Fernow, Bernhard Eduard (07 January 1851–06 February 1923), pioneer professional forester in North America, was born in the province of Posen, Prussia (now Poland), the son of Eduard Fernow, who opted for law and government service rather than managing the family estate, and Clara Nordman, the second of Eduard’s three wives. In his youth Fernow spent time with his uncle, Frederick Edmund Fernow, who managed the family property which included a large forest holding. At age nineteen, following secondary school and before beginning his classroom studies at the Münden Forest Academy in the province of Hanover, Fernow spent a year in practical woods work with the Prussian forest department. His forestry education was interrupted in 1870 by military service as an army lieutenant during the Franco-Prussian War. Before graduating from forestry school he met Olivia Reynolds, a U.S. citizen who had accompanied her brother during his university studies in Germany. Olivia was hired to teach Fernow English. When they became engaged and left for the United States in 1876, his family, expecting him to follow in his uncle’s footsteps, was upset at his departure. The couple married in 1879 and subsequently had five children....
Article
Fernow, Bernhard Eduard (1851-1923), pioneer professional forester in North America
Terry West
Article
Hough, Franklin Benjamin (1822-1885), forester
Thomas J. Curran
Hough, Franklin Benjamin (22 July 1822–11 June 1885), forester, was born Benjamin Franklin Hough in Martinsburg, New York, the son of Horatio Gates Hough, a physician, and Martha Pitcher. When he was eight years old he discovered a cousin with the same name and reversed his given names, styling himself Franklin B. Hough. His father died when Hough was eight years old. He entered Lowville Academy in 1836. Early in his career, local residents became aware of his fascination with rocks and minerals. He continued his education at the Black River Literary and Religious Institute at Watertown, New York, and then in 1840 he entered Union College in Schenectady and graduated three years later....
Article
Pinchot, Gifford (1865-1946), forester, conservationist, and governor of Pennsylvania
James Penick
Pinchot, Gifford (11 August 1865–04 October 1946), forester, conservationist, and governor of Pennsylvania, was born in Simsbury, Connecticut, the son of James Wallace Pinchot, a wealthy merchant, and Mary Jane Eno. Proud of his French ancestry, James W. Pinchot raised his family in a primly decorous but brilliant social environment steeped in French culture....
