• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Lieutenant Van Wyck's Island Imperial-Pigeon (1 Viewer)

Björn Bergenholtz

Björn Bergenholtz

(former alias "Calalp")
Sweden
Here´s some possibly new, additional details (and a birth year) regarding the eponym ...

vanwyckii as in:
• subspecies Ducula pistrinaria vanwyckii CASSIN 1862 (here) as "Carpophaga Van Wyckii":
To this handsome bird we have great gratification in giving a name in honor of its discoverer, the late Lieut. Van Wyck of the United States Navy. To the enterprise and scientific taste of this lamented gentleman we are indebted for a very valuable portion of the present extensive collection, and he was deservedly esteemed as one of the most talented and promising young officers of the naval service. His early death, on the passage homeward of the U. S. Brig Porpoise, is, assuredly, to be deplored as a loss to science and to his country.
Click to expand...
Today's HBW Alive Key gives us:
vanwyckii
Lt. William Van Wyck (d. 1854) US Navy on USS Porpoise, lost with all hands during a typhoon in the Formosa Straits (subsp. Ducula pistrinaria).
Click to expand...
= Lieutenant William W. Van Wyck (1824–1854), US Navy, Acting Master on the US Brig Porpoise for the North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition (1853-1856). The Porpoise and all of its crew (incl. Lt. Van Wyck) was lost at sea sometime in late September 1854 (... but the Expedition itself kept going!)

More on Mr. Van Wyck; see (for example) the following links; here, here or here. (in the latter, far down the text, search for "Wyck")

Enjoy!

Björn
 
I don´t see why Martin, as the text in the second link is based on an official "Report of December 2, 1854".

I doubt that Joseph Everett Nourse, author of American Explorations in the Ice Zones (2012), would have googled for "William Van Wyck" (the way we do), and mixed him up with an US Congressman. And the "Secretary of the Navy" surely didn´t. ;)

Don´t hesitate to prove me wrong!
 
Martin, it does look like you were somewhat right in your comment! Something was/is fishy with the extra, added "W." ... I found the Report itself! And it doesn´t say more than "Wm. Van Wyck" ... under (Passed Midshipmen), pp.25-26 (here)

Thereby (small back-step, "better safe than sorry"):

vanwyckii as in:
• subspecies Ducula pistrinaria vanwyckii CASSIN 1862
= William Van Wyck (1824–1854) ... etc., etc..

Thanks for making me go a bit further! :t:

Björn

PS. The Brig USS Porpoise disappeared, presumably sinking during a typhoon. Last seen between Formosa and China on 21 September 1854. More than 62 persons were lost at sea.
--
 
Last edited:
mb1848 said:
In a book American Explorations in the Ice Zones van Wyck is called W. W. Van Wyck. ...
Click to expand...
Thanks, Mark ... but already noted, see links in Post #1 ... and the following Post ;) (even if I didn't´t bother to mention General Custers unfortunate soldier, the latter claimed to have been named after "our" Van Wyck)
 
Sorry Calalp/Björn! I have found info that Van Wyck was born in Maryland and lived in district 3/4 which is Queen Anne's County a rural county from the "Easstern shore". He was appointed to the Naval Academy from Maryland as was William Reily. I looked at US census data from district 4/Queen Anne's County 1830 and 1840 but have not found him his family or his middle name.
 
No worries, Mark. Also see the third link, in post #1:
The last letter, dated 4 September 1854, was written by an acting midshipman from Queen Anne's County, Maryland, William van Wyck (1824-1854), while he served as a caterer on board the U.S. brig Porpoise ...
Click to expand...
Looks like you´re on the right path. On my part, for my MS, I already have what I need on him.

Good luck digging!
 
Warning! This thread is more than 7 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top