The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 88, July 1984 - April, 1985 Page: 11
476 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Ecology of the Red River in 18o6
of American zoology. Unfortunately for Wilson, the search for a natu-
ralist had been over for at least a month by the time Bartram's letter
reached the president.25
Documents relating to the search are few and sketchy. We do not
know, for example, how many of the two dozen or so senior students
working with Barton at Pennsylvania applied, nor do we know
whether the position was offered to such people as William Darling-
ton, a prize pupil of two years before who was still in the Philadelphia
area, or Frederick Pursh, who explored the central Appalachians for
Barton that same spring. What is known is that in the first week of
18o6, Freeman and Barton decided that they could do no better than
to offer the post to young Peter Custis, a senior student in the medical
program at Pennsylvania. Only twenty-five, Custis was a native of
Deep Creek, on the Virginia peninsula. His family was related by
marriage to the Byrds, Randolphs, Lees, and the late president George
Washington. Little is known of Custis's early life, except that he ap-
parently asked his father to sell at least part of the family estate so
that he might receive "a Latin education"and "be brought up to one
of the learned professions." 26
25Bartram to Jefferson, Feb. 6, 18o6, TJP. The letter from Wilson, which Bartram
said was enclosed, is missing from TJP, and this author doubts that Jefferson ever
saw it. Wilson's early biographer, George Ord, however, castigated Jefferson for ignoring
Wilson's appeal to go on a western expedition. George Ord, "Biographical Sketch of
Alexander Wilson," Alexander Wilson, American Ornithology; or, The Natural History
of the Birds of the United States (9 vols.; Philadelphia, 1808-1814), IX, xxx-xxxiii. In
later years Dearborn and Jefferson were confused about this incident. Their correspon-
dence is in Donald Jackson (ed.), The Journals of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, with Let-
ters and Related Documents (2 vols.; Norman, 1966), II, 191-392, 393-394. Jefferson ap-
parently was unable to recall his 1805-1806 planning of the Red River expedition; the
only expedition he could remember for 18o06 was the Pike expedition. Wilson's letter is
quoted in Jackson (ed.), Journals of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, II, 389, note 1.
A modern biographer, similarly confused, charged Wilson with "imprudence" in dis-
closing a state secret about Pike's military venture. See Robert Cantwell, Alexander Wil-
son, Naturalist and Pioneer . . . (Philadelphia, 1961), 135. The Pike tour, however, was
mounted by James Wilkinson rather than Jefferson and had not even been planned early
in 18o6. See Wilkinson's letter to Jefferson in Jackson (ed.), Journals of Zebulon Mont-
gomery Pike, II, 390, and Dearborn's letter to Jefferson, ibid., 393-394. This mistake
points up the obscurity of the Red River expedition, even among its contemporaries.
26Information on William Darlington is from an unsigned article in the American
Philosophical Society Proceedings, IX (1863-1864), 330-343. For Pursh, who wrote Flora
Americae Septentrionales, see Johnson and Malone (eds.), Dictionary of American Biog-
raphy, XV, 271. Sources on Custis's early life include Accomack County Deeds for 1804,
PP- 55, 59 (Ocancock Courthouse, Va.), and Stratton Nottingham (ed. and comp.), Wills
and Administrations, Accomack County, Virginia, 1663-z8oo (Cottonport, Va., 1973), 346
(quotation). General information on the Custis family and its connections (including de-
tails on Daniel Parke Custis, first husband of Martha Dandridge Washington) may be
found in Douglas Southall Freeman et al., George Washington: A Biography (7 vols.;
New York, 1948-1957), especially volume II, 278-302, and in Thomas T. Upshur, "Hill
and Custis," The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, III (June, 1896), 319-321.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 88, July 1984 - April, 1985, periodical, 1984/1985; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101210/m1/33/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.