Partner Florence "Florie" Dumaresq Boit
Queer Places:
123 Eliot St, Natick, MA 01760, USA
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, United States
North Burial Ground, 5 Branch Ave, Providence, RI 02904, United States
Jane Boit Patten (June 8, 1869 - December 6, 1964) was born on June 8, 1869, in Providence, Rhode Island, to parents Joseph Hurlburt (or Herbert) Patten
(1836–1874) and Elizabeth Greene Boit Patten (1842–1875). Her family included siblings Eliza Brigham Patten, William Samuel Patten Sr., and Baby Boy
Patten. Tragically orphaned young after the passing of both parents in the mid-1870s, she would eventually make her home at Elmbrook on
123 Eliot Street in South Natick, Massachusetts, where she lived for 58 years.
An accomplished academic and scientist, Jane graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Class of 1906. She dedicated 11 years to
teaching biology and botany at Simmons College and became widely recognized as an authority in horticulture and botany. Her scientific expeditions and
fieldwork took her across Europe and the Near East, collecting plants in Switzerland, Italy, the Kingdom of Hungary, and Greece from 1899 to 1900, as
well as spending a year as a botanist with an American expedition in Crete in 1918. Her extensive botanical collections and herbarium were formally given
to the Gray Herbarium in 1938.
Jane shared her life and settled into a committed Boston marriage with her cousin and partner,
Florence "Florie" Dumaresq Boit. Florie was a notable figure in her own right as an avid golfer who
introduced the sport to the Boston area and inspired local society to build a course at a country club in Newport. Florie's family background was deeply
embedded in cultural history; she was one of the daughters immortalized in John Singer Sargent's famous
painting The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Through the Boit family's extensive European travels and
connections dating back to the 1860s and 1870s, they maintained social circles with cultural luminaries including
Henry James, Edith Wharton, and John Singer Sargent.
Jane Boit Patten passed away at her home in South Natick on December 6, 1964, at the age of 95, following a brief illness. Funeral services were held
at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Wellesley, and she was laid to rest in the North Burial Ground in Providence, Rhode Island.
References:
Other references:
- Jane Boit Patten, Birth: 8 Jun 1869 Providence, Rhode Island, Death: 6 Dec 1964, Burial: North Burial Ground, Parents: Joseph Hurlburt Patten and Elizabeth Greene Boit Patten, Siblings.
- Obituary and Funeral Notices for Jane Boit Patten, detailing her residence at Elmbrook in South Natick, education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Class of 1906), teaching career at Simmons College (11 years), botanical expeditions (including Crete in 1918), horticultural authority, and services at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Wellesley.
- Biographical notes regarding her partner, Florence "Florie" Dumaresq Boit, her botanical collections in Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, and Greece (1899–1900), the donation of her herbarium to the Gray Herbarium in 1938, and her connections to the Boit family history, John Singer Sargent's painting The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, and literary figures such as Henry James and Edith Wharton.
Support this project
This website is a passion project researched, developed, and funded entirely by me. If you find the content valuable and would like to help support the ongoing research and hosting costs, any contribution is deeply appreciated.
Thank you for keeping this independent resource alive!
My books on Amazon: Elisa Rolle's books
BACK TO HOME PAGE
