Harper's Encyclopedia of United States History
Benson Lossing, Ed.

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Bartram, William, 1739-1823

Naturalist; born in Kingsessing, Pa., Feb. 9, 1739. He engaged in business in North Carolina in 1761, and became a devoted student of natural history. Son of John Bartram, a distinguished botanist, and the founder of the first botanical garden in the United States. William accompanied his father, when the latter was seventy years of age, in a botanical excursion and exploration of east Florida, and resided some time on the banks of the St. John River, returning home in 1771. He was employed by Dr. Fothergill, of London, in 1773-78, in botanical explorations and collections in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Mr. Bartram was a member of the American Philosophical Society and other scientific associations in the United States and Europe. In 1790 he published an account of his travels in the Gulf region, in which he gave an account of the Creek. Choctaw, and Cherokee indians. Mr. Bartram made the most complete table of American ornithology previous to the work of Wilson, and to him we are indebted for a knowledge of many curious and beautiful plants peculiar to North America. He died in Kingsessing, Pa., July 22, 1823.