History of Sauquoit, (Oneida County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Asa Gray, botanist, was born at Sanquoit, Oneida county, N.Y., Nov. 18, 1810; son of Moses and Roxana (Howard) Gray; grandson of Moses Wiley and Sally (Miller) Gray; great-grandson of Robert and Sarah (Wiley) Gray; and great, great-grandson of John Gray, who emigrated from Londonderry, province of Ulster, Ireland, in 1718, and settled in Worcester, Mass. He was sent to a district school at the age of three years and at odd times helped in the work of his father's tannery, being entrusted as he grew older with feeding the bark mill and driving the horse which turned the mill. When twelve years old he was sent to the Clinton grammar school and from there was transferred to Fairfleld academy. While at the academy he attended the chemistry lectures of Prof. James Hadley at the Medical college, and in 1826 he entered upon the study of medicine at that college, graduating in 1831. In the meantime he had become interested in the subject of botany from reading an article in Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopedia, had begun an herbarium, and had entered into a correspondence with Dr. John Torrey. In 1831 he was invited to deliver a course of botanical lectures at the Fairfield medical college, and several months later was appointed professor of natural sciences at a school kept by a Mr. Bartlett in Utica, N.Y. Until 1835 he taught chemistry, mineralogy, and botany to boys, devoting summer vacations to botanizing in central New York, northeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In the summer of 1834 he took Professor Hadley's place at Hamilton college, Clinton, N.Y., and gave a course of instruction in botany and mineralogy. The following winter he obtained leave of absence from the Bartlett school to assist Dr. John Torrey during a course of chemical lectures at the College of physicians and surgeons in New York city. In December, 1834, he read before the New York Lyceum of natural history, a paper on the new or rare plants of the state of New York, which attracted the attention of scientists and led to a long series of contributions to the American, Journal of Science. In 1835, while spending the sum met at his father's farm, he planned and partly wrote Elements of Botany which was published in 1836 and brought him $150. This book was adopted in schools and for a long time was the only text book on botany in popular use. In the autumn of 1836 he became curator of the Lyceum of natural history in New York. The same year he was appointed botanist of the Wilkes exploring expedition to the South Pacific, but owing to the delay in starting the expedition he resigned the position in 1838 to accept the chair of botany and zo?logy in the University of Michigan. The trustees gave him a year's leave of absence in Europe with a salary of $1500 for that year and put into his hands $5000 with which to lay a foundation for their general library. At Glasgow he was the guest of Dr. (later, Sir) William J. Hooker, who gave him letters of introduction to several eminent European botanists. On his return home the University of Michigan gave him another furlough without pay, and he turned his attention to the writing of parts III. and IV. of "Flora of North America," parts I. and II. of which had been published in 1838 in collaboration with Dr. John Torrey. In the summer of 1841 he went on a botanical trip up the valley of Virginia to the mountains of North Carolina, and in January, 1842, he made his first visit to Boston, Mass. During this visit he dined with President Quincy of Harvard, who later used his influence to secure the appointment of Dr. Gray to the Fisher chair of natural history. In 1842 Dr. Gray resigned his position at the University of Michigan and in the spring of the same year entered upon his duties at Harvard university, where he remained during the rest of his life, being relieved by the appointment of George L. Goodale as associate in 1872; Charles S. Sargent, to the care of the botanic garden in 1873, and Dr. Sereno Watson as curator of the herbarium in 1874. He created the botanical department of Harvard university and in 1864 presented to the university his herbarium of about 200,000 specimens and library of 2200 volumes on condition that a fireproof building be provided for their reception, which building was erected by means of a donation from Nathaniel Thayer of Boston. Dr. Gray was elected a fellow of the American academy of arts and sciences in 1841; was its president in 1863-73; was also president of the American association for the advancement of science in 1871, and in 1874 succeeded Louis Agassiz as a regent of the Smithsonian institution. He was one of the charter members of the National academy of sciences, and besides his connection with learned societies in the United States he was elected a corresponding or an honorary member of the more prominent scientific societies of Europe. In 1848 he was married to Jane, daughter of Charles Greely Loring of Boston, Mass. The degree of A.M. was conferred on him by Harvard in 1844, and that of LL.D. by Hamilton in 1864, by Harvard in 1875, by McGill in 1884, and by the University of Michigan in 1887. During his last visit to Europe in 1887 he received from Cambridge the degree of D.Sc., from Edinburgh that of LL.D., and from Oxford that of D.C.L. Dr. Gray reported on the collections of the U.S. government exploring expeditions, including those made by the Wilkes (1854) Perry (1857) and Rogers (1859) expeditions. He contributed largely to periodicals, was on the editorial staff of the American Journal of Science for years, and wrote biographical sketches of many eminent scientists. His numerous publications include: Elements of Botany (1836); the unfinished Flora of North America, the publication of which was begun in 1838 by himself and Dr. Torrey and in which the classifications were made according to the natural but hitherto disregarded basis of affinity; Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States (1848, 5th ed., 1867); Genera of the Plants of the United States, illustrated (2 vols., 1848-49); Botany of the United States Pacific Exploring Expedition (1854); First Lessons in Botany and Vegetable Physiology (1857); How Plants Grow (1858); Free Examination of Darwin's Treatise (1861); Field, Forest and Garden Botany (1868); How Plants Behave (1872); Darwiniana (1876); Synoptical Flora of North America (1878, 1884); Structural Botany or Organography with basis of Morphology (1879); and Natural Science and Religion (1880). For complete bibliography of Dr. Gray see the American Journal of Science [p.378] (1888); William G. Farlow's Memorial (1888); Letters edited by Jane Loring Gray (1893). Gray received a Place in the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, New York university, 1900. Our illustration is drawn from the Harvard tablet in bronze, executed by Augustus St. Gaudens in 1884. He died in Cambridge, Mass., Jan. 30, 1888.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Samuel Fitch Hotchkin, clergyman and author, was born in Sauquoit, N.Y., April 2, 1833; son of the Rev. Beriah Bishop and Elizabeth Alice (Fitch) Hotchkin; grandson of the Rev. James Hervey and Rebecca (Hall) Hotchkin and of Samuel and Harriet Pamela (Jacob) Fitch; and a descendant of John Hotchkin, who came to. Guilford, Conn., from Essex, England, about 1648, was married in 1670 to Mary Bisbop and died in January, 1681-82. Samuel Fitch Hotchkin was graduated at Trinity college (Conn.), A.B., 1856, A.M., 1860, and at the General Theological seminary in 1860. He was ordained deacon in 1860, and priest in 1861. He was rector of the Church of the Ascension, Claymont, Del., Grace and Calvary churches, Brandywine Hundred, Del., and Trinity church, Red Bank, Monmouth county, N.J., and in 1877 became rector of St. Luke the Beloved Physician, Welsh road, Bustleton, Philadelphia, Pa. He served as registrar of the diocese of Philadelphia for several years. He is the author of: A Pocket Gazetteer of Pennsylvania (1887); Ancient and Modern Germantown (1889); Early Clergy of Pennsylvania and Delaware (1890); Country Clergy of Pennsylvania (1890); Mornings of the Bible (1890); The York Road, Old and New, Fox Chase and Bustleton (1892); Dark Cave Lightened (1893); The Bristol Pike (1893); Rural Pennsylvania (1897); A Splendid Inheritance (1898); The Giving Saviour (1898); The Unseen Christ (1899), and contributions to periodicals.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

Arthur Cushman McGiffert, educator, was born in Sauquoit, N.Y., March 4, 1861; son of Joseph Nelson and Harriet Whiting (Cushman) McGiffert; grandson of James and Martha (Nelson) McGiffert and of Ralph and Sophia (Moseley) Cushman, and a descendant of Robert Cushman, who came to Plymouth in the Fortune, and of Isaac Allerton, who came in the Mayflower. He was graduated from Western Reserve university, A.B., 1882, A.M., 1885, and from Union Theological seminary, New York, in 1885. He studied at the University of Berlin, 1885-86; at the University of Marburg, 1886-87, and in Paris and Rome, 1887-88. He was ordained by the presbytery of Cleveland, Sept. 10, 1888; was instructor in church history at the Lane Theological seminary, Cincinnati, 1888-90, professor, 1890-93, and became professor of church history at Union Theological seminary in 1893. In 1898 the general assembly of the Presbyterian church preferred charges against him based on his book, "A History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age," which they claimed to be heretical. The assembly requested him to reconsider his views, and if he felt unable to renounce them to leave the church voluntarily. This he declined to do, on the ground that his teachings were not inconsistent with the underlying principles of the Presbyterian church. In December, 1899, the New York presbytery voted that the best interests of the church required the presbytery to disavow Dr. McGiffert's teachings but to pursue no further action against him, and in April, 1900, he entered the Congregational church. He took the degree of Ph.D. at the University of Marburg in 1888 and the honorary degree of D.D. was conferred upon him by Adelbert college in 1892. He is the author of: A Dialogue between a Christian and a Jew (1889); The Church History of Eusebius (1890); Primitive and Catholic Christianity (1893); A History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age (1897); History and Theology (1898); The Problem of Christian Creeds as Affected by Modern Thought (1901), and numerous contributions to magazines and reviews.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor