Thomas Grant Harbison (1862–1936) was an American botanist. Harbison lived and worked in Union County, Pennsylvania until 1886 when he moved to North Carolina. He attended college during extended vacations, never registering for a continuous year. He attended classes at nearby

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineerin ...

. He read extensively and by the age of twenty-one he had acquired a personal library of over one thousand volumes. He took correspondence courses from the

University of the City of New York New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and earned his B.S., A.M., and Ph.D. (in 1888) through correspondence courses from a correspondence school in Chicago. Kelsey had built a lake on the property, and while it was known to botanists as “Harbison’s Lake” for many years, it is now called “Harris Lake.” In his early twenties, Harbison went on a walking tour of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. From 1897 to 1903 he was employed as a collector for the Biltmore Herbarium operated by

George Washington Vanderbilt II George Washington Vanderbilt II (November 14, 1862 – March 6, 1914) was an art collector and member of the prominent Vanderbilt family, which amassed a huge fortune through steamboats, railroads, and various business enterprises. He commissio ...

Biltmore Estate Biltmore Estate is a historic house museum and tourist attraction in Asheville, North Carolina. Biltmore House (or Biltmore Mansion), the main residence, is a Châteauesque-style mansion built for George Washington Vanderbilt II between 188 ...

. He made a collecting trip to eastern North Carolina in 1898.

Charles Lawrence Boynton Charles Lawrence Boynton (February 7, 1864 – September 16, 1943) was an American botanist active in the Southeastern United States, working at Biltmore Estate with Chauncey Beadle and his brother, Frank Ellis Boynton Frank Ellis Boynton (Ju ...

and Harbison collected in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico and also in the U.S. Pacific region. From 1905 to 1926 Harbison worked a field botanist (collecting southern woody plants) for

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

Arnold Arboretum The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is a botanical research institution and free public park, located in the Jamaica Plain and Roslindale neighborhoods of Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1872, it is the oldest public arboretum in ...

under the directorship of

Charles Sprague Sargent Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841 – March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He p ...

. Harbison also worked for some years for the State Geological Survey of Mississippi making an exhaustive survey of Mississippi's native trees, especially those valuable for timber. He was a close friend and correspondent of

William Willard Ashe William Willard Ashe (June 4, 1872 – March 18, 1932) was an American forester and botanist. He was known as a prolific collector of plant specimens and an early proponent of conservationism in the Southern United States. Early life Ashe w ...

and in 1933 was employed in organizing the W. W. Ashe Herbarium. In 1934 Harbison was appointed the herbarium's curator and held that post until he died in 1936. On 6 August 1896 in

Macon County, North Carolina Macon County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,014. Its county seat is Franklin. The Nantahala River runs through Macon County, flowing into the Little Tennessee River in ...

he married Jessamine "Jessie" Margrit Cobb (1868–1954). They had four children. The

Thomas Grant Harbison House The Thomas Grant Harbison House is a historic house at 2930 Walhalla Road, just outside Highlands, North Carolina. The two-story wood-frame house was built in 1921 for the botanist Thomas Grant Harbison (1862-1936), who was responsible for some ...

was built in 1921 and remained in the family until 1985.

Eponyms

* ''

Crataegus harbisonii ''Crataegus harbisonii'' is a rare species of hawthorn. Once common in the Nashville area, its population has been reduced significantly in modern times. It is now currently known only from small populations in Davidson and Obion County, Tennes ...

'' (Harbison's hawthorn, discovered and named by

Chauncey Beadle Chauncey Delos Beadle (August 5, 1866 in St. Catharines, Ontario – 1950) was a Canadian-born botanist and horticulturist active in the southern United States. He was educated in horticulture at Ontario Agricultural College (1884) and Cornell U ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harbison, Thomas Grant 1862 births 1936 deaths People from Union County, Pennsylvania 19th-century American botanists 20th-century American botanists