Samuel H. Aughey, son of Samuel Aughey and Elizabeth Kepner, was born on 08 Feb 1831 in Mifflin, Juniata, Pennsylvania, USA. He married Elizabeth Catherine Welty on 14 Oct 1858 in Hannastown, Westmoreland Co, PA. He died on 03 Feb 1912 in Spokane, Spokane, Washington, USA.
Elizabeth Catherine Welty, daughter of Daniel Welty and Barbara Bierer, was born on 22 Jul 1838 in Chester, Pennsylvania, USA. She died in 1920.
Samuel Aughey and Elizabeth Catherine Welty were married on 14 Oct 1858 in Hannastown, Westmoreland Co, PA. They had the following children:
- Anna Agantha Aughey was born on 11 Nov 1859. She died on 29 Sep 1863.
- Helen Barbara Aughey was born on 07 May 1867 in Dakota, Nebraska, USA. She died on 21 Jul 1951 in Pullman, Whitman, Washington, USA.
Samuel Aughey graduated from Pennsylavnia College (which became Gettysburg College) in 1856, then went to Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1857. He was ordained in 1858.
His first position was at
a church in Lionville, Pennsylvania. His strong stance in favor of abolition of
slavery led to his resignation after four years. He went on to work at other
churches in Pennsylvania.
In December 1864 the
family moved to Dakota City, Nebraska. He left the ministry in 1867 to devote
more time to his interest in natural history.
In 1869 the
University of Nebraska was founded, and the faculty at the new school were all
required to be ordained ministers. The professorship of Natural Science was
first offered to Reverent Henry W. Kuhns, but he rejected the job and
recommended Samuel Aughey for the position. The family then moved to Lincoln in
1871. Aughey taught biology, geology, botany, chemistry, physical science,
zoology, and German.
Aughey became the first
curator of the University of Nebraska State Museum.
From the online Encyclopedia of the Great Plains:
Samuel Aughey Jr. was a minister and naturalist/ geologist
in Nebraska and Wyoming from 1864 until 1886. He was born on February 8, 1831,
near Mifflin, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel and Elizabeth Kepner Aughey. He
graduated from Pennsylvania College (now Gettysburg College) in 1856 and then
attended seminary there. Aughey came to Dakota City, Nebraska, in 1864 as a
"home missionary" for the Lutheran Church. After resigning this
position in 1867, he worked for the Dakota County government from 1866 until 1869
as superintendent of public instruction and county surveyor. He was named the
first professor of natural science at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in
1871.
Despite heavy teaching responsibilities, Aughey published
widely on the geology, botany, and zoology of Nebraska. The work was of uneven
quality; when scientific information conflicted with his desire to promote the
Plains as an ideal place for settlers, his promotional instincts often won. For
example, writing in 1880 during one of Nebraska's wetter periods, Aughey
confidently asserted that the act of cultivating the soil was responsible for
increased rainfall. This apocryphal theory, "rainfall follows the
plow," did not survive the devastating drought of the 1890s. Aughey was
also instrumental in the founding of both the Nebraska State Historical Society
and the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, serving as the first secretary of the
former and the first president of the latter. Aughey's relationship with the
University of Nebraska began to deteriorate in the early 1880s. In 1883, he was
involved in a financial scandal that precipitated his resignation from the
university. He subsequently became territorial geologist for Wyoming. A
smelting accident in 1886 left him with severe heavy metal poisoning and ended
his career as a geologist and his time as a resident of the Great Plains.
Aughey had married Elizabeth Catherine Welty on October 14,
1858. They had three children, only one of whom, Helen Barbara, survived
childhood. Aughey died on February 3, 1912, in Spokane, Washington.
Samuel Aughey met with President Garfield on at
least one occasion. On January 26,
1881, Garfield recorded in his diary, “Profs. C.D. Wilber and Aughey of
Nebraska came at noon, and spent the night…I sat up too late with Wilber for my
health.” Aughey was a big proponent of settlement on the Great Plains,
and believed in the concept that “The Rain Follows the Plow”. This was the idea
that tilling the earth would lead to increased evaporation and increased
rainfall. This theory was completely wrong, and many of the optimistic new settlers suffered during droughts in the 1890s. For more information check out the the blog of the James A. Garfield National Historic Site.
