Henry Perrine
Encyclopedia
Henry Perrine was a physician
, horticulturist, United States
Consul
in Campeche, Campeche
, Mexico
, and an enthusiast for introducing tropical
plant
s into cultivation in the United States.
Henry Edward Perrine was born April 5, 1797 at either New Brunswick, New Jersey
or Cranbury, New Jersey, a son of Peter and Sarah Rozengrant Perrine, and a descendant of Daniel Perrin
, "The Huguenot
". He taught school for two years while still a youth, studied medicine
, and then at age 22 moved to Ripley, Illinois
where he practiced medicine for five years, while also helping with the Underground Railroad
in the area. In 1821 he was accidentally poisoned with arsenic
, from which he never fully recovered. He married Ann Fuller Townsend in 1822 while living in Illinois.
Cold weather particularly bothered Perrine after his arsenic poisoning, and in 1824 he moved to Natchez, Mississippi
(leaving his family in Illinois) in the hope that the climate would aid his recovery. He began studying herbs and medicinal plants while in Natchez. Malaria was common in the Natchez area, and Perrine began studying the use of quinine
to treat it. He published the results of his research in the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences in 1826, and that report remained an important source on the subject for a century. In 1825 Perrine and his family moved to his wife Ann's hometown of Sodus, New York
. Believing that he needed to move to a climate even warmer than that of Natchez, Perrine had applied in 1824 for a diplomatic position in a tropical country. In 1827 he sent copies of his report on the use of quinine to Washington. Shortly thereafter he was appointed United States Consul in Campeche, Mexico, where he served for ten years.
Soon after Perrine arrived in Campeche, the United States Treasury Department asked all U. S. Consuls to find useful plants that could be introduced to the United States. Perrine began investigating tropical crops for introduction into the United States. He sent seeds and plants to people he corresponded with in the southern United States, and to the New York Botanical Garden
. Perrine was the only U.S. Consul to respond to the Treasury Department's request, and newspapers in the United States began writing about his work. Through correspondence with Captain DeBose, the keeper at the Cape Florida Light
, with Charles Howe, postmaster and inspector of customs at Indian Key
and with William A. Whitehead, mayor of Key West, Florida
, Perrine became convinced that the southern tip of Florida was the only place in the United States suitable for the introduction of tropical plants. While still in Campeche and on his return to the United States, he campaigned for a land grant on which he could start a plant introduction station. Upon his return to the United States, Perrine was offered a site in Louisiana
for his plant introduction station, but he rejected it, believing that only southern Florida offered the necessary climate conditions. Perrine, Judge James Webb of Key West and Charles Howe of Indian Key incorporated the Tropical Plant Company, which was chartered by the state of Florida in 1838. Also in 1838, the United States Congress
granted Perrine his request for a survey township
(36 sq. mi.) in southern Florida.
While waiting for hostilities with the Seminoles
to die down so that his land grant could be surveyed and settled, Perrine had in late 1838 taken up residence with his family on Indian Key in the Florida Keys
. While resident on Indian Key Perrine started a tropical plant nursery on Lower Matecumbe Key
. He also visited the settlement at Key Vaca
to treat the Bahamians
living there, and to try to convince them to grow some of the tropical plants he was trying to establish in Florida. In April, 1840 Perrine spent several days on and near Cape Sable
planting seeds despite the presence of Seminoles in the area (his party could see the light of a campfire one night as they camped on the cape).
On August 7, 1840, Indians
attacked Indian Key. The Perrines were awoken by gunfire and shouts. Dr. Perrine sent his family into the space under the house and then covered the trap-door with a chest. Mrs. Perrine and the three children moved to the enclosed turtle crawl
under the wharf behind the house. They were able to take a boat that had been partly loaded with plunder by the Seminoles, and head for the United States Navy
base on nearby Tea Table Key
. They were chased by two Seminoles in a canoe, but were rescued by sailors in a whale boat. Dr. Perrine was killed in his house, which was burned by the Seminoles. Several other people on the island were also killed. Some bones found in the burned ruins of the Perrine house were buried on Lower Matecumbe Key.
Perrine had apparently selected Cape Sable
as the site of his grant, but after his death his widow successfully petitioned to have the grant transferred to the shore of Biscayne Bay
, and to remain with the Perrine family. Part of the Perrine Grant eventually became the community of Perrine, Florida
.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, horticulturist, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Consul
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in Campeche, Campeche
Campeche, Campeche
San Francisco de Campeche is the capital city of the Mexican state of Campeche, located at,...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and an enthusiast for introducing tropical
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s into cultivation in the United States.
Henry Edward Perrine was born April 5, 1797 at either New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick, New Jersey
New Brunswick is a city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, USA. It is the county seat and the home of Rutgers University. The city is located on the Northeast Corridor rail line, southwest of Manhattan, on the southern bank of the Raritan River. At the 2010 United States Census, the population of...
or Cranbury, New Jersey, a son of Peter and Sarah Rozengrant Perrine, and a descendant of Daniel Perrin
Daniel Perrin
Daniel Perrin was one of the first permanent European inhabitants of Staten Island, New York. Known as "The Huguenot", he arrived in New York Harbor from the Isle of Jersey on July 29, 1665 aboard the ship Philip, under the command of Philip Carteret...
, "The Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
". He taught school for two years while still a youth, studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
, and then at age 22 moved to Ripley, Illinois
Ripley, Illinois
Ripley is a village in Brown County, Illinois, along La Moine River. The population was 103 according to the year 2000 census.-Geography:Ripley is located at ....
where he practiced medicine for five years, while also helping with the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
in the area. In 1821 he was accidentally poisoned with arsenic
Arsenic
Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As, atomic number 33 and relative atomic mass 74.92. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in conjunction with sulfur and metals, and also as a pure elemental crystal. It was first documented by Albertus Magnus in 1250.Arsenic is a metalloid...
, from which he never fully recovered. He married Ann Fuller Townsend in 1822 while living in Illinois.
Cold weather particularly bothered Perrine after his arsenic poisoning, and in 1824 he moved to Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
(leaving his family in Illinois) in the hope that the climate would aid his recovery. He began studying herbs and medicinal plants while in Natchez. Malaria was common in the Natchez area, and Perrine began studying the use of quinine
Quinine
Quinine is a natural white crystalline alkaloid having antipyretic , antimalarial, analgesic , anti-inflammatory properties and a bitter taste. It is a stereoisomer of quinidine which, unlike quinine, is an anti-arrhythmic...
to treat it. He published the results of his research in the Philadelphia Journal of the Medical and Physical Sciences in 1826, and that report remained an important source on the subject for a century. In 1825 Perrine and his family moved to his wife Ann's hometown of Sodus, New York
Sodus, New York
Sodus, New York may refer to:*Sodus , New York in Wayne County*Sodus , New York in Wayne County...
. Believing that he needed to move to a climate even warmer than that of Natchez, Perrine had applied in 1824 for a diplomatic position in a tropical country. In 1827 he sent copies of his report on the use of quinine to Washington. Shortly thereafter he was appointed United States Consul in Campeche, Mexico, where he served for ten years.
Soon after Perrine arrived in Campeche, the United States Treasury Department asked all U. S. Consuls to find useful plants that could be introduced to the United States. Perrine began investigating tropical crops for introduction into the United States. He sent seeds and plants to people he corresponded with in the southern United States, and to the New York Botanical Garden
New York Botanical Garden
- See also :* Education in New York City* List of botanical gardens in the United States* List of museums and cultural institutions in New York City- External links :* official website** blog*...
. Perrine was the only U.S. Consul to respond to the Treasury Department's request, and newspapers in the United States began writing about his work. Through correspondence with Captain DeBose, the keeper at the Cape Florida Light
Cape Florida Light
The Cape Florida Light is a lighthouse on Cape Florida at the south end of Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was built in 1825 and operated, with interruptions, until 1878, when it was replaced by the Fowey Rocks lighthouse. The lighthouse was put back into use in 1978...
, with Charles Howe, postmaster and inspector of customs at Indian Key
Indian Key State Historic Site
Indian Key State Historic Site is an island within the Florida State Park system located just a few hundred yards southeast of U.S. 1 within the Florida Keys. The island was briefly inhabited in the middle of the 19th century, but is now an uninhabited ghost town...
and with William A. Whitehead, mayor of Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, Perrine became convinced that the southern tip of Florida was the only place in the United States suitable for the introduction of tropical plants. While still in Campeche and on his return to the United States, he campaigned for a land grant on which he could start a plant introduction station. Upon his return to the United States, Perrine was offered a site in Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
for his plant introduction station, but he rejected it, believing that only southern Florida offered the necessary climate conditions. Perrine, Judge James Webb of Key West and Charles Howe of Indian Key incorporated the Tropical Plant Company, which was chartered by the state of Florida in 1838. Also in 1838, the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
granted Perrine his request for a survey township
Survey township
Survey township, sometimes called Congressional township, as used by the United States Public Land Survey System, refers to a square unit of land, that is nominally six miles on a side...
(36 sq. mi.) in southern Florida.
While waiting for hostilities with the Seminoles
Second Seminole War
The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between various groups of Native Americans collectively known as Seminoles and the United States, part of a series of conflicts called the Seminole Wars...
to die down so that his land grant could be surveyed and settled, Perrine had in late 1838 taken up residence with his family on Indian Key in the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. While resident on Indian Key Perrine started a tropical plant nursery on Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys.It is located on U.S. 1 between mile markers 75--78.All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated....
. He also visited the settlement at Key Vaca
Key Vaca
Key Vaca is an island in the middle Florida Keys, located entirely within the borders of the city of Marathon, Florida. It is often incorrectly identified as "Marathon Key."- Geography :Key Vaca is located between Fat Deer Key and Knight's Key...
to treat the Bahamians
Demographics of the Bahamas
This article is about the demographic features of the population of The Bahamas, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population....
living there, and to try to convince them to grow some of the tropical plants he was trying to establish in Florida. In April, 1840 Perrine spent several days on and near Cape Sable
Cape Sable
Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...
planting seeds despite the presence of Seminoles in the area (his party could see the light of a campfire one night as they camped on the cape).
On August 7, 1840, Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
attacked Indian Key. The Perrines were awoken by gunfire and shouts. Dr. Perrine sent his family into the space under the house and then covered the trap-door with a chest. Mrs. Perrine and the three children moved to the enclosed turtle crawl
Pen (enclosure)
A pen is an enclosure for holding livestock. The term describes multiple types of enclosures that may confine one or many animals. Construction and terminology varies depending on region of the world, purpose, animal species to be confined, local materials used, and cultural tradition...
under the wharf behind the house. They were able to take a boat that had been partly loaded with plunder by the Seminoles, and head for the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
base on nearby Tea Table Key
Tea Table Key
Teatable Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys.It is located on U.S. 1 at mile marker 75.All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated....
. They were chased by two Seminoles in a canoe, but were rescued by sailors in a whale boat. Dr. Perrine was killed in his house, which was burned by the Seminoles. Several other people on the island were also killed. Some bones found in the burned ruins of the Perrine house were buried on Lower Matecumbe Key.
Perrine had apparently selected Cape Sable
Cape Sable
Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...
as the site of his grant, but after his death his widow successfully petitioned to have the grant transferred to the shore of Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay
Biscayne Bay is a lagoon that is approximately 35 miles long and up to 8 miles wide located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida, United States. It is usually divided for purposes of discussion and analysis into three parts: North Bay, Central Bay, and South Bay. Its area is...
, and to remain with the Perrine family. Part of the Perrine Grant eventually became the community of Perrine, Florida
Perrine, Florida
Perrine, Florida was an unincorporated community in Miami-Dade County about midway between Miami and Homestead. It is located at The community was named after Dr...
.