19C American Botanist Maria Louisa Tallant Owen (1825-1912)

Maria Louisa Tallant Owen was an American botanist who compiled a detailed record of 19th century flora and algae on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. She was born in 1825, to Nancy Coffin Tallant and Eben Weld Tallant and was from a long line of wealthy New England Lineage including Benjamin Franklin. Maria got her early education at home and then in private schools in Nantucket. She gained her interest in botany early, often educated about plant life by her other female family members. 

Much like many of our other female botanists, her early and in-depth education drew her to the field which resulted in her leaving for Boston to teach. Around 1840, she spent quite a few years teaching at the Perkins Institution for the Blind. This is where she met her husband. However, before marrying him, she moved home to teach in her own private school then continued to teach at Nantucket High School. While in Nantucket she spent a lot of time collecting, noting, and researching local flora.