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Carrie Sweetser

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Carrie Sweetser
Carolyn "Carrie" Knowles Phinney Sweetser (1863–1952)
Born
Carolyn Knowles Phinney

September 11, 1863
Centerville, Massachusetts
DiedSeptember 9, 1952(1952-09-09) (aged 88)
Eugene, Oregon
Known forWatercolorist

Carolyn Phinney Sweetser (1863–1952) was an American watercolorist and amateur botanist who lived and worked in Oregon.

Early life and education

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Carolyn Knowles Phinney, daughter of Nelson and Eunice (Clark) Phinney, was born in Centerville, Massachusetts, on September 11, 1863.[1] She married Albert Raddin Sweetser (1861–1940) in Centerville on February 29, 1888.[2] The couple had no children, but they raised Carrie's nephew, George Phinney.

They moved to Forest Grove, Oregon, in 1897 when her husband was hired by Pacific University.[3] They moved to Eugene when her husband joined the Botany faculty of the University of Oregon in 1902, and became head of the department in 1909.[2][4]

Watercolorist and amateur botanist

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Sweetser spent much time over the years on botanical exploring trips with her husband and others,[5] during which she painted watercolors of wildflowers and fungi, though she had no formal training in art.[3] More than 300 of her paintings are in the special collections in the University of Oregon Libraries.[4]

Reception

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The Eugene Guard noted, "For many who have not had the opportunity to roam over the hills and meadows of the Oregon country, these delicate watercolors are a source of great interest and knowledge. And for those who have more intimate knowledge of the wildflowers of the area, the pictures are a delightful reminder."[3] Biographer Rhoda Love wrote, "Her surviving paintings, photographs, and diaries provide a vivid picture of a Northwest botanist's life in the early twentieth century."[4]

Sweetser died in Eugene on September 9, 1952, two days short of eighty-nine years.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Massachusetts Marriage Records, 1840–1915". ancestry.com. February 29, 1888. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  2. ^ a b Love, Rhoda M. (1996). "Albert Raddin Sweetser, Founder of the University of Oregon Herbarium" (PDF). Kalmiopsis. Retrieved January 19, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Moore, Jo (January 7, 1948). "Widow of Botanist is Painter of Fine Collection of Watercolors". Eugene Guard. Retrieved January 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d Love, Rhoda. "Carrie Phinney Sweetser (1863–1952)". www.oregonencyclopedia.org. Retrieved January 20, 2017.
  5. ^ Glenda Riley (1999). Women and Nature: Saving the "Wild" West. U of Nebraska Press. pp. 56–. ISBN 0-8032-8975-8.
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