Annie Law
Annie Elisabeth Law (1842–12 January 1889)[1] was a British-American conchologist, who discovered 11 species and one genus of mollusks, but did not publish formal descriptions of them.[2] She was also a dispatch rider for the Confederate army during the American Civil War and was tried in Knoxville as a confederate informer.[3][4][5]
Annie Law | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1842 |
| Died | 12 January 1889 (aged 46–47) |
| Nationality | British-American |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Conchology |
Personal life
Annie Law was born in 1842[6] in Carlisle, England, the first of three children of John Law.[7] The family migrated to the United States in around 1850, settling in Maryville, Blount County, Tennessee.[7]
After her parents had died, Law spent time in California, including four years in Hollister, San Benito County. While residing in Hollister Law visited Blount County and collected ethnological artefacts from a native American burial mound.[8] These she donated to the Smithsonian Institution.[8] She later resided at Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, where she died on 12 January 1889.[7]
Conchology
Law collected specimens in the mountainous regions of North Carolina and Tennessee.[2] She corresponded with James Lewis, who published a paper describing her finds in the Holston River,[9] and other papers formally describing the species she discovered. Species she discovered include the following, two of which were named in her honor:[7]
- Appalachina chilhoweensis, previously known as Helix chilhoweensis (Lewis, 1874[10])
- Helix lawii now known as Praticolella lawae (Lewis, 1874)[11]
- Pleurobema oviforme (Conrad, 1834), previously known as Unio lawi Lea, 1871[12]
- Vitrizonites latissima, previously known as Vitrina latissima (J. Lewis, 1874[10]) on Tusquita Bald Mountain, at an altitude of 6,600 feet (2,000 m).
- Zonites acerra (Lewis, 1874[10])
- Zonites cerinoidea var. cuspidata (Lewis, 1875[13])
- Zonites lawii
References
- "Annie Elizabeth Law | Shellers From the Past and Present". www.conchology.be. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- Ogilvie, Marilyn Bailey; Harvey, Joy Dorothy (2000). The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780415920407.
- William James Clench (1962). "A catalogue of the Viviparidae of North America with notes on the distribution of Viviparus georgianus Lea". Occasional papers on mollusks. 2 (27): 261–287. ISSN 0073-0807. Wikidata Q115798300.
- Dykeman, Wilma (1993). Tennessee woman : an infinite variety. Newport, Tenn.: Wakestone Books. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-884450-00-6. OCLC 29866550.
- House, Ellen Renshaw (1996). Sutherland, Daniel E. (ed.). A very violent rebel : the Civil War diary of Ellen Renshaw House. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. pp. 133, 244. ISBN 0-87049-944-0. OCLC 34190676.
- Coan, Eugene V.; Kabat, Alan R. 2,400 Years of Malacology (PDF) (12th ed.). American Malacological Society. p. 595. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
- Anon. "Annie E. Law". The Nautilus. 41 (1): 132–133.
- Law, Annie (1874). "ANTIQUITIES OF BLOUNT COUNTY, TENNESSEE". Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution. 1874: 375 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
- Lewis, James (1870). "On the Shells of the Holston River". Am. J. Conchol. VI: 216–.
- Lewis, James (1 May 1875). "Descriptions of New Species of American Land and Freshwater Shells". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 27 (2): 334–337. ISSN 0097-3157. JSTOR 4624495.
- Lewis, James (1 April 1874). "Description of a New Species of Helix". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 26 (2): 118–119. ISSN 0097-3157. JSTOR 4624414.
- Lea, Isaac (1 April 1871). "Descriptions of Twenty New Species of Uniones of the United States". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 23 (2): 189–193. ISSN 0097-3157. JSTOR 4624172.
- Lewis, James (1875). "Descriptions of New Species of American Land and Freshwater Shells". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 27 (2): 334–337. ISSN 0097-3157. JSTOR 4624495.
Further reading
- M. B. Williamson, 1894. Miss Annie Law, a Tennessee conchologist. The New Cycle (Federation of Women’s Clubs, New York) 7(8): 256-259