Melanerpes aurifrons leei (1 Viewer)

I have some doubts that the key is correct with...

leei

Leslie Alexander Lee (1852-1908) US collector on Cozumel I., Mexico (subsp. Melanerpes aurifrons).

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...as of today. OD is here. Nevertheless in the introduction is written:

A collection of birds made by Mr. J(ames) E(verard) Benedict, Naturalis of the U. S. Fish Commision Steamer "Albatross." assisted by Dr. T(arleton) H(offman) Bean and Mr. Thomas Lee, on the Island of Cozumel, in January, 1885, contains the following new species.

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The other two collectors are as well in the key. But Thomas Lee here seemed to be an embryologist and/or part U. S. Fish Commission ; the photographer of the U. S. Coast Survey here. There is an entry in The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles.

Maybe someone here can add his life dates?

I think Thomas is a child to the civilian in charge of science on the steamer Albatross, Professor Leslie Alexander Lee, Ph.D., Bowdoin College. Biology.
No child named Thomas.His daughter, Elizabeth B. Lee who married Rev. Frederick Eliot of Cambridge; Sylvia Knowlton Lee (1879-1959), a professor at the Berkley School in California; and Richard Almy Lee (1886-1907),

• the (Velasquez's/Golden-fronted) Woodpecker ssp. Melanerpes santacruzi/aurifrons leei RIDGWAY 1885, as "Centurus leei"

Well spotted, Martin, and yes, judging only from the OD (of this debated subspecies), I would be inclined to go for the naturalist and collector Mr Thomas Lee (this said even if I´d never heard of him before, and I have no idea on who he was, neither do I know anything regarding the embryology/embryologist part, nor on the "Dr." part (as claimed in the The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles), apparently he was attached (as a volunteer) to the U. S. Fish Commission in 1885-1886 (and in 1888, to the Gálapagos), on the Steamer "Albatross" (also, like you pointed out, as a photograper) ...

I'd say he ought to be found in, or in the vicinity, of Boston; USA (simply trusting what's written here)

But (always this annoying but) ... I´m not all sure that he necessarily is the guy you ought to look for. Of course, he could be. Or not?

Note that the Biologist/Naturalist "Prof. Leslie A. Lee", of Bowdoin College [i.e. Leslie Alexander Lee, (1852–1908), here] was in charge/head of the Scientific Staff onboard the same ship, (here, p.130), all the way until 1888, and he is/was commemorated in the Chatham Leaf-toed Gecko Phyllodactylus leei COPE 1890 (here) ... though equally noteworthy is Lee's tonguefish Symphurus leei JORDAN & BOLLMAN 1890 (here, in the same publication as the Gecko) – that fish was named after them both!

There might be an out-spoken dedication elsewhere, for the leei Woodpecker ... who knows?

For what it's worth (if anything at all) ...

Björn

PS. See Deignan, 1961 (here); "Collected by James E. Benedict and Thomas Lee. Recieved from the U.S. Fish Commission."
Maybe Professor Lee, the "top dog" (onboard the Albatross) was the one who delivered it to Robert Ridgway?

Also (maybe) noteworthy, is that the whole paper in Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, where the OD appeared, was "Published by permission of the U. S. Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries". Makes one wonder what the Commission itself wrote in their report?

There is a document describing him as Thomas Lee Dr.
age 417 of https://books.google.com/books?id=q...+lee"+"fish+commission"&source=gbs_navlinks_s .

mb1848 said:

There is a document describing him as Thomas Lee Dr.
age 417 of https://books.google.com/books?id=q...+lee"+"fish+commission"&source=gbs_navlinks_s .

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417 is truly a respectable age!

Even for a Dr.

/B

PS. Yes, Mark I know what you intended to write (page). I simply couldn't resist being a bit picky/silly.
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mb1848 said:

I think Thomas is a child to the civilian in charge of science on the steamer Albatross, Professor Leslie Alexander Lee, Ph.D., Bowdoin College. Biology.
No child named Thomas.His daughter, Elizabeth B. Lee who married Rev. Frederick Eliot of Cambridge; Sylvia Knowlton Lee (1879-1959), a professor at the Berkley School in California; and Richard Almy Lee (1886-1907),

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Either way, I doubt Thomas Lee is/was (or even could be); "... a child to ... Professor Leslie Alexander Lee". Simply as the latter was born in 1852, and the bird (those birds) were collected in January 1885, making it less likely that Thomas Lee (i.e. as in being a possible Son) would be old enough to be a naturalist onboard the Albatross. Even less so a "Dr." (...if not very, very, remarkably young).

I wouldn't pursue that trail. I´d go for the Boston (Massachusetts) connection, ... maybe a cousin, brother, uncle, etc., etc.?

Good luck finding him!

Björn

PS. Let's hope he isn't this guy, in a tragic story of "Suicide and attempted murder" (here, top left corner). If so, his life ended in 1890, in Melbourne, Australia. Most likely not. This far 've seen no Aussie connection.
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Calalp said:

But (always this annoying but) ... I´m not all sure that he necessarily is the guy you ought to look for. Of course, he could be. Or not?

Note that the Biologist/Naturalist "Prof. Leslie A. Lee", of Bowdoin College [i.e. Leslie Alexander Lee, (1852–1908), here] was in charge/head of the Scientific Staff onboard the same ship, (here, p.130), all the way until 1888, and he is/was commemorated in the Chatham Leaf-toed Gecko Phyllodactylus leei COPE 1890 (here) ... though equally noteworthy is Lee's tonguefish Symphurus leei JORDAN & BOLLMAN 1890 (here, in the same publication as the Gecko) – that fish was named after them both!

There might be an out-spoken dedication elsewhere, for the leei Woodpecker ... who knows?

For what it's worth (if anything at all) ...

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But note as well that Troglodytes beani and Spindalis zena benedicti for the other two collectors are in the same article from Robert Ridgway. I would be surprised if there is a different dedication elsewhere At least he seems not a brother of Leslie A. Lee as here is written about John Stebbins Lee (1820-1902):

Six children were born to them: the oldest, Ida Elmina, died in infancy; the others, Leslie A., John Clarence, Frederic S., Florence J. Gertrude L., grew to maturity, were all graduated from St.
Lawrence University, have all been at some time teachers, and achieved some special success in science or art.

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Taphrospilus said:

But note as well that Troglodytes beani and Spindalis zena benedicti for the other two collectors are in the same article from Robert Ridgway. ...

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True, good point, well said. Thereby, Thomas Lee (whomever-he-was) would truly be the most likely candidate for "Lee's Woodpecker". :t:

And the updated HBW (very) Alive Key agrees:

leei
Thomas Lee (fl. 1885) US collector on Cozumel I., Mexico (Martin Schneider in litt.) (subsp. Melanerpes aurifrons).

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Cheers!

/B

If he is the same person he was a Dr..

The United States to Thomas Lee, Dr. Sept. 21, 1889. Acct, construction of flumes and temporary hatchery, Colorado Station, for 114 day slaborin cleaning out springs and blasting rock from Sept. 9th to 21st, inclusive, at $3.00 per day

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Mr. Thomas Lee in 1886 but Dr. in 1889.

I think "Dr." here is an accountant's abbreviation for "Debit", e.g., see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debits_and_credits

(Constructing flumes and a temporary hatchery (for $3 a day) doesn't sound like a doctor's work to me; "THOMAS [his X mark] LEE" below this particular entry in the book suggests this person was not able to write his own name; if you scroll through the volume you'll find "Dr." used a lot of other times, quite often next to company names, and a company can obviously not be a doctor.)

The chase of Mr Thomas Lee goes on...

Guys, regarding the same voluminous document (as in Martin's post #9); the United States Congressional serial set. 2821 [Testimony Taken Before the Subcommittee of the Committee on Fisheries of the United States Senate in Relation to the Investigation of the Fish Commission, starting on p. 3 (or 475/1398, in the HathiTrust viewer)], I would think that p.330 (alt. 802/1398, in ditto) is far more interesting ... :

List of persons who were in the regular employment of the Commission when the present Commissioner assumed charge, but who are no longer in its service
[...]
Thomas Lee .......... Resigned voluntarily to enter business
[...]

[here, or see attached excerpt]

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When this happened, when Mr Lee resigned, or when the "Present Commissioner assumed charge" is unknown to me, thought I'm pretty sure the latter fact (and who "the Present Commissioner" was) is told in the same bulky volume (... I simply couldn't be bothered to read it all, the full Testimony is 660 pages long! ).

Also see p.267 (alt. attached excerpt) where we're told that Thomas Lee (on top of the Cozumel trip I assume) served aboard the Steamer Albatross, as an Assistant: "July 1 and Aug. 1886", and as Naturalist; "Sept. 1 to Oct. 31; Dec. 1, 1886, to June 30, 1887".

And on p.332 (as of 1 January 1888), he's listed, in Division of Scientific Inquiry, below Steamer Albatross, as "Do" (i.e. ditto; Assistant and naturalist); Thomas Lee.

And, the last one, on p.309 (or see ditto excerpt) we find that a "Lee, Thomas" (if it's the same guy?) did some (extra?) work for them (as "Laborer"), but only for a short while; "Sept. 9 to 21, 1889". He seems to have been be located in, or connected to: "Leadville, Colo.".

No longer a Boston guy? The Plot thickens!

However; to me neither one of those pages talk in favour (or sounds like) he was ever a Dr. (in whatever form; neither a PdD, nor a Physician) ....

Thus far; if nothing else, at least we managed to add some years on him.

Keep digging!

Björn
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In Leadville Herald Democrat Friday, January 31 1890 here we can find in the preview

Thomas Lee, who died January 4, 1880. Mary A. Ln, Widow of Thomas Lee, deceased.

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or

Thomas Lee, who died January 4, 1860.

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I am wondering if it is a preview issue and January 4, 1890 is correct as the newspaper is from that year.

Of course no evidence that it is our guy.

I've got him!

Class of 1879 — Harward College, Secretarys Report No. VIII (1914):

THOMAS LEE, son of Francis L. and Sarah Mary Ann (Wilson) Lee, was born at Chestnut Hill (in Newton), Massachusetts, December 21, 1858. He prepared for college ...
[...]
In 1885 he wrote that he had given up business for science. "I got a chance to come off with the Albatross [the steamer of the United States Fish Commission] for a cruise in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico and jumped at it, and have had a pleasant trip ... touching at Key West, Havana, Cozumel — a small island off Yucatan, where we got a lot of nice birds — ...
[...]

[here, pp.189-190]​

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It's him alright! Most likely still alive in 1914, as this piece ends with the phrase (in present tense): "Lee's address is Westport, Essex County, New York".

Thereby, I'd go for ...

leei as in:
• the (Velasquez's/Golden-fronted) Woodpecker ssp. Melanerpes santacruzi/aurifrons leei RIDGWAY 1885, as "Centurus leei" a k a "Lee's Woodpecker"*
= Mr Thomas Lee (born 1858), Assistant and Naturalist on the Steamer Albatross (for the U.S. Fish Commission), ... and onwards.

Enjoy!

Björn

_________________________________________________________________________________________________
*In A manual of North American birds (1887) Robert Ridgway himself called it "Lee's Woodpecker" (here), though at that point given as "M. [Melanerpes] leei".
The same Woodpecker has apparently also been listed as "M. dubius leei", a k a "Melanerpes aurifrons santacruzi dubius leei!" [Wow!], (here, top of page 412),
alt. Centurus dubius leei (here). Truly a dubious taxon (at least a very tricky hard-to-place bird).

As if binomen and trinomen weren't hard enough to keep track of. Luckily the "pentanomen" (if such a word excist) didn't stick.

I agree that leei is named after Thomas Lee (b. 1858) who went to Harvard and initially worked as a stock-broker. Thomas Lee, the labourer who signed his name with a X, cannot be the same person (Dr. = debtor).

OK. Than we can find here death year 1936 p. 4 of 5. Maybe he is the designer of Adirondack chair?

Or Jan. 24 1936 p. 2 of 5. And here his grave

Just to mention it. The Eponym Dictionary of Birds claims:

Velasquez's Woodpecker ssp. Melanerpes santacruzi leei Ridgway, 1885
Dr Thomas Lee (DNF) was a regular member of the group of naturalists used by the US Fish Commission on the cruises of their research vessel Albatross. He was board when they called at Cozumel Island off the Yucatan Peninsula (1885), and again in the Bahamas and the West Indies (1886). A reptile is named after him.

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