he helped organize the Kansas State Horticultural Society. The organizational papers for the KSHS were drawn up in Dr. Stayman's residence by Stayman and Tanner, who served as the KSHS’ first president. Dr. Stayman was also associated with the Grange and the Leavenworth County Agricultural Society. He experimented with grafting fruit trees and at one time had an apple tree which bore sixteen varieties, the result of multiple grafting. He introduced the Stayman apple in 1866.

Other hobbies

His hobby of checkers also brought him national attention. He was widely known among the most accomplished checkers players in America. Dr. Stayman competed with other checkers hobbyists, playing games by correspondence in matches which would last as long as a year at a time.

References

''Extracted from a publication entitled They Came This Way by J.H. Johnston III available at the Leavenworth County Historical Society.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stayman, Joseph 1817 births American horticulturists Pomologists 1903 deaths People from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania People from Carlisle, Pennsylvania People from Abingdon, Illinois People from Leavenworth, Kansas 19th-century American botanists Scientists from Pennsylvania Scientists from Illinois Scientists from Kansas