Sharswood, William, 1836-1905.

William Sharswood was a Pennsylvania naturalist.

From the description of Papers, 1865-1867. (American Philosophical Society Library). WorldCat record id: 122540840

William Sharswood (1836-1905) was a chemist, naturalist and playwright. Born in Philadelphia, Sharswood was the son of William and Agnes Sharswood, and cousin of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Chief Justice George Sharswood (1810-1883, APS 1851). After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1856, Sharswood studied Chemistry at the University of Saxony and received a Ph.D. in 1859.

As a naturalist, Sharswood contributed articles to a number of journals, including Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Linnaea Entomologica, and the Bulletin de la société géologique de Francethe and gave papers at the Boston Society of Natural History and the Elliott Society of Natural History. He also corresponded widely with other American naturalists. Among his major correspondents were John LeConte (1818-1891, APS 1873), John Lawrence LeConte (1825-1883, APS 1853), and Samuel S. Haldeman (1812-1880, APS 1844).

Sharswood also took an interest in Reconstruction in South Carolina and corresponded in 1866 with James D. B. DeBow, the editor of DeBow’s Review, who had advocated an expansion of southern agriculture and commerce. According to the Charlotte Observer, which reported Sharswood’s death in 1905, he lived in North Carolina for the last twenty-five years of his life, and for several years “edited with ability” a newspaper in Stokes County. The January 1902 issue of Publications of the Southern History Association reported that Sharswood was preparing a work for publication, entitled Facts Worth Knowing About North Carolina, which included half tone portraits of “representative” native North Carolinians.

Sharswood died on February 17, 1905 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina as a result of a train accident.

From the guide to the William Sharswood papers, 1865-1867, 1865-1867, (American Philosophical Society)