OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (NEWCOMB Nurr.) 



503 



five hundred miles, until the entrance of the firand 



was reaehcd, where ho spent nearly u \<-r 



in making researches in geology anil natural his- 



i li- observations form.-.! the most interesting 



mall-rial iratheivd I'.v the expedition, and more than 



.UK- half -if the " Report upon 111.' '.,I, .ratio River of 



.-t. explored in 1857-'58"( Washington, 1861), 



ritten l>.v him. Subsequently he was appointed 

 mi iln- expedition .-.-lit .'tit for tin- exploration of the 

 Ban Juan and upper Colorado rivers, under Capt 

 .l.'hn N'. Macomh. 'I'ln- irreater portion of the sum- 

 mer of 1S.V. lie spent, in examining portions of what 



.v southern Colorado, Utah, northern Arizona, 

 and New M.-\i. ... studying the natural history of a 

 large area of country then unknown, which since has 

 proved to he rich in mineral wealth, and of special 



-t owing to the remains of an ancient civiliza- 

 tion which he examined. The information collected 

 by him was isMicd in a " Report of the Exploring Ex- 

 petlition from Santa Fe" to the Junction ot the Grand 

 nml Green Rivers" (Washington, 1876). At the be- 

 trinnintr of the civil war he was on duty in Washing- 

 ton, where, on June 14,1861, he waa chosen a member 

 of the United States Sanitary Commission. His im- 

 mediate plan " was to become a medium through 

 whirli the Sanitary Commission should extend its 

 organization and "benefits over the great Wist." 

 For this purpose he went to Ohio, and early in July 

 made with the IJev. Hciir\ W. Bellows and Dr. Wil- 

 liam II. Mussey the first sanitary inspection of troops 

 in the West, at Cairo, 111. On Sept. 1 he resigned his 

 commission in the army and was made Secretary of 

 the Western Department of the United States Sani- 

 tary Commission, having supervision of all the work 

 of that body in the valley ot the Mississippi. At first 

 he made his headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, but in 

 order to he nearer the army he removed, on Oct. 1, 

 1862, to Louisville, Ky., where he remained until his 

 resignation. Dr. Newberry organized the whole of 

 the comprehensive machinery of the commission in 

 the large section that was committed to his care, and 

 by his practical suggestions and enthusiasm stimu- 

 lated the formation of the tributary societies, includ- 

 ing those at Chicago and Cleveland. The first dis- 

 tributing depot of supplies was established at Wheel- 

 ing, W. Va., on Oct. 8, 18(51, and was the source 

 from which the hospitals at Wheeling, Clarksburg, 

 Parkcrsburg. (! ration, and elsewhere obtained their 

 equipment. Early in 1862 soldiers' homes were es- 

 tablished at Louisville and Cairo, being the first of 

 those organized under the Sanitary Commission of the 

 West. A full account of his great work is contained 

 in the report of "The United States Sanitary Com- 

 mission in the Valley of the Mississippi" (Cleveland, 

 1871). In this he tells how, between Sept. 1, 1861, 

 and July 1, 18(!<5, he expended more than $800,000 in 

 money, and distributed hospital stores that were val- 

 ued at more than $5,000,000. During this time the 

 names of more than 850,000 soldiers were collected 

 and n-eortled in the hospital directory in Louisville, 

 Ky., and food and shelter were given in the various 

 homes of th e commission to more than 1,000,000 sol- 

 diers, for whom no other adequate provision was 

 mad.-. With the return of peace came the develop- 

 ment of economical institutions, and Dr. Newberry 

 was called to the chair of Geology in the recently 

 . -Haled School of Mines of Columbia College. He 

 took charge of his department in the autumn of 1866, 

 and, with the same genius for organization shown in 

 his connection with the Sanitary Commission, began 

 the formation of the courses of study. Alone he irave 

 instruction in botany, zoology, geology, lithology, 

 pala-ontolo._ry, and economic geology. In 1867 the 

 title of his chair was extended to include palaeontology, 

 and he continued in the active charge of the depart- 

 ment until December. 1890, when a sudden stroke of 

 paralysis compelled him to give up work. A year's 

 leave of absence was granted him, but at the expira- 

 tion of that term he was unable to return, and he was 

 made professor emeritus. During his connection with 

 Columbia College ho formed a museum of more than 



100,000 specimens, principally collected by himself, 

 whieh serve to illustrate tlie lectures on MUMDiology 

 and economic treology. It contains the best n i 

 tations of the mineral re.-our.-t * of the United States 

 to he found anywhere, as well us many unique and 

 remarkable fossils. In 186U Dr. Newb.-rrv was ap- 

 pointed State Geologist of Ohio by (Jov. [{utherford 

 15. Hayes, whieh place ho filled during the continua- 

 tion of the survey, and made reports on all the coun- 

 ties of the State. The results of his work are given 

 in nine, volume*, of which six are on the geology, 

 two on the pala-ontolo^y, and one on the zoology of 

 the State, with a large number of geological maps, 

 lie was appointed palaeontologist to tne United States 

 Geological Survey in 1884, and assigned to the charge 

 of certain portions of fossil botany and fishes, in 

 which branches he was a specialist, and concerning 

 whieh he reported on the " Fossil Fishes and Fofjoi 

 Plants of the Triassic Rocks of New Jersey and Con- 

 necticut Valley" (Washington, 1888) and on "The 

 Palaeozoic Fishes of North America " (1889). Material 

 on the fossil plants of the cretaceous and tertiary 

 rocks of the far West had been for some time in his 

 pos.scssion, but was not sufficiently completed for 

 publication at the time of his death. Dr. Newberry's 

 opinion as an expert in mining property was highly 

 valued, and he was frequently consulted, and in con- 

 sequence he traveled extensively through the mining 

 districts of the United States. He served as one of 

 the judges at the World's Fair held in Philadelphia 

 in 1876, and prepared for the reports of the commis- 

 sion a valuaole paper on the "Building and Orna- 

 mental Stones " exhibited. In 1867 he received the 

 degree of LL. D. from Western Reserve College, 

 and in 1888 the Geological Society of London con- 

 ferred upon him its Murchison medal, which was the 

 first time this honor had been bestowed upon an 

 American geologist. Dr. Newberry was a member of 

 scientific societies both in the United States and Eu- 

 rope. In 1863 he was named by Congress as one of 

 the corporate members of the National Academy of 

 Sciences, and in 1867 he was President of the Amer- 

 ican Association for the Advancement of Science, 

 delivering a retiring address entitled " Modern Scien- 

 tific Investigation ; Its Methods and Tendencies." 

 He was President of the New York Academy of 

 Sciences from 1867 until his death, and also was long 

 President of the Torrey Botanical Club. In the or- 

 ganization of the American Geological Society he was 

 active, and served as its president in 1891 ; also he 

 was a member of the International Congress of Geolo- 

 gists. Dr. Newberry was a large contributor to the lit- 

 erature of science, and besides the volumes mentioned 

 he was the author of more than 200 papers, chiefly 

 in the departments of geology and palaeontology, but 

 also in zoology and botany. 



Newoomb, Wesley, conchologist, born in 1808 ; died in 

 Ithaca, N. Y., Jan. 27, 1892. He was one of the most 

 noted conchologists in the world. In his younger 

 days he resided in Albany and Troy, N. Y., 'Califor- 

 nia, Florida, Central America, and the Sandwich 

 Islands for five years ; and he accompanied President 

 Grant's commission to Santo Domingo. His famous 

 collection of shells was the work of an ordinary life- 

 time. It was bought by Ezra Cornell for Cornell 

 University in 1869, and occupies the top floor of the 

 university museum in the McGraw building. After 

 its purchase Prof. Newcomb was appointed curator of 

 the collection, and he spent his last twenty-three 

 vears in its arrangement, and in collecting and classi- 

 fying the additions to the original collection. 

 " Nutt, Henry Clay, civjl engineer, born in Montpelier, 

 Vt, June -_'s, I 1 -:;:!; died in Boston, Mas.-.. Au_'. 1."., 

 1892. lie received a grammar-school education, be- 

 came a newsboy on the Vermont Central Railroad, 

 and subsequently studied civil engineering. He was 

 successively roadman, assistant engineer, and conduc- 

 tor on the Plattsburg and Montreal Railroad; then 

 became chief engineer of the construction of the 

 Peoria and Oquawka Railroad (now part of the Chi- 

 cago, Burlington and Quincy) ; and in 1860 was chief 



