Constance Georgina Adams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Constance Georgina Adams
Constance Georgina Tardrew in 1930
Born	(1883-08-06)6 August 1883 Cape Town, Cape Colony
Died	21 June 1968(1968-06-21) (aged 84) Johannesburg, South Africa
Other names	Constance Georgina Tardrew, Connie Adams, Daisy Adams
Spouse(s)	Peter Tardrew
Parent(s)	John Adams (father)

Constance Georgina Adams (born August 6, 1883 – died June 21, 1968) was a South African woman who loved collecting plants. She was also known as Constance Georgina Tardrew. People often called her Connie or Daisy.

Constance was born in Cape Town. She spent her childhood on a farm in Tulbagh and later lived in Warrenton and Kimberley. After she got married, she moved to Johannesburg. There, she joined the Housewives League of South Africa, a group that helped people in the community.

Constance was inspired by her parents, who also loved plants. She became a successful plant collector for two museums: the Albany Museum in Grahamstown and the McGregor Museum in Kimberley. She even became friends with Maria Wilman, the Director of the McGregor Museum. Constance collected over 240 plant samples. These samples are now kept in important plant collections in Grahamstown, Kimberley, and Pretoria.

Life Story

Constance Georgina Adams was born in Cape Town, South Africa, on August 6, 1883. Her father, John Adams, was a farmer. Constance spent her first few years on their family farm called Waterfalls.

When she was 14, Constance went to Vredenburgh High School in Cape Town. She won many awards for her studies in botany, which is the science of plants. Later, she trained to become a teacher.

In 1907, her family moved to Kimberley. She lived there until she got married in 1910. She married her cousin, Peter Tardrew. They first moved to Bloemhof and then to Johannesburg in 1936. In Johannesburg, Constance became an active member of the Housewives League of South Africa. She passed away on June 21, 1968.

Collecting Plants

Constance developed a strong love for plants when she was young. Her family enjoyed studying wild and garden flowers. They even helped start the first wild-flower show in their area.

In 1890, her family moved to Warrenton, where Constance started school. During her high school holidays, she collected plant samples for the Albany Museum in Grahamstown. Selmar Schonland, the museum's Director, was a family friend and encouraged her.

This interest grew into a large collection of more than 240 plant items. She gave these to the Albany Museum on September 19, 1919. She also became friends with Maria Wilman, who was the Director of the McGregor Museum in Kimberley. Constance collected plants for her too.

Today, Constance's plant collections are kept in three special places called herbaria. These are in Grahamstown, Kimberley, and Pretoria. The Pretoria collection is at the National Herbarium. Her collections were very important for identifying plants in the Griqualand area.