Supposedly born in Germany, with headquarters in Germantown, Pa., from whence he journeyed over the eastern United States in search of new plants and seeds. These he shipped to parties in Germany. His birth date is not known, though Henry Muhlenberg's reference to him in 1812 indicates he was then in middle life. On his expeditions he dressed as an Indian and was called “the Indian plant-hunter”. This collection consists of 12 fine pencil drawings of oak leaves, twigs and burs, on heavy rough paper watermarked “1804 - J. Whatman.” There is also a newspaper clipping of a biographical sketch, by Thomas Meehan, 1891.