3.51 cu. ft. (7 document boxes) (1 oversize folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scientific illustrations
Field notes
Drawings
Manuscripts
Black-and-white photographs
Date:
circa 1871-1916, 1934 and undated
Descriptive Entry:
This collection documents Mearns' career as a field naturalist and expedition member and consists of correspondence, 1898-1909, including photocopies of letters written
by Mearns while he served on the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition of 1909; biographical material on Mearns and his family; field notes, research notes, specimen lists,
photographs, and related materials concerning Mearns' field work, 1871-1911; and correspondence, photographs, drawings, and research data regarding Mearns' work on the United
States-Mexican International Boundary Survey, circa 1891-1907. This finding aid also describes Mearns' papers housed in the Division of Birds, National Museum of Natural History
(see Series 6, Boxes 8-27).
Historical Note:
Edgar Alexander Mearns (1856-1916) was an army surgeon and field naturalist. He developed an early interest in natural history, studying the flora and fauna around
his home in Highland Falls, New York. Mearns was educated at Donald Highland Institute, Highland Falls, and in 1881 graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
New York. In 1883, he was commissioned assistant surgeon in the Medical Corps of the Army and assigned to duty at Fort Verde, Arizona. He was transferred to Fort Snelling,
Minnesota, in 1888. In 1891, Mearns was assigned to serve as medical officer with the United States-Mexican International Boundary Survey. From 1892 to 1894, Mearns explored
the boundary line from El Paso, Texas, to San Clemente Island and collected 30,000 specimens of flora and fauna which were deposited in the United States National Museum (USNM).
From 1894 to 1903, Mearns continued his natural history investigations while stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia; Fort Clark, Texas; Fort Adams, Rhode Island; and Fort Yellowstone.
He also conducted field research in the Catskill Mountains and Florida during this period. Between 1903 and 1907, Mearns served two separate tours of duty in the Philippine
Islands. While in the Philippines he made natural history collections and participated in expeditions to the three highest mountains in the islands, Mount Apo, Grand Malindang,
and Mount Halcon. After returning to the United States, Mearns served at Fort Totten, New York, until his retirement from the Army on January 1, 1909. Later in that year,
he was invited by Theodore Roosevelt to accompany the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition as naturalist. From 1909 to 1910, Mearns explored parts of British East Africa
from Mount Kenia to the White Nile. Mearns' last expedition was in 1911, when he served as a naturalist with the Childs Frick Expedition to Africa.
Mearns' primary biological interests were ornithology and mammalogy. He was a founding member of the American Ornithologists Union and in 1909 was appointed honorary associate
in zoology of the USNM.
Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr.'s papers include personal material concerning awards and his investigation of Christian Science; material on mammalogical research including
extensive correspondence with Michael Rogers Oldfield Thomas of the British Museum; and material on Miller's research with primates, especially the Piltdown Man and primate
behavioral patterns.
Historical Note:
Gerrit Smith Miller, Jr., (1869-1956) was born in Peterboro, New York, and grew up on a large estate in central New York. In this relatively isolated setting and through
the influence of his great uncle, an ornithologist, Miller developed an early interest in natural history. Following his graduation from Harvard in 1894, Miller joined the
Biological Survey in the Department of Agriculture and worked under Clinton Hart Merriam. In 1898 he joined the United States National Museum as Assistant Curator of Mammals
and in 1909 became Curator of that Division. He continued in that position until 1940 when he retired and remained as an Associate in biology at the Smithsonian Institution
until his death.
Miller's major contributions to mammalogy were his series of checklists of North American mammals, 1901, 1912, and 1924; The Families and Genera of Bats, 1907; and
the Catalogue of the Mammals of Western Europe in the Collection of the British Museum, 1912. He also was an early critic of the claimed discovery of the Piltdown Man
in England. He published several papers on the controversy and corresponded with many of the principal investigators. Another of his fields of interest was primate behavioral
patterns and their possible influence on the beginnings of human social development.
This collection consists of two journals containing data on natural history and ethnological collections made by the Point Barrow Polar Expedition, 1881-1883.
Historical Note:
John Murdoch (1852-1925) served as naturalist on the International Polar Expedition to Point Barrow, Alaska, 1881-1883. From 1887 to 1892, Murdoch served as Librarian
of the Smithsonian Institution.
0.75 cu. ft. (1 document box) (1 half document box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Field notes
Diaries
Manuscripts
Place:
United States -- History$yCivil War, 1861-1865
Panama
Date:
1849-1861
Descriptive Entry:
The papers of George Suckley mostly concern his work on the Pacific Railroad Survey of the 47th and 49th parallels, 1853, and on the collections of the Northwest Boundary
Survey of 1857. They include incoming and outgoing correspondence, mostly copies; journals, field books, notes, and related materials concerning the progress of the Railroad
Survey, the canoe trip from Fort Owen to Fort Vancouver, Suckley's Panama trip with Cooper, and natural history observations and collecting work; fiscal matters; translation
of Indian vocabulary; Suckley's monograph, The Natural History of Washington Territory, co-authored with Cooper; and manuscripts of Suckley's reports on the mammals
and salmonidae collected on the Northwest Boundary Survey of 1857.
Historical Note:
George Suckley (1830-1869) was born in New York City and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (now a part of Columbia University) in September 1851.
In April 1853 Suckley was appointed assistant surgeon and naturalist to the Pacific Railroad Survey of the 47th and 49th parallels between St. Paul, Minnesota, and Fort Vancouver,
Washington Territory, under the command of Isaac I. Stevens. His work on the survey included a 1,049 mile, 53-day canoe trip down the Bitter Root, Clark's Fork, and Columbia
Rivers to Fort Vancouver, during which he made extensive natural history collections. On December 2, 1853, Suckley was commissioned Assistant Surgeon, United States Army.
He was ordered to duty at Fort Steilacoom, Washington Territory, where he remained until June 12, 1854, when he was transferred to Fort Dalles, Oregon Territory. In July 1854,
Suckley obtained leave of absence for six months, which he partially spent collecting natural history specimens in Panama with James G. Cooper. Suckley resigned from the Army
on October 3, 1856, and for the next five years pursued his interest in natural history. During this period, Suckley was assigned to write the reports on the mammals and salmonidae
collected by the Northwest Boundary Survey of 1857. In 1859 he co-authored with James G. Cooper, The Natural History of Washington Territory, which was based primarily
on data and observations made while serving with the Pacific Railroad Survey. On the outbreak of the Civil War, Suckley rejoined the Army and was commissioned Surgeon of Volunteers.
He served for the duration of the war, resigning April 22, 1865. Suckley died July 30, 1869, in New York City.
Wemmer, Christen M. and Wilson, Don E. 1983. "Structure and function of hair crests and capes in African carnivora." In Behavior and Ecology of Mammals. Eisenberg, John F. and Kleiman, Devra G., editors. American Society of Mammalogists. In Special Publ. No. 7.
This record unit consists of files documenting the operation of the Smithsonian Office of Ecology (SOE), 1965-1970, and its successor, the Ecology Program of the Office
of Environmental Sciences (OES), 1970-1973. The records were created primarily by administrators Buechner, 1965-1968; Wallen, 1969; and Jenkins, 1970-1973. They include organizational
files, 1965-1973; administrative records, 1965-1973, including material concerning the development of the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology (after 1970, the Chesapeake
Bay Center for Environmental Studies) and the Smithsonian-Peace Corps Environmental Program; project files, 1965-1973, including records documenting projects conducted as
part of the International Program in Ecology; and files of Lee Merriam Talbot, 1965-1971.
Historical Note:
The history of the Ecology Program of the Office of Environmental Sciences can be traced to July 1, 1965, when the Smithsonian Office of Ecology (SOE) was created to
assist in expanding the research opportunities of Smithsonian scientists and to aid in the coordination of ecological activities with other government agencies. From its creation
until 1966, the SOE was an administrative unit of the National Museum of Natural History. In 1966, administrative responsibility for the SOE was transferred to the Assistant
Secretary for Science. The Smithsonian's environmental sciences programs were reorganized under the Office of Environmental Sciences (OES) in 1970. At that time, the SOE became
the Ecology Program of the newly created OES. In 1973, OES was merged with the Office of International Activities to form the Office of International and Environmental Programs
(OIEP). The Ecology Program came under the administrative control of OIEP. The Ecology Program was abolished in 1974.
Administrators of the Ecology Program of OES and its predecessor the SOE included Helmut K. Buechner, assistant director for ecology, 1965-1966, head, 1966-1968 (he also
served as senior scientist, 1968-1971); Irvin Eugene Wallen, acting head, 1969; and Dale W. Jenkins, director, 1970-1973. Other staff included Lee Merriam Talbot, research
biologist, 1965-1966, field representative, Ecology and Conservation, 1966-1967, deputy head and international field representative, 1968, resident ecologist, 1969-1971, and
deputy director, 1972-1973; and Francis Raymond Fosberg, special assistant for tropical biology, 1965-1966.
Programs and bureaus under the administration of the Ecology Program of OES and its predecessor the SOE included the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology (after 1970
the Chesapeake Bay Center for Environmental Studies), 1965-1969; the Center for Natural Areas, 1972-1974; and the Peace Corps Environmental Program, 1972-1974.
Howell, A. B. 1926. "Anatomy of the wood rat (comparative anatomy of the subgenera of the American wood rat genus Neotoma)." Monographs of the American society of mammalogists, (1) 1-225, pls. 1-3, figs. 1-37.
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
