Marcus Jernegan Explained

Marcus Wilson Jernegan (1872–1949) was an American historian^[1] and a professor at the University of Chicago.^[2] In 2017, a scholar from Harvard (Donald Yacovone) referred to him as one of the leading historians of his time who influenced textbooks of his era and noted the tainted and bigoted sources he relied on.^[3]

Biography

Jernegan was from Edgartown, Massachusetts, son of ship captain Jared Jernegan and his second wife, Helen Jernegan. He graduated as valedictorian of Edgartown High School, then received his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1906. His father was a whaler and his brother, Prescott Jernegan, became infamous as the promoter of the fraudulent Jernegan Process for extracting gold from seawater, used to defraud investors in Lubec, Maine.^{[4] [5]}

Jernegan was part of a pioneering effort to map colonial churches.^[6] He wrote about slavery and conversion to Christianity in the United States.^[7] He also wrote about the veracity of Benjamin Franklin's supposed kite experiments to demonstrate electricity.^[8]

Jernegan collected specimens of algae.^[9]

Legacy

A collection of essays written by his students was published as a historiography in 1937.^[10]

Selected publications

• The American Colonies — 1492 to 1750
• A Child’s Diary Aboard a Whale-ship (edited version of his sister's diaries)
• The History of the Whaling Industry

Notes and References

1. Web site: Finding Aid ... Marcus Jernegan Papers, 1939 - 1949. Martha's Vineyard Museum. 24 December 2017.
2. Web site: Jernegan, Marcus W. : Photographic Archive : The University of Chicago. Photoarchive.lib.uchicago.edu. 24 December 2017.
3. Web site: Teaching White Supremacy: How Textbooks Have Shaped Our Attitudes On Race. Robert J.. Benz. . 20 November 2017.
4. The Great Gold Swindle of Lubec, Maine by Ronald Pesha
5. Web site: Prescott Jernegan and the Gold from Seawater Swindle - The Martha's Vineyard Times. 25 July 2012. Mvtimes.com. 24 December 2017.
6. Book: John K. Nelson. A Blessed Company: Parishes, Parsons, and Parishioners in Anglican Virginia, 1690-1776. 14 January 2003. Univ of North Carolina Press. 978-0-8078-7510-0. 341–.
7. Slavery and Conversion in the American Colonies. Jernegan, Marcus. W.. 1 April 1916. The American Historical Review. 21. 3. 10.1086/ahr/21.3.504.
8. 359764. Benjamin Franklin's "Electrical Kite" and Lightning Rod. Marcus W.. Jernegan. 25 June 2018. The New England Quarterly. 1. 2. 180–196. 10.2307/359764.
9. Web site: Harvard University Herbaria - Botany Libraries Archives Asa Gray Bicentennial 1810. botlib.huh.harvard.edu.
10. Book: Robert Allen Rutland. Clio's Favorites: Leading Historians of the United States, 1945-2000. 2000. University of Missouri Press. 978-0-8262-1316-7. 1–.