James J. H. Gregory

James John Howard Gregory (November 7, 1827 – February 20, 1910) was an American educator, horticultural businessman, writer, politician and philanthropist from Marblehead, Massachusetts. After working as a teacher and school principal, he founded the seed company James J. H. Gregory & Son in 1854. The business sold vegetable and flower seeds and was associated with the Hubbard squash, the cherry tomato and the Danvers onion. Gregory was known as the "Seed King of Marblehead".

Gregory served as a Marblehead selectman and as a Massachusetts State Senator from 1876 to 1877. He wrote practical works on vegetable gardening and soil fertility. Through his philanthropy he supported local projects in Marblehead and education for African Americans, including the Gregory Normal School in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the Marblehead Libraries, a travelling library service for African-American schools and colleges in the southern United States.

Biography

Early life James John Howard Gregory was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts, on November 7, 1827, to James Adams Gregory and Ruth Gregory . He taught at Marblehead Academy and the Farm School before graduating from Amherst College in 1850. After graduating, he taught in Marblehead and Lunenburg. He sent seed that his father had received from their neighbour Elizabeth "Marm" Hubbard. The variety was named the Hubbard squash and became popular. He was among the leading seed sellers in the United States and was known as the "Seed King of Marblehead". He also wrote for horticultural magazines. representing the 2nd Essex district. He was elected by the joint vote of the Republican and Prohibition parties. The school was renamed the Gregory Normal School after his contribution.

Marblehead Libraries In 1910, Gregory founded the Marblehead Libraries, a travelling library service for more than 50 African-American schools and colleges in the southern United States. In the same year, Gregory funded a librarian apprentice program at the Louisville Free Public Library in Louisville, Kentucky, which operated until 1929. Gregory Street, on the Townside Harbor Front in Marblehead, was named for him.

Publications Onion Raising: What Kinds to Raise, and the Way to Raise Them (Boston: A. Williams & Company, 1865) Squashes: How to Grow Them (New York: Orange Judd Company, ) Pamphlets on Vegetable Gardening (Marblehead, Mass: Messenger Steam Printing House, 1867–1883) Cabbages: How to Grow Them (New York: Orange Judd Company, ) Carrots, Mangold Wurtzels and Sugar Beets (Marblehead, Mass: N.A. Lindsey & Co., ) Fertilizers (Boston: Rand, Avery & Company, 1885) Cabbages and Cauliflowers: How to Grow Them (Boston: S. J. Parkhill & Co., 1908)