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John Amson (1698 – death unknown, possibly 1765) was an English physician and amateur botanist who moved to Virginia and served as alderman and mayor of
In 1760, a perennial flower, the genus of ''
Williamsburg Government - PAST MAYORS AND GOVERNORS
Mayors of Williamsburg, Virginia British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 18th-century American botanists 18th-century English medical doctors 1698 births 18th-century deaths 18th-century American physicians {{Virginia-mayor-stub
Williamsburg
Williamsburg may refer to:
Places
*Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia
*Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City
*Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California
*Williams ...
, during the Colonial period, from 1750 to 1751.
Biography
Amson owned lots 212–217 in Williamsburg from 1746 to around 1758. In 1762, he bought 180 acres of land from Henry Tyler, of the noted Tyler family.
In 1760, a perennial flower, the genus of ''Amsonia
''Amsonia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Apocynum, dogbane family, Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1788. It is native primarily to North America with one species in East Asia and another in the eastern Mediterranean. It was ...
'' Blue Star, was named after Amson. It came about after then-General George Washington
George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...
, on campaign during the French and Indian War, contracted what he believed to be the consumption
Consumption may refer to:
* Eating
*Resource consumption
*Tuberculosis, an infectious disease, historically known as consumption
* Consumer (food chain), receipt of energy by consuming other organisms
* Consumption (economics), the purchasing of n ...
, called tuberculosis today. In 1758, on his way to Williamsburg, Washington sought a definitive answer as to his illness, stopped for a medical consultation at the Governor's Palace, where Dr. Amson lived on the north-west edge of town. Amson diagnosed Washington with a common cold and convinced him he was not going to die.
Legacy
To commemorate Amson,John Clayton John Clayton may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Writing
*John Clayton (architect) (died 1861), English architect and writer
*John Clayton (sportswriter) (1954–2022), American sportswriter and reporter
*John Bell Clayton and Martha Clayton, Joh ...
, clerk of courts for Gloucester County and author of the book ''Flora Virginica'', named the native flora ''Amsonia'' after the doctor, and sent the seeds to botanist John Bartram
John Bartram (June 3, 1699 – September 22, 1777) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and explorer, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for most of his career. Swedish botanist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus said he was the "greatest natu ...
for his seed and plant business.
References
External links
Williamsburg Government - PAST MAYORS AND GOVERNORS
Mayors of Williamsburg, Virginia British emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies 18th-century American botanists 18th-century English medical doctors 1698 births 18th-century deaths 18th-century American physicians {{Virginia-mayor-stub