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An institution is built upon the achievements and goals of the learned individuals who did not merely grace its halls, but who toiled together to build it up brick by brick, accomplishment by accomplishment. The New York State Museum was built on the accomplishments of many such individuals—from the original members of the Geological and Natural History Survey of 1836 to the directors, scientists and staff who, through their varied accomplishments, discoveries and dedication to cultural education, have collectively made the State Museum what it is today.
In 1854, Fitch was appointed by Legislature to serve as Entomologist of the New York State Agricultural Society. With this appointment, Fitch became the first occupational entomologist in the United States. More significantly, however, Fitch used this appointment as a vehicle to help solve public problems, namely how to prevent crop damage by various insects.
Fitch served as official entomologist for 19 years until he was incapacitated by health in 1873. During this time, he published 14 official annual reports on the Noxious, Beneficial and Other Insects of the State of New York. These reports set the standard for entomologists and agriculturalists. Fitch is also credited with discovering the Rodent Bot fly (Cuterebra emasculator). Today, many of his notebooks are now the property of the Smithsonian Institution.
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
Fitch attended the Rensselaer School (now RPI). A student of Amos Eaton, he studied natural history and medicine alongside many of the original members of the Geological and Natural History Survey including Ebenezer Emmons, James Hall and John Torrey. After graduating in 1821, Fitch practiced medicine for a few years until he eventually shifted his focus entirely over to the study of agriculture and entomology. After working with Emmons on the Geological Survey, Fitch was hired by the State Agricultural Society in 1841 to conduct an agricultural survey of Washington County, NY.
ASA FITCH
Peck often worked in the field to describe and sketch new and interesting specimens while they were still in fresh condition. More than 1,000 of these drawings are in the collection of the New York State Museum. He even did microscopy in the field by carrying a portable microscope. Before the days of chemical analysis, Peck used to nibble unknown mushrooms to detemine whether or not they had poisonous effects.
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
Charles Horton Peck was born in 1833 in Sand Lake, New York. In 1859 he graduated from Union College where he majored in the Classics and began teaching Latin, Greek, math and botany at the Sand Lake Collegiate Institute where he previously attended highschool. In 1862 he taught math and classics at the Classical Institute of Albany. Peck died in Albany in 1917.
CHARLES PECK
Parker, himself, conducted several excavations throughout New York state, including a large-scale systematic excavation of an Iroquois Village, known as the Ripley site, in Chautauqua County. The site yielded thousands of artifacts for the State Museum’s collections and helped Parker further describe Iroquois culture. In addition to his own fieldwork, Parker often worked with local residents to identify archaeological sites throughout the state. In 1920, he published a two-part series on the Archaeological History of New York that appeared in the Museum’s Bulletin Series. A prolific writer, Parker also published several scholarly books on Seneca and Iroquois culture while working for the State Museum.
Parker also played a significant role in the development and execution of the Indian “Life Groups” or dioramas that were housed in the State Education Building from 1918 until the State Museum moved to the Cultural Education Center in 1976. Parker was exposed to the use of dioramas as educational tools while working at the American Museum of Natural History and, through diligent research and collaboration with a team of skilled artisans, was able to breathe life into scenes depicting Iroquois daily life.
In 1925, Parker left the New York State Museum to become director of the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences where he continued to play an integral role in the development of engaging and educational three-dimensional displays. He also continued to research and collect Iroquois artifacts while also promoting contemporary Native American crafts and culture. Although he retired in 1946, he continued to write and remain involved in the Native American community, helping found the National Congress of American Indians.
After his retirement he moved to “Nunda-wah-oh,” an area overlooking Canandaigua Lake in Naples, New York. He died there on New Year’s Day 1955, at age 73.
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
Arthur Caswell Parker was born on Cattaraugus Reservation in western New York in 1881. His grandfather, Nicholas H. Parker, was an influential Seneca leader and his uncle, Ely S. Parker, was a brigadier general and secretary to Ulysses S. Grant during the American Civil War and the first Indian Commissioner of Indian Affairs. At age 11, his parents moved from the reservation to White Plains, New York. Parker was introduced to anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, where he spent considerable time before heading to college.
Although he wanted to pursue a career in anthropology, Parker attended Dickinson Seminary in Pennsylvania from 1900 to 1903 at the request of his grandfather. However, he left before graduating and worked for a while as a reporter for the New York Sun.During this time, he volunteered to conduct fieldwork with the Museum of Natural History in his spare time.
Parker received many honorary degrees, among them an honorary master’s degree in science from the University of Rochester in 1922 and honorary doctorates from Union College in 1940 and Keuka College in 1945.
JOHN M. CLARKE
Goldring is best known for her research on the Gilboa fossil forest in Schoharie County, New York in which she scientifically described and illustrated the plant fossils that appeared between 417-354 million years ago. In 1924, her research was published in the New York State Museum Bulletin and received international acclaim, establishing Goldring as an important Devonian researcher. Under Goldring's supervision, an elaborate exhibit was developed in the State Museum, then housed in the State Education Building, displaying the paleobotanical group representing the Gilboa Fossil Trees in their natural habitat. The group included approximately 20 fossil stumps, restorations of trees of that time period and a detailed mural representing the coastal marsh environment in which the trees grew. The innovative exhibit brought further distinction to Goldring.
After 40 years of service to the New York State Museum, Goldring retired in 1954.
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
Winifred Goldring was born in Kenwood (near Albany), New York. She attended Wellesley College where she received a bachelor's degree with honors in geology in 1909 and a master's degree in 1912. In 1913 she studied at Columbia University with geologist Amadeus Grabau and, in 1921, attended graduate courses at Johns Hopkins University. Goldring also served as president of the Paleontological Society in 1949 and was vice president of the Geological Society of America in 1950.
CHARLES C. ADAMS
Throughout his career, Ritchie conducted over 100 excavations of prehistoric sites, authored over 150 scientific papers and monographs and wrote several books on ancient Indian settlements in New York State. In fact, his textbook, Archaeology of New York State was still being used as a textbook by many schools over twenty years after its first edition was published in 1965.[1] Ritchie is credited as being the first person to use the word "Archaic," a term he applied to prehistoric hunter-gatherer sites in upstate New York [2].
After retiring in 1972, Dr. Ritchie "gave much of his time to supporting needed pro-environmental legislation to protect wildlife in New York state and elsewhere in the world. He was well known and respected by state and national legislators."[3]
BACKGROUND AND EDUCATION
Ritchie was born in Rochester, NY. He received his bachelor's degree and master's degree from the University of Rochester. He earned his doctorate degree from Columbia University. Prior to joining the State Museum, Ritchie worked as an archaeologist and was curator of archaeology at the Rochester Museum and Science Center.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Albany Times Union, "Getting Down to Earth: Longstanding Environmentalist Ritchie Honored," sec. C1, June 20, 1989.
[2] Sears, William, "What is Archaic?" American Antiquity, Vol. 14, no. 2. (Oct., 1948), 122.
[3] Albany Times Union, "Environmentalists Lose Friend, Tireless Worker," sec. E4, December 24, 1995.
CARL E. GUTHE