Wikipedia

Stephen Conrad Stuntz

Stephen Conrad Stuntz (1875–1918) was an American botanist and fiction author.

Stephen Conrad Stuntz
Photograph of Stuntz as an assistant librarian, June 1900.
Born(1875-04-04)April 4, 1875[1]
Clarno, Wisconsin, United States[1]
DiedFebruary 2, 1918(1918-02-02) (aged 42)[2]
Vienna, Virginia, United States[3]
Other namesStephen Conrad
SpouseLena Greyson Fitzhugh[4]
ChildrenAnne Fitzhugh Stuntz (1917-1995),

Elizabeth Bland Fitzhugh Stuntz (1912 - 1999), Stephen Conrad Stuntz Jr.(1913-1945), Laurance Fitzhugh Stuntz (1908-1993),[5]

Mayo Sturdevant Stuntz (1915-2013).[6]
Scientific career
FieldsBotany, bryology, agriculture, history.
Signature

Life

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Born in Green County, Wisconsin, Stephen was the child of Lydia A. Sturdevant and A.C. Stuntz, the county surveyor in Monroe.[7][8] Stuntz graduated from Monroe High School in June 1892, and during the event he ran “Walks among Green County Plants” as an activity.[7]

Majoring in botany and geology, Stuntz graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1899.[7][9] He then worked as an assistant at the university library and herbarium until 1902.[9][10] With Laurance Charles Burke, he produced the first newsletter for the UW‑Madison libraries called The Library Item in 1900.[11] From 1902 to 1908, he was a cataloguer with the Library of Congress, and from 1908 to 1910 he was a bibliographer with the United States Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Soils.[10] From 1910 until his death he was a botanist with the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introductions.[10] In June 1907, Stephen married Lena Greyson Fitzhugh, and together they had 5 children.[9][3]

In the 1910s, Stuntz became active in the Fairfax Historical Society, becoming the society's secretary. His son, Mayo Stuntz, would later become president of the same society.[12] S.C. Stuntz died of pneumonia in 1918.[13]

Published works: fiction

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Under his pseudonym, Stephen Conrad, he wrote two humorous fiction works;

  • The Second Mrs. Jim,[14][9] and
  • Mrs. Jim and Mrs. Jimmie; certain town experiences of the second Mrs. Jim as related to Jimmie's wife[15][9]

But he also wrote short stories under the name S.C. Stuntz, including:

  • The conversion of the 'H.H.' The American magazine v.55 1903[16]

Published major works: non-fiction

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In the field of botany, Stuntz wrote multiple descriptions of species, primarily in the Inventory of seeds and plants imported by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction of the United States Department of Agriculture.[17] He also wrote:

  • S.C. Stuntz. 1900. A Revision of the North American Species of the Genus Eleutera Beauv. (Neckera Hedw.) Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 27(4):202–211.[18]
  • S.C. Stuntz. 1910. Reference list on the electric fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and the use of calcium cyanamid and calcium nitrate on soils. [19]
  • E.E. Free and S.C. Stuntz. 1911.The movement of soil material by the wind, with a bibliography of eolian geology.[20]

Posthumously, he also published:

  • S.C. Stuntz, and E.B. Hawks [ed.] 1941. List of the agricultural periodicals of the United States and Canada published during the century July 1810 to July 1910.[21]

While secretary of the Fairfax Historical Society, Stuntz also wrote for the Daughters of the American Revolution magazine, and advertised himself as a "specialist in the history of Fairfax and adjoining counties of Virginia":[22]

  • S.C. Stuntz. July 1916. The Fairfax County Committee of Safety. Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. 49:239-245.[23]
  • S.C. Stuntz. January 1917. The Carlyle House, Alexandria, Virginia. Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. 50:4-9.[24]

Standard author abbreviation

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The standard author abbreviation Stuntz is used to indicate this person as the author when citing a botanical name.[25]

Botanical legacy and collections

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S.C. Stuntz authored botanical names, while working in the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, including:

  • Aristoclesia esculenta (Arruda) Stuntz[26] now a synonym of Platonia insignis var. insignis.[27]
  • Aristotelia chilensis (Molina) Stuntz [28]
  • Assonia calantha (K.Schum.) Stuntz[29] now a synonym of Dombeya burgessiae.[30]
  • Chaetochloa intermedia (Roem. & Schult.) Stuntz[31] now a synonym of Setaria intermedia[32]
  • Chaetochloa lutescens Stuntz [31] now a synonym of Cenchrus americanus[33]
  • Prosopis chilensis (Molina) Stuntz[34] now a synonym of Neltuma chilensis[35]

Stuntz's bryological collections are held at the University of Wisconsin Herbarium,[36] the New York Botanical Garden, the Field Museum of Natural History, the University of Michigan Herbarium, the University of Tennessee Bryophyte Herbarium, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and Harvard University Herbaria.[37] A smaller number of his vascular plant collections are held by the University of Wisconsin Herbarium, and outside of North America specimens are held by the National Herbarium of Victoria Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria.[38][39]

References

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  1. ^ a b Anonymous (1916–1917). "Stuntz, Stephen Conrad". Who's Who in America. 9: 2387.
  2. ^ Anonymous (1918–1919). "Stuntz, Stephen Conrad". Who's Who in America. 10: 2634.
  3. ^ a b Stuntz, Anne (June 2020). "1918 Influenza Epidemic in Northern Virginia" (PDF). Historic Vienna Ink. 21 (2): 2–3.
  4. ^ "Social and Personal". The Washington Post. Washington D.C. 31 May 1906. p. 7. ProQuest 144747024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  5. ^ "The Mason Descendants Database: Lena Grayson Fitzhugh". The Mason Web. Gunston Hall Library. 13 September 2017. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  6. ^ Bares, Bart (2 June 2013). "Soldier, spy, scholar was 'exemplary va. gentleman'". The Washington Post. Washington D.C. ProQuest 1357325627. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b c Mitchell, Tom (June 2016). "Historic Plants of the Prairie Bluff Chapter" (PDF). The Prairie Promoter. 29 (1).
  8. ^ "1884 History of Green County, Chapter XXL: County Officers - Past and Present". Welcome to Monticello. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e Anonymous (June 1907). "News of the Alumni". The Wisconsin Alumni Magazine. 8 (9–10).
  10. ^ a b c Stafleu, F.A.; Cowan, R.S. (1976–1988). "Stuntz, Stephen Conrad (1875–1918)". Taxonomic literature: A selective guide to botanical publications and collections with dates, commentaries and types (2nd ed.). Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  11. ^ Null, David (Spring 2005). "The Library Item". Friends of the Libraries Magazine. 45: 4.
  12. ^ Ethan Levine (29 July 2013). "Local Historian Honored in Naming of New Park Authority Award". Patch, Vienna, VA. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  13. ^ Anonymous (May 1917). "Obituary: Stephen Conrad Stuntz". Plant Immigrants. 133: 1176.
  14. ^ Conrad, Stephen (1904). The second Mrs. Jim. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  15. ^ Conrad, Stephen (1905). Mrs. Jim and Mrs. Jimmie; certain town experiences of the second Mrs. Jim as related to Jimmie's wife. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  16. ^ Stuntz, S.C. (July 1902). "The conversion of the 'H.H.'". Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly. New York: Frank Leslie Publishing House. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Stuntz, Stephen Conrad (1875–1918)". International Plant Name Index. 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  18. ^ Stuntz, Stephen Conrad (1900). "A Revision of the North American Species of the Genus Eleutera Beauv. (Neckera Hedw.)". Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club. 27 (4): 202–211. doi:10.2307/2477899. JSTOR 2477899.
  19. ^ Stuntz, Stephen Conrad (1910). Reference list on the electric fixation of atmospheric nitrogen and the use of calcium cyanamid and calcium nitrate on soils. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  20. ^ Free, Edward Elway; Stuntz, Stephen (1911). The movement of soil material by the wind, with a bibliography of eolian geology. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  21. ^ Stuntz, Stephen (1941). List of the agricultural periodicals of the United States and Canada published during the century July 1810 to July 1910. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  22. ^ Stuntz, S.C. (October 1916). "S.C. Stuntz". Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. New York: The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  23. ^ Stuntz, S.C. (July 1916). "The Fairfax County Committee of Safety". Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. Daughters of the American Revolution. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  24. ^ Stuntz, S.C. (July 1916). "The Carlyle House, Alexandria, Virginia". Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine. New York: The National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  25. ^ International Plant Names Index.  Stuntz.
  26. ^ Galloway, B.T. (1912). "Seeds and Plants Imported during the period from July 1 to September 30, 1911". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 248: 58.
  27. ^ "Plants of the World Online". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  28. ^ Taylor, W.A. (1912). "Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, during the period from April 1 to June 30, 1912". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 31: 26.
  29. ^ Taylor, W.A. (1912). "Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, during the period from April 1 to June 30, 1912". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 31: 27.
  30. ^ "Plants of the World Online". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  31. ^ a b Taylor, W.A. (1912). "Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, during the period from April 1 to June 30, 1912". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 31: 36.
  32. ^ "Plants of the World Online". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  33. ^ "Plants of the World Online". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  34. ^ Taylor, W.A. (1912). "Inventory of Seeds and Plants Imported by the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, during the period from April 1 to June 30, 1912". U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry. 31: 30.
  35. ^ "Plants of the World Online". Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
  36. ^ Sayre, Geneva (1977). "Authors of Names of Bryophytes and the Present Location of Their Herbaria". The Bryologist. 80 (3): 502–521. doi:10.2307/3242025. JSTOR 3242025.
  37. ^ "Collections". Consortium of North American Bryophyte Herbaria (CNABH). 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  38. ^ "Online Virtual Flora of Wisconsin". Virtual Wisconsin Flora. Consortium of Wisconsin Herbaria. 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
  39. ^ "The Australasian Virtual Herbarium". The Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria (CHAH). 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2021.
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