H. C. Yarrow

Henry Crécy "H. C." Yarrow (November 19, 1840 – July 2, 1929) was an American ornithologist, herpetologist, naturalist, and surgeon.

Biography

Henry Crecy Yarrow was born on November 19, 1840, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended preparatory schools in both Pennsylvania and Geneva, Switzerland. In 1859, Yarrow began his medical studies at the University of Pennsylvania, earning his M.D. in 1861.

Upon the outbreak of the Civil War, Yarrow was appointed as Medical Examiner of recruits for the Pennsylvania Reserves. In 1862 he was made Acting Assistant Surgeon, 5th PA Cavalry, U.S. Army and returned to Philadelphia as the Executive Officer of the Broad and Cherry Streets Hospital. Except for a brief tour of duty in the Fort Sumter area, Yarrow served at this hospital until the end of the Civil War. An outbreak of cholera in 1866 prompted him to return to active duty. He volunteered for service in Atlanta and Tybee Island, Georgia. Yarrow too was struck with cholera and was transferred into recovery in New York, where he returned to examining recruits. During another cholera outbreak, in 1867, he served at Fort Wood in New York Harbor, as well as at Baltimore, Maryland, and North Carolina.

In 1871, Yarrow met Elliott Coues, a noted naturalist and author, and it is believed that this meeting awakened Yarrow's interest in ornithology, or the study of birds. In 1872, Yarrow received an offer to join Lt. George Wheeler's explorations into the West of the 100th Meridian as surgeon and naturalist. This was his opportunity to pursue his interests in the natural sciences. While on duty he prepared for publication a volume of zoology and made observations relating to a mono graph he would go on to publish years later - Introduction to the Study of Mortuary Customs among North American Indians. He collected in portions of Nevada, California, Colorado and New Mexico.