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Catherine "Kate" Furbish

Early Life and Education

Kate Furbish was born on May 19, 1834 in Exeter, New Hampshire, the eldest child and only daughter of Benjamin and Mary Lane Furbish. The family relocated to Brunswick, Maine, shortly after her birth. As a child, her father would take Furbish and her five younger brothers for walks in the local woods. Even as a young child, Furbish showed a knack for botany as she was able to identify many of the area’s native plants.

Furbish pursued a genteel education in painting and French literature. This resulted in her spending one year in Paris to perfect her painting. Though she did not receive a formalized higher education, in 1860, Furbish would attend George L. Goodale’s botany lectures in Boston.

Personal Life

Furbish was an artist, but also a scientist, defying the societal norms of the time. She led the life of a typical Victorian lady in that she dressed appropriately, attended church regularly, and kept her house in immaculate order, but she was often impatient with other social conventions and took refuge in her family. She is described as being very independent. She traveled alone and did not feel the need to get married. Furbish also participated in activities of the Saturday Club, a group of women in Brunswick who discussed various intellectual and cultural topics, which was used to substitute the women’s inability to attend university.

In 1860, Furbish became very ill after her trip to Boston, and spent the next 10 years recovering her fragile health. By 1870, Furbish had regained sufficient strength to resume her walks through the woods in Maine. In 1873, her father died and left her a large enough inheritance so she could pursue her favorite pastime.

Local residents became accustomed to seeing Furbish on her walks. Some people considered her unusual due to her obsession with the outdoors and flora. She was given the nickname "Posey Woman," which stuck with her and which she felt suited her well. When asked why she was so interested in "weeds," Furbish quoted Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "We feel the presence of God in Nature there, Nature grand and awful, and tread reverently where all is so hushed and oppressive in its silence."

The "pedicularis furbishiae," also known as the furbish lousewart.

Career and Discoveries

During the 38 years between 1870 and 1908, Furbish completed the majority of her painting, collecting, and classifying Maine’s plant life, traveling thousands of miles across the state. She often traversed untouched wilderness, and in the process, her self-appointed life task resulted in over 4000 sheets of dried plants and ferns. From 1897 to 1905, Furbish made her now famous sketches of Maine’s 500 mushrooms.

In 1880, when Furbish was travelling in Aroostook County, she came upon a strand of plants with dull yellow leaves known as the pedicularis, or common lousewort. This plant now holds her name, being the pedicularis furbishiae. This lousewort has never been found anywhere in the world except along a 130-mile stretch of the St. John River. This is so rare it stopped the construction of a hydroelectric power plant and dam in the 1970’s in order to protect it. Another plant that holds her name is the Aster Cordifoluis L. var. Furbishiae.

In 1894, Furbish helped to found the Josselyn Botanical Society of Maine and served as its president from 1911 - 1912. Furbish soon collected over 1,300 water colors in a book that spanned fourteen volumes entitled "Flora of Maine".

Legacy and Impact

In 1908, Furbish decided to distribute her research and work. The "Flora of Maine" was donated to Bowdoin College, while her 182 sheets of pressed ferns were donated to the Portland Society of Natural History, and her 4,000 sheets of dried plants to the New England Botanical Club. All together, her work represented the flora of more than 200 Maine towns.

Furbish died at the age of 97 on December 6th, 1931. She was well-known in the botanist and naturalist communities, and her water colors and drawings are still widely praised among professional naturalists. Furbish’s resurgence in popularity helped to increase the faith and importance placed in amateurs in plant-based sciences.