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In Memoriam: Joseph Harvey Riley by Alexanderwetm6re THE AUK A QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY VOL. 60 JANVARY,1943 No. 1 IN MEMORIAM: JOSEPH HARVEY RILEY BY ALEXANDERWETM6RE Plate ß JOSEPHHARVEY RILEY, Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union since1919, departed this life on December17, 1941,at the ageof 68 years,2 monthsand 28 days. Born in FallsChurch, Virginia, on September19, 1873,he was residentthroughout his time in the family home,except for occasionalabsences in the field. His entire life was centered in his work in the United States National Museum under the SmithsonianInstitution, where for forty-fiveyears he was a member of the staff in the Division of Birds, faithful and conscien- tiousin his applicationto his work. Regardinghis ancestry,his father,Joseph Schleick Riley, wasborn near Indianapolis,Indiana, in 1835,and, as a youngman, cameeast to Washingtonwith a sister to reside in that general vicinity until his death in 1919. For a number of yearshe engagedin a book businesslocated on 7th Street in Washington,until with failing health, his physicianrecommended a residencefarther south. Leav- ing the storein Washingtonin other hands,he removedto Richmond, Virginia, where he establisheda similar business,and also engaged in the saleand export of leaf tobacco. The mother,Mary Edwards Pultz, was born and lived during her childhood near Smithfield, JeffersonCounty, formerly in Virginia but now a part of West Vir- ginia. This town, locally called 'Clip' becauseof a once widely known tradition concerninga haunted house there, is now named Middleway. Many men of her large family connectionentered the Confederate Army during the War between the States, the local sayingbeing that therewere enoughBells to form a regiment. In the courseof his businessactivities, the elder Riley in 1872 acquireda propertyof about80 acresin FallsChurch, Virginia, then a small community centered around a church, a tavern and one or ! TIlE Au[, VOL. 60 PLATE 1 Photograt•h [rom Press Association, Inc. 2 WE't'•,,,R•:,In Memoriam: Joseph Harvey Riley I.[ AukJan. two storesa few miles west of Washington. This farm was known in early days under the name of 'Cherry Hill,' from a fine avenue and other plantingsof huge old cherry trees lining the roadway leadingto the house. Tradition saysthat the placewas established originallyby an Englishmannamed Harvey, who not only plantedthe cherriesbut alsobrought in other treesand shrubsfrom foreignlands. On this farm Harvey Riley lived during his boyhood,and here, as a child, he developedthat interestin natural history,particularly in birds, that grew to form his career. Falls Church, at that time, was located on a branch of the Southern Railroad which later became the Old Dominion Railway. After early schooling in his native town,Riley attendedone year of high schoolin Washington,followed by two yearsin a preparatoryschool known as the EmersonInstitute, on 14th Street oppositethe presentlocation of the Franklin School. On his graduation from the Institute, he was awarded a silver medal for his scholarship,but, due to a diffidencecharacteristic of hi•n throughouthis life, he did not attend the graduatingexercises, so that the tnedal (which had the date 1895 inscribedupon it) was later brought to him in Falls Church by Dr. Young, head of the school. Like many other naturalists,Riley's boyhood interest in all wild thingscentered early in the formationof a collectionof birds' eggs, and it was no doubt this interestthat brought him during his school days in Washingtonto the SmithsonianInstitution, where he met Robert Ridgway, the beginningof a lifelong friendship,and had openedto him the world of birds. CharlesBendire then waswork- ing on his 'Life Historiesof North AmericanBirds,' Ridgwaywas preparingthe data for his first volumesof the 'Birdsof North and Middle America,' and Leonhard Stejneger,though then Curator of Reptiles,was actively interested in ornithology.On August17, 1896, Harvey Riley came to the National Museum on a temporaryap- pointmentas an Aid to assistin work on the collectionof eggsof North American birds. Becauseof shortageof funds, the salaried appoinnnentended on November14 of the sameyear, but Riley's interestwas suchthat he continuedto work in the Museumexcept when preventedby duties at home. Another temporaryappoint- ment cameDecember 7, 1897,continuing until July 8, 1898,when he receivedthe statusof Aid as a regular member of the staff in the Division of Birds. On July 1, 1928, he becameAssistant Curator of the Division, and on June 24, 1932,he was advancedto Associate Curator, a title that he held until his death. When Dr. W. L. Ralph became custodianof the collection of Vol.•94• 60] • WExMO•,In Memoriam:Joseph Harvey Riley 3 birds'eggs, following the deathof Bendire,Riley servedas his assist- ant, arrangingthe collections,incorporating new material, and ex- pandingthe seriesas needed. As this work lessenedin amount,he began to assistRobert Ridgway and to work with skins. As Ridg- way's assistant,it fell to Riley to make the long seriesof measure- mentsfound in the early volumesof the 'Birds of North and Middle America,'-work that he performedwith the most painstakingcare that insurestheir accuracy. He started also a small collection of bird skins of his own, stimulated by the field activities of Ridgway, Richmond, William Palmer, and otherswho were working in local ornithologyat the time. He also had closeassociation at this time with membersof the WashingtonBiologists' Field Club, an organ- ization to which Riley was electeda memberon June 3, 1901,when it was decidedto move the site of the club to its presentlocation on Plummets Island in the Potomac River above Washington. Unlike manynaturalists, Riley publishedno boyhoodnotes, his first paperon Stephens'sWhip-poor-will, which appeared in the 'Osprey' for July, 1901,being a seriousdiscussion of what was then known of this bird, its nesting,and its status. A footnoteindicates that this was "publishedby permissionof Dr. W. L. Ralph." The following year, for the samejournal, he preparedoriginal observationson the nestingof the Broad-wingedHawk in the Washingtonregion, illus- trated with a photographtaken by Paul Bartschof a nest containing two eggs. Immediatelythen Riley beganpublication of the notesand descriptionsin technicalornithology that continuedthroughout his life. His first expeditionof note camein 1900when, from Februaryto August,as assistantto William Palmerof the National Museum,he made collectionsof birds in Cuba. After a few daysabout Matanzas and Habana, the two men proceededto the Province of Pinar del Rio, wherethey were occupieduntil the end of June. In July, they workedat Bataban6,and also crossedto the Isle of Pines,spending seventeendays on that island. In addition to birds, they collected other animalsand plants. The two planneda completereport on the birds obtained,but becauseof variousinterruptions this never progressedbeyond the stageof a few notesin roughmanuscript, and the projectwas finally abandoned. Quite naturally, this first journey to a foreigncountry aroused in Riley a deepinterest in the avifauna of the West Indies that gavedirection to his studiesand to his pub- licationsfor many years. In fact, he assembledmuch data in card form with the idea of preparinga check-listoœ the birds of the West ,• WE•'.XIOR}:,In Memoriam: Joseph Harvey Riley L[ AukJan. Indies, but in the end usedthe material only to assistin the writing of variousfaunal papers. It was not long until he had opportunityfor anothervisit to the West Indies,as in June and July, 1905he wasdetailed to accompany an expeditionof the GeographicSociety of Baltimoreto the Bahama Islands,for which he wasdesignated in chargeof the Divisionof Land Zoology. With Samuel H. Derickson,then a studentat Johns Hop- kinsUniversity, as assistant, collections of reptiles,birds and •nammals were made for the U.S. National Museum. Dr. GeorgeB. Shattuck, then AssociateProfessor of PhysiographicGeology in the JohnsHop- kinsUniversity, was Director of the expedition,which covered studies rangingfrom geologyand botanyto sanitaryconditions in the islands. The party sailedfrom BaltimoreJune 1 on the schoonerVan Name and, after a stormyvoyage, reached Nassau June 17. Zoologicalcol- lectionswere made on New Providence,Green Cay, Andros,Eleuthera, Cat Island, Rum Cay, Watling's, Long Island and Abaco. On July 22, the party sailedfor the north. As usualin suchexpeditions, the time ashorewas curtaileddue to the type of transport,but the notes on birds publishedin the volume on the expedition,and in more detail in 'The Auk,' contain •nany mattersof interest. The reptiles obtained were identified by Dr. Leonhard Stejneger,and the mammals by Gerrit S. Miller, Jr. In 1910,from May 10 to 20, with William Palmer and Paul Bartsch, Riley collectedon Smith'sIsland on the Virginia coastat the time of the shorebirdmigration. And the following year, with Dr. E. A. Mearns and E. J. Brown, he made a more extended excursion to South Carolina, the three men being located from April 20 to May 10 acrossfrom Charleston. The excursionwas planned to securefor the National Museum birds for which Charleston or South Carolina was the type locality, and in this the three naturalistswere highly successful.Much of their work was done in the area adjacentto the home of the ornithologist,Arthur T. Wayne, who joined them in many of their daysafield, and with whom Riley formed an enduring friendship. Almost immediatelyon returning from this excursion,Riley was detailed to accompanyNed Hollister on an expeditionsponsored by the Alpine Club of Canada
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