H. C. Yarrow

Who was H. C. Yarrow?

Henry Crecy Yarrow was an American ornithologist, herpetologist, naturalist, and surgeon.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studied in Pennsylvania and Geneva, Switzerland; earned his M.D. in 1861. From 1861 to 1862, he was the Asst. Surgeon, 5th PA Cavalry. Served in Virginia, then appointed Acting Asst. Surgeon. Worked as the executive officer of the Broad and Cherry Street Hospital of Philadelphia. In 1866 he was appointed Acting Assistant Surgeon. Ordered to Atlanta, Georgia. Served through a severe cholera epidemic. Aided troops suffering from cholera on Tybee Island, near Savannah, Georgia. In 1867 he served at Fort Wood in New York Harbor during a cholera outbreak there as well as at Baltimore, Maryland, and North Carolina. Met Elliott Coues, a noted naturalist and author in 1871. It may be that Coues awakened Yarrow's interest in ornithology.

From 1871 to 1876 Yarrow was on the Wheeler Survey West of the 100th meridian west, as surgeon and naturalist. Collected in portions of Nevada, California, Colorado, and New Mexico.

From 1886 to 1917 he held various positions including:

⁕Assistant to the commander of the model military hospital at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.