The spring equinox is only weeks away, and eager flowers have already started to blossom across Philadelphia. Here at The Woodlands, springtime brings a palette of vibrant colors and sweet floral scents that come with the growth of new blooms across the cemetery. Our Cradle Graves will soon be flowering with unique gardens, each tended by our dedicated team of Grave Gardener volunteers. In anticipation for the season of new growth, let’s learn about one of The Woodlands’ notable burials: esteemed horticulturist Ann Bartram Carr.
A Portrait of Ann Bartram. Source: [4]
Ann Bartram was born on February 15, 1779 to parents John and Eliza. Ann—or Nancy, as she was known to her family—grew up immersed in the world of botany and horticulture. Her grandfather John Bartram owned and operated Bartram’s Garden, which stands today as a historic site and public garden about 1 mile away from us here at The Woodlands. John purchased the property in 1728 and transformed it into one of the country’s first botanical gardens, where he cultivated a wide variety of native plants and established a thriving international plant and seed trade. At his death in 1777, John passed along the nursery business to John Jr (Ann’s father), who ran it with assistance from his brother William. William Bartram excelled in botanical illustrations and received acclaim for his illustrations and written descriptions of the botanical and anthropological life along his journey through parts of the American South, featured in his book Bartram’s Travels. He was also a close friend of The Woodlands’ own William Hamilton, often traveling to Hamilton’s greenhouse to illustrate the rare plants in his expansive collection.
From an early age, Ann was surrounded by horticultural knowledge that she would absorb and use throughout her lifetime. Ann had to step up and run the household when she was only 15 years old. Her mother Eliza died when Ann was 5 years old, and Ann learned from watching her older sister, Mary, how to do daily household and farm work. When Mary married and left the estate in 1794, 15-year-old Ann was tasked with performing the gamut of household chores. Flora Murray, a young girl who came to live with the Bartrams in this period, said of Ann “Mrs. Carr was a young woman when I went to live with her father (ca.1798). Mrs. Carr was the housekeeper when I went there & had the entire superintendence of household, and continued so till her father’s death. There was never any other housekeeper but Mrs. Carr.”[3] Ann was burdened by responsibility early in life.
Ann’s only identified illustration depicts a Certhia Americana, or Brown Creeper. This drawing was engraved for her Uncle William and was published in Benjamin Smith Barton’s “Medical and Physical Journal” in 1805. Source: [4]
Despite her domestic workload, Ann was able to balance her chores with her passion for horticulture. She learned about drawing and botany from her uncle William Bartram and over time became an impressive botanist in her own right. On a 1799 visit to Bartram’s Garden, Portuguese traveler Hipòlito José Da Costa remarked on Ann’s proficiency with plant names. He documented their interaction in his journal, writing “We then turned to talking about botany, a field to which she was no stranger, for she knew the names of many plants and could apply the system of Linnaeus.”[4] Later in that same visit, Ann’s father displayed the botanical drawings of Ann and her brother James. Even as a teenager, Ann had developed into a competent botanist who caught the attention of many of her family’s visitors.
In the early 19th century, Ann met Robert Carr, the printer of a friend who was publishing a series of ornithology volumes. Ann first encountered Robert while she was helping illustrate the volumes. Robert shared Ann’s passion for botany, and the two soon fell in love. The couple married on March 4, 1809 and moved in together at Bartram’s Garden, where Robert took partial control of the family business. While Robert’s name is the only one signed on the legal documentation of business and property ownership, it is likely that Ann had a large role in running the business as she had a greater knowledge of horticulture and how to operate the nursery business. Her identity as a woman living in the 19th century, however, did not afford her the same rights and opportunities as her husband, and many of her contributions went undocumented. Ann’s role as a leader in their nursery business and as a botany expert was admired by the many visitors the house received over the years.
Together, the newlyweds invested their resources in adapting and renovating Bartram’s Garden. After their marriage, the Bartram House underwent a series of improvements including new decorative finishes on the walls and additions to the main building to accommodate a summer kitchen and conservatory. The pair also added at least ten greenhouses to the property and expanded the botanical gardens into a more commercial nursery that could better serve the growing middle class, who had taken on gardening as a common hobby. Ann’s shrewd business sense and passion for horticulture allowed Bartram’s Garden to evolve with the times and thrive. 1807 marks a notable uptick in the botanical garden’s operations; in this year Ann and Robert began to cultivate several new species and flower varieties, such as chrysanthemums and dahlias. The couple even introduced the poinsettia to the gardening world by showing it at the 1829 Philadelphia Flower show after receiving the seeds from Joseph Poinsett himself.
The War of 1812 brought about significant financial difficulty to the Carrs. Robert Carr left Bartram’s Garden to fight in the war, first as a Major and then as a Lieutenant Colonel. Unfortunately, in this period his print business was hit hard by embargoes from the war, and Carr went bankrupt. Having lost his print business, Robert embraced his role at Bartram’s Garden. The botanical garden, however, was also struggling financially. In fact, the couple may have considered selling it had it not been for the protests of Ann’s aging Uncle William.
The Bartram House and Ann Bartram Carr Garden. Photo by: Pete Prown, October 20, 2016. Sourced from bartramsgarden.org
Although the business stabilized in the post-war decades, it faced renewed hardship in the 1830s and 40s. John Bartram Carr, Ann’s stepson who had been relied on for much of the labor on site, died in 1839. Business competitors also became more common and more formidable in this period. Unfortunately, Ann and Robert could no longer sustain the business. They sold the nursery in 1847 and the house itself in 1850. The elderly couple relocated from the home that Ann had lived in her entire life to Powelton in West Philadelphia, and then again to Beverly, New Jersey. Ann died in 1858 and Robert died in 1866. Today, the two are buried at The Woodlands Cemetery.
Ann was instrumental in opening the beloved Bartram’s Garden to the public and advocating for its importance, and the importance of horticulture in America. Bartram’s Garden recently memorialized Ann’s legacy in a $2.7 million restoration of the site’s Ann Bartram Carr Garden, which continues to provide a beautiful space for the public to enjoy. As the weather continues to warm up and spring brings new growth to our gardens, be sure to take a stroll through The Woodlands, enjoy the Grave Gardens as they blossom, and pay a visit to Ann Bartram and Robert Carr in Section C, Lot 229, southeast of the Hamilton Mansion.
Written by:
Jane Nasta
Sources:
“Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery.” Bartram Botanic Garden and Nursery - History of Early American Landscape Design. National Gallery of Art. Accessed March 8, 2023. https://heald.nga.gov/mediawiki/index.php?title=Bartram_Botanic_Garden_and_Nursery&mobileaction=toggle_view_mobile#Images.
“Portrait of Ann Bartram Carr as a Teenager.” Bartram's Garden, October 21, 2016. https://www.bartramsgarden.org/portrait-ann-bartram-carr-teenager/.
Smith, Merrill D. “The Bartram Women: Farm Wives, Artists, Botanists, and Entrepreneurs.” Bartram Broadsides. Bartram's Garden, 2001. https://www.bartramsgarden.org/wp-content/uploads/Bartram-Women-Bartram-Broadside-winter-2001-.pdf.