1698 William Vernon (c. 1666-1711) & David Krieg, (1667-1713) & the incredible role of the Anglican Church & the Temple Coffee-House Botany Club
William Vernon (c. 1666-1711) was a British botanist at Cambridge University, who collected in Maryland in 1698. Vernon hailed from Hertford, where he received his early education before entering Peterhouse College, Cambridge in 1685.
John Ray (1628-1705) one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists.
At that time he was befriended by John Ray (1628-1705) (compiler of Historia Plantarum: Species Hactenus Editas (1686–1704) - a catalog of plant taxonomy) & graduated with a BA in 1689.
After being named a fellow of the college in 1692, William Vernon took a leave of 4 years & visited the British American colonies in early 1698. The graduate of Cambridge University, Vernon was sent to Maryland especially for collecting specimens at the initiative of the Royal Society & the Temple Coffee-House Botany Club, & primarily the initiative of Sir Hans Sloane, (1660-1753), an Irish physician, naturalist & collector.
Demand among the researchers & collectors of London’s Botany Club for specimens from temperate North America was intense, especially between Botanist James Petiver's (1665-1718), a London apothecary & Fellow of the Royal Society, & Sloane.
Hans Sloane was a collector of curiosities
He traveled to the British American colony of Maryland at the same time as the German physician David Krieg, (1667-1713), & they collected plants, animals, fossils & shells in Maryland, although their movements remained separate. He returned in the winter of the same year.
Botanist James Petiver (1665-1718)
William Vernon arrived a week or two after Krieg. Both collected plants & insects in Maryland, particularly butterflies, birds & shellfish, for almost 5 months until the end of August or the beginning of September. Apparently a competitive rivalry prevailed between the two naturalists. William Vernon had been sent especially to collect specimens of natural history for a period of several years but in the summer of 1698, he found out that his patron – the governor of Maryland – was to be transferred to the post of governor of Virginia, & Vernon decided to return to England in the autumn of that same year.
Many of Vernon's specimens were distributed among the clergy, including to Archbishop Thomas Tenison (1636–1715) & Bishop Henry Compton (1632-1713) as well as Sir Hans Sloane. Sloane traveled to the Caribbean in 1687, documenting his travels & findings with extensive writing years later. Sloane was ended his collecting by bequeathing 71,000 items to the British nation, providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library & the Natural History Museum, London.
Archbishop Thomas Tenison (1636-1715) by Robert White National Portrait Gallery London
Thomas Tenison (1636–1715), archbishop of Canterbury, was born in Cambridgeshire, to John Tenison (1599–1671), curate of the parish there, & Mercy, daughter of Thomas Dowsing. Tenison had been educated at Norwich School, & in April 1653, he had entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge graduating BA in 1657. Tenison received his MA in 1660 (at Oxford in June 1664), & proceeded to earn his BD in 1667 & DD in 1680. Amidst all of the political tensions of his tenure, he made time to cultivate a deep interest in the church's mission overseas, & in promoting the need for oversight by bishops in the American colonies.
William Vernon's & David Krieg's specimens were sent from Sloane to John Ray who struggled to identify many of them & sorted them by taxa, regardless of collector, so that now it is difficult to tell which was collected by which. They were, however, of some use to Ray in the final volume of his Historia Plantarum (1704).
On his return the Royal Society awarded Vernon 20 pounds to collect in the Canary Islands in early 1699, but poor Vernon missed the ship & with another not due until the end of the year, he settled for collecting in Kent. A member of the botanical club which met at the Temple Coffee House in London at the turn of the century, little is known of his activities after he returned to Cambridge in 1702. He did continue to collect plants in the Cambridge area & began to specialize in the mosses, assisting Ray with the cryptogamic sections of his Historia Plantarum (1686-1704).
See
Arvo Tering. Contacts in natural sciences between Riga & England in 1660–1710
G.F. Frick, 1987, "Botanical explorations & discoveries in colonial Maryland, 1688-1753", Huntia, 7: 5-59
M. Lawley, "William Vernon", The British Bryological Society
He traveled to the British American colony of Maryland at the same time as the German physician David Krieg, (1667-1713), & they collected plants, animals, fossils & shells in Maryland, although their movements remained separate. He returned in the winter of the same year.
Botanist James Petiver (1665-1718), was a London apothecary & Fellow of the Royal Society. His tenant David Krieg appeared to be an ideal collector of specimens for Petiver with his excellent knowledge of nature & skill in drawing. Krieg, a German physician & botanist, was a native of Schwarzenberg in Saxony & studied at the University of Leipzig (1691-1694). He moved to London in 1696. Staying with the apothecary & botanist James Petiver, Krieg joined members of the Temple Coffee House Botany Club & visited Oxford, Cambridge & Essex where he met with John Ray.
Petiver was born in Hillmorton, Warwickshire, where his father was a haberdasher, he studied at Rugby Free School & became an apprentice to an apothecary in London, supplying medicine to St. Bartholomew's Hospital. Petiver visited the Netherlands in 1711, to study with Dutch scholars. Petiver received many specimens from correspondents in the American & British colonies. After his death, his collections were purchased by Sir Hans Sloane for £4000, & some of it is now in the Natural History Museum in London.
Interior of a London Coffee-house 17C detail
When William Vernon (c. 1666-1711) was sent by the Royal Society & the Temple Coffee-House Botany Club to America to collect specimens, David Krieg also went to America at Petiver’s initiative in order to supplement Petiver’s natural history collections & if possible also the collections of other club members. The pair of collectors traveled separately, but under the patronage of Petiver & Sloane & it is reported that there was a healthy rivalry between them.
When William Vernon (c. 1666-1711) was sent by the Royal Society & the Temple Coffee-House Botany Club to America to collect specimens, David Krieg also went to America at Petiver’s initiative in order to supplement Petiver’s natural history collections & if possible also the collections of other club members. The pair of collectors traveled separately, but under the patronage of Petiver & Sloane & it is reported that there was a healthy rivalry between them.
Krieg sailed to America on the ship John & Thomas in the winter of 1697/98, earning his fare as the ship's doctor. The ship arrived at the mouth of the Virginia River at the end of March. At first, Krieg collected specimens in the region of the Choptank River for at least the first 6 weeks. Krieg covered his living costs while there by treating planters as a doctor, receiving remuneration in tobacco. On a number of occasions, he also served as an expert in forensic pathology.
William Vernon arrived a week or two after Krieg. Both collected plants & insects in Maryland, particularly butterflies, birds & shellfish, for almost 5 months until the end of August or the beginning of September. Apparently a competitive rivalry prevailed between the two naturalists. William Vernon had been sent especially to collect specimens of natural history for a period of several years but in the summer of 1698, he found out that his patron – the governor of Maryland – was to be transferred to the post of governor of Virginia, & Vernon decided to return to England in the autumn of that same year.
David Krieg had planned on staying in Maryland for only one growing season. He set about intensively collecting specimens immediately upon his arrival. Krieg was able to set sail in September, arriving in London in November. The result was recognition by the members of the Botany Club. The spring plants that he had collected were especially valued. Krieg spent the winter of 1698/99 in London. On 11 January 1699, Krieg was elected as a Royal Society fellow upon the recommendation of both Sloane & Petiver. In the meantime, the specimins that had been collected in
Maryland were distributed to the collectors who had ordered them at a session of the Temple Coffee-House Botany Club. Most of what Krieg had collected went to Petiver.
Many of Vernon's specimens were distributed among the clergy, including to Archbishop Thomas Tenison (1636–1715) & Bishop Henry Compton (1632-1713) as well as Sir Hans Sloane. Sloane traveled to the Caribbean in 1687, documenting his travels & findings with extensive writing years later. Sloane was ended his collecting by bequeathing 71,000 items to the British nation, providing the foundation of the British Museum, the British Library & the Natural History Museum, London.
Thomas Tenison (1636–1715), archbishop of Canterbury, was born in Cambridgeshire, to John Tenison (1599–1671), curate of the parish there, & Mercy, daughter of Thomas Dowsing. Tenison had been educated at Norwich School, & in April 1653, he had entered Corpus Christi College, Cambridge graduating BA in 1657. Tenison received his MA in 1660 (at Oxford in June 1664), & proceeded to earn his BD in 1667 & DD in 1680. Amidst all of the political tensions of his tenure, he made time to cultivate a deep interest in the church's mission overseas, & in promoting the need for oversight by bishops in the American colonies.
Tenison encouraged Thomas Bray in founding the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (1701). The society initially aimed to win American colonists back to the church, & only then to convert native Americans. Tenison was often directly involved in its activities. When 4 Iroquois native American princes went to London in April 1710, he presided over a special committee concerning them.
Though it was the bishop of London who officially licensed missionaries Tenison, even as late as 1710, insisted on vetting their credentials himself & meeting them personally before their departure. He encouraged missionaries to send him reports, including natural history, from America.
He was elected vice-chancellor of William & Mary College, Virginia. His friend John Evelyn, (1620-1706), English writer & gardener wrote that he had not met "a man of a more universal & generous spirit, with so much modesty, prudence & piety." Meticulous both academically & administratively Tenison was a bibliophile, he opened libraries & founded schools, 3 of which, in Kennsington, Croydon, & Lambeth, still bear his name.
Bishop Henry Compton, was another clergy with whom Vernon established a correspondence. As bishop of London, Compton encouraged the newly founded Society for the Propagation of the Gospel & missionary work in America. Compton was celebrated for his flower-filled garden at Fulham Palace. There were few botanical gardens in London at this time.
Bishop of London Henry Compton (1632-1713)
A serious student of botany, Bishop Compton was keen to import rare species. As Bishop of London, Compton was responsible for the Church of England overseas, including colonies in the Americas. He arranged for ministers to be sent to the American colonies as supply priests or missionaries who might send back American plant seeds & specimens which Compton would then attempt to grow at Fulham Palace. The fame of the Bishop's garden spread & visitors (including John Evelyn in 1681) came to Fulham
Palace to inspect the trees, & over a thousand "exotics" were grown in stove-houses. Compton also received seeds from other parts of the world & was part of a group of botanical enthusiasts who met at the Temple Coffee house to exchange information & seeds. One of Compton’s Fulham Palace gardeners was George London (c1640–1714) who became a nurseryman & garden designer & went on to found the nursery of London & Wise at Brompton.
William Vernon's & David Krieg's specimens were sent from Sloane to John Ray who struggled to identify many of them & sorted them by taxa, regardless of collector, so that now it is difficult to tell which was collected by which. They were, however, of some use to Ray in the final volume of his Historia Plantarum (1704).
On his return the Royal Society awarded Vernon 20 pounds to collect in the Canary Islands in early 1699, but poor Vernon missed the ship & with another not due until the end of the year, he settled for collecting in Kent. A member of the botanical club which met at the Temple Coffee House in London at the turn of the century, little is known of his activities after he returned to Cambridge in 1702. He did continue to collect plants in the Cambridge area & began to specialize in the mosses, assisting Ray with the cryptogamic sections of his Historia Plantarum (1686-1704).
See
Arvo Tering. Contacts in natural sciences between Riga & England in 1660–1710
G.F. Frick, 1987, "Botanical explorations & discoveries in colonial Maryland, 1688-1753", Huntia, 7: 5-59
M. Lawley, "William Vernon", The British Bryological Society
