For the papers of Michaux's son,
The three letters by André Michaux to his son Francois André shed light on the close relationship between father and son. They are friendly and paternal. There is also an act by the state of New Jersey "to enable Andre Michaux to purchase lands in the State" so that he can establish "a botanical garden…in order to make useful experiments…" (1786). The undated letter by Alexander von Humboldt refers to trees. In 1824, some of André Michaux's papers were donated to the American Philosophical Society. In a letter (1890) J. M. Le Moine asks Henry Phillips to use Michaux's journal for it describes regions that he himself had also visited.
The five letters from 1817 are written by André Michaux to an American friend, "Doct. Francis at Dr. Dd. Hosack." This is almost certainly Dr. John Wakefield Francis (1789-1861), who was the student and then the partner of Dr. David Hosack in New York. The varied subjects in the letters include: listings of books and journals sent by Michaux to Francis and others in the U.S.; progress on the publication of an English edition of a Michaux work (possibly his
Presented by Francois André Michaux, 1824; accessioned, 1956 (1956 1103ms). See in-house shelf list for additional accession information. Letters to John W. Francis purchased; accessioned 12/13/2013 (M2013-08).
André Michaux (1749-1802) was a French botanist. He conducted extensive botanical expeditions through Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Michaux, who served as King's Botanist for a time, is best known for his studies of American plants. He and his son François André Michaux (1770-1855, APS 1809), a botanist who accompanied his father on several expeditions, made the acquaintance of many prominent Europeans and North Americans of their time.
Michaux was born in 1749 on a royal farm near Versailles, France, of which his father André was manager. His mother was Marie-Charlotte Barbet (Barbée) Michaux. In addition to four years of formal education, young André received instruction in agricultural practices from his father. After his father's death in 1763, Michaux managed the farm alongside his brother. His aptitude for growing difficult plants soon attracted the attention of influential members of the court of Louis XVI. Upon the recommendation of the king's physician, Michaux decided to study botany. The death of his wife Cecil Claye after giving birth to their only child in 1770, just one year after their marriage, plunged Michaux into a deep depression. The naturalist Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier (1717-1799) recommended a sustained study how foreign plants could be grown in France as a way to occupy the heartbroken Michaux. Michaux followed the advice. He conducted experiments on his farm and later became a student of the French naturalist Bernard de Jussieu (1699-1777) at Trianon.
Michaux subsequently studied at the
During his tenure at the
In 1785 Michaux departed for North America with a gardener and his fifteen-year old son François André. Michaux founded a nursery at Hackensack, New Jersey, and the next year established a base in Charleston, South Carolina, from which he launched expeditions through various parts of Canada and the United States, from Nova Scotia to Spanish Florida, into the Ohio River Valley, Kentucky, and the prairies of Illinois. While his main objective was the collection of plants, he also introduced several plants into North America, including the mimosa or silk tree, the crape myrtle, the tea plant, and the camellia. Michaux kept journals in which he recorded in great detail the conditions of travel, the day's progress, and the plants he observed.
Michaux made contact with many leading Americans, including several prominent members of the American Philosophical Society. He met, for example, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington (1731-1799, APS 1780), John Bartram (1699-1777, APS 1768), and Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826, APS 1780). In 1792, Jefferson enlisted the Society to sponsor Michaux to "find the shortest & most convenient route of communication between the U.S. & the Pacific Ocean." However, political complications prematurely ended the mission when Jefferson learned that Michaux apparently intended to aid the French Foreign Minister Edmond-Charles Genet (1763-1834) in his efforts to arouse support for France. The nature of the secret political mission that Michaux supposedly agreed to undertake is still largely unclear; in any event, the controversy left Michaux without support to complete the expedition.
Despite these difficulties and France's diminishing ability to finance his work, Michaux continued with his botanical studies and travels in the United States for three more years. He was not only an astute observer of plants but he also was particularly skilled in questioning local people about their produce and agricultural practices. Indeed, a contemporary noted that Michaux "was not a Frenchman, an Englishman, or a Canadian, but everywhere one found him closer to the natives than any other foreigner would have been."
In 1796 Michaux embarked from North America for France. Four weeks after his departure, his ship was wrecked off the coast of Holland. His herbarium was damaged, and he lost some of his manuscripts, but he arrived safely in Paris in December 1796. To his disappointment, he learned that most of the thousands of trees he had sent from North America had not survived the turmoil of the revolution. Furthermore, he was unable to secure funding that would have allowed him to return to the United States, as he had hoped.
Instead, for the next four years, Michaux focused on the cultivation of his collected plants and on preparing for publication his studies
Finding aid prepared by Anne Harney. Revised by Friederike Baer (NEH 2010) and Michael Miller (2014).
The Andre Michaux collection includes some correspondence that Michaux, a prominent French visitor to America who undertook various exploring expeditions in the early 19th century, wrote to his son. The collection is not large, but does provide insight into the relationship between father and son. There are also various government documents from New Jersey that contain information on land Michaux owned there.
Michaux, André to [Francois André] Michaux, Paris, 1783 May 15
A.L.S. 1 p. and add. In French. Paternal letter.
Michaux, André to [Francois André] Michaux, Paris, 1784 March 21
A.L.S. 2 p. and add. In French. Paternal letter.
An act to enable Andrè Michaux to purchase lands in the state of New Jersey under certain restrictions, 1786 March 2
Read in House and passed; March 3, 1786, read in Council and passed. Document signed: Wil. Livingston, Presidt; Benja. Van Cleve; Maskell Ewing; B. Reed. 3 leaves and end.
Michaux, André to [Francois André] Michaux, Paris, 1801 October 11
Isle de France; Vendémiaine 19, X A.L.S. 2 p. and add. In French. Friendly letter. Business.
Michaux, André to [John Wakefield] Francis, New York, 1817 January 29
Paris, ALS. After expressing the hope that Francis has arrived home safely, Michaux explains he shipped two boxes of books to John Vaughan at Philadelphia, and from that, he wants Vaughan to send Francis some numbers of the
Michaux, André to [John Wakefield] Francis, New York, 1817 February 26
Paris, ALS. Michaux is again concerned to know whether Francis has arrived in New York. He also wants to know if Francis has received a book and journal that he has sent him. "Since your departure at Paris, a new edition of
Michaux, André to [John Wakefield] Francis, New York, 1817 April 21
Paris, ALS. Michaux remains anxious to hear whether Francis has arrived home. He reports that he has learned through some acquiantances "that a historical society has been formed at New York the object of which is to collect all publications respecting North America...I think you will learn with pleasure that since some time I buy all the ____ books which were published formerly and relate to that part of America." He asks if Francis has received the books he has sent, and adds, "The 2th half volume of my English edition will soon appear, and I hope will be better translated than the first. I claim warmly your assistance and patronisation in this enterprise."
Michaux, André to [John Wakefield] Francis, New York, 1817 August 22
Paris, ALS. Michaux explains that he has previously sent, under cover of another letter to Francis, "letters to the President of the Literary and Historical Society; I expressed my most sincere acknowledgement, for the marks of esteem and of distinction those societys were so good to confer on me." He asks Francis to: "at the first occasion be again toward those gentlemen, the interpreter of my gratitude and confirm them of my wishes to cooperate to their ____ labours. I believe you did very well to abandon the idea of publishing an American fl[ora]." Michaux lists the publications for Francis that are enclosed in a box of books just shipped to Dobson.
Michaux, André to [John Wakefield] Francis, New York, 1817 September 17
Paris, ALS. Michaux lists more items for Francis that are in a box of books going to John Vaughan via the
Le Moine, J. M. (James MacPherson), Sir to H[enr]y Phillips, Jr., Philadelphia, 1890 January 29
Quebec, A.L.S. 2 p . Reference to André Michaux.
Humboldt, Alexander von to [André] Michaux, n.d.
A.L.S. 2 p. and add., end. In French. Concerning American trees.