Edward Avery McIlhenny Alaska Expedition records

Edward Avery McIlhenny was born on Avery Island Louisiana, the son of the founder of the McIlheeny Tabasco brand pepper sauce, Edmund McIlhenny. Edward was educated privately and then attended Dr. Holbrook's Military School in what is now Ossining New York. He enrolled at Lehigh University but left in 1894 to accompany Frederick Cook's expedition to Alaska as an ornithologist.

By 1897, McIlhenny had pursued an agreement with Dr. William Pepper, President of the Museum of Anthropology and Archeaology at the University of Pennsylvania to gain the museum's support for his own expedition to Point Barrow, Alask. In return. he agreed to give the museum all of the specimens recovered. McIlhenny worked in Alaska from 1897 to 1899.

Following his return to Louisiana, McIlhenny assumed control of the family business and was responsible for standardizing the production process and designing the label that is still in use today.

Edward McIlhenny is also known as a conservationist. With additional investors and support, he purchased 175,000 acres of marshland in southern Louisiana for the Bird City Wildfowl Refuge. He is credited with saving the snowy egret from extinction in the state. His personal estate, known as Jungle Gardens, was home to both native and imported plants and he worked to propagate new species.

As a writer, McIlhenny produced many articles mainly about birds and reptiles and displayed his interest in African-American spiritual music in a book.

Edward Avery McIlhenny was born on Avery Island Louisiana, the son of the founder of the McIlheeny Tabasco brand pepper sauce, Edmund McIlhenny. Edward was educated privately and then attended Dr. Holbrook's Military School in what is now Ossining New York. He enrolled at Lehigh University but left in 1894 to accompany Frederick Cook's expedition to Alaska as an ornithologist.

By 1897, McIlhenny had pursued an agreement with Dr. William Pepper, President of the Museum of Anthropology and Archeaology at the University of Pennsylvania to gain the museum's support for his own expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska. In return. he agreed to give the museum all of the specimens recovered. McIlhenny worked in Alaska from 1897 to 1899.

The Point Barrow Collection consists of three folders of correspondence and catalogues and two boxes of mounted photographs.

The collection contains a catalogue in a hardback notebook that is in fragile condition. It has therefore been photocopied for the use of researchers.

The photographs are stored with the photograph collection.

Publication Information: University of Pennsylvania: Penn Museum Archives, 6/25/2015

Finding Aid Author:

Use Restrictions:

Form(s)/Genre(s)

• Photographs

Geographic Name(s)

• Barrow (Alaska)

Personal Name(s)

• Culin, Stewart, 1858-1929
• McIlhenny, Edward Avery, 1872-1949
• Pepper, William, 1843-1898
• Stevenson, Sara Yorke, 1847-1921
• Stone, Witmer, 1866-1939

Subject(s)

• Archaeological expeditions
• Eskimos
• Ethnology--Indigenous peoples