Dorcas Brigham

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Dorcas Brigham
A young white woman, with short wavy hair, wearing a collared white blouse; she is looking directly at the camera
Dorcas Brigham, from the 1918 Smith College yearbook
Born(1896-05-18)May 18, 1896
Newtonville, Massachusetts, US
DiedFebruary 14, 1986(1986-02-14) (aged 89)
Mount Dora, Florida, US
Occupation(s)Botanist, horticulturist, farmer

Dorcas Brigham (May 18, 1896 – February 14, 1986) was an American botanist, horticulturist, and farmer.

Early life and education[edit]

Brigham was born in Newtonville, Massachusetts, and raised in Springfield, Massachusetts, the daughter of Frank C. Brigham and Frances McFarlin Brigham. She graduated from Dana Hall School in 1914,[1] and she graduated from Smith College in 1918.[2]

Career[edit]

In 1923, Brigham returned to Smith College as a botany professor. In 1928 and 1929, she taught at the Lawthorpe School of Landscape Architecture. In 1929, she and Dorthea Wallace Ward bought a 25-acre farm near Williamsburg, known as Village Hill Nursery.[3][4] Brigham sold off the farm's livestock when Ward left to marry in 1939, but expanded the mail order business in herbs, adding a grape arbor, a greenhouse, and a pond. During World War II she oversaw the victory garden on the Smith campus.[1]

Brigham retired around 1957, maintaining a mountaintop garden in Cashiers, North Carolina and spending the winter months in Mount Dora, Florida.[5] She contributed an article to the Brooklyn Botanical Garden's Handbook on Herbs (1958).[6] In 1959 she was awarded the Medal of Honor by the Herb Society of America.[7] She led the local Audubon Society chapter in Mount Dora,[8][9] and was president of the local Friends of the Library.[10] She lectured to community groups,[11][12][13] and led Audubon field trips to Corkscrew Swamp and Sanibel Island into the 1970s.[14] She was a founding member of the Florida Native Plant Society in 1980.[15]

Personal life[edit]

Brigham traveled in her retirement, studying plant and animal life in Fiji, Australia, and Greece in her seventies.[14] She died in 1986, aged 89 years, in Mount Dora.[16] Her papers are in the Smith College archives.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Dorcas Brigham 1914". Helen Temple Cooke Library at Dana Hall School. 2013-11-05. Archived from the original on 2020-08-13. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  2. ^ "Brigham, Dorcas". Smithipedia. Archived from the original on 2010-05-02. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  3. ^ "Miss Dorcas Brigham to Speak on Herbs". The Berkshire Eagle. 1953-08-10. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Dorcas Brigham Speaks Before Garden Club". The Berkshire Eagle. 1933-04-07. p. 6. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Osborne, Clyde (1978-06-19). "Retired Educator Spends Her Time Now with Flowers". Asheville Citizen-Times. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Down-to-Earth Guide Found in Herb Book". The Times Dispatch. 1958-09-21. p. 90. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ The Herb Society of America, Award Descriptions and Winners by Award.
  8. ^ "Audubon Chapter Plans Christmas Bird Count". The Orlando Sentinel. 1974-12-06. p. 27. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "About Audubon". Oklawaha Valley Audubon. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  10. ^ Cooper, Lou (1975-01-05). "Women in Leadership Look to '75". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 48. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Guest Speaker Queried". The Orlando Sentinel. 1964-04-26. p. 70. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Nevin, Susan B. (1960-10-10). "Herb Society to Hear Miss Dorcas Brigham". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Florida Ferns Program Topic". The Orlando Sentinel. 1975-12-30. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b Cooper, Lou (1973-12-27). "Club Hears about Australia Tour". The Orlando Sentinel. p. 9. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Lantz, Don (Summer 1990). "The Founding of FNPS" (PDF). The Palmetto. 10: 14.
  16. ^ "Obituary for DORCAS BRIGHAM (Aged 89)". The Orlando Sentinel. 1986-02-15. p. 38. Retrieved 2021-10-12 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Collection: Dorcas Brigham Papers". Smith College Finding Aids. Archived from the original on 2021-04-10. Retrieved 2021-10-12.

External links[edit]

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