Memorial to James Stewart Williams 1901-1984

CI YDE T. H A R D Y D epartm ent o f Geology. I ’tah State University, Logan, Utah 84322

J. Stewart Williams arrived at Utah State University. I.ogan. Utah, in late August of 1935 after a year of postdoctoral study at Yale University. After a three- hour interview with the president, he was promptly made professor of geology and head of the Department of Geology. In 1950 he was also appointed dean of graduate studies. He held both positions until he be­came professor emeritus in 1967. Later, he continued teaching, research, and consulting until shortly before he died at the age of 82 on July 19, 1984.

Stewart was born in Provo. Utah, on August 5. 1901. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1923. Two years later, he was granted an assistantship in physics at Columbia University where he obtained the M.S. degree in 1927. The following year he entered

George Washington University for a geology program and for research collaboration with G. A rthur Cooper of the Smithsonian Institution. His dissertation was on the paleontology and stratigraphy of the Tully Form ation (New York). He was awarded the Ph .D . degree in 1932. Stewart spent the year of 1934-35 at Yale University for postdoctoral study. There, he established a long-standing relationship with Carl O. D unbar and Chester R. Longwell.

On September 1, 1927, Stewart married N orm a Allen of Provo, Utah. They moved to Logan. Utah, in 1935 with Patricia, age 2. Later, David. Stewart, and Thomas arrived. In Logan, Stewart built a beautiful home with a chimney of Nugget Sandstone from his persona! quarry located near Bear Lake. He also constructed a massive fireplace in the basement with rocks and fossils placed in stratigraphic succession.

On arrival at Utah State University. Stewart immediately began to renovate the facilities of the department and to make numerous changes in the curriculum. In the early years, he taught a great variety of courses. Later, however, he devoted himself to surficial geology, invertebrate paleontology, and groundwater geology. Stewart is remembered for his dem onstration that a forked stick in the hands of a local citizen may not indicate g roundw ater at the same locations on successive tests. The first M.S. degree of the reorganized department was granted in 1936.

Stewart also began investigating the stratigraphy o f the Logan region and mapping the Logan Quadrangle, U tah-Idaho (1:125.000). He named and described the Water Canyon Formation of Devonian age. This formation occupies an intermediate location between the marine Devonian of Nevada and the transitional rocks of northwestern Wyoming. His final report was not published until 1948. It brought renewed national a ttention to the Paleozoic section of north-central Utah. Later, he subdivided his Jefferson Form ation of Devonian age into the lower Hyrum Form ation and the upper Beirdneau Formation. In the field, he was a wild driver and a vigorous hiker.

Early in 1939, Stewart learned that one thousand dollars might be available to the department from the estate of Thomas E. Oldham. He obtained the thousand dollars and

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purchased two W ood-A nderson seismometers. Subsequently, a vertical seismom eter was added. Thus began a long period of cooperation with the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. S tew art served as co llabora to r in seismology for U tah from 1941 until 1974. In association with M ary L. Tapper, he constructed the first published earthquake history of U tah. It covers the interval from 1850 to 1949. Pioneer records provided docum entation for the early part of the history. Publication was supported by the Pacific Fire R ating Bureau as a result of the interest o f Karl V. Steinbrugge.

Stew art independently began investigating the history of Lake Bonneville in Cache Valley, U tah. This project was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1947. It was initially directed by Charles B. H unt and later by R oger B. M orrison. Stew art was fascinated by Red Rock Pass, the outlet of Lake Bonneville, in southern Idaho. Thus, two la ter studies perta in to the original elevation of the outlet and the bedrock configuration of the outlet.

As a result of S tew art’s early association with Chester R. Longwell, the Yale University geology field cam p was stationed at the U tah State University forestry camp in Logan C anyon from 1946 to 1950. One of the instructors was Reuben J. Ross, Jr ., who investigated the O rdovician G arden City Form ation for his d issertation at S tew art’s suggestion. This was the beginning of a long friendship.

Stew art was appointed dean of graduate studies at U tah S tate University in 1950. He also continued to serve as head of the D epartm ent o f Geology. He held both adm ini­strative positions for seventeen years until he became professor em eritus in 1967. Under his guidance, the production of graduate degrees increased by several times. The first two Ph.D . degrees were aw arded by U tah S tate University in 1950. They were in biochemistry and soil physics, S tew art was chairm an of the Rocky M ountain Science Council for 1964-65 and also president o f the Utah Conference on H igher E ducation for 1964-65.

Early in his career at U tah State University, Stew art devoted num erous summers to petroleum exploration for m ajor corporations. Later, he became a consultant in rock phosphate developm ents both as an exploration geologist and as a general manager. After his retirem ent, he consulted mainly in the area of geohydrology for industry and municipalities. He was active in the Cache C ham ber of C om m erce and was a leader in the developm ent of the Logan Library.

He was a Fellow of the Geological Society o f America and chairm an of the Rocky M ountain Section for 1951-52. He looked forward to the meetings and treasured the friendships that developed. He also was a Fellow o f the Paleontological Society. He held m em berships in the Seismological Society of America, the American Q uaternary Associa­tion, the Explorers C lub, the American A ssociation of Petroleum Geologists, and the American Institute o f Professional Geologists. He was president o f the Utah Geological A ssociation in 1948-49. Just before he died, he learned of the dedication to him of the1985 guidebook of the Utah Geological Association.

S tew art loved to sit in front o f a crackling fire and reflect on the activities o f his past students; some are no longer with us, including George Burke M axey and Bruce M cCurdy Hall. M any others are now contributing to the advancem ent of geological science; they include Stanley S. Beus, Lyle A. Hale. Alvin M. H anson, Edwin K. M aughan, W alter L. M oore, D onald R. Olsen, R obert B. Sm ith, M ichael E. Taylor, and Phillip H. W ach. S tew art was proud of the accom plishm ents of all of his students, and they were devoted to him.

MEMORIAL TO JAMES STEWART WILLIAMS 3

S E L E C T E D B IB L IO G R A P H Y O F J . S T E W A R T W IL L IA M S

1935 (with C ooper, G. A.) Tully Form ation of New York: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 46, p. 781-868.

1939 “Park C ity” beds on southwest flank of U inta M ountains, U tah: American Associa­tion of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 23, p. 82-100.

1941 (and M axey, G. B.) The C am brian section in the Logan Q uadrangle, U tah and vicinity: American Journal o f Science, v. 239, p. 276-285.

1942 The O ldham seismograph station at U tah State Agricultural College. Logan, Utah: Seismological Society o f America Bulletin, v. 32, p. 49-59.

1945 (and Yolton, J. S.) Brazer (M ississippian) and lower Wells (Pennsylvanian) section a t D ry Lake, Logan Q uadrangle, Utah: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 29, p. 1143-1 155.

____ N om enclature of Triassic rocks in northeastern U tah: American Journal o f Science,v. 243, p. 473-479.

1948 Geology of the Paleozoic rocks, Logan Q uadrangle, Utah: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 59, p. 1121-1164.

1953 (and Tapper, M ary L.) E arthquake history of U tah, 1850-1949: Seismological Society o f America Bulletin, v. 43, p. 191-218.

1962 Lake Bonneville: Geology of southern Cache Valley, Utah: U.S. Geological Survey Professional P aper 257-C, p. 131-152.

____ (and W illard, A. D ., and Parker, V.) Recent geologic history o f Bear Lake Valley,U tah-Idaho: American Journal o f Science, v. 260, p. 24-36.

1964 (and Taylor, M. E.) The Lower D evonian W ater Canyon Form ation o f northern Utah: University o f W yoming C ontributions to Geology, v. 3, p. 38-53.

1967 (with Poole, F. G .. Baars, D. L., Drewes, H ., Hayes, P. T., K etner, K. B., McKee,E. C., and Teichert, C.) D evonian of the southwestern United States, in Oswald,D. H., ed.. In ternational symposium on the Devonian System, Calgary, Alberta, Septem ber, 1967: A lberta Society o f Petroleum Geologists, v. 1, p. 879-912.

1968 (and M illigan, J. H.) Bedrock configuration and altitude. Red Rock Pass, outlet of Lake Bonneville, southeastern Idaho: University o f W yoming C ontributions to Geology, v. 7, p. 67-72.

1970 (with Southard , A. R.) Patterned ground indicates unstable landscapes: Journal o f Soil and W ater Conservation, v. 25, p. 194-196.

1971 The Beirdneau and H yrum form ations of north-central U tah, in Paleozoic per­spectives; a paleontological tribute to G. A rthur Cooper: Sm ithsonian C ontributions to Paleobiology, no. 3, p. 219-229.

1973 Fossil d istribution across the M iddle-Upper D evonian boundary. Portage and Logan Canyons, north-central Utah: Geological Society o f America Bulletin, v. 84, p. 1699-1704.

Printed in U .S .A . 6/85