Call Number:

33

Repository:

Germantown Historical Society

Extent:

2.75 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1985-1994 (bulk) and 1890-1994 (inclusive)

Creator:

Anderson, Jeannette Meehan

Abstract:

Thomas Meehan (1826-1901) was a horticulturalist and nursery owner in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His nursery shipped plants across the globe, and his writings on horticulture influenced taste and design. The Jeannette Meehan Anderson collection on Thomas Meehan, 1890-1994, is comprised almost entirely of photocopies (primary source materials, contemporary articles on Meehan, and more recent scholarly articles). There are also drafts of articles by Anderson about Meehan, Anderson's correspondence about Meehan, Sotheby's appraisals of original Meehan papers and objects, and small number of original Thomas Meehan documents.

Germantown horticulturalist and nursery owner Thomas Meehan's publications were widely known in the second half of the 19th century. English-born Meehan came to America in 1848 and for a time worked at Bartram's Garden in southwest Philadelphia. He lived in Franklinville (Mount Airy). He began his nursery with land in Ambler and Mount Airy in 1854, expanding it to 75 acres in 1868 with the purchase of the Jacob Hortter farm east of Chew Street. William Saunders, noted Scottish landscape designer, was his partner for about a year before moving to Washington, D.C. to be superintendant of the government ground in Washington. (Saunders worked at Awbury Arboretum, Pomona Grove estate in Mount Airy and Hunting Park in Philadelphia.) A prolific writer, Meehan published "Meehan's Monthly," and "The American Handbook of Ornamental Trees," influencing taste and design. His nursery became the largest in America, with plants shipped to Europe, Australia, South Africa, and South America.

This collection consists almost entirely of photocopies: copies of primary source documents (Thomas Meehan receipts, etc.), contemporary articles by and about Meehan, and more recent newspaper and scholarly articles about Meehan. Many of the articles were annotated by Jeannette Meehan Anderson. There are also drafts of articles by Anderson about Meehan, and Anderson's correspondence about Meehan with publishers, sources, etc. The collection includes a small number of original Thomas Meehan documents, as well as a box of Sotheby's appraisals of original Meehan papers and objects.