Isabella McHutcheson Sinclair
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Isabella McHutcheson Sinclair (1842 – 29 December 1900) was a
Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
born
botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
, author and
botanical illustrator Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species. They are generally meant to be scientifically descriptive about subjects depicted and are often found printed alongside a botanical description in boo ...
. Her best known work is the 1885 book '' Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian islands'', the first book published with colour images of Hawaiian flowering plants.


Biography

Sinclair was born Isabella McHutcheson in 1840 near
Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...
, Scotland. She is believed to be a daughter of Isabella (Phelps) McHutcheson and her husband William McHutcheson, who was a brother of Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair. She emigrated to
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
with her family as a young child. On 7 August 1866, Isabella McHutcheson of Blenheim,
Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...
, New Zealand married her cousin, Francis Sinclair, Jr. After marriage to her husband Francis, Sinclair moved with his family to Hawai'i. Her aunt and mother-in-law,
Elizabeth Sinclair Elizabeth McHutcheson Sinclair (26 April 180016 October 1892) was a Scottish homemaker, farmer, and plantation owner in New Zealand and Hawaii, best known as the matriarch of the Sinclair family that bought the Hawaiian island of Niihau in 186 ...
, was a farmer and plantation owner in
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
and
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
, best known as the matriarch of the Sinclair family that bought the Hawaiian island of
Niʻihau Niihau (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Niihau ( ), is the seventh largest island in Hawaii and the westernmost of the main islands. It is southwest of Kauai, Kauai across the Channels of the Hawaiian Islands#Kaulakahi Channel, Ka ...
in 1864 from King
Kamehameha V Kamehameha V (Lota Kapuāiwa Kalanimakua Aliʻiōlani Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui; December 11, 1830 – December 11, 1872), reigned as the fifth monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi from 1863 to 1872. His motto was "Onipaʻa": immovable, firm, s ...
for the sum of $10,000 in gold.


Works

In Hawaii, Sinclair produced her most notable work ''Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian islands.'' This was the first book published with colour images of Hawaiian flowering plants. After her marriage, Sinclair lived with her husband in Kiekie on the island of Nii'hau and later in Makaweli on the island of
Kauai Kauai (), anglicized as Kauai ( or ), is one of the main Hawaiian Islands. It has an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), making it the fourth-largest of the islands and the 21st-largest island in the United States. Kauai lies 73 m ...
. She explored Niihau, Waimea Valley, Olokele Valley, Kokee and other locations, painting the native flora there and researching information about those species from
Native Hawaiians Native Hawaiians (also known as Indigenous Hawaiians, Kānaka Maoli, Aboriginal Hawaiians, or simply Hawaiians; , , , and ) are the Indigenous Polynesian people of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaiʻi was settled at least 800 years ago by Polynesian ...
. She collected specimens of each native flowering plant and illustrated each one, creating a portfolio of 44 full-page color plates. She sent the specimens to
Joseph Dalton Hooker Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker (30 June 1817 – 10 December 1911) was a British botanist and explorer in the 19th century. He was a founder of geographical botany and Charles Darwin's closest friend. For 20 years he served as director of the Ro ...
, then director of the Royal Botanical Gardens at
Kew Kew () is a district in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Its population at the 2011 census was 11,436. Kew is the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens ("Kew Gardens"), now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace. Kew is ...
, England, for scientific identification. Dr. Hooker provided her with each flower's botanical name, which she documented along with the Hawaiian names, natural habitats and blossoming seasons of each species. In 1885, with the encouragement of Hooker, Sinclair published ''Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands.'' She dedicated the volume: “To the Hawaiian Chiefs and People who have been most appreciative friends, and most lenient critics, this work is affectionately inscribed.” Isabella was among the first authors to express concern about the loss of native habitats on Hawaiian flora due to land development and competition from invasive species: ''"The Hawaiian flora seems to grow in an easy, careless way," she wrote, "which, though pleasingly artistic, and well adapted to what may be termed the natural state of the islands, will not long survive the invasions of foreign plants and changed conditions. Forest fires, animals and agriculture, have so changed the islands, within the last fifty or sixty years, that one can now travel for miles . . . without finding a single indigenous plant; the ground being wholly taken possession of by weeds, shrubs and grasses, imported from various countries. . . ." .''


Publications


''Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian islands''
by Mrs Francis Sinclair Jr. (London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington., 1885) File:Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Mrs. Frances Sinclair, cover.jpg, Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Mrs. Frances Sinclair, cover File:Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Plate 41.jpg, Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Plate 41 File:Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Plate 37.jpg, Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Plate 37 File:Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Plate 3.jpg, Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands, Plate 3


Family ties

Isabella's father William McHutcheson eventually moved to
Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...
, New Zealand. Isabella's brother, also named William McHutcheson, likely visited his sister during an extensive six-months tour in 1886 that included
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...
,
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,
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, and
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
. He described his travels in ''The New Zealander Abroad'' (1888). He also wrote a serialized account of colonial life, "The New Zealander at Home" (1890), and published ''Camp-life in Fiordland, New Zealand'' (1892). At some point, Isabella and her husband went to California. Isabella died in
San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
, on 29 December 1890 and was buried at Trinity Church on 31 December 1890. Her name has been transcribed from their records as "Sinclaire (Mrs.) Frances" In 1902, Francis Sinclair returned to New Zealand and married Isabella's widowed sister, Williamina Shirriffs. He had no issue from either marriage. Francis spent much of the rest of his life in England, published several books of poetry and essays, and died on 22 July 1916 on the
Island of Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gover ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Isabella McHutcheson 1842 births 1910 deaths 19th-century American artists American women illustrators Hawaiian Kingdom people American illustrators British botanical illustrators Artists from Hawaii 19th-century American women artists New Zealand illustrators British expatriates in the Hawaiian Kingdom American women botanists American botanists 19th-century New Zealand botanists 19th-century American women scientists