Description
The Anthony Wayne Vogdes Collection consists of printed material and realia related to Vogdes's research in geology and paleontology
and his tenure as a research associate with and president of the San Diego Society of Natural History (1904-1920). It contains
correspondence, notes, survey documents, papers, and notebooks. In addition, the collection contains a roll of handwritten
notes, an album, prints, and portraits.
Background
General Anthony Wayne Vogdes (1843-1923) was a U.S. army officer and self-taught geologist and paleontologist. A descendant
of Revolutionary War General "Mad" Anthony Wayne, Vogdes was born on April 23, 1843 at West Point, New York. His father, General
Israel Vogdes, was a professor of mathematics at the Military Academy; his mother, Georgiana Welch Berard, was the daughter
of the Academy's professor of French. Vogdes served in the American Civil War, receiving his commission as Second Lieutenant
in the 100th New York Infantry. He participated in the seige of Fort Sumter in 1861, served with the First U.S. Artillery,
and was present at the Confederate surrender at Appomattox in 1865. At the end of the war, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant
of the 4th U.S. Infantry. He married Ada Adelaide Adams in December 1867 in New York and continued his service, first at Fort
Laramie and Fort Fetterman, Wyoming and later in Puerto Rico during the Spanish-American War (1898). Vogdes retired from the
U.S. Army as a brigadier general in 1904. He served as president of the San Diego Society of Natural History from 1904 to
1923; with Frank Stephens, he established the Society's scientific publications series, the Transactions. He was a fellow
of the American Geological Society and a member of the New York, Phildadelphia, Chicago, and California Academies of Science.
Vogdes died on February 8, 1923 in San Diego. The Vogdes trilobite collection is a small collection of fossils, but diverse
in terms of global coverage. His 40,000-volume scientific library is divided between the San Diego Natural History Museum
Research Library and the Huntington Library.
Extent
11.5 Linear Feet
The collection consists of 11.5 boxes of printed material and realia (rolls, prints, and an album) relating to Vogdes' collections
and interests in geology, paleontology, and bookbinding.
Restrictions
Copyright may be reserved. Consult the San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library Director for more information.
Availability
The collection is open to researchers by appointment. Contact the Research Library Director, San Diego Natural History Museum.