André ParmentierBorn 3 Jul 1780; died 26 Nov 1830 at age 50.(Anglicized name: Andrew Parmentier) Belgian-American, André Joseph Ghislain Parmentier, born in Enghien, Belgium, was a horticulturist, responsible for exhibiting many plant species in America. He was the second of four sons of a linen merchant. Little is known about his early life. In 1824 Parmentier emigrated to America where he lived for only six years until his untimely death in 1830. Soon after arriving he established a nursery in Brooklyn from which he supplied seeds and root stock he had imported or propagated himself. In 1825, he established the first botanic garden in Brooklyn, at Atlantic and Carleton Avenues. His work is also preserved at the Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park, NY, the most impressive of the four known Parmentier designs. |
