A Guide To American Wandlore

John Torrey

Dr. John Torrey (1796-1873) was an American herbologist, chemist, physician, and wandmaker. Throughout much of his career, Torrey was a teacher of chemistry, often at multiple universities, he also taught Herbology for a short stint at Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, while at the same time pursuing both botanical and magi-botanical work. Dr. Torrey's botanical career focused on the flora of North America. His most renowned works include studies of the New York flora, the Mexican Boundary, the Pacific railroad surveys, as well as the uncompleted Flora of North America. Many witches and wizards call him "The Father Of Modern American Wandlore". Many famous American wandmakers including Edison Huxley Fielding, Fabrice Gander, Shikoba Wolfe, Ishmael Guggenheim, and Violetta Beauvais cite(d) him as an important influence on their work. Most of his notes are included in this book.

Torrey was born in New York City in 1796, as the second child of Capt. William and Margaret (née Nichols) Torrey. His father was of magical blood while his mother was a No-Maj, but they secretly married to avoid Rappaport's Law. In 1806, he was accepted into Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry, where he was chosen by Horned Serpent, Thunderbird, and Pukwudgie. He opted for Horned Serpent and excelled in Transfiguration and Potions but his favorite subject was Herbology. During his time at school, he developed a friendship with a former convict named Amos Eaton, who escaped prison and landed a job teaching Herbology at Ilvermorny, but he also had a love for the natural sciences. Torrey spent his days off exploring the forest and studying the different plants and trees. He also took wand-making classes and constructed his first wand, made from Balsam Fir with a Horned Serpent horn, and took notes on his wand. This experience caused him to develop an enormous interest in wandlore and would dedicate his life to studying American Wandlore, compiling his notes into what he would hope to become a book. In 1815, he began the study of medicine with Wright Post, a No-Maj, qualifying in 1818. He opened an office in New York City, and engaged in the practice of medicine, at the same time devoting his leisure to botany and other scientific pursuits.

In 1817, he became one of the founders of the New York Lyceum of Natural History (now the New York Academy Of Science), and one of his first contributions to this body was his Catalogue of  Plants growing spontaneously within Thirty Miles of the City of New York (Albany, 1819). Its publication gained him the recognition of foreign and native botanists. In 1824, he issued the only volume of his Flora of the Northern and Middle States and his first book about magical plants. This used John Lindley's system of classifying flora, both magical and non-magical, a way of classifying that was not commonly used in the United States. He found the medical profession uncongenial, and on August 5, 1824, he entered the U.S. Army as an assistant surgeon and became acting professor of chemistry and geology at the West Point military academy. Three years later, he became a professor of chemistry and botany at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York (the medical school at Columbia University) where he stayed until 1855 when he was made professor emeritus. He returned to his alma mater Ilvermorny School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry and taught Herbology from 1829 to 1854, causing him to resign from his Army position on August 31, 1828. He made several different wands from different woods on the East Coast and wrote down the different abilities they were capable of. 

In 1836, he was appointed as herbologist for the state of New York and produced his Magical Flora of that state in 1843; while from 1838 to 1843 he carried on the publication of the earlier portions of Flora of North America, with the assistance of his pupil from Ilvermorny, Asa Gray. From 1853 he was chief assayer to the United States assay office in New York City when that office was established, but he continued to take an interest in botanical teaching until his death. In 1854, he resigned as Herbology professor and wrote The Wandlore of Eastern North America, his first book on North American Wandlore. After visiting the West, he would write another book, The Wandlore of Western North America and Magical Plants of The Western United States. From 1853 he was chief assayer to the United States assay office in New York City when that office was established, but he continued to take an interest in botanical teaching until his death. He was frequently consulted by the treasury department on matters of coinage and currency and was sent on special missions at various times to visit the different mints.

He died in 1873 in New York City.