Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science

by Catherine McNeur

The untold story of two sisters whose discoveries sped the growth of American science in the nineteenth century, combining "meticulous research and sensitive storytelling" (Janice P. Nimura, New York Times -bestselling author of The Doctors Blackwell )

In Mischievous Creatures , historian Catherine McNeur uncovers the lives and work of Margaretta Hare Morris and Elizabeth Carrington Morris, sisters and scientists in early America. Margaretta, an entomologist, was famous among her peers and the public for her research on seventeen-year cicadas and other troublesome insects. Elizabeth, a botanist, was a prolific illustrator and a trusted supplier of specimens to the country’s leading experts. Together, their discoveries helped fuel the growth and professionalization of science in antebellum America. But these very developments confined women in science to underpaid and underappreciated roles for generations to follow, erasing the Morris sisters’ contributions along the way.

Mischievous Creatures is an indelible portrait of two unsung pioneers, one that places women firmly at the center of the birth of American science.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, History, Biography, Nature, Biography Memoir, Feminism

432 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 2023

Reviews

[Becca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only a rediscovery of two influential female scientists, but a fascinating peek at the development of science as a body of study in the US. Well worth the read for anyone interested in marginalized scientist communities and/or the history of science.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Catherine McNeur spoke eloquently and passionately about her book at the University of Delaware Morris Library, where some of the Morris sisters’ papers and manuscripts are kept in their Rare Manuscript collection. Observing Margaretta and Elizabeth’s family albums at the library and the attention to detail in their drawings and paintings, it is easy to imagine the utmost care they would have applied to their research as well as to their collecting, preserving, and shipping of specimens and records.

As an amateur naturalist living near Philadelphia, this very well-researched story of the Morris sisters was quite fascinating to me. I am familiar with the Pennsylvania landscape near Germantown and the flora that grows in this region. While they certainly benefited from their privileged status as white and well-off in 19th century society, they struggled to be seen as valued scientists and researchers in that male-dominated field. So grateful to Catherine McNeur for her persistence in bringing their inspiring story and struggles to light.

As a children’s librarian, I would love to see the story of Margaretta and Elizabeth retold for aspiring young scientists!

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an attempt to give early women scientists the credit that they are due in the historical records for their discoveries, and work to advance the sciences. It focuses upon the lives of two sisters, Margaretta Morris. an entomologist, and Elizabeth Morris, a botanist, who resided in Germantown, Pennsylvania, from the late 18th through the mid 19th century. Much of the book is speculative since few records exist concerning the sisters lives and their scientific work. Many of their writings were anonymous, or were destroyed. Therefore, information about their lives and work is extrapolated from extant correspondence and diaries, and what is known about the social and cultural lives of people who were part of, or resided in wealthy suburban social circles similar to those in which the Morris sisters participated.

Unfortunately some of the most interesting discussions of the sisters lives and their erasure from the historical record are contained in chapters that would have made an excellent series of extended essays. There are numerous occasions when the book veers off course as it discusses the lives of people who may have acted as tutors, or influenced the sisters in their work, or with whom they corresponded or who disagreed with them. The book speculates about the sisters’ views on women’s suffrage, changes in women’s clothing, and other subjects relating to the then nascent women’s rights movement based upon their friendships, travels and references to places and events in their writings, which could be interpreted in a variety of ways.

Parts of the book, although documented with copious notes linking to primary sources, reads more like historical fiction, than a biography or a history of women in science in early America. In reality, the author’s attempt to try to fill pages by veering from history to biography and back again with the occasional digression to what may appear to be historical fiction, bogs down what would otherwise be an interesting dual biography. It’s for these reasons that the book rates 3.5 stars.

The reviewer received an ARC in return for this review.

[David Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book fascinates on at least two levels. First, of course, there is the story of the Morris sisters of Germantown, Pennsylvania: Margaretta Hare Morris (an entomologist), and her elder sibling, Elizabeth Carrington Morris (a botanist). These two women were fascinated by science -- and obtained as good an education as any female could receive in the early 19th century. The author is to be applauded for having managed to write at such length about these two important figures in the early history of scientific endeavor in the United States, since -- and here we come to the second level -- women's contributions to 'men's' fields of inquiry and endeavor were belittled or entirely ignored. We are given an all-too-vivid picture of the place of women in the first half of the 1800s. The Morris sisters, for all their important discoveries and theories, were basically erased from history -- and their experience in this is not unique. Again: kudos to the author for all her digging and digging in the records left behind. (The story of the demolition of the Morris home in Germantown after the sisters' deaths is particularly galling.) I am not sure I would go so far (as the author does in her subtitle) as to claim the Morrises 'transformed' early American science, but they certainly influenced it by their persistence, their contributions to scientific journals, and their connections with men in their respective fields. Highly recommended!

[Midlife Moxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two amazing sisters whose story was almost lost. The history of the Morris sisters as they pursue their passion for nature through Botany & Entomology is well told by author McNeur. Recommend reading while out in nature to truly appreciate the beauty of the Morris sisters.

[Sheila Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5 Stars!!
Review:
Thank you to Seal Press for sending me this FREE Complimentary Hardcover Copy of this NonFiction Novel about The First 2 Caucasian Women Botany Scientists as part of their Ambassadors Program.

Before i read this book i had never before heard about The Morris Sisters which i think is why i throughly enjoyed reading about them so much. Yes normally i dont read much NonFiction/Memoir Books but there was something about this one that drew my interest.

I loved all the research that Catherine did from The Morris Sisters childhood to Teen Years to their move to Germantown, Pennsylvania and the mention of The Civil War and John Brown. This book had everything and more.

I loved learning about the history of flowers and plants and why certain insects feast on them on Fall when Botany Growing is pretty much over.

I can't wait to read more by Catherin in the future!!
#makewaves #sealpressambassadors

[Amanda Woodlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a lot of surprising things about the early days of American botany and entomology. Personal details about the sisters and their connections added context and color that added to my enjoyment of this book. I recommend it for anyone interested in natural sciences and/or female pioneers in those fields.

[Tammy]

I picked this book up at the library and quickly decided I had to get a copy for my personal library. What more can I say?
I hope McNeur does write that book on the tree of heaven and everything else that strikes her fancy. I intend to read it all.

Book starts around the war of 1812. I want to read it after finishing Madison's biography.

[norma baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are interested in women who made great contributions in their fields (in this case, science) without the recognition they deserved, you will enjoy this book.
Maegaretta and Elizabeth Morris studied entymology and botany, largely on their own as they explored a park and. creek near their home. Elizabeth found, named, identified and shared cuttings from plants and her sister studied bugs that attacked agriculture. She tried to save the wheat crop, if her evidence was followed. But then, they were women.

[Siobhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really great book on two female scientists. As a Philly native and woman in STEM, I had never heard of either sister until listening to the “Lost Women of Science” podcast. Hearing the author talk about these women and her book, I was interested to read it and learn more about Margarita and Elizabeth. The book was interesting, fast paced, and easy to read. My only qualm was that the author seemed yo make a lot of assumptions about their personal lives (which she honestly had to do as there is so little record of them left) but it felt a bit over done or far-fetched at times. But to her credit, she did usually follow up with some variation of how that was simply speculation. Overall, I would highly recommend this book to all readers, especially those in Philadelphia as there is so much history contained within it and those interested in the history and progression of science. While the focus is mainly on the sisters, there is so much about the other notable scientists of the time and their discoveries as well as how the Morris Sisters helped further their respective fields.

[Ella Droste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mischievous Creatures dives into the stories of unsung female scientists Margaretta and Elizabeth Morris, painting a vivid picture of their contributions. Unfortunately, because of the lack of records, there is a lot of speculation concerning the sisters' scientific pursuits and social lives.

Despite some sidetracks and extrapolations, the author manages to uncover the forgotten heroines of early American science, earning a solid 4 stars for its commendable effort in bringing these trailblazers back into focus. This was a really interesting read!

I'd like to express my gratitude for having received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

[Anne Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars round up to 4 stars. This book reclaims the impact that Germantown, PA’s Morris sisters, Elizabeth and Margaretta, made in early American botany and entomology studies. Their accomplishments were largely minimized in their lifetimes in the 19th century and systematically erased as histories have been written. Had the author not discovered letters in other scientists’ collections, we might know very little about them to this day.

The book reads a bit dry, and some of it is repetitive, but the author is very thorough in her research and she is to be commended for giving these brilliant women the recognition they deserve.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this on Good Reads.
A great read for anyone interested in how science worked in the 1800s. It’s the story of Margaretta Hare Morris and her sister Elizabeth Carrington Morris who did primary observation and studies in entomology and botany. Covering how they got their research into the hands of the top researchers of the day and how it was accepted and/or discarded by those men. This is also a story of how their lives were bound by the society they lived in and their triumphs and losses.

[Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fine history of two sisters in the nineteenth century that deserved much more credit for the science they performed in botany and entomology. They advanced both disciplines with their research and contribution. Not only were they never really acknowledged but after their deaths, it seemed there was actually an attempt to erase from history the lives lived and contributions made.

Why?

Solely because they were women in a field dominated by men.

It is a good history of their lives both of which were well-lived.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very readable and interesting. Repetitive at times and focused a bit too much on Charles Darwin and Asa Gray for my liking but it was obvious the author cared about these scientists and wanted to share their stories and accomplishments - especially as they were mostly overlooked in their time due to being women.

[Mathieu]

This is a good biography of these two women scientists and the struggles they had in the early 1800's to have success and respect in a male dominated field. (I'm not a reader of biographies, so my star rating may be lower than it should, so I left it out.)

[Heidi]

Intro: "William Whewell coined the term "scientist" in 1834 in an essay about a woman ... British astronomer and mathematician Mary Somerville." (Most people at the time used the phrase "man of science" or "naturalist." P 10-11

Quaker women could preach in the 1750s! (p29) and Philly Quakers educated women.
Since science was new, girls got MORE scientific education (p50); guys got the classics. There was also a religious idea of understanding God through nature.

[The author is a feminist and references power structures like race, class, and colonialism.]

Mental Health terms
"unspeakable poverty of spirit" and "nervous fever" (p29)

Further reading
Benjamin Rush
"Thoughts upon female education" Samuel Hall, 1787 Argued we should educate women in order for the mothers to educate the next generation of American patriots
British Mary Wollstonecraft's 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women' 1792 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Vindi... [Mary died from complications after the birth of Mary Shelly, author of Frankenstein!]
Charles Willston Peal, Sci Museum p37

[Tanya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Captivating history.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent history of 2 woman scientists that were lost/forgotten/suppressed in the annals of history despite important contributions to their fields; really well written and readable.

[Jenna Bubna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read and learned so much! Def recommend to those curious to learn more about the professionalization of science which excluded the women who it was built on top of and excluded.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐, 100 pages too much, loved learning about them though

#44

[Erin Smalley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fav professor wrote this and it was SO good. Informative without being dense, easy to read but w complex themes. Would recommend to anyone

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story of Elizabeth Morris and her sister, Margaretta, from Germantown, Pennsylvania who lived and explored the world of plants and bugs prior to the Civil War. They supplied other scientists with their specimens and theories as well as their knowledge of their experiments and observations.

I enjoyed this book. I learned a lot. I had never heard of these sisters. Elizabeth was involved with plants and how they were distributed in the neighborhood and beyond it. She may have been the first to recognize how birds and insects can spread seeds further than expected. Margaretta was involved with bugs and how they infected plants. She had a theory then observed how one bug could destroy a farmer's crops. She wrote of how it did its damage and how to get rid of the pest. Male scientists did not believe her but the farmers that took her advice (published in a agricultural magazine) found their crops thrived rather than died.

I found their contacts amazing. They had the preeminent scholars of the time as their correspondents who would ask for specimens and theories as well as what they learned. These women were amazing with their studies. Unfortunately, because they were women, they were not given the accolades that were given to men they proved wrong. They weren't given any public accolades. They were not taken seriously. It was a shame because they learned a lot that was useful in both botany and entomology.

I was glad I read this book. There was so much I did not know. I have a new appreciation for what was done by these sisters.