Readers flock to read the works of novelist Barbara Kingsolver; I especially enjoy those with an environmental component. Often, her protagonist has naturalist leanings. In 2018, when it was announced that she was coming out with a new novel set in Vineland, and that plant and animal scientist Mary Treat would be one of the main characters, it created some chatter among historians, botanists, and entomologists, locally and all over the country.
Kingsolver’s Unsheltered is a fictionalized account contrasting two families from two different centuries who lived at the corner of Sixth and Plum streets in Vineland; in the context of the earlier century the neighboring resident was Mary Treat. Kingsolver’s novel became a New York Times bestseller, and NPR, O – Oprah Magazine, Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek all named it one of the best books of the year.
However, many of us who read the book were left with a craving for a broader, factual account of naturalist and author Mary Treat’s life and work. One of the pioneering women involved in bringing nature to a broader audience, she was an entomologist, botanist, plant pathologist, writer, and teacher. Now such a book is available.
It is fitting, given the background of Mary Treat, that the present-day editor of this weekly newspaper in Vineland would tackle the job of researching and compiling a book about Treat a century after her death. We are fortunate that Deborah Boerner Ein decided to undertake this task and give us a biographical picture of this local personage.
With a degree in forestry and natural resource management from Rutgers, Deborah has lived her life in the Pine Barrens and grew up “picking blueberries and apples” on her family’s farm. Her history gives her a kinship with Treat and an understanding of her work. In the years I’ve been writing this column for SNJ Today, I have found Deborah to have a deep interest and understanding of nature-oriented topics.
A well-written account about the uncelebrated Mary Treat is long overdue. Jon K. Gelhaus, Ph.D., curator of entomology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University wrote, “How could Mary Treat have been essentially forgotten when the breadth and depth of her research is outstanding?”
Deborah’s chronicle goes a long way toward rectifying that injustice.
It makes sense that Gelhaus would comment on and review the text, in that during Treat’s life she shared her interests in ants and spiders with Henry McCook, vice president of the Academy of Natural Sciences in the 1870s. Treat also corresponded with many other prominent scientists of her era, including Charles Darwin and Asa Gray.
Deborah’s research has resulted in an excellent and engaging narrative of Treat’s life, based on access to the personal papers of Treat archived at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society (VHAS) as well as Treat’s publications, the Charles Darwin Correspondence Project letters, the letters of Asa Gray, the Treat family genealogy, newspaper archives, and other resources. Deborah notes that Mary corresponded with Darwin more than any other woman scientist, as a total of 15 letters passed between them.
On one of her annual research trips to northern Florida, Mary Treat discovered this amaryllis (in bloom), which was subsequently named for her—Zephyranthes treatae. Photo: DEB EIN
RIGHT: Mary Treat’s study of insectivorous plants put her within the sphere of Charles Darwin and other eminent scientists of the 19th century. Several of those plants, including the Venus fly-trap, are natural treasures that thrive in Pine Barrens habitat. Photo: SAM NEUBER
Mary Treat was born in 1830; in 1868 she and husband Joseph Treat moved to Vineland seven years after its founding by Charles K. Landis. The Civil War raged from 1861 through 1865, and Mary lived during a time of great political, social, economic, technological, and scientific change. Many intellectuals were drawn to Vineland with the ideals and sense of promise vaunted by Landis.
For readers unfamiliar with the founding of Vineland by Landis, Deborah puts an interesting spotlight on the city father’s aspirations: “Landis touted his town in the New York Tribune, as well as other papers in New England and in Chicago and the western territories…. The Vineland layout of farms and tree-lined streets surely would have caught Mary’s attention.”
Passages like this give context to Treat’s life in southern New Jersey, and offer us a glimpse into our local and national history. Deborah’s account has plenty of fabric to keep the reader engaged from many perspectives.
Vineland was a hub of societal discourse. It was the site of New Jersey’s first state convention for universal suffrage in 1868 at the Plum Street Hall. Women’s suffrage, evolution, child labor, and prison reform were all debated topics. Pre-internet, television, and radio, public forums on topics of social interest were more commonplace than today. Notable orators were paid speakers.
Treat’s husband, Joseph, was an outspoken orator on equal rights for women, but Mary Treat was absorbed in studying the plants of the Pine Barrens, entomology, plant pathology, and evolutionary biology implications. She was a well-rounded naturalist studying flora and fauna with intense interest, and she discovered both plant and insect species that preeminent researchers named in her honor.
Deborah also meticulously lists Treat’s works; she wrote six books including a biography of Harvard botanist Gray, considered one of the most important botanists of the 19th century. He served as a mentor for Treat and was her longtime correspondent. She collected botanical samples for him in both New Jersey and Florida. It was Gray who encouraged Treat to correspond with Charles Darwin as they both studied carnivorous plants.
The organization and layout of the book add to its enjoyment and readability. A chapter-by-chapter bibliography is provided, which for me and many readers is a treasured addition. The content and accompanying tools make it an invaluable resource for scientists, students, and hobbyists alike.
Most importantly, Deborah’s book gives us a picture of a woman well-deserving of being celebrated by the southern New Jersey community. Our predecessors and their interesting stories enrich our own, and we give context to our existence in studying the lives of others. Their stories serve as a guide, in this instance especially for young women who wish to pursue careers in the sciences.
Toward that end, Deborah has written a companion children’s book on Mary Treat entitled, Mary Had a Little Zoo. It gives children insight into Treat’s curiosity about the natural world. The coloring book format fosters their curiosity, imagination and participation. It addresses the fields in which Treat made accomplishments. This paperback is intended for active reading with many opportunities to color plants, bugs, ants, and spiders primarily in a natural backdrop.
The book is appropriate for both girls and boys, but in my opinion the book has an added benefit for young girls, since Treat acts as a role model for women pursuing science, a field in which women are still vastly outnumbered by men. It speaks of Treat successfully challenging a man’s research results.
When my children were young, I often toted a coloring book to events or dinners where I knew they would grow impatient or bored. This book would be a great help around the holidays for just such occasions.
Treat wrote for all ages. Should you wish to delve further into Treat, a list of her articles and books for children appears on a back page in this book.
Deborah also released a hardcover special edition of the biography (photo at left), which includes the 15 letters, transcribed, that were exchanged between Treat and Darwin. Deborah told me that she wanted readers to be able to peruse the letters first-hand and form their own opinions of the relationship between these two esteemed scientists of the 19th century.
Whichever version you select, this is a book that you’ll surely want to give yourself and others this holiday season. Maybe someday we will find D. Boerner Ein’s Mary Treat: A Biography getting the same accolades as Barbara Kingsolver’s fictional account. In this case the true story is far more fascinating.
Meet the Author at Green Trading Post on Saturday!
When: December 7 and 8, from 12 noon to 4 p.m.
Where: Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) Headquarters,
17 Pemberton Rd., Southampton, NJ 08088
Organized as a traditional holiday bazaar, the Green Trading Post offers merchandise and memberships from local non-profit organizations—and features local artists and local authors whose work arises from or focuses on the Pine Barrens. Find unique gifts for friends and family this holiday season. The event takes place in PPA’s gorgeous renovated dairy barn.
Meet Deborah Boerner Ein at this event, Saturday only, where she will have discounted pricing on softcover (two for $40) and hardcover books (sell for $46 on Amazon, available for $35 at this event on 12/7). You may also purchase signed copies of the books at the PPA bookstore.
Mary Treat: A Biography —Available Locally and Online:
…at https://bit.ly/3NNnWEw as well as Amazon and other major booksellers. Buy directly from the publisher by using QR code below. For updates on book signings and where the books are available locally, visit www. marytreat.com
