Remember When: Fairfield County connection found in Hocking Hills
Fairfield County is rich with individuals who have done extraordinary things in the past that are still recognized in the present. On a recent trip to the Hocking Hills and the Visitor Center at Old Man’s Cave, one such man was found hiding in plain sight. As I walked through the panel displays to learn more history of the area, I found myself face-to-face with Jesse Earl Hyde. Next to his photo were words crediting him for significant contributions to early geological studies of the Hocking Hills and Black Hand Sandstone, and for teaching geology at Western Reserve University from 1915 to 1936. Fairfield County was not mentioned, but Hyde is an important name in both Rushville and Lancaster. There seemed to be a good chance there was a connection.
It did not take long to learn Jesse Earl Hyde (1884-1936) was the son of Eber Hyde (1845-1915) and grandson of Simon Hyde (1786-1867). A druggist, Eber had married in 1882 and by at least 1887 had a drugstore on Broad St. “Dr. Eber Hyde’s nice, large two story residence on King Avenue is rapidly approaching completion and will be occupied by him in about a month,” reported the Gazette 26 April 1890. Their home still stands today at 163 King St.
When Eber Hyde died in 1915, his obituary stated, “He was a great student, and his hobby was geology. Whenever he had a day off, he would take his hammer and his boy and wander out over the hills analyzing the rocks, the soil, and the earth’s formation.” Years later when a professor, Jesse Hyde wrote that he made his first collections from the famous Sciotoville bar when he was only nine years old.
Jesse graduated from LHS in 1902, and entered OSU for a bachelor’s degree in geology. “…Hyde already had a good foundation in geology. More than that, he had a habit of close observation and an appreciation of scientific method…During his second year at the university he published his first professional article on ‘Changes in the drainage near Lancaster, Ohio’” (Mississippian formations of central and southern Ohio, c1953).
After OSU graduation Jesse went to Columbia University for his master’s and doctorate degrees and continued graduate work. Meanwhile, Miss Edna McCleery of Lancaster had completed a degree in geology and in 1909 was teaching at LHS. The two married Aug. 1, 1911 in Lancaster and in the fall located in Kingston, Ontario, where Jesse became professor of geology at Queen’s University. Their sons William (1912-1961) and Eber (1913-1994) were born there.
Jesse joined the staff of Western Reserve University in 1915 and the family moved to Cleveland. He taught in the department of geology, became department chairman in 1921, and served as Curator of Geology (1922-1936) at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Dr. Hyde died in his Cleveland home in 1936 at 52. He is buried in Forest Rose Cemetery.
After her husband’s death, Mrs. Edna Hyde returned to Lancaster in 1942 and lived at 450 Lake St. She gave her husband’s notes and manuscripts to the Ohio Geological Survey. Dr. Mildred Fisher Marple, Curator of the Geological Museum at OSU, edited his manuscript and prepared it for publication. A 355-page book was published in 1953, The Mississippian Formations of Central and Southern Ohio, by Jesse Earl Hyde. Mrs. Hyde received a copy just before Christmas, and said, “No more thrilling Christmas present was ever received,” (12 Dec 1953, E-G).
A copy of this publication may be seen in the Historical Collection of the Fairfield County District Library. If you have read Charles Goslin’s newspaper columns of the past, the name Jesse Earl Hyde might have sounded familiar to you also. Through the years he quoted or referenced the work of Jesse Hyde countless time.
Readers may contact Harvey at joycelancastereg@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Remember When: Fairfield County connection found in Hocking Hills
