Adventures of a Frontier Naturalist: The Life and Times of Dr. Gideon Lincecum

by Jerry Bryan Lincecum (Editor), Jerry Bryan Lincecum (Editor), A.C. Greene (Foreword)

Collated from four overlapping memoirs, some not previously published, this extraordinary man's account of his life as Indian trader, physician, and naturalist is lively and abounding in humor. Lincecum's experiences of following the frontier in the early 1800s, all the way from Georgia to Texas, were not so unusual in themselves, but the intellect and wit that inform his memoirs make them unique. His scientific articles and collections of specimens, his correspondence with leading scientists of the time, and his six years among the colony of ex-Confederates in Tuxpan, Mexico, offer still other insights into the age. Lincecum portrays many aspects of frontier social life, including marriage and divorce, slavery as practiced by the small slaveholder, education, religion as critiqued by a freethinker, the social life of the Choctaws and Chickasaws, medical controversies, and the building of towns. He vividly describes the unspoiled flora and fauna of Texas in 1835 and entertains with tales of hunting deer, bear, turkey, and waterfowl. This is the testimony of a pioneering individual who possessed a discerning eye, an analytical mind, and the ability to express himself with clarity and vigor

360 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Jim Folger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This edited autobiography is most interesting and reveals an extraordinary life. It contained too much verbiage about his hunting exploits, and some random recollections, but was nevertheless fascinating.

Gideon Lincecum was born in 1793 and lived during a time in America that is hard to imagine in the 21st century. He had a drive and intelligence that led him to become a truly independent, self-reliant individual, excelling in what he pursued. He had the advantage of growing up among the Choctaw Indians and learning their ways in hunting and fishing, and also the medicines that they used derived from native plants. He was a superb hunter, and there was nothing he could not or would not dispatch for food. His curiosity was remarkable, which also led him to to becoming a superb naturalist.

He was a self-taught physician, who ended up using much of what he learned from the Indian healers.
Despite having 13 children, he was very restless, and always seeking out new lands to settle in, which led him to explore Texas in 1834, and ultimately move there in 1848. At the end of the Civil War, his wife died and he moved to Tuxpan, Mexico.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A window into early 1800s settlement of Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. Gideon is well-known in Texas by the herbalist community there. There is an herbarium in his honor in the Austin area, at University of Texas. Mississippians have yet to truly claim this intelligent and skillful early botanical medicalist, even though his practice began during his 30 years that he resided in MS. It wasn't until later that he moved to TX, put out his shingle again, and continued to dispense plant medicine. An insightful book into a forgotten time...