Dates

• Existence: 1829 - 1887

Biography

F.V. Hayden (1829-1887) was a geologist and key figure in the establishment of Yellowstone National Park.

Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden was born on September 7, 1829, in Westfield, Massachusetts to Asa Hayden and Melinda Hawley. He graduated from Oberlin college in 1850 and Albany medical college in 1853. In 1856, Ferdinand was appointed the assistant to Lieutenant G.K. Warren in the exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers and the Black Hills. He was a surgeon and naturalist for Captain W.F. Reynolds' expedition to the upper tributaries of Yellowstone, which resulted in his Geological Report of the Explorations of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in 1859-60. Hayden was a surgeon during the Civil War in the Federal army from 1862-1865. While serving, he rose to the role of Chief Medical Officer of the Army of the Shenandoah and received a brevet to lieutenant colonel. After the war, he became a professor of mineralogy and geology at the University of Pennsylvania where he worked until 1872. In 1867, Hayden was appointed geologist in charge of the U.S. geological and geographical survey of the territories. He married Emma Copper Woodruff on November 2, 1871, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Together they had one child. Also in 1871, Hayden led America's first federally funded survey into the Yellowstone region with a group of fifty men, including Thomas Moran, painter, and William Henry Jackson, photographer. This expedition resulted in his five-volume publication titled Department of the Interior: United States Geological Survey of the Territories which was instrumental in convincing Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first U.S. National Park. Hayden died on December 22, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Citation:

FamilySearch, April 1, 2024 (Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden; b. September 7, 1829, in Westfield, Massachusetts to Asa Hayden and Melinda Hawley; d. December 22, 1887, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; m. November 2, 1871, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Emma Copper Woodruff; had one child together; Geologist; graduated from Oberlin college in 1850; graduated from Albany medical college in 1853; in 1856, appointed as assistant to Lieutenant G.K. Warren in the exploration of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers and the Black Hills; in 1859, he was a surgeon and naturalist for Captain W.F. Reynolds' expedition to the upper tributaries of the Yellowstone which resulted in his Geological Report of the Explorations of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers in 1859-60; surgeon in the Federal army from 1862-1865; rose to chief medical officer of the Army of the Shenandoah and received a brevet to lieutenant colonel; became a professor of mineralogy and geology at the University of Pennsylvania until 1872; in 1867, appointed geologist in charge of the U.S. geological and geographical survey of the territories; in 1871 he led America's first federally funded survey into the Yellowstone region with a group of fifty men, including Thoams Moran, painter, and William Henry Jackson photographer; resulted in his five volume publication Department of the Interior: United States Geological Survey of the Territories; instrumental in convincing Congress to establish Yellowstone as the first U.S. National Park)

UPB files, April 1, 2024 (F.V. Hayden; in charge of territory survey)

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