James Henry Ferriss (November 18, 1849 – March 17, 1926) was an American politician and amateur
conchologist
Conchology, from Ancient Greek κόγχος (''kónkhos''), meaning "cockle (bivalve), cockle", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", is the study of mollusc shells. Conchology is one aspect of malacology, the study of mollus ...
. According to
Henry Augustus Pilsbry
Henry Augustus Pilsbry (7 December 1862 – 26 October 1957) was an American biologist, malacologist and carcinologist, among other areas of study. He was a dominant presence in many fields of invertebrate taxonomy for the better part of a cent ...
, Ferriss was "the fore-most of American landshell collectors... as a collector he has probably never been surpassed."
Biography
James H. Ferriss was born November 18, 1849, in Kendall Township,
Kendall County, Illinois
Kendall County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, within the Chicago metropolitan area. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 131,869. Its county seat is Yorkville, and its most populous municipality is Oswego.
Kend ...
, Ferriss moved to southeastern
Kansas
Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
in 1869 to stake a claim as a farmer, freighter, and storekeeper. He returned to Illinois in 1872 to work as a
reporter
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and
editor
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...
of several
newspapers
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
in
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...
.
A fiery
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
ist, he purchased and edited the ''Joliet News'' in 1877 but was
jail
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where people are imprisoned under the authority of the state, usually as punishment for various cr ...
ed that year for an editorial which offended a local
political boss
In the politics of the United States of America, a boss is a person who controls a faction or local branch of a political party. They do not necessarily hold public office themselves; most historical bosses did not, at least during the times of th ...
. He moved to
Maine
Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...
after the incident, but returned in 1882 to edit the ''Joliet News'' until 1915. He was elected National Chairman of the
People's Party in 1904.
Ferriss died at the age of 76 on March 17, 1926.
Footnotes
Works
* * "The Populist View," i
"Lessons of the Election: A Symposium,"''To-Morrow: A Monthly Hand-Book of the Changing Order,'' vol. 1, no. 1 (January 1905), pp. 36–38.
*
Pilsbry H. A. & Ferris J. H. (1906). "Mollusca of Southern States. II". ''
'' 58
123175.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1907. ''Mollusca of the Ozarkian Fauna''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 58: 529–567.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1910. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States, III: The Huachuca Mountains, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 61: 495–516.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1910. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States: IV. The Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 62: 44–147.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1915. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States VII: The Dragoon, Mule, Santa Rita, Baboquivari, and Tucson Ranges, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 68: 363–418.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1917. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States VIII: The Black Range, New Mexico''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 69: 83–107.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1919. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States IX: The
Santa Catalina,
Rincon,
Tortolita and
Galiuro Mountains
The Galiuro Mountains are a large sky island mountain range of southeast Arizona, United States. It is a northerly mountain range in the Madrean Sky Islands region of southeast Arizona, northern Sonora in northwestern Mexico, and the extreme ...
. X. The mountains of the Gila headwaters''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 70: 282–333.
* Pilsbry H. A. & Ferriss J. H. 1923. ''Mollusca of the Southwestern States, XI - From the Tucson Range to Ajo, and mountain ranges between the San Padro and Santa Cruz rivers, Arizona''. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 75: 47–103.
External links
James Henry Ferriss biography
Conchologists
1849 births
1926 deaths
American malacologists
{{Illinois-politician-stub