Charles Clemon Deam

Charles Clemon Deam (August 30, 1865 – May 29, 1953) was the first state forester of Indiana. His interest in botany began at a young age and grew to include categorization and sustainable practices. He discovered 25 new species, 48 plants are named after him and his herbarium includes 78,000 specimens, still preserved at IU Bloomington.

Early life

Charles C. Deam was born on August 30, 1865, on his family farm near Bluffton in Wells County, Indiana. Growing up on a farm, he learned the value of hard work. He earned money through odd jobs such as building fences for another farmer. He spent his savings on a poem book by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. A young Deam was always curious and collected Indian relics he found on the farm. Deam's other interests included the natural world, something his father showed him through farm produce, garden plants, and herbal remedies. When he was sixteen, he became deathly ill from typhoid fever. He received a herbal remedy of milk and old field balsams or cudweed to gradually nurse him back to good health. His mother, also sick, died despite the medicine.

After graduating from high school, he went into teaching at a country school. Unimpressed, he decided to look elsewhere for work. Deam possessed a restless mind, great energy, and a tendency to assert order in his world. He attended DePauw University in the fall of 1885 until his money ran out in 1887. He soon sold his books and returned home, where he worked odd jobs.

In 1888, Deam began maintaining a store in Marion where he worked upwards of 110 hours a week. His hard work led to a better job in Kokomo, but Deam considered it a step backward in his career. After complaining, a store supplier took note and helped him purchase a dilapidated drugstore in Bluffton in May 1891. It was the norm for druggists in this period to make their own cures, thus birthing Deam's Nerve and Bone Liniment. This medicine claimed to cure aches and pains among men and beasts. As a business owner, he continued to work long hours to exhaustion. One day in 1892, he got angry at a woman and she left upset. A perfume salesman in the store spoke to Deam, stating that he should see a doctor. Deam followed this advice and saw a doctor who recommended taking a half-hour walk daily, which he began doing. During the walks, he studied his surroundings, growing his interest in botany.