ORGANIZATION OF THE SOCIETY 15 



to the grave, was married in 1884 to Miss Emma Lewis, daughter of the 

 late Judge and Mrs. C. S. Lewis, who, with his only child, Miss Florrie, 

 survive him. 



The Secretary then read appreciative letters from W. Kilian and J. J. 

 H. Teall accepting their election as Correspondents of the Society, and 

 made several announcements with regard to the program and the events 

 of the meeting. 



This being the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first meeting of the 

 Society, the following three papers were read in commemoration of the 

 event : 



EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



OF AMERICA 



BY J. J. STEVENSON 



The Geological Society of America was formed of necessity. The American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science was at first an association of 

 geologists, who had discovered the need of closer fellowship in those days of 

 small incomes and high rates of postage. The naturalists, who suffered under 

 the same limitations, urged the intimacy of relation between their work and 

 geology, and they were admitted to membership in the society, which assumed 

 the title, Association of Geologists and Naturalists. Men in other departments 

 of scientific work, observing the advantages of personal contact, clamored for 

 admission. Within a few years the organization developed into the American 

 Association for the Advancement of Science, and geology was relegated to a 

 subordinate place. The conditions, however, were advantageous. There were 

 few men of science in the country and the members in attendance at meetings 

 were not large ; there was full opportunity for discussion and conference, with 

 the added advantage that all were compelled to recognize the unity of scien- 

 tific work. But after the Civil War everything was changed. The extraordi- 

 nary expansion in several great industries awakened a popular interest in 

 scientific matters, and within a few years the character of the Association 

 was changed completely. It had increased greatly in numbers, the program 

 of papers was crowded, and excursions became a portion of the work. Each 

 year found less opportunity for discussion and conference and the Association 

 no longer so useful to scientific workers as in the earlier days. The loss was 

 felt especially by the geologists, who could not attend the summer meetings, 

 and who felt that the great problems would not be solved properly unless those 

 interested could discuss them fully and frankly. Some change was essential. 



The matter assumed form in 1881 at the Association's Cincinnati meeting, 

 where a committee, with N. H. Winchell as chairman and C. H. Hitchcock as 

 secretary, was appointed to consider the advisability of forming a society of 

 geologists. That committee reported at the next meeting, but the opposition 

 was so strenuous that no action was taken. The effort was equally unsuccess- 

 ful in 1883, and no further attempt was made until 1888. The obstacle was 

 the Section of Geology and Geography in the Association, which had become 



