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Finding Aids to Personal Papers and Special Collections in the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Record Unit 7329

Girty, George Herbert, 1869-1939

George Herbert Girty Papers, 1896-1948 and undated

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Girty, George Herbert, 1869-1939
Title:George Herbert Girty Papers
Dates:1896-1948 and undated
Quantity:2.5 cu. ft. (5 document boxes)
Collection:Record Unit 7329
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

This collection consists mostly of correspondence documenting Girty's paleontological research and his official duties with the USGS. A large file of general correspondence contains letters concerning his research on Carboniferous invertebrates; his USGS work, especially reports on specimens sent in for identification; field work of Girty and other USGS geologists and paleontologists; and the preparation, publication, and review of scientific manuscripts. The collection also includes a partial file of Girty's outgoing correspondence. These letters document his field work, 1913-1915, as well as his research and USGS affairs. A small amount of biographical and autobiographical information on Girty is included in the collection.

Historical Note

George Herbert Girty (1869-1939) was an invertebrate paleontologist specializing in the study of Carboniferous formations and fauna. He was educated at Yale University, receiving the A.B. in 1892 and the Ph.D. in 1894. After a post-graduate year at Stanford University, Girty was appointed Paleontologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) on April 9, 1895. He remained with the USGS for the remainder of his career -- an association that lasted over 44 years. While best known for his research on Permian faunas, Girty was also an expert on Mississippian and Pennsylvanian invertebrates of the western United States. He studied most of the important Permian formations in the United States and Alaska and spent several seasons with USGS field parties in the mid-western and western United States.

For additional biographical information on Girty see "Memorial to George Herbert Girty," by James Steele Williams, Proceedings of the Geological Society of America for 1939, pp. 195-205, June 1940.

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Introduction

The 1879 act establishing the United States Geological Survey (USGS) declares, "And all collections of rocks, minerals, soils, and fossils, and objects of natural history, archaeology, and ethnology, made by the Coast and Interior Survey, the Geological Survey, or by any other parties for the Government of the United States, when no longer needed for investigations in progress, shall be deposited in the National Museum." Many of the paleontologists affiliated with the USGS Paleontology and Stratigraphy Branch have been stationed at the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) to study and care for the national collections. This close working relationship between the USGS and the NMNH has resulted in the Smithsonian Archives acquiring records and special collections documenting paleontological work of the Survey and its scientists.

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Descriptive Entry

The papers of George Herbert Girty primarily consist of correspondence documenting his paleontological research and his official work for the USGS. A large file of general correspondence contains letters exchanged between Girty and many of the prominent geologists and paleontologists of his era. The letters concern his research on Carboniferous invertebrates; his USGS work, especially reports on specimens sent in for identification; field work of USGS geologists and paleontologists; and the preparation, publication, and review of scientific manuscripts. The collection also includes a partial file of Girty's outgoing correspondence, 1897-1915. These letters document his field work, 1898-1915, as well as his research and USGS affairs. A small amount of biographical and autobiographical information on Girty is also found in the collection.

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This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 7329, George Herbert Girty Papers

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Container List

GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE, 1896-1939, AND UNDATED, WITH RELATED MATERIALS TO 1948.

Records post-dating Girty's death consist of correspondence between James Steele Williams and Mrs. I. Alan Keyte.

Box 1

Folder 1 A, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 2 Adams, George I., 1899-1902. Concerns Adams' field work in the American west.

Box 1 of 5

Folder 3 Allen, R. C., 1912-1915

Box 1 of 5

Folder 4 B, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 5 Barbour, Erwin Hinckley, 1911-1913, 1931, 1937

Box 1 of 5

Folder 6 Bather, Francis Arthur, 1910, 1913, 1917-1918, 1923

Box 1 of 5

Folder 7 Beede, Joshua William, 1901-1903, 1909, 1916

Box 1 of 5

Folder 8 Blackwelder, Eliot, 1904-1905, 1909-1912, 1916

Box 1 of 5

Folder 9 Buehler, Henry Andrew, 1911, 1913-1915

Box 1 of 5

Folder 10 C, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 11 Case, Ermine Cowles, 1907-1916, 1929

Box 1 of 5

Folder 12 Clarke, John Mason, 1904-1905, 1908, 1911, 1913, 1915, 1925

Box 1 of 5

Folder 13 Condra, George Evert, 1927-1931

Box 1 of 5

Folder 14 Cooper, Chalmer L., 1926-1931, 1938

Box 1 of 5

Folder 15 Croneis, Carey G., 1924, 1932, 1938. The correspondence of 1938 concerns the work of the Mississippian Sub-Committee of the National Research Council's Committee on Stratigraphy.

Box 1 of 5

Folder 16 D, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 17 Daly, Reginald Aldsworth, 1906-1907. See also under Edward M. Kindle.

Box 1 of 5

Folder 18 Demanet, Felix, 1932, 1937

Box 1 of 5

Folder 19 Dunbar, Carl O., 1921, 1927-1929, 1932, 1935, 1938, and undated

Box 1 of 5

Folder 20 E, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 21 Ehlers, George M., 1914-1916, 1935-1937

Box 1 of 5

Folder 22 F, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 23 G, general

Box 1 of 5

Folder 24 Glenn, Leonidas Chalmers, 1910-1911, 1913-1914, 1921

Box 1 of 5

Folder 25 Greger, Darling K., 1903-1904, 1915, 1917, 1920

Box 1 of 5

Box 2

Folder 1 H, general

Box 2 of 5

Folder 2 Hayasaka, Ichiro, 1923, 1926-1927, 1930, 1932, 1935-1937

Box 2 of 5

Folder 3 Hayes, Charles Willard, 1903-1909

Box 2 of 5

Folder 4 Henbest, Lloyd George, 1931, 1934, 1936, 1938

Box 2 of 5

Folder 5 Hovey, Edmund Otis, 1910-1915

Box 2 of 5

Folder 6 Hyde, Jessie E., 1907-1908, 1917

Box 2 of 5

Folder 7 I, general

Box 2 of 5

Folder 8 Imlay, Ralph W., 1938-1939

Box 2 of 5

Folder 9 J, general

Box 2 of 5

Folder 10 Johnson, Jesse Harlan, 1930-1932, 1938

Box 2 of 5

Folder 11 K, general

Box 2 of 5

Folder 12 Keith, Arthur, 1910-1911

Box 2 of 5

Folder 13 Keyte, I. Alan, 1923-1931, with related materials to 1948. Includes copies of Keyte's field notes and correspondence between James Steele Williams and Mrs. I. Alan Keyte.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 14 Kindle, Edward M., 1904, 1911-1917, 1920, 1924-1925, 1930-1931, 1936, and undated. Includes correspondence of Reginal Aldsworth Daly.

Box 2 of 5

Folder 15 King, Philip B., 1933-1939

Box 2 of 5

Folder 16 Knight, J. Brookes, 1930-1938

Box 2 of 5

Folder 17 L, general

Box 2 of 5

Folder 18 Lane, Alfred C., 1898-1902, 1907

Box 2 of 5

Folder 19 Longwell, Chester Ray, 1920-1923, 1926-1932, 1935-1936

Box 2 of 5

Folder 20 Louderback, George D., 1923

Box 2 of 5

Folder 21 Loughlin, Gerald Francis, 1918, 1925, 1937-1938

Box 2 of 5

Folder 22 M, general

Box 2 of 5

Folder 23 Maury, Carlotta Joaquina, 1928

Box 2 of 5

Folder 24 Mendenhall, Walter Curran, 1936-1938

Box 2 of 5

Folder 25 Miller, Arthur K., 1936-1938

Box 2 of 5

Box 3

Folder 1 Miser, Hugh Dinsmore, 1913-1914, 1923-1924, 1927, 1931

Box 3 of 5

Folder 2 Moore, Edward W. J., 1928-1931, 1936, 1938

Box 3 of 5

Folder 3 Moore, Raymond C., 1919-1924, 1929-1933, 1938

Box 3 of 5

Folder 4 Morningstar, Helen, 1920-1923

Box 3 of 5

Folder 5 N, general

Box 3 of 5

Folder 6 Newell, Norman Dennis, 1933-1937

Box 3 of 5

Folder 7 Noble, L. F., 1910, 1914, 1916, 1921

Box 3 of 5

Folder 8 O, general

Box 3 of 5

Folder 9 P, general

Box 3 of 5

Folder 10 Palmer, Ernest Jesse, 1915-1921, 1928

Box 3 of 5

Folder 11 Piwonka, Thomas, 1897-1899, 1902, 1905-1906, 1912, 1915, and undated

Box 3 of 5

Folder 12 Powers, Sidney, 1917, 1921-1922

Box 3 of 5

Folder 13 Prather, J. K., 1934, 1938

Box 3 of 5

Folder 14 Price, W. Armstrong, 1913-1920

Box 3 of 5

Folder 15 Prosser, Charles Smith, 1901-1905, 1910-1914

Box 3 of 5

Folder 16 R, general

Box 3 of 5

Folder 17 Ransome, Frederick Leslie, 1902

Box 3 of 5

Folder 18 Reeside, John B., Jr., 1926, 1928, 1931-1935, 1938

Box 3 of 5

Folder 19 Reger, David B., 1924-1925

Box 3 of 5

Folder 20 Richardson, G. B., 1905, 1912-1913, 1920, 1923

Box 3 of 5

Folder 21 Roundy, Paul V., 1911, 1914, 1918-1919, and undated

Box 3 of 5

Folder 22 Rowley, R. R., 1906-1907, and undated

Box 3 of 5

Folder 23 Rubey, William W., 1924-1925

Box 3 of 5

Folder 24 S, general

Box 3 of 5

Folder 25 Schuchert, Charles, 1897-1899, 1902-1906, 1909-1912, 1919-1920, 1924, 1938

Box 3 of 5

Folder 26 Smith, George Otis, 1913-1917

Box 3 of 5

Folder 27 Smith, James Perrin, 1899-1900, 1903-1904, 1912

Box 3 of 5

Folder 28 Smith, Richard A., 1911-1916

Box 3 of 5

Folder 29 Smith, Stanley, 1915-1916, 1923

Box 3 of 5

Box 4

Folder 1 Spencer, Arthur C., 1898-1899, 1910-1911

Box 4 of 5

Folder 2 Springer, Frank, 1906-1907, 1920-1921, 1927

Box 4 of 5

Folder 3 Stanton, Timothy William, 1902, 1906-1924, 1931, 1935

Box 4 of 5

Folder 4 Stevenson, John James, 1901, 1904, 1906, 1910-1911, 1922

Box 4 of 5

Folder 5 Stout, Wilber, 1896-1903

Box 4 of 5

Folder 6 Sutton, Arle H., 1937-1938

Box 4 of 5

Folder 7 T, general

Box 4 of 5

Folder 8 Toff, Joseph A., 1899, 1902-1903

Box 4 of 5

Folder 9 U-V, general

Box 4 of 5

Folder 10 Udden, John August, 1903, 1906, 1915

Box 4 of 5

Folder 11 Ulrich, Edward Oscar, 1897-1898, 1908, 1912, 1916-1917, and undated. Includes a copy of Girty's review of Ulrich's Revision of the Paleozoic Systems.

Box 4 of 5

Folder 12 W, general

Box 4 of 5

Folder 13 Walcott, Charles D., 1896-1908, 1916

Box 4 of 5

Folder 14 Walter, O. T., 1922-1923

Box 4 of 5

Folder 15 Weller, J. Marvin, 1928-1929, 1932, 1935, 1938

Box 4 of 5

Folder 16 Weller, Stuart, 1899-1900, 1904, 1906, 1911-1924, 1927

Box 4 of 5

Folder 17 White, David, 1899, 1904-1922, 1931, and undated

Box 4 of 5

Box 5

Folder 1 Williams, Henry Shaler, 1899-1912

Box 5 of 5

Folder 2 Woodring, Wendell P., 1914

Box 5 of 5

Series 2

OUTGOING CORRESPONDENCE, 1897-1915.

This series consists of copies of outgoing letters written by George Herbert Girty. The letters are primarily maintained in letter books. Also included are several letters that were removed from the original letter books (see Box 5, folder 3). Apparently, Girty (or someone else) felt that these letters were particularly important and should be grouped together. A handwritten index is included with the letters. Of special interest is correspondence documenting Girty's field work in Ohio, 1898; New York, 1899; Pennsylvania, 1899; Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), 1900; Colorado, 1900; Utah, 1900; Montana, 1913; Idaho, 1913-1914; and Kentucky, 1915.

Box 5

Folder 3 Outgoing correspondence, 1897-1906. Outgoing letters removed from original letter books and grouped together.

Box 5 of 5

Folder 4 Outgoing correspondence, July 21, 1898 - October 7, 1900. Letters written during Girty's field work in Ohio, 1898; New York and Pennsylvania, 1899; Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), Colorado, and Utah, 1900.

Box 5 of 5

Folder 5 Outgoing correspondence, November 22, 1907 - November 2, 1908. General correspondence concerning his research and USGS activities.

Box 5 of 5

Folder 6 Outgoing correspondence, November 9, 1908 - May 24, 1911. General correspondence concerning his research and USGS activities.

Box 5 of 5

Folder 7 Outgoing correspondence, August 1 - September 20, 1913. Letters written during Girty's field work in Montana and Idaho.

Box 5 of 5

Folder 8 Outgoing correspondence, September 4 - November 6, 1914; June 21 - August 26, 1915. Letter written during Girty's field work in Idaho, 1914, and Kentucky, 1915.

Box 5 of 5

Series 3

BIOGRAPHICAL AND AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION ON GEORGE HERBERT GIRTY, 1923, 1939-1940, AND UNDATED.

This series includes a brief autobiographical sketch written by Girty; a Cosmos Club resolution approved and read after Girty's death; and correspondence between James Steele Williams and the Geological Society of America concerning his "Memorial to George Herbert Girty."

Box 5

Folder 9 Biographical and autobiographical information on George Herbert Girty, 1923, 1939-1940, and undated.

Box 5 of 5