Martha Daniell Logan

Martha Daniell Logan
Born (1704-12-29)December 29, 1704
St. Thomas Parish, South Carolina
Died June 28, 1779(1779-06-28) (aged 74)
Charleston, South Carolina
Fields Botany
Known for Seed exchange
Plant collecting
Spouse George Logan, Jr.

Martha Daniell Logan (29 December 1704 - 28 June 1779) was an early American botanist who was instrumental in seed exchanges between Britain and the North American colonies. She wrote an influential gardening advice column and was a major collection of plants endemic to the Carolinas.

Early life and education

Born in St. Thomas Parish, South Carolina, on 29 December 1704, to a wealthy family, Martha Daniell was taught to read and write by a private tutor. Her father, Robert Daniell, was a prominent merchant and the governor of South Carolina. Daniell married George Logan, Jr. at the age of 14 and moved to a plantation near Charleston, South Carolina, where she cared for her family of six surviving children and began her botanical collections in the nearby woods.[1]

Career

George Logan died in 1742, and the financial difficulty this engendered spurred Martha to begin semi-anonymously writing a column called "Gardener's Kalendar" for the South Carolina Gazette in 1751. Though further financial trouble caused her to have to sell her plantation, in 1753 Martha Logan moved to Charleston and sold rare seeds and roots and delved more seriously into her studies of botany.[2] She continued to collect plants, seeds, and other botanical materials, and also began to correspond extensively with the royal botanist at the time, John Bartram. Bartram, stationed in Philadelphia, exchanged samples and communicated regularly with Logan.[1]

Logan died in Charleston at the age of 75, on the 28 June 1779.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2002). International Encyclopedia of Women Scientists. Facts on File. ISBN 0-8160-4381-7.
  2. ↑ Hershey, David, R. (Apr–June 1992). "Notable Women in the History of Horticulture". HortTechnology 2 (2): 180–182. Check date values in: |date= (help);
  3. ↑ Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie & Joy Dorothy Harvey (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. p. 799. ISBN 041592040X. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
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