Hidden Histories, Historical Marker Resource
William Scarbrough House
This Hidden History was created by SCAD student Jennelle Gallub as part of their SCAD art history department coursework, with guidance from art history professor Holly Goldstein, Ph.D., in 2021.
The William Scarbrough House historical marker was dedicated in 2010. View the William Scarbrough House historical marker listing.
Gallery
Figure 1: William Scarbrough House Historical Marker, Georgia Historical Society
Figure 2: Map of William Scarbrough House marker location, 2021
Figure 3: Portrait of Charlotte Scarbrough, Courtesy of Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum
Figure 4: Charlotte Taylor, Insects Belonging to the Cotton Plant, 1860, Courtesy of Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum
Figure 5: Charlotte Taylor, Insects Destructive to Wheat pg40, 1859, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 6: Charlotte Taylor, Insects Destructive to Wheat pg41, 1859, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 7: Charlotte Taylor, Insects Destructive to Wheat pg42, 1859, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 8: Charlotte Taylor, Spiders: Their Structures and Habits, 1860, Courtesy of The Classroom Electric
Figure 9: Fort Myers Newspress Article, 1964, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 10: Charlotte’s Preserved Artbook, 2021, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 11: Charlotte’s Artbook Scan 1, 2018, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 12: Charlotte’s Artbook Scan 2, 2018, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 13: Charlotte’s Artbook Scan 3, 2018, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 14: Charlotte’s Artbook Scan 4, 2018, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 15: Charlotte’s Artbook Scan 5, 2018, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 16: Charlotte’s Artbook Scan 6, 2018, Courtesy of Charlotte County Libraries and History
Figure 17: Jennelle Gallub, The Muse, 2021
I decided to focus my research on Charlotte Taylor after stumbling across a Ship of the Sea's Maritime Museum online exhibit titled The Shadows of Scarbrough House. It introduced me to the eldest Scarbrough daughter and featured a beautiful illustration along with a page from one of her entomological articles that had been published back in the 1850’s. I was instantly drawn to the amount of life and character that she captured in both her art and her writings. Insects have always fascinated me as well, and after learning of her role as one of the first female American entomologists, I knew that I had to share her story. After struggling to find more of Taylor’s work, I reached out to Dr. Jennifer Zoebelein, the historian for Charlotte County in Punta Gorda, FL, who graciously supplied me with a full article of Insects Destructive to Wheat and several high-quality scans of Taylor’s illustrations. It was an incredible discovery to learn that some of Taylor’s works had survived after all this time, and I am very excited to be able to help shed more light on Charlotte’s background and contributions to entomology.
The project I created in honor of Charlotte de Bernier Taylor is a paper clay sculpture of a boll weevil in flight (Figure 17). It is constructed from an armature of carboard, aluminum foil and masking tape which I then coated with a mixture of paper, pvc glue, flour, and drywall joint-compound. On its wings and elytra (forewings), I have incorporated several of Charlotte’s Taylor’s mixed-media drawings along with some excerpts from her article “Insects Destructive to Wheat.” Nestled in the center of its abdomen is Taylor’s portrait. The boll weevil was noted as the first insect to spark Taylor’s muse, and I found it most fitting to pull from her article about parasites since boll weevils are exceptionally destructive to agriculture. It is approximately 21”“L x 14“”H x 1.5”W and was carefully crafted with deep respect for Taylor’s historical feats.
“About ESA.” Entomological Society of America. Accessed May 12, 2021. https://www.entsoc.org/about/esa.
“Charlotte De Bernier Scarbrough Taylor.” prabook.com. Accessed April 28, 2021. https://prabook.com/web/charlotte_de_bernier_scarbrough.taylor/1080258.
Clark, Amanda. “Remembering Edith Patch, the First Female President of the Entomological Society of America.” Entomology Today, December 22, 2017. https://entomologytoday.org/2015/08/13/remembering-edith-patch-the-first-female-president-of-the-entomological-society-of-america/.
Douches, Deborah Waller. “Taylor, Charlotte Scarbrough (1806-1861), Entomologist and Writer.” American National Biography Online, 2000. https://doi.org/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.1301645.
“For Entomologists, a Gender Gap Remains in Academic, Government Employment.” Entomology Today, September 13, 2018. https://entomologytoday.org/2018/09/05/entomologists-gender-gap-academic-government-employment-entomology-jobs/.
“History with Dr. Jennifer: Charlotte Scarbrough Taylor: CC-TV.” Internet Archive, June 10, 2020. https://archive.org/details/cctvfl-History_with_Dr._Jennifer_-_Charlotte_Scarbrough_Taylor.
Lester, Rexanna K. “A House Tied to the Sea.” Beehive Foundation, November 21, 2016. https://beehivefoundation.org/a-house-tied-to-the-sea/.
Melton, Wendy. The Shadows of Scarbrough House. Ships of the Sea Maritime Museum. Accessed May 12, 2021. https://wendymelton.wixsite.com/womenscarbroughhouse.
Ogilvie, Marilyn, and Joy Harvey. The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: Pioneering Lives from Ancient Times to the Mid-20th Century. New York, NY: Routledge, 2000.
Roberts, Phillip M. “Boll Weevil.” New Georgia Encyclopedia. University of Georgia, April 18, 2004. https://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/business-economy/boll-weevil.
Staake, Jill M. “Eleanor Glanville, Entomologist.” S.T.E.A.M. Empowered, April 29, 2015. https://steamempowered.blogspot.com/2015/04/eleanor-glanville.html.
“Taylor v. Taylor, 49 U.S. 183 (1850).” Justia US Supreme Court. Accessed May 2, 2021. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/49/183/.
Walker, Karen A. “Gender Gap in Professional Entomology: Women Are Underrepresented in Academia and the U.S. Government.” Annals of the Entomological Society of America 111, no. 6 (September 5, 2018): 355–62. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/say030.
“William Scarbrough Collection.” Georgia Historical Society. Georgia Dept. of Archives and History. Accessed April 30, 2021. http://ghs.galileo.usg.edu/ghs/view?docId=ead/MS%201400-ead.xml;query=;brand=default.
“William Scarbrough House.” Georgia Historical Society. Accessed May 2, 2021. https://georgiahistory.com/ghmi_marker_updated/william-scarbrough-house/.
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