Margaretta Hare Morris and Elizabeth Carrington Morris: the Forgotten Germantown Sisters who Transformed Early American Science

In her new book, Mischievous Creatures, historian Catherine McNeur uncovers the lives and work of the forgotten Germantown scientists, Margaretta Hare Morris and Elizabeth Carrington Morris, who were at the center of scientific conversations and debates in the nineteenth century. Margaretta, an entomologist, was famous among her peers and the public for her research on 17-year cicadas and other troublesome insects. Elizabeth, a botanist, was a prolific illustrator and a trusted supplier of specimens to the country’s leading experts. At this talk, McNeur will discuss the research involved in recreating the Morris sisters’ lives, their community in Germantown, and the many ways that they’ve been erased from the history of science in the centuries since.

This talk is co-sponsored by the Wyck House, Stenton, Germantown Historical Society, and Germantown Friends School.

Registration required. Reception begins at 6pm. Free and open to the public.