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Some Early Geologists, U.S. Geological Survey Employees,
& Others Who Worked on Stone Resources in the late
1800’s Through the Early 1900’s

Introduction

This is a new section that I’ve decided to add to the “Geology” section of our web site that I hope you will find of interest. As I was using Ernest F. Burchard’s Mineral Resources of Southeastern Alaska (1920) and T. Nelson Dale’s many U.S. Geological Survey books on marble, granite, and slate, I began to wonder about these early geologists, their assistants, their experiences in the field while gathering the information for these books, the people at the U.S.G.S. who had a part in creating these old books, and other interesting geologists of the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. This section represents my exploration of some of these early geologists, writers, and U.S.G.S. employees who provided us with all of the interesting and valuable books, mineral collections, etc., that enable us to look back at the historical stone industry of their time. I've especially been intrigued by the field trips to locations such as Alaska, etc. I must admit that I have no background or education in geology, and this listing is very arbitrary and in no order of importance - except whoever interested me in my search. If you know of other interesting early geologists who you think would fit into this group, I would like to hear about them. Peggy B. Perazzo, August 2009.

General References

“American Women in Geology: A Historical Perspective,” by Lois B. Arnold, in Geology, 5, 1977, pp. 493-494.

“The Beginnings of the U.S. Geological Survey,” by Nationalatlas.gov.

The First One Hundred Years of American Geology, G. P. Merrill, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, 1924, 773 pp.

Geologic Pioneers - Conference on the History of Geologic Pioneers, August 2–5, 2000, Gerald M. Friedman, Past Chair, GSA History of Geology Division, Brooklyn College and Graduate School of the City University of New York, and Northeastern Science Foundation, P.0. Box 746, Troy, NY12181

The Geological Society of America: Life History of a Learned Society, by Edwin Butt Eckel, pp. 36-38, Geological Society of America, 1982, 167 pp., ISBN 081371155X, 9780813711553. (This section of the book is available on Google Book Search.)

Geologist, on Wikipedia

Geologists’ Biographies, on About.com

History of Geologic Mapping, U. S. Geological Survey

“History of Geoscience: Women in the History of Geoscience,” on enotes.com (Women in this article include: *Etheldred Bennett, “a scientific researcher in paleontology and an accomplished artist,” from the south of England. *Mary Anning from the United Kingdom was the “most famous early female geologist.” *Florence Bascom, a female geologist from Williamstown, Massachusetts, “founded the department of geology at Bryn Mawr College. Bascom was the first woman geologist employed by the U. S. Geological Survey in 1896. *Eileen Gupp was “the first successful woman to be employed by the British Survey in the petrology department in 1927.” *Alice Wilson, born in 1881 in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada “became the first woman to reach a prominent position within the Geological Survey of Canada. *Mary Emilee Holmes was the “first fellow of the Geological Society of America” in 1889.

The History of Women And Science, Health, And Technology: A Bibliographic Guide To The Professions And The Disciplines, Geology and Earth Sciences (675-747).

Important Geoscientists, by William P. Clement, Temporary Special Lecturer, Center for Geophysical Investigation of the Shallow Subsurface (CGISS), Dept. of Geosciences, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho.

List of Geologists, on Wikipedia

Regulations of the United States Geological Survey, by Geological Survey (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

The Role of Women in the History of Geology, Special Publication No. 1281, by Cynthia V. Burek (Author, Editor), Bettie Higgs (Editor) “A conference held at the London Geological Society, Burlington House, London, on 28 November 2005), Geological Society of London; 1st edition (September 15, 2007), 352 pages, ISBN-10: 1862392277, ISBN-13: 978-1862392274. (Description: “Where were the women in Geology? This book is a first as it unravels the diverse roles women have played in the history and development of geology as a science predominantly in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and selectively in Germany, Russia and US. The volume covers the period from the late eighteenth century to the present day and shows how the roles that women have played changed with time. These included illustrators, museum collectors and curators, educationalists, researchers and geologists. Originally as wives, sisters or mothers many were assistants to their male relatives. This book looks at all these forgotten women and for the first time historians and scientists together explore the contribution they made to this male-dominated subject. There are individual profiles on remarkable women: Catherine Raisin, Dorothea Bate, Cuviers daughters, Grace Prestwich, Annie Greenly, Nancy Kirk, Margaret Crosfield, Ethel Skeat, Maria Ogivlie Gordon, Marie Stopes, Anne Phillips, Muriel Arber and Etheldred Bennett.”)

“Tools of the Trade:  Geologists once did it all by hand, in dirty clothes,” by Andrew Alden, About Geology.

The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989, U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1050, by Mary C. Rabbitt. “A history of the relation of geology during the first 110 years of the U.S. Geological Survey to the development of public-land, Federal-science, and mapping policies and the development of mineral resources in the United States.”

U. S. Geological Survey, on Wikipedia.

U. S. Geological Survey Field Trips of the Geologic Branch, “Work of the Year,” 1903 and 1904, in Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1903-1904, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. (A few of the people who led the field trips in 1903 and 1904 include: Professor Florence Bascom (pp. 34); William C. Alden (pp. 32); T. Nelson Dale (pp. 39); Edwin C. Eckel (pp. 42); and George Otis Smith (pp. 55). (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

U. S. Geological Survey Personnel, on Wikipedia.

“Women in GSA,” in The Geological Society of America: Life History of a Learned Society, by Edwin Butt Eckel, pp. 36-38, in Geological Society of America, 1982, 167 pp., ISBN 081371155X, 9780813711553. The names of women scientists in the Geological Society of America that are described in this section include: Florence Bascom, Mary Emilee Holmes, Ida Helen Ogilivie, Mignon Talbot, Eleanora F. Bliss Knopf, Marjorie O’Connell Shearon, Julia Anna Gardner, Carlotta Joaquin Maury, Winifred Goldring, Anna Isabel Jonas Stose, Alva C. Ellisor, Margaret Fuller Boos, Fanny Carter Edson, Grace Anne Stewart, Katherine E. H. Palmer, Alice Evelyn Wilson, Katherine Fowler-Billings, Madeleine A. Fritz, Helen J. Plummer, Christina Lochman-Balk, Jewell J. Glass, Hildegard Howard, Esther J. Aberdeen, Alice S. Allen, Esther E. R. Applin, Esther E. R. Applin, Anna Heitanen-Makela, Helen N. Leoblich, Helen M. M. Martin, Emily Jäeger, and Dorothy Hill. (Photographs of Florence Bascom and Mary Emilee Holmes are included in this section.) (This section of the book is available on Google Book Search.)

Some Early Geologists, Cartographers, Statiticians, etc.

(Note: This list is formatted in alphabetical order by surname.)

Dr. William C. ALDEN, U. S. Geological Survey Chief of Pleistocene Geology

  • William C. Alden Field Work in 1903 and 1904 - U. S. Geological Survey Field Trips of the Geologic Branch, “Work of the Year,” 1903 and 1904, in Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1903-1904, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. (A few of the people who led the field trips in 1903 and 1904 include: Professor Florence Bascom (pp. 34); William C. Alden (pp. 32); T. Nelson Dale (pp. 39); Edwin C. Eckel (pp. 42); and George Otis Smith (pp. 55). (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
  • W. C. Alden’s Photo Album in the U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library
  • William C. Alden in GSA Today: According to this article, W. C. Alden was chief of Pleistocene geology at the U.S. Geological Survey circa 1922. (GSA Today, Vol. 5, No. 9, September 1995, pp. 170)

Florence BASCOM, (First woman officer of the GSA and first woman geologist employed by the U. S. Geological Survey, according to “Great Expectations: Florence Bascom (1842-1945) and the education of early U.S. Women Geologists,” in The Role of Women in the History of Geology, by R. M. Clary and J. H. Wandersee.)

“Miss F. Bascom, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, Pa.”

  • “Becoming A Geologist: Florence Bascom and Johns Hopkins, 1888-1895,” by Lois B. Arnold, in Earth Sciences History, Vol. 19, No. 1, 2000, pp. 2-25, ISSN 0736-623X (Print) 1944-6187 (Online)
  • “Becoming A Geologist: Florence Bascom in Wisconsin, 1874-1887,” by Lois B. Arnold, in Earth Sciences History, History of Earth Sciences Society, Vol. 18, No. 2, 1999, pp. 159-179, ISSN 0736-623X (Print) 1944-6187 (Online)
  • Florence Bascom Field Work in 1903 and 1904 - U. S. Geological Survey Field Trips of the Geologic Branch, “Work of the Year,” 1903 and 1904, in Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1903-1904, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. (A few of the people who led the field trips in 1903 and 1904 include: Professor Florence Bascom (pp. 34); William C. Alden (pp. 32); T. Nelson Dale (pp. 39); Edwin C. Eckel (pp. 42); and George Otis Smith (pp. 55). (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
  • Florence Bascom, on Wikipedia
  • “Florence Bascom,” in GSA Today
  • Memorial of Florence Bascom, by Eleanor Bliss Knopf, New Haven, Connecticut (This document includes a bibliography of Florence Bascom’s publications.) (in PDF format)
  • Florence Bascom in “History of Geoscience: Women in the History of Geoscience,” on enotes.com (Florence Bascom, a female geologist from Williamstown, Massachusetts, “founded the department of geology at Bryn Mawr College.” Bascom was the first woman geologist employed by the U. S. Geological Survey in 1896.
  • Florence Bascom in “Women in GSA,” in The Geological Society of America: Life History of a Learned Society, by Edwin Butt Eckel, pp. 36-38, Geological Society of America, 1982, 167 pp., ISBN 081371155X, 9780813711553. (A photograph of Florence Bascom is included in this section.) (This section is available on Google Book Search.)
  • “Great Expectations: Florence Bascom (1842-1945) and the education of early U.S. Women Geologists,” by R. M. Clary and J. H. Wandersee in The Role of Women in the History of Geology by Cynthia V. Burek and Bettie Higgs, Geological Society of London, Contributor Geological Society of London, Geological Society, 2007, ISBN 1862392277, 9781862392274, pp. 123-135.

Etheldred BENNETT, known as the “First Lady Geologist” in England

  • Etheldred Bennett in History of Geoscience: Women in the History of Geoscience, presented on enotes.com.
  • Etheldred Bennett in The Role of Women in the History of Geology, Special Publication No. 1281, by Cynthia V. Burek (Author, Editor), Bettie Higgs (Editor) A conference held at the London Geological Society, Burlington House, London, on 28 November 2005, Geological Society of London; 1st edition (September 15, 2007), 352 pages, ISBN-10: 1862392277, ISBN-13: 978-1862392274. (Description: “Where were the women in Geology? This book is a first as it unravels the diverse roles women have played in the history and development of geology as a science predominantly in the UK, Ireland and Australia, and selectively in Germany, Russia and US. The volume covers the period from the late eighteenth century to the present day and shows how the roles that women have played changed with time…Originally as wives, sisters or mothers many were assistants to their male relatives. This book looks at all these forgotten women and for the first time historians and scientists together explore the contribution they made to this male-dominated subject. A profile on Etheldred Bennett in included in this book.”)

    Etheldred Bennett of Wiltshire, England, The First Lady Geologist - Her Fossil Collection in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and the Rediscovery of ‘Lost’ Specimens of Jurassic Triigoniidae (Mollusca: Bivalvia) with Their Soft Anatomy Preserved. HS Torrens, E. Benamy, E.B. Daeschler, E.S. Spamer, and A. Bogan, Procs. of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, volume 150, 2000, pp 59-123.

  • Etheldred Bennett in the Proceedings of the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, Vol. 7, 2003, “Memoirs of William Smith Ll.D,” by John Phillips FRS, FGS.

    According to this article: “Etheldred Bennett, ‘the first lady geologist,’ who lived in Warminster,…gave her collection to the Philadelphia Museum….”

R. W. BERRY, U. S. Geological Survey Cartographer

R. W. Berry’s Photo Album on U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

Dr. Oliver BOWLES (1877-1958), Geologist for the U. S. Bureau of Mines

  • Oliver Bowles – The Bowles of Canada and Their Roots in Ireland and England, presented by Tom LaPorte. (This web site includes the following information on Oliver Bowles: *Oliver Bowles entry in The Canadian Who’s Who 1948. *Oliver Bowles’ 1958 obituary, and other material.)
    • Edgar Bowles (1911-after 1971), son of Oliver Bowles, information from The Bowles of Canada and Their Roots in Ireland and England, presented by Tom LaPorte.

      Tom LaPorte has traced Oliver Bowles’ son, Edgar Bowles, who worked as a geologist doing field work for the U. S. Geological Survey in addition to other positions in locations as the Alabama Geological Survey; Florida; Mississippi; Louisiana; Texas; Arizona; Utah; Bureau of Mines, Alaska; California; Cairo, Egypt; North Africa; and Italy. He was listed as an assistant professor of geology at Rutgers University in 1946-1947; professor and chairman at the American University, Washington, D.C., in 1948-1952; associate professor 1952-56, and professor from 1956-1957. He retired circa 1970. (Most of the preceding information is from American Men and Women of Science, 12th Edition, 1971.)

  • Charter Fellows of the Mineralogical Society of America, in the American Mineralogist, pp. 46.

    “Oliver Bowles, Bureau of Mines, Washington, D. C”

  • Oliver Bowles Private Records - University of Toronto, Archives and Records Management Services

    “Oliver Bowles” (No link to collection information yet online as of August 2009.)

  • Memorial of Oliver Bowles (January 10, 1877-August 1, 1958) The American Mineralogist, Vol. 56, March - April, 1971, 670-673 (in PDF format) (A photograph of Oliver Bowles and an extensive bibliography are included in this memorial.)
  • Some Stone-Related Publications by Oliver Bowles found online:
    • Memorial Stone (PDF), by Oliver Bowles, Bureau of Mines Information Circular 7720, Department of the Interior, June 1955, 6 pp. (The excerpt below is from the “Introduction.”)
    • The Stone Industries, (1939) is available for reading on the Internet Archive.
    • The Structural and Ornamental Stones of Minnesota, Bulletin 663, by Oliver Bowles, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1918, is available on Google Books – Full View Books for reading or downloading to your computer.
    • Tables for the Determination of Common Rocks, by Oliver Bowles, published by D. Van Nostrand and Company, 1910, is available for reading or downloading to your computer in Google Book Search – Full View Books.
    • The Technology of Slate, by Oliver Bowles, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Mines, Bulletin 218, A thesis submitted to the faculty of George Washington University in part fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1922.

Alfred Hulse BROOKS, U.S. Geological Survey

Ernest F. BURCHARD (1875-1961) U.S. Geological Survey

  • E. F. Burchard’s Photo Album on the U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library

    “Memorial to Ernest Francis Burchard (1875-1961),” by Richard W. Smith, GSA Bulletin; May 1965; v. 76; no. 5; p. P59-P62. © 1965 Geological Society of America.

  • Some Publications by Ernest F. Burchard available online:
    • “Field-Investigations of Structural Materials by the U. S. Geological Survey,” by Ernest F. Burchard, Washington, D.C., (Pittsburg Meeting, March 1910), in Transactions of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers, by American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Metallurgical Society of AIME, Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, Society of Mining Engineers of AIME, 1911, pp. 490-494. (This book is Available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)
    • “Portland Cement Materials Near Dubuque Iowa,” by Ernest F. Burchard, in Contributions to Economic Geology, Part I. Metals and Nonmetals, 1906, Bulletin No. 315, U. S. Geological Survey, 1907, pp. 225-231. (This book is Available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)
    • “Structural Materials in the Vicinity of Austin, Texas,” by Ernest F. Burchard, in Contributions to Economic Geology (Short Papers and Preliminary Reports), Part I. Metals and Nonmetals, 1909, Bulletin No. 430, U. S. Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, 1910, pp. 292-316. (This book is Available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)

Miss Altha Titsworth COONS, U. S. Geological Survey “Statistical Expert”

  • Miss Altha T. Coons in “The Action of Carbon Dioxide Upon Sodium Aluminate and the Formation of Basic Aluminum Carbonate,” by William C. Day, in American Chemical Journal, November 1997, Vol. XIX, No. 9, pp. 728.

    “In carrying out this investigation I have had the assistance of three of my pupils, Miss Altha T. Coons….”

  • Altha T. Coons in Swarthmore College Catalog, 1899-1900, pp. 69. (This book is available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)

    Class of 1894: Altha T. Coons, B.S., Washington, D.C.

  • Altha T. Coons, U. S. Geological Survey Statistical Expert in Minerals Resources of the United States Calendar Year 1904, U. S. Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, 1905, pp. 801 footnote. (David T. Day, Chief of Division of Mining and Mineral Resources.)

    “The collection of these statistics and the compilation of returns have been carried on, as in previous years, by Miss Altha T. Coons, statistical expert of this office, who has prepared the entire report on stone. D. T. Day.”

  • Altha Titsworth Coons citation: Slate Deposit and Slate Industry of the United States, by T. Nelson Dale, with sections by E. C. Eckel, W. F. Hillebrand, and A. T. Coons. U.S.G.S. Bulletin 276, 1906. (Listed in “Report on the progress and condition of the Illinois State Museum of Natural History,” by Illinois State Museum, published by The Museum, 1912, which is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
  • Miss Altha T. Coons in Official Register: Persons in the Civil, Military, and Naval Service of the United States and List of Vessels, 1907, Vol. 1, Directory, Compiled by the Director of the Census, Government Printing Office, 1907, pp. 217. (This book is available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)

    “Coons, Miss Altha T., Ins. Stat Expt GeolSurv $1400 NJ 7PaDelaware DC

    “Coons, Miss Anna B., Int. Stat. Geol. Survey $900 NJ 6NJSussex DC” (Altha T. Coon’s sister)

  • Altha Titsworth Coons & Her Family in Union University: Its history, influence, characteristics and equipment, with the lives and works of its founders, benefactors, officers, regents, faculty, and the achievements of its alumni. Union College, Albany Medical College, Albany Law School, Dudley Observatory, Albany College of Pharmacy, by Andrew Van Vranken Raymond, Lewis Publishing Company, 1907, Vol. 2, pp. 457-458. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.) 

Jefferson Jeffers Coons, C.E. (Father of Altha T. Coons)

“Jefferson Jeffers Coons, Sussex, Sussex county, New Jersey, civil engineer, was born July 17, 1842, at Sand Lake, Rensselaer County, New York, son of Solyman Coons and Altha Burton, his wife, and is of Dutch descent.

“He attended public schools and the New York Conference Seminary at Charlotteville, then entered Union College, where he completed a course in civil engineering, graduating with the degree of C.E. in 1867. Upon graduation he at once engaged in professional work, which he continued until 1877, from which year until 1881 he followed a mercantile business. He resumed engineering and was engaged in it until 1893, when he again took up a mercantile line and was so employed for five years, but since 1898 has followed civil engineering and supervising.

“Mr. Coons has held the civil offices of town clerk of Sussex, 1881; member of the Board of Education, 1893-1905; chosen freeholder, 1905. Politically he is a Democrat. He is a member of Samaritan Lodge, No. 98, F. & A.M., Sussex; Baldwin Chapter, No. 23, R.A.M., Newton, New Jersey, and of Monroe Commandery, No. 12, Knights Templar, Rochester, New York. He married, March 27, 1872, Jennie Titsworth, and has children: Altha Titsworth Coons, a graduate, degree of B.S., of Swarthmore, 1894, Annie Burton Coons and Kate Titsworth Coons.”

  • Some publications by Althea/Altha T. Coons online:
    • “Statistics of Granite Production in Vermont,” by Altha T. Coons, in Relations Between Local Magnetic disturbances and the Genesis of Petroleum, Bulletin 401, by George F. Becker, U. S. Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, 1909, pp. 122-127. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
    • “Statistics of Production, Imports, and Exports,” by A. T. Coons, in Slate in the United States, Bulletin No. 586, U. S. Geological Survey, Government Printing Office, 1914, pp. 193-204. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

T. Nelson DALE (1845 - 1937), U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

  • T. Nelson Dale Field Work in 1903 and 1904 - U. S. Geological Survey Field Trips of the Geologic Branch, “Work of the Year,” 1903 and 1904, in Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1903-1904, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. (A few of the people who led the field trips in 1903 and 1904 include: Professor Florence Bascom (pp. 34); William C. Alden (pp. 32); T. Nelson Dale (pp. 39); Edwin C. Eckel (pp. 42); and George Otis Smith (pp. 55). (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
  • “T. Nelson Dale: Diminutive Giant in New England Geology,” (in PDF format) by Reinhard A. Wobus, Department of Geology, in Williams Geology Newsletter, Vol. II, June 1993, Bicentennial Edition, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, pp. 26. (This article was “Submitted for presentation at the 1993 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America …October (1993) in Boston.” The article is used with the permission of Professor Reinhard A. Wobus, Williams College. )
  • The Outcomes of the Life of a Geologist: An Autobiography, by T. Nelson Dale, edited by Professor Reinhard A. Wobus, Department of Geology, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts, published by the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. This book is available on the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences web site in the “Publications” web site under “Biographies” or you can print this PDF document order form.
  • Thomas Nelson Dale (1845-1937) Papers, 1854-1933, Williams College, Archive and Special Collections

James Dwight DANA (1813-1895), Scientific Explorer, Mineralogist, Geologist, and Zoologist

Nelson H. DARTON, (1865-1948) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

Chester DEWEY (1784-1867) Geologist

  • “Williams’ First Geologists,” (in PDF format) contributed by Professor Markes Johnson, in Williams Geology Newsletter, Vol. II, June 1993, Bicentennial Edition, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. (The article is used with the permission of Professor Markes Johnson, Williams College. )

Thomas Wilson DIBBLEE, Jr. (1911-2004) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

Amos EATON (1776-1842) Geologist

  • “Williams’ First Geologists,” (in PDF format) contributed by Professor Markes Johnson, in Williams Geology Newsletter, Vol. II, June 1993, Bicentennial Edition, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. (The article is used with the permission of Professor Markes Johnson, Williams College. )
  • Amos Eaton, on Wikipedia
  • “James D. Dana and Fay Edgerton – Students and/or Disciples of Amos Eaton,” by Gerald M. Friedman, in the American Journal of Science, Vol. 298, Summer 1998, pp. 608-610.
  • Amos Eaton, in The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989, Circular 1050, By Mary C. Rabbitt
  • “Amos Eaton: Tragedy to Triumph marks life of Rensselaer Institute leader,” Story by Record Reporter Susan Graves, Troy New York.
  • The Amos Eaton Exhibit (Including: Biography, manuscripts, artifacts, bibliography, and links)
  • Amos Eaton Papers (1797-1846) New York State Library
  • Amos Eaton’s burial place is at the Oakwood Cemetery, 5.7 miles from the Rensselaer Center, according to the Troy Field Trip. (A photograph of Amos Eaton is included on this web site.) Amos Eaton’s plaque reads as follows:

    “Amos Eaton, with Patroon Stephen Van Rensselaer, founded the Rensselaer School in 1824, later know as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. A philosopher of higher education, he revolutionized instruction away from the liberal arts tradition into a laboratory method of applied preparation for solving society’s problems. He was a strong proponent of higher education for women.”

Edwin Clarence ECKEL (1875- 1941) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

  • Edwin C. Eckel Field Work in 1903 and 1904 - U. S. Geological Survey Field Trips of the Geologic Branch, “Work of the Year,” 1903 and 1904, in Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1903-1904, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. (A few of the people who led the field trips in 1903 and 1904 include: Professor Florence Bascom (pp. 34); William C. Alden (pp. 32); T. Nelson Dale (pp. 39); Edwin C. Eckel (pp. 42); and George Otis Smith (pp. 55). (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
  • E. C. Eckel’s Photo Album in the U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library
  • Edwin Eckel – According to Paul Livesey in the new introduction of Cements, Limes, Plasters, a facsimile of the third (1928) edition published by Donhead Publishing Ltd. in the UK:

    “Edwin C. Eckel was the most influential author on cement, lime and plaster in the United States of America in the first part of the twentieth century…A geologist with the United States Geological Survey, Eckel was commissioned to draw together the extensive but widely scattered information on cementing materials….”

  • Edwin C. Eckel – Obituary in the Chicago Tribune in 1941:

    “Knoxville, Tennessee, November 22 (AP). - Maj. Edwin C. Eckel, 67, chief geologist of the Tennessee Valley Authority, died tonight at his farm home near here. Death was attributed to a heart ailment. Maj. Eckel was a veteran of the World War. He held a lifetime honorary membership in the American Society of Civil Engineers, was a fellow of the Geologic Society of America, and was the author of several books, one entitled Coal, Iron, and War. Among the survivors are his widow of Washington, D.C., and a daughter, Miss Julia Eckel, Washington artist.”

Some Books by Edwin C. Eckel that are available online:

Building Stones and Clays; Their Origin, Characters and Examination, by Edwin C. Eckel, New York: J. Wiley. (This book is available on the Internet Archive.)

“The Cement Industry in New York” (Chapters), by Edwin Clarence Eckel, in Lime and Cement Industries of New York, by Heinrich Ries, Edwin Clarence Eckel, New York State Museum, University of the State of New York, University of the State of New York, 1901, 968 pp. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

“Cement Materials,” by Edwin C. Eckel, in Geology and Mineral Resources of Mississippi, Bulletin No. 283, United States Geological Survey, 1906, pp. 71-90. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

The Materials and Manufacture of Portland Cement, by Edwin C. Eckel, Geological Survey of Alabama Bulletin No. 8, Brown Printing Company, 1904, 93 pp. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

“Portland Cement Materials Near Dubuque Iowa,” by Ernest F. Burchard, in Contributions to Economic Geology, Part I. Metals and Nonmetals, 1906,Bulletin No. 315, U. S. Geological Survey, S. F. Emmons and E. C. Eckel, Geologists in Charge. 1907, pp. 225-231. (This book is available on Google Book Search - Full View Books.)

Ebenezer EMMONS (1799-1863) Geologist

  • “Williams’ First Geologists,” (in PDF format) contributed by Professor Markes Johnson, in Williams Geology Newsletter, Vol. II, June 1993, Bicentennial Edition, Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. (The article is used with the permission of Professor Markes Johnson, Williams College.)

Katharine FOWLER-BILLINGS (1902–1997) Geologist

“Katharine Fowler-Billings (1902–1997) became a practicing field geologist in the 1920s, long before this was a commonplace career for a woman. Her life achievements are those that anyone would be proud to have—fine educational credentials, including a Ph.D. from Columbia University; a publication record that includes fundamental geological descriptions of large areas in Wyoming, Sierra Leone, and New Hampshire; and a record of environmental activism in New England….”

  • Katharine Fowler-Billings, on Wikipedia
  • Katharine Fowler-Billings: The 1996 New England Intercollegiate Geologic Conference, dedicated to Marland P. Billings and Katharine Fowler-Billings:

    “Among many other honors, Billings, and his wife Katharine Fowler-Billings, were elected honorary fellows of the New Hampshire Geological Society in 1992 (see The Granite State Geologist, number 3, December 1992…). Kay Fowler-Billings continues to reside at Summerhill in Peterborough. Her recent autobiography, Stepping Stones, The Reminiscences of a Woman Geologist in the Twentieth Century was published in 1996 by the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences….”

  • Stepping-Stones: The Reminiscences of a Woman Geologist in the Twentieth Century (Transactions Ser.; Vol. 53), by Katharine Fowler-Billings, published by Connecticut Academy of Arts, April 1996, 222 pp., ISBN-10: 1878508113, ISBN-13: 978-1878508119.

Winifred  GOLDRING (1888-1971) First woman president of the Paleontological Society

James HALL (1811–1898) Paleontologist

Erasmus HAWORTH, U. S. Geological Survey & the Kansas Geological Survey - Geologist

  • Erasmus Haworth, on Wikipedia
  • Erasmus Haworth, Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc...., Standard Pub. Co. Chicago: 1912, Vol. 1, pp. 831. Transcribed May 2002 by Carolyn Ward.

F. L. HESS, U. S. Geological Survey

Mary Emilee HOLMES, (1850-1906) Paleontologist

  • Mary Emilee Holmes in “History of Geoscience: Women in the History of Geoscience,” on enotes.com (Mary Emilee Holmes was the “first fellow of the Geological Society of America” in 1889.
  • Mary Emilee Holmes in “Women in the GSA,” The Geological Society of America: Life History of a Learned Society, by Edwin Butt Eckel, pp. 36-38, in Geological Society of America, 1982, 167 pp., ISBN 081371155X, 9780813711553. (A photograph of Mary Emilee Holmes is included with this article.) (This section is available on Google Book Search.)

Richard L. HUMPHREY, U. S. Geological Survey, Engineer in Charge of the Structural Materials Division

  • Richard L. Humphrey in 1906: The following is an excerpt from: The U. S. Geological Survey Report on the San Francisco Earthquake of April 18, 1906, Preface to the 1907 report by Joseph A. Holmes (excerpts), presented on the America Hurrah web site.

    “Immediately afterwards there was a decision to investigate the effects of earthquake and fire on buildings and materials of construction. Accordingly, on April 19 Richard L. Humphrey was sent to San Francisco for this purpose, as secretary of the National Advisory Board on Fuels and Structural Materials and representing the structural materials division of the United States Geological Survey.”

  • Richard L. Humphrey circa 1908: “Organization, Equipment, and Operation of the Structural-Materials Testing Laboratories at St. Louis, Missouri,” by Richard L. Humphrey, in Geological Survey Bulletin 329; Structural-materials Testing Laboratories, St. Louis, Missouri, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, 1908. (This book is available on the Internet Archive.)
  • Richard L. Humphrey circa 1908: According to the “Structural Materials Division” (Reports of the Department of the Interior, by United States. Dept. of the Interior Published by Gov. print. off., 1908, pp. 283. This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books).

    “Investigations of structural materials belonging to and used by the United States, such as stones, clays, cements, etc., were continued during the year at the structural-materials testing laboratories in Forest Park, St. Louis, Mo. The work was directly under the care of Richard L. Murphy, engineer in charge of the division, who had the assistance of a corps of engineers, chemists, geologists, and others.”

  • Richard L. Humphrey circa 1914: In 1914 Richard L. Humphrey was the President of the American Concrete Institute. (The Mineral Industry, The Mineral Industry, published by Scientific Publishing Company, 1915, pp. 86. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

Clarence KING (1842- 1901) Geologist & First U. S. Geological Survey Director

Philip Burk KING (1903-1987) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

Eleanor Bliss KNOPF (1883-1974) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

  • Eleanor F. Bliss Knopf in “Women in the GSA,” The Geological Society of America: Life History of a Learned Society, by Edwin Butt Eckel, pp. 36-38, in Geological Society of America, 1982, 167 pp., ISBN 081371155X, 9780813711553. (This section of the book is available on Google Book Search.)
  • “Memorial to Eleanor Bliss Knopf, 1883-1974,” by John Rodgers, Geological Society of America, Memorials, 6 (1977): 2. (See also NAW:NP.) (This citation is from Women Scientists in America: Struggles and Strategies to 1940, by Margaret W. Rossiter, 2nd ed., JHU Press, 1984, ISBN 0801825091, 9780801825095, pp. 369. Portions of this book are available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

Medora Hooper KRIEGER (1905-1994) Geologist

Gerald F. LOUGHLIN (1880-1946) Chief Geologist of the U. S. Geological Survey

J. David LOVE, Sr. (1913-2002) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

George Perkins MERRILL (1854-1929) Geologist

J. B. MERTIE, Jr., U. S. Geological Survey

Henry B. NASON (1831–1895) Geologist

  • “History of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Geological Collections,” Gerald M. Friedman, Department of Geology, Brooklyn College of the City University of New York (CUNY), Brooklyn, New York, and Northeastern Science Foundation affiliated with Brooklyn College of the City University of New York, Northeastern Section (39th Annual) and Southeastern Section (53rd Annual) Joint Meeting (March 25–27, 2004), Paper No. 64-7.

    (Excerpt from the above presentation) “The period between 1859 and 1894 was the tenure of Henry B. Nason (1831-1895). Nason was the de facto curator of the vast mineral collection at Rensselaer. Nason acted as agent for Rennsselaer in acquiring specimens and with Hall arranged and labeled them. The extended geological field trips Nason lead each term were extremely popular…Nason’s interest in mineralogy had a profound influence on the scientific advance of mineralogy….”

  • Henry B. Nason, Chemist (Photograph in the Wisconsin Historical Society “Wisconsin Historical Images” Collection)

    Description: “Carte-de-visite portrait of Henry B. Nason (1831-1895), head of the Chemistry department at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the first Technological school in the U.S. Handwritten text at the bottom of the image reads, ‘H.B. Nason, Troy N.Y., 1869.’”

  • Henry B. Nason, Portrait at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Department of Institute Archives and Special Collections (Choose “Access to Collects” – “Search Images/Pub.”)
  • Biographical Record of the Officers and Graduates of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1824-1886, by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Henry Bradford Nason, published by W.H. Young, 1887. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

    (pp. 22) The Henry B. Nason Collection of Minerals at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

    “The ‘Henry B. Nason’ collection of minerals, named for the donor, contains nearly 5000 specimens, arranged in several divisions to illustrate their structural, physical, and chemical properties; also a large number of models.”

    (pp. 115) Professor of Natural History

    “Henry B. Nason, A.M., Ph.D., M.D., LL. D. – 1858-1864”

  • Henry B. Nason entry – The Mineralogical Record
  • “Henry Bradford Nason. ( Born: 1831; Died: 1895) American mineralogist & Chemist. Nason was an instructor at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York….”
  • Henry B. Nason – Rennselaer Archives and Special Collections (While Henry B. Nason’s name only results in a few searches, this would be a good collection to check for his personal and/or professional papers, etc. Peggy B. Perazzo)
  • Henry B. Nason death information: Death Records and Obituaries with Troy, NY connections, extracted from a file of Troy, NY, newspaper clippings maintained by employees of the, Burden Iron Company from March, 1890 - April, 1895, on the Troy Irish Genealogical Society web site.

    “Nason – Henry B. - 18 Jan 1895 – (newspaper death notice) NASON - Friday, Jan. 18, 1895, Henry B. Nason for thirty-six years professor in the Rensselaer Polytecnic Institute, in his 64th year. – (funeral details) Funeral from his late residence Monday afternoon, Jan. 21, at 2:30 o'clock. 1-18-2t – (page) 68-2”

  • Henry B. Nason’s burial place & Mineral Collection at Brooklyn College, Geology Department: (Scroll down.)

    Henry B. Nason’s Burial place is at the Oakwood Cemetery, 5.7 miles from the Rensselaer Center, according to the “Troy Field Trip” by the Brooklyn College Geology Department, New York. (Photographs of Henry B. Nason’s Mineral Collection are included on this web site at the bottom of the page.) Henry B. Nason’s plaque reads as follows:

    “Co-founder of GSA and mentor of eminent GSA president Thomas C. Chamberlin, and inspirer of Roebling in mineralogy.”

Denison OLMSTEAD (1791–1859) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

  • Denison Olmstead, in The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989, Circular 1050, By Mary C. Rabbitt

    “Denison Olmsted, Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology at the University of North Carolina, also a former student of Professor Silliman, had approached the North Carolina State Board of Internal Improvements with the idea of making a geological and mineralogical survey of the State, but the General Assembly in North Carolina, to which the Board had referred Olmsted's request, had instead authorized the Board of Agriculture to make such a survey in 1823.”

Sidney PAIGE, U. S. Geological Survey

  • S. Paige’s Photo Album in the U. S. Geological Survey Photographic Library
  • Sydney Paige circa 1900: “Forgotten Images of the Klondike,” on the cbc.ca web site.

    “The discovery of gold in the Klondike brought a massive influx of people to the continent’s northwest.

    “Not only were there prospectors hungry for gold; there were government geologists from both Canada and the United States, eager to inventory all the riches of the region, and firm up each country’s claim to their territory….”

    (Photo caption of photo accompanying this article which includes a photograph of Sidney Paige.) “Passengers, gathered outside the White Pass & Yukon Railroad Station at White Pass. The photographer on one of the expeditions, Sidney Paige, is in the centre wearing a white hat. Circa 1900.”

  • Sydney Paige circa 1903: Sidney Paige accompanied Charles Arthur Hollick, a Paleobotanist, for a four-month field trip to Alaska.

    Records of the Herbarium (RG 4), Charles Arthur Hollick Records (1873-1979), the New York Botanical Garden, International Plant Science Center, Mertz Library, Archive & Manuscript Collections.

    “In 1903, Hollick spent four months in Alaska under the auspices of the USGS--Division of Alaskan Mineral Resources, Reclamation Service - the first paleobotanist to do so. With Sidney Paige, he traveled 1,000 miles down the Yukon River from Dawson to Anvik, collecting materials which were to occupy him for the rest of his career….”

    “Series 9: Alaska Expedition, 1903-1932

    “Hollick’s field trip to Alaska yielded material that was to occupy him for the rest of his life. Primarily, this series contains correspondence between Hollick and the USGS concerning progress on the publication of his findings. The list of specimens he collected is here. Hollick’s field notebooks for this expedition are located with the USGS Mineral Resources Surveys, Alaska Section, Anchorage, AK. Photographs by Sidney Paige, a USGS colleague, documenting this remarkable expedition are found in Series 10: Photographs.”

    “Series 10     Photographs, 1879-1928

    “Sidney Paige's photographs are in chronological order, prepared from a numerical list of 102 subjects. That list is included in this series. Scenes of great historical value featured here include gold miners, Indian life, scenic views of Nome and other places in Alaska, as well as the geological and paleobotanical features. Also in this series are portrait photographs of Hollick, and specimen photographs include Glyphomitrium Cockerlleae, discovered by Elizabeth Britton and Hollick.”

  • Sidney Paige & Chester Wells Purington (1871-1923), Alaska Mining Hall of Foundation
  • Sydney Paige circa 1949: Sidney Paige - Chairperson of the Engineering Geology Division, the Geological Society of America.

    “1949 Sidney Paige, U.S.G.S., Columbia University, New York”

Sydney Paige in 1952 - Sidney Paige received the Bownocker Medal from the Ohio State University Department of Geological Sciences.

  • Publication by Sidney Paige available online:

    Mineral Resources of the Llano-Burnet Region, Texas, with an Account of the Pre-Cambrian Geology, by Sidney Paige, Bulletin 450, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington : Government Printing Office, 1911, pp. 7-26. (This bulletin is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

John Wesley POWELL (1834-1902) Second Directory of the U. S. Geological Survey

Heinrich RIES (1871-1951) Professor, Emeritus of Geology of Cornell University

Washington A. ROEBLING (1837–1926) Creator of the Roebling Gem and Mineral Collection in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

(Excerpt from the above document.) “For diversion, (Washington A. Roebling) directed these energies into his lifelong hobby and passion, his rock and mineral collection. That priceless 16,000-piece collection was eventually donated by his son, John A. Roebling II, to the Smithsonian Institution. It has since become the cornerstone of the Museum of Natural History’s mineral and gem collection.”

  • The National Gem and Mineral Collection in the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, in the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

    “The National Gem and Mineral Collection in the Hall of Geology, Gems, and Minerals located at the National Museum of Natural History, which is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C….”

    “The National Gem and Mineral Collection is one of the most significant collections of its kind in the world. The collection includes some of the most famous pieces of gems and minerals including the famous Hope Diamond and the Star of Asia Sapphire. There are currently over 15,000 individual gems in the collection, as well as 350,000 minerals and 300,000 samples of rock and ore specimens. Additionally, the Smithsonian's National Gem and Mineral Collection houses approximately 35,000 meteorites, which is considered to be one of the most comprehensive collections of its kind in the world.”

    “Part of the collection is displayed in the Janet Annenberg Hooker Hall of Geology, Gems and Minerals, one of the many galleries in the Museum of Natural History. Some of the most important donors are Washington A. Roebling, the man who built the Brooklyn Bridge, who gave 16,000 specimens to the collection, Frederick A. Canfield, who donated 9,000 specimens to the collection, and Dr. Isaac Lea, who donated the base of the museum’s collection of 1312 gems and minerals.”

Frank Charles SCHRADER (1860-1944) U. S. Geological Survey Geologist

Frank C. Schrader, the U. S. Geological Survey Geologists, and Walter C. Mendenhall circa 1898:

  • Three Western-Mineral-Resources Archives, by Karen Bolm, Dave Frank, and Jill L. Schneider, Alaska Technical Data Unit, U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 099-00, Online version 1.0 (PDF).

    “…In January 1898, Congress appropriated funds for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to make geologic and topographic surveys in Alaska.” Eventually, Alfred H. Brooks and Walter C. Mendenhall led field parties to Alaska along with Spurr, Eldridge, and Frank C. Schrader.

  • Frank C. Schrader & Geologic Investigations in Alaska circa 1890-1891 – “Shrader (1890-91)” in Geographic Dictionary of Alaska, Bulletin 299, by Marcus Baker, second edition, prepared by James McCormick, 1906, pp. 62-63. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

    A bibliography of books co-written by Frank C. Schrader can be found on pp. 32 of this book. Pages 62-63 includes accounts of Schrader’s participation in geologic investigations in Alaska in 1890-1891 by the U.S. Geological Survey.

  • “USGS Exploration in the Brooks Range,” presented by the National Park Service.

    (Photo caption) “USGS Geologists (left to right): Frank C. Schrader, J. Edward Spurr and Harold B. Goodrich, October 1896.”

    “During the 1880s and 1890s, the expeditions of the Navy and the Revenue Marine Service, as well as the observations of wandering prospectors, helped to chart the twists and turns of river systems in the Brooks Range….”

  • Frank C. Schrader – The Naming of Alaska’s Explorers, by Murray Lundberg (Scroll down to the entry on Frank C. Schrader.)
  • Memorial of Frank Charles Schrader, by Waldemar T. Schaller, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington, D. C. (A photograph of Frank C. Schrader and a bibliography are included in this PDF document.)
  • Publication by Frank C. Schrader available online:

    “The Mineral Deposits of the Cerbat Range, Black Mountains, and Grand Wash Cliffs, Mojave County, Ariz.’, in Contributions to Economic Geology, 1907, Part I. Metals and Nonmetals, Except Fuels, Bulletin 340, by Frank C. Schrader and Waldemar Lindgren, Geologists in Charge, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, 1908, pp. 53-83.

Eugene Allen SMITH (1841-1927) Alabama State Geologist

List of Published Reports of the Alabama Geological Survey – Some by Eugene A. Smith, State Geologist, University, Alabama in Index to the Mineral Resources of Alabama, b y Eugene Allen Smith and Henry McCalley, Brown Printing Company, 1904, 79 pp. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

Index to the Mineral Resources of Alabama, by Eugene Allen Smith, Henry McCalley, Brown Printing Company, 1904, 79 pp. (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)

George Otis SMITH (1871-1944) Fourth U. S. Geological Survey

  • George Otis Smith Field Work in 1903 and 1904 - U. S. Geological Survey Field Trips of the Geologic Branch, “Work of the Year,” 1903 and 1904, in Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Director of the United States Geological Survey to the Secretary of the Interior 1903-1904, Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1904, pp. (A few of the people who led the field trips in 1903 and 1904 include: Professor Florence Bascom (pp. 34); William C. Alden (pp. 32); T. Nelson Dale (pp. 39); Edwin C. Eckel (pp. 42); and George Otis Smith (pp. 55). (This book is available on Google Book Search – Full View Books.)
  • George Otis Smith, in The United States Geological Survey: 1879-1989, Circular 1050, By Mary C. Rabbitt
  • George Otis Smith, on Wikipedia
  • Portrait of George Otis Smith at the U. S. Geological Survey.

Philip S. SMITH, U. S. Geological Survey

Frank Robertson VAN HORN (1872-1933) U. S. Geological Survey

Charles Doolittle WALCOTT (1850-1927) Third U. S. Geological Survey Director

Alice WILSON (1881- 1964) Geologist at the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC)

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