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Asa Gray, born in Sauquoit, NY, 1810, had a love for botany. His connection to the Mohawk Valley was strong, attending school in Clinton and teaching in Utica and at Hamilton College.

Gray was a professor of natural history at Harvard University for over forty years, where his influence can readily be seen today through the "Gray Herbarium." Gray played a major role in the identification of plants in North America, using his connections with European botanists and American collectors.

He wrote many botany textbooks. His manual, Botany of the Nothern United States, became a standard text. Gray was a strong supporter of Darwin's theory and the two shared correspondence.

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