Alfred Edwin Eaton
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Alfred Edwin Eaton (1 December 1844 – 23 March 1929) was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
man and
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
. He served as the
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
of
Shepton Montague Shepton Montague is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the River Pitt midway between Wincanton, Bruton and Castle Cary. It is known for its dairy farming and one of the country's main centres of o ...
in
Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
. His main interests among
insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...
s were the
Diptera Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advance ...
and Ephemeroptera.


Biography


Family and Ecclesiastical Life

Eaton's parents were Clergyman Richard Storks Eaton (c.1803–1865) and Sophia Abraham (c.1806–1875), who were married at Teignmouth on 17 April 1833. Richard was the Rector of
Little Bredy Littlebredy (also written Little Bredy, pronounced ) is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated approximately west of the county town Dorchester. It is sited at the head of the valley of the small River Bri ...
, Dorset and Curate of
Compton Abbas Compton Abbas is a village and civil parish in north Dorset, England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, ...
. Before Alfred was born, Richard and Sophia had four other children: Henry (1834–1909), Frances (1836–1871), Robert (1839–1901), and Frederic (1841–1916). Alfred Edwin Eaton was born on 1 December 1844 at Little Bredy and baptised on 19 January 1845. The early education of the Eaton children was from a governess, Harriet Dive, who lived with the family. Young Alfred later attended Reverend James Penny's Grammar School in
Blandford Blandford Forum ( ) is a market town in Dorset, England, on the River Stour, Dorset, River Stour, north-west of Poole. It had a population of 10,355 at the United Kingdom 2021 census, 2021 census. The town is notable for its Georgian archit ...
, Dorset, before he began studies at Trinity College Cambridge. Eaton graduated with a First Class
Tripos TRIPOS (''TRIvial Portable Operating System'') is a computer operating system. Development started in 1976 at the Computer Laboratory of Cambridge University and it was headed by Dr. Martin Richards. The first version appeared in January 1978 a ...
in Natural Sciences in 1867, and gained a Masters Degree in 1871. Eaton and his older brother Walter both became clergymen like their father with Alfred being ordained as a Deacon by the Bishop of Lichfield in 1869 and ordained as a Priest in 1870. Eaton's brother Henry became a Meteorologist and was later President of the
British Meteorological Society The Royal Meteorological Society is an organization that promotes academic and public engagement in weather and climate science. Fellows of the Society must possess relevant qualifications, but Members can be lay enthusiasts. It publishes vario ...
and Eaton's brother Robert trained as a Civil Engineer. Rev. Walter Eaton, assisted by Alfred, officiated at the wedding of their sister Frances in 1870 to Edward Pinney, who was also from a clergy family. Frances died in 1871, shortly after the birth of her first child. Eaton's ecclesiastical appointments were interspersed with his scientific travels: he was the Curate of Ashbourne from 1869 to 1871, then became Curate of
Battlesden Battlesden is a hamlet and civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. It is just north of the A5, between Dunstable and Milton Keynes. According to the 2001 census, it had a population of 38. Because of its ...
from c.1873–1874. Eaton also briefly served as a Curate in
Paddington Paddington is an area in the City of Westminster, in central London, England. A medieval parish then a metropolitan borough of the County of London, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Paddington station, designed b ...
, London, before setting off as Naturalist on the Svalbard Expedition. Eaton resumed work as a Curate again in 1882, at
Thorncombe Thorncombe is a village and civil parish in the English county of Dorset. It was historically, until 1844, an exclave of Devon. It lies five miles (8 km) south east of the town of Chard in neighbouring Somerset. Thorncombe is situated cl ...
, filling in for the usual Vicar Charles A. Bragge who had departed on a continental tour to recover from illness in 1881. Eaton was resident in the village during a disastrous fire on 19 May 1882 which destroyed about 20 houses, although no one was killed. The fire had begun at a bakery and quickly spread through the thatched roofs of nearby properties. Eaton opened up the village church and vicarage to assist those who had been made homeless, and was involved in the fundraising efforts to rebuild, writing an appeal letter which was printed in '' The Western Gazette'' in which he noted that 70 people, mainly the village's poorest residents, had lost their homes. The fundraising was so successful that the Thorncombe fire relief fund could close its accounts by 29 May. Eaton later worked as Curate at
Shepton Montague Shepton Montague is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the River Pitt midway between Wincanton, Bruton and Castle Cary. It is known for its dairy farming and one of the country's main centres of o ...
from 1887 to 1892. On 8 May 1884 Eaton married Mary Ellen Warry (1857–1941) of
West Coker West Coker is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Yeovil. History The name Coker comes from Coker Water ("crooked stream" from the Celtic ''Kukro''). Artifacts from early settlement in the parish inclu ...
, Somerset. They had two children: Ethel Frances (1885–1958) and Alfred Henry (1887–1970). In his later years Eaton was a resident of Northam, Devon, where he died at the age of 84 on 23 March 1929.


Scientific career

Eaton's interest in natural history was well established by his teenage years. While he was a student at Cambridge, Eaton contributed to journals like The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, and he is recorded as presenting his research at meetings of the Entomological Society in London (many years later, Eaton would become the
Royal Entomological Society The Royal Entomological Society is a learned society devoted to the study of insects. It aims to disseminate information about insects and to improve communication between entomologists. The society was founded in 1833 as the Entomological S ...
's Senior Fellow). Eaton's greatest scientific interest was in insects, but he was also a notable botanical collector. Eaton collected specimens widely on a professional basis and to send to friends and colleagues. The Entomologist Robert McLachlan (1837–1904) was a friend of Eaton – Eaton's brother Henry was McLachlan's longstanding companion on scientific travels. McLachlan's interest in freshwater insects - in his case,
Trichoptera The caddisflies (order Trichoptera) are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the basis ...
- meant that he and Eaton collaborated often. McLachlan regularly sent his Ephemeroptera specimens to Eaton to describe, and in return Eaton gave most of his own Ephemeroptera specimens to McLachlan, whose collection was acquired by British Museum in 1938. Eaton's own collection of 200 microscope slides and c.1800 pinned insects, mostly
Psychodidae Psychodidae, also called drain flies, sink flies, filter flies, sewer flies, or sewer gnats, is a Family (biology), family of Fly, true flies. Some genera have short, hairy bodies and wings, giving them a "furry" moth-like appearance, hence one ...
, were donated to the British Museum by his widow Mary after his death. Eaton travelled extensively for his research, taking his vacations at places where Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera had not been studied. McLachlan observed: 'if a foreigner making short holiday tours through certain districts previously unexplored (so far as these insects are concerned) can produce such results, it is needless to call attention to what might be done by residents in the districts.'


Selected Expeditions and Travels


1873: Leigh Smith's Svalbard Expedition, 10 May – 27 September

Arctic explorer
Benjamin Leigh Smith Benjamin Leigh Smith (12 March 1828 – 4 January 1913) was an English Arctic explorer and yachtsman. He was the grandson of the abolitionist William Smith. Early life He was born in Whatlington, Sussex, the extramarital child of Ann ...
selected his friend Eaton to accompany him on the screw steamer ''Diana'', to bring supplies to the Swedish ships of Nordenskiöld's 1872 Svalbard Expedition, which Leigh Smith suspected had become beset by ice in Mossel Bay. The ''Diana'' was successful in its relief mission and continued on to survey areas of Svalbard which had not yet been documented by Swedish scientists. Eaton's official position on the ''Diana'' was Ship's Surgeon and General Practitioner, but he was also the Svalbard Expedition's naturalist. Eaton prepared a list of known flora and fauna of the region, to compare with what he was able to discover while surveying the northern part of Svalbard. Eaton noted that Leigh Smith and his other companions spent much of their spare time deer-stalking, leaving him to his natural history pursuits. The main focus of Eaton's collecting was on insects, plants, and dredging from the ship. Eaton felt that carrying arms and ammunition while exploring was cumbersome considering his other equipment, and that if attacked by a Polar Bear he would be able to drive it off. However, in 'very bearish localities' an armed crew member was sent to guard Eaton while he worked. Eaton noted the large number of human burials on Svalbard: on 8 September, he and his companions found skeletal human remains in Green Harbour nowiki/>Grønfjorden">Grønfjorden.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Grønfjorden">nowiki/>Grønfjordenwhile searching for plants. The deceased person had been in possession of a rosary and images of saints, and Eaton performed a Christian burial service as best he could before the men had to return to the ship. Eaton's collections from this Expedition were distributed among other scientists, with the Lepidoptera being first sent to Philipp Christoph Zeller and then Henry Tibbats Stainton. Among the moths collected by Eaton was the newly-discovered species ''Plutella polaris'', described and named by Zeller from male examples, which was then not seen again until 2015 when a female of the species was finally discovered. Eaton's Crustacea specimens from Svalbard were sent to be worked up by Edward John Miers. Of Eaton's plant collections, the
Phanerogams A seed plant or spermatophyte (; New Latin ''spermat-'' and Greek ' (phytón), plant), also known as a phanerogam (taxon Phanerogamae) or a phaenogam (taxon Phaenogamae), is any plant that produces seeds. It is a category of embryophyte (i.e. la ...
and
Cryptogam A cryptogam (scientific name ''Cryptogamae'') is a plant, in the broad sense of the word, or a plant-like organism that share similar characteristics, such as being multicellular, photosynthetic, and primarily immobile, that reproduces via sp ...
s were examined by
Spencer Le Marchant Moore Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1 November 1850 – 14 March 1931) was an English botanist. Biography Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then wor ...
, the
Algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...
by George Dickie, and the Diatioms by Eugene O'Meara. Eaton gave a presentation about his experiences, illustrated with photographs, to the Entomological Society on 2 March 1874.


1874 – 1875: Transit of Venus Expedition

Eaton was with one of the British parties that travelled to the Kerguelen Archipelago to observe the
1874 Transit of Venus The 1874 transit of Venus, which took place on 9 December 1874 (01:49 to 06:26 UTC), was the first of the pair of transits of Venus that took place in the 19th century, with the second transit occurring eight years later in 1882. The previous ...
, from October 1874 to February 1875. After an initial leg of the journey that stopped in South Africa at the Cape (where Eaton collected Fungi), Eaton's specimen collecting when he reached the Kergulen Islands was mainly conducted at Royal Sound, Swain's Bay and Observatory Bay. Eaton particularly owed his success in plant-gathering at Swain's Bay to the kindness of Captain Henry Fairfax of HMS Volage, who conveyed Eaton around the hard-to-access parts of the Bay in his Gig. Eaton confirmed previous plant lists for the area and added many new records for Cryptogams, particularly Algae.


1880: Portugal, Madeira and the Canary Islands

Eaton could not speak any Portuguese at first and spent some time with a phrasebook trying to build his confidence before venturing out into the countryside to look for insects. Eaton was at
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
and
Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...
from 23–30 April. He collected Trichoptera at Sintra, but found that the rivers near Lisbon were too polluted for freshwater insects: 'The streams nearer Lisbon have all the goodness washed out of them by Launderesses.' Eaton stayed at Almodóvar from 6–12 May, and then took a walking tour in
Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...
– his destinations included Serra do Caldeirão,
São Bartolomeu de Messines São Bartolomeu de Messines, also referred to as Messines, is a town and civil parish in the municipality of Silves, in Algarve region, Portugal. The population of the civil parish in 2011 was 8,430, in an area of 239.87 km2. History Traces ...
, Silves (14–17 May),
Monchique Monchique () is a municipality of southern Portugal, in Faro District (province of Algarve). The population in 2011 was 6,045, in an area of 395.30 km2. The Municipality of Monchique is situated in the Serra de Monchique and together with th ...
(19–21 May), Alferce and São Marcos da Serra, Santa Clara-a-Nova before heading back to Almodôvar. One night while exploring in the mountains, Eaton was without a place to stay and begged a peasant family for accommodation. The family shared their meal, Eaton joined their evening prayers, and the grown-up daughter of the family moved into a cow shed for the night so that Eaton could have a place to sleep in their cottage. Eaton noted he had great difficulty trying to persuade the family to let him recompense them for their hospitality. The parts of
Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...
and Algarve where Eaton visited were considered quite inaccessible, and Eaton's Lepidoptera collections from this trip are notable for being some of the only ones recorded in those parts of Portugal until at least the 1940s. Eaton was at Cea from 4–11 June, Ponte de Morcellos from 12–14 June,
Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the Norte, Portugal, North region, Portugal. It is also the seat of the Douro (intermunicipal community), Douro Intermunicipal communities of Portugal, intermunicipal comm ...
from 22–25 June and Salamonde and Ruivaes from 29–30 June. From November–December 1880 Eaton visited
Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...
(17 – 30 November),
Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...
(6 – 12 December),
Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
(14–28 December) and Palma (29 December). The
Neuroptera The insect order (biology), order Neuroptera, or net-winged insects, includes the lacewings, mantidflies, antlions, and their relatives. The order consists of some 6,000 species. Neuroptera is grouped together with the Megaloptera (alderflies, f ...
he found upon this part of the trip were described by Robert McLachlan. The Portuguese
Macrolepidoptera Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect Order (biology), order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa ...
collected by Eaton were sent for description to
Otto Staudinger Otto Staudinger (2 May 1830 – 13 October 1900) was a German entomologist and a natural history dealer considered one of the largest in the world specialising in the collection and sale of insects to museums, scientific institutions, and indi ...
, and the
Microlepidoptera Microlepidoptera (micromoths) is an artificial (i.e., unranked and not monophyletic) grouping of moth families, commonly known as the "smaller moths" ( micro, Lepidoptera). These generally have wingspans of under 20 mm, so are harder to iden ...
sent to
Émile Louis Ragonot Émile Louis Ragonot (12 October 1843 – 13 October 1895) was a French entomologist. In 1885, he became president of the ''Société entomologique de France''. He named 301 new genera of butterflies and moths, mostly Pyralidae, pyralid moths. ...
. Eaton gifted over 500 Trichoptera specimens from his Portuguese tour to Robert McLachlan.


1892 – 1897: Algeria

Eaton travelled to Algeria towards the end of 1892 and apart from occasional return visits to England, he stayed in the country until mid-1897. On 22 June 1896 at Forêt d'El Oubeïra Eaton was detained by the local authorities. He had no identification papers, and was suspected of being either a madman due to his dishevelled appearance, or a spy due to his proximity to the Tunisian border. Eaton showed his jar of collected dragonflies in order to explain himself. Eaton joked that he regretted being released as he would not have the opportunity to try to collect lice from an Algerian prison. Eaton presented the
Hymenoptera Hymenoptera is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones. Many of the species are parasitic. Females typi ...
specimens he found upon his Algerian travels to Edward Saunders.


1902: Southern Norway

Eaton was accompanied by his wife Mary on this excursion. Eaton collected insects 'whenever opportunity offered, which was not often.' The Eatons entered Norway via Christiana nowiki/>Oslo">Oslo.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Oslo">nowiki/>Oslo Travelling by rail, road and steamer ship, their travel itinerary had the stopping at Sandvika">Sandviken Sandviken is a locality and the seat of Sandviken Municipality in Gävleborg County, Sweden with 26,438 inhabitants in 2023. It is situated about 25 km west of Gävle and lies approximately 190 km north of Stockholm. The rail journey t ...
, Hønefoss, Heen, Sørum Municipality, Sørum, through the Valdres District to Lærdalsøyri, Lærdalsøren, Gudvangen, Vossevangen, Eide, Granvin, Eide and Bergen (city), Bergen along with intermediate localities on route.


Taxonomic names in honour of Eaton

The Gastropoda family ''
Eatoniellidae Eatoniellidae, commonly known as eatoniellids, are a taxonomic family of minute sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the superfamily Cingulopsoidea The Cingulopsoidea is a superfamily of sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the clad ...
'', including the genus ''
Eatoniella ''Eatoniella'' is a genus of minute sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks in the family Eatoniellidae, the eatoniellids. Species Species within the genus ''Eatoniella'' include: * '' Eatoniella afronigra'' Ponder & Worsfold, 1994 * '' Eatoni ...
'' Dall, 1876 The Arachnida genus ''Eatoniana''
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, 1898 (originally ''Eatonia''), named by Octavius Pickard-Cambridge for the species ''Eatoniana scopulifera'' which Eaton had collected in Biskra, Algeria. The duck species '' Anas eatoni'' subsp. ''eatoni'' ( Sharpe, 1875) The moth species ''Clepsis eatoniana'' (Ragonot, 1881) Ragonot, 1881 – now considered a synonym of '' Clepsis consimilana'' (
Hübner __NOTOC__ Hübner is a Germanic surname, sometimes spelled Huebner or Hubner. The name means an agricultural worker, a farmer, possibly and specifically one who worked a "hube", which was a piece of land roughly equivalent to the English measuremen ...
).


Selected publications

* Eaton, Rev. A. E. (1871): ''A Monograph on the Ephemeridae: Part I: The Nomenclature of the Ephemeridae''. The Transactions of the Entomological Society 1871, part I. * Eaton, Rev. A. E. (November 1873): ''Notes on the Fauna of Spitzbergen.'' The Zoologist, second series, volume 8. * Eaton, Rev. A. E. (September 1880): ''Notes on the Entomology of Portugal. I. Introduction''. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, volume 17, 1880, pp. 73–79 * Eaton, Rev. A. E. (1896): ''An English Entomologist Arrested in Algeria''. The Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, second series, 1896, Volume VII olume XXXII pp. 185–186


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Alfred Edwin 1844 births 1929 deaths English entomologists 19th-century English Anglican priests 20th-century English Anglican priests