George Getz Shumard

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George Getz Shumard
Geo. Shumard, Mother's brother. Brigadier surgeon general in Civil War (6280931768, cropped).jpg
ca. 1860s
Born(1823-01-10)January 10, 1823
Burlington, New Jersey, US
DiedSeptember 29, 1867(1867-09-29) (aged 44)
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Occupation
  • geologist
  • surgeon
Spouse(s)Isabella Clark Atkinson
Children2

George Getz Shumard (January 10, 1823 – September 29, 1867) was an American geologist and surgeon.

Biography[]

Early life[]

George Getz Shumard was born on January 10, 1823, in Burlington, New Jersey.[1] His father was John Shumard and his mother, Ann Catherine (Getz) Shumard.[1][2] His brother, (1820–1869), went on to serve as the first state geologist of Texas.[1]

He graduated from medical school in Louisville, Kentucky.[1][2]

Career[]

He moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he practiced as a surgeon.[1][3] At the same time, he served as an assistant geologist to his brother and much of North and West Texas.[1][4]

Together with Randolph B. Marcy (1812–1887) and George B. McClellan (1826–1885), he explored the Red River of the South in 1852.[1][5] He kept a diary, which focused on the geology of the Northern plains from Fort Belknap in Young County, Texas to the Llano Estacado in the Texas Panhandle.[1] His diary, together with a report on paleontology in the region, was presented to President Franklin Pierce (1804–1869), who served as the 14th President of the United States from 1853 to 1857.[1][3][5] In 1858, it would appear in the Transactions of the Saint Louis Academy of Sciences.[1] Several decades later, in 1886, it was published in its entirety by Hamilton P. Bee (1822–1897), who served as Texas State Commissioner.[1]

He took part in several further explorations. In 1854, together with Marcy, he explored the Wichita River and the Brazos River.[1] A year later, in 1855, together with John Pope (1822–1892), he travelled from Indianola to San Antonio, on to Fort Clark, up the Devil's River, up the Pecos River to , and west to the Mimbres Mountains in New Mexico.[1][6] From 1858 to 1861, he served as Assistant State Geologist for the Texas state geological survey, working on the Red River of the South.[1]

He corresponded with pioneer explorer Gideon Lincecum (1793–1874), who gave a bottle of mustang wine as well as its recipe to thank Shumard for sending him a copy of his pamphlet entitled, Notice of Fossils from the Permian Strata of Texas to New Mexico.[7]

In 1861, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served as Ohio State Surgeon until his death.[1]

Personal life[]

He married Isabella Clark Atkinson in 1859.[1] They had two children.[1]

Death[]

He died of general paralysis on September 29, 1867, in Cincinnati, Ohio.[1][4][8]

Legacy[]

  • The Shumard Mountain (a.k.a. Shumard Peak), in the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas, is named in his honor.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Roberta Shumard, "SHUMARD, GEORGE GETZ," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsh57), accessed June 17, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  2. ^ a b Richard D. Sears, Camp Nelson, Kentucky: A Civil War History, Louisville, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky, p. lxx [1]
  3. ^ a b Miner Kilbourne Kellogg, M. K. Kellogg's Texas Journal, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 1967, p. 9 [2]
  4. ^ a b The Saint Louis Medical Reporter, P.M. Pinckard, 1868, Volume 2 p. 587 [3]
  5. ^ a b American Journal of Science, 1869, Volume 48, p. 295 [4]
  6. ^ Earth Sciences History: Journal of the History of the Earth Sciences Society, Volumes 13–14, p. 144 [5]
  7. ^ Lois Wood Burkhalter, Gideon Lincecum, 1793–1874: A Biography, Austin, Texas: University of Texas Press, 2010, p. 181 [6]
  8. ^ Proceedings of the American Pharmaceutical Association at the annual meeting, American Pharmaceutical Association, 1869, Volume 16, p. 132 [7]
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