Henry Shimer
Encyclopedia
Henry Shimer was a naturalist
and physician
in Mount Carroll
, Illinois
. He was also a teacher at the Mount Carroll Seminary
, which later became Shimer College
, and was the husband of the seminary's founder, Frances Shimer
.
Shimer was born in 1828 in West Vincent in Chester County, Pennsylvania
. He worked as a stonemason in his youth, and took up teaching at the age of 18.
In March 1854, Shimer left Pennsylvania and traveled west to Mount Carroll, Illinois
after a failed love affair. He may have done work on the construction or expansion of the Mount Carroll Seminary, for which the owners were unable to pay him.
On December 22, 1857, Henry Shimer married Frances Ann Wood
, the co-principal of the Mount Carroll Seminary. Their union was widely reputed to be a marriage of convenience
.
Shimer subsequently left for Chicago to study medicine. He graduated from the Chicago Medical College on March 1, 1866. Shimer also obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago by examination.
In the 1880s, Shimer became wealthy by speculating on real estate in Iowa, allegedly inspired by a dream. At the time of his death his estate was worth approximately $200,000.
On July 28, 1895, Henry Shimer committed suicide, either with a revolver
or by hanging
. He had amended his will five days previously to leave his entire fortune to his wife, leaving his mother and sister destitute. In a highly publicized trial, the will was successfully contested.
Shimer was a prolific entomologist, and published widely, describing a number of novel species and genera. He also served for a time as the assistant State Entomologist of Illinois. In addition, he was an expert taxidermist
, and had a collection of over 1000 mounted birds. His collections were provided to the seminary for educational purposes.
Shimer traveled widely within the United States, stopping along the way to work as a stonemason. He sometimes covered more than a thousand miles on foot. He is said to have worn boots at all times.
Naturalist
Naturalist may refer to:* Practitioner of natural history* Conservationist* Advocate of naturalism * Naturalist , autobiography-See also:* The American Naturalist, periodical* Naturalism...
and physician
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...
in Mount Carroll
Mount Carroll, Illinois
Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States-History:Shimer College was established in Mt. Carroll in 1853, but mounting debts forced a move to Waukegan, Illinois in 1979. The campus now is home to several organizations, most notably the Campbell Center for Historic...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He was also a teacher at the Mount Carroll Seminary
Mount Carroll Seminary
The Mount Carroll Seminary was the name of Shimer College from 1853 to 1896. The Seminary was located in Mount Carroll, Illinois, in the United States. A pioneering institution in its time and place, the Mount Carroll Seminary served as a center of culture and education in 19th-century...
, which later became Shimer College
Shimer College
Shimer College is a very small, private, undergraduate liberal arts college in Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. Founded by Frances Wood Shimer in 1853 in the frontier town of Mt. Carroll, Illinois, it was a women's school for most of its first century. It joined with the University of...
, and was the husband of the seminary's founder, Frances Shimer
Frances Shimer
Frances Shimer , born Frances Ann Wood, was an American educator. She was the founder of the Mount Carroll Seminary, which later became Shimer College, in Mount Carroll, Illinois...
.
Shimer was born in 1828 in West Vincent in Chester County, Pennsylvania
Chester County, Pennsylvania
-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...
. He worked as a stonemason in his youth, and took up teaching at the age of 18.
In March 1854, Shimer left Pennsylvania and traveled west to Mount Carroll, Illinois
Mount Carroll, Illinois
Mount Carroll is a city in Carroll County, Illinois, United States-History:Shimer College was established in Mt. Carroll in 1853, but mounting debts forced a move to Waukegan, Illinois in 1979. The campus now is home to several organizations, most notably the Campbell Center for Historic...
after a failed love affair. He may have done work on the construction or expansion of the Mount Carroll Seminary, for which the owners were unable to pay him.
On December 22, 1857, Henry Shimer married Frances Ann Wood
Frances Shimer
Frances Shimer , born Frances Ann Wood, was an American educator. She was the founder of the Mount Carroll Seminary, which later became Shimer College, in Mount Carroll, Illinois...
, the co-principal of the Mount Carroll Seminary. Their union was widely reputed to be a marriage of convenience
Marriage of convenience
A marriage of convenience is a marriage contracted for reasons other than the reasons of relationship, family, or love. Instead, such a marriage is orchestrated for personal gain or some other sort of strategic purpose, such as political marriage. The phrase is a calque of - a marriage of...
.
Shimer subsequently left for Chicago to study medicine. He graduated from the Chicago Medical College on March 1, 1866. Shimer also obtained a Master of Arts from the University of Chicago by examination.
In the 1880s, Shimer became wealthy by speculating on real estate in Iowa, allegedly inspired by a dream. At the time of his death his estate was worth approximately $200,000.
On July 28, 1895, Henry Shimer committed suicide, either with a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
or by hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
. He had amended his will five days previously to leave his entire fortune to his wife, leaving his mother and sister destitute. In a highly publicized trial, the will was successfully contested.
Shimer was a prolific entomologist, and published widely, describing a number of novel species and genera. He also served for a time as the assistant State Entomologist of Illinois. In addition, he was an expert taxidermist
Taxidermy
Taxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
, and had a collection of over 1000 mounted birds. His collections were provided to the seminary for educational purposes.
Shimer traveled widely within the United States, stopping along the way to work as a stonemason. He sometimes covered more than a thousand miles on foot. He is said to have worn boots at all times.
Published works
- 1865, "Description of the Imago and Larva of a New Species of Chrysopa", Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia
- 1867, "Description of a New Species of Aleyrodes", Transactions of the American Entomological Society http://books.google.com/books?id=YVoUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA281
- 1867, "Description of a New Species of Cecidomyia", Transactions of the American Entomological Society http://books.google.com/books?id=YVoUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA281
- 1867, "On a New Genus of Aphidae", Transactions of the American Entomological Society http://books.google.com/books?id=YVoUAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA283
- 1867, "Notes on the Apple Bark Louse (Lepidosaphes conchiformis), with a Description of a supposed new Acarus"
- 1867, "Notes on Micropus (Lygarus) leucopterus Say ('The chinch bug')", Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
- 1867, "Additional Note on the Chinch-Bug", Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
- 1867, "On a new genus in Homoptera (Section Monomera)", Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia
- 1868, "Descriptions of two Acarians bred from White Maple", Transactions of the American Entomological Society
- 1868, "Notes on Chermes pinicorticis (white pine louse)", Transactions of the American Entomological Society
- 1868, "A Summer's Study of the Hickory Galls, with Descriptions of supposed New Species bred therefrom", Transactions of the American Entomological Society
- 1868, "The Wavy-Striped Flea Beetle", The American Naturalist
- 1869, "Insects Injurious to the Potato", The American Naturalist
- 1872, "Additional Notes on the Striped Squash Beetle", The American Naturalist http://books.google.com/books?id=qm4WAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA217
- 1891, "Consciousness in Protoplasm", The Microscope http://books.google.com/books?id=1rYfAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA353