DEVELOPMENT OF PALEOBOTANY IN THE ILLINOIS BASIN 21 



Collections of Illinois Basin Plant Fossils by Amateurs 



Amateur collectors have played a very significant part in locating and col- 

 lecting materials for paleobotany research and teaching in the Illinois Basin. 

 Many of the outstanding collections of the Mazon Creek flora have been made by 

 people who had no formal training in paleobotany. 



George Langford, Sr., made two important collections of the Mazon Creek 

 flora. The Langford collection in the Illinois State Museum at Springfield was 

 largely collected between 1937 and 1941 by Langford and his son. It has been 

 systematically arranged by Richard W. Leary, the museum's Curator of Geology. 

 Langford then gathered another collection of Mazon Creek flora, which is now at 

 the Field Museum of Natural History, where Eugene S. Richardson, Jr., is cura- 

 tor. According to Jans sen, the Langford s became interested in fossil collection 

 as a result of litigation. When their manufacturing company in Joliet was involved 

 in patent proceedings, lengthy litigation ensued. Jans sen wrote: 



While awaiting its outcome the father and son became interested in the fos- 

 sils which were found in the area not far from their home. To my knowledge, 

 their business was never resumed and they retired to the fossil collecting. 



Langford wrote two books (1958, 1963) on the Wilmington coal flora, an- 

 other name for the famous Mazon Creek flora. The books are of value to all stu- 

 dents of paleobotany because they contain many photographs, although some of 

 the taxonomy is in error. 



The late John McLuckie of Coal City, Illinois, and his wife, Lucy, amassed 

 one of the most significant collections of Mazon Creek nodules. Many paleobot- 

 anists are indebted to them for making important research specimens available for 

 study and for their kindness to visiting paleobotany students. Harriet Krick [Bar- 

 too] wrote us: 



As in Dr. Noe's case, I never had many students and, unlike him, had no 

 laboratory facility of my own for sectioning and polishing except for space 

 borrowed from the geology department here. Even with such limitations we 

 managed to get a sizable collection together for each student, making peels 

 and casts and molds from whatever material was available. I am deeply in- 

 debted to Mr. McLuckie of Goal City and his wife who both were willing to 

 have my students view his collection, and they even went with us to collect 

 concretions for our collections. 



Frederick O. Thompson of Des Moines, a graduate of Harvard and a suc- 

 cessful businessman, began collecting plant fossils at the strip mines near Coal 

 City in 1930. He also collected coal balls from Iowa, and invertebrate animal 

 fossils. He gave most of his plant collection to Harvard University and, in recog- 

 nition of his generosity and significant contributions, particularly to paleobotany, 

 Harvard named him a Research Fellow of its Botanical Museum in 1949 (Barghoorn, 

 1953) . Thompson also gave part of his collection to Washington University in St. 

 Louis. 



The Mazon Creek area is unique in its influence on both amateur and pro- 

 fessional fossil collectors and there is a special sharing of interests among local 

 residents and visitors. Most serious-minded collectors who have frequented the 

 area in and around the Northern Illinois Mine of the Peabody Coal Company have 

 been fortunate to receive the kind cooperation of Melbourne A. McKee, coal chem- 

 ist at the mine. 



