- Henry Perrine
Henry Perrine was a
physician ,horticulturist ,United States Consul inCampeche, Campeche ,Mexico , and an enthusiast for introducing tropicalplant s intocultivation in the United States.Henry Edward Perrine was born
April 5 1797 atCranbury, New Jersey . He taught school while still a youth, studiedmedicine , and then practiced medicine inIllinois for five years. He married Ann Fuller Townsend while living in Illinois. In 1821 he was accidentally poisoned witharsenic , from which he never fully recovered, and moved toNatchez, Mississippi in the hope that the climate would aid his recovery. Three years later he was appointed United States Consul in Campeche, Mexicon, where he served for ten years.While in Compeche Dr. Perrine became interested in introducing tropical crops into the United States, and began sending seeds to people he knew in Florida. Through correspondence with Captain DeBose, the the keeper at the
Cape Florida Light , and with William A. Whitehead, mayor ofKey West, Florida , Dr. Perrine became convinced that the southern tip of Florida was the only place in the United States suitable for the introduction of tropical plants. On his return to the United States, he campaigned for a land grant on which he could start a plant introduction station. In 1838 theUnited States Congress granted Dr. Perrine asurvey township (36 sq. mi.) in southern Florida.While waiting for hostilities with the Seminoles to die down so that his land grant could be surveyed and settled, Dr. Perrine had taken up residence with his family on Indian Key in the
Florida Keys . On August 7, 1840, Indians attacked Indian Key. Several people were killed, including Dr. Perrine, but his family escaped. While Dr. Perrine had apparently selectedCape Sable as the site of his grant, after his death his widow successfully petitioned to have the grant transferred to the shore ofBiscayne Bay . Part of the Perrine Grant eventually became the community ofPerrine, Florida .References
* [http://www.keyshistory.org/IK-dr-perrine1.html Dr. Henry Perrine of Indian Key] - accessed
January 13 2006
*Viele, John (1996). "The Florida Keys: a History of the Pioneers",Sarasota, Florida : Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56164-101-4.
*Taylor, Jean. (1985?) "The Villages of South Dade".St. Petersburg, Florida : Byron Kennedy and Company. ISBN 0-041072-12-6.
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