author

Fearing Burr

1815–1897

Remembered for a remarkably detailed 19th-century guide to vegetable gardening, this Massachusetts writer combined practical know-how with a deep interest in local history. His books preserve both the everyday work of the garden and the memory of his hometown.

1 Audiobook

The field and garden vegetables of America : containing full descriptions of nearly eleven hundred species and varieties; with directions for propagation, culture, and use.

The field and garden vegetables of America : containing full descriptions of nearly eleven hundred species and varieties; with directions for propagation, culture, and use.

by Fearing Burr

About the author

Born in Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1815, Fearing Burr spent most of his life connected to that community. A biographical sketch from Seedsmen.org describes him as being engaged in mercantile work with his brother Matthew and as an honored citizen of Hingham, while archival material from the Hingham Historical Society notes that he kept journals from 1840 until his death in 1897.

He is best known as the author of The Field and Garden Vegetables of America, a substantial reference work describing hundreds of vegetable varieties and giving directions for their propagation, culture, and use. The book remains one of the works most closely associated with his name in library and public-domain records.

Burr also wrote about local history. He was credited, with George Lincoln, on The Town of Hingham in the Late Civil War, showing the same careful, documentary spirit that appears in his journals and gardening writing. Together, these works make him an appealing figure for readers interested in practical agriculture, New England history, and the quiet detail of 19th-century life.