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Alva C. Ellisor

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Alva Christine Ellisor (1892-1964) was one of the first female stratigrapher in North America. Ellisor was born April 26, 1892, at Galveston, Texas. After her secondary education in Galveston’s public schools, Ellisor achieved Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geology in University of Texas[1]. After graduating, Ellisor had teaching position in Ball High School[2], and the University of Kansas[3]. In November, 1920, Ellisor worked for Humble Company in Houston, where she briefly worked in early summer of 1918. Ellisor organized a paleontological laboratory in Houston, for the examination of mega scopic fossils, and discovered foraminifera. Ellisor retired in April, 1947, and passed away because of heart ailment September 22, 1964.[4]

Alva Christine Ellisor
BornApril 26th, 1892
Galveston, Texas
DiedSeptember 22nd, 1964
Galveston, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of Texas at Austin
Known forContributions to the fields of Micropaleontology, and Gulf of Mexico geology.
Scientific career
FieldsPetroleum Geology

Biography

Life

Alva C. Ellisor was born on April 26, 1892 in Galveston, Texas. Her love for science began when she attended the University of Texas where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geology. After deciding to remain in her hometown of Galveston following graduation, she started teaching at Ball High School. This was short lived as she decided to go back to university and study in hopes of becoming a professor. At the same time Ellisor was studying she was also doing research in the field of geology through supervision of her instructors, Professor Francis L. Whitney and Professor Hal P. Bybee. Two years later, in 1918, Ellisor began working as a professor at the University of Kansas teaching geology and in 1919 was able to use her experience by working for the Kansas Geological Survey. In 1920 Ellisor switched professions again and started working for Humble Oil & Refining Company. She was specifically hired by Wallace Pratt to design a subsurface laboratory which works to show the development of petroleum and natural gas as well as other minerals.This is where she was really able to make a name for herself in the study of petroleum geology as well as making many firsts for women in geology. Just months after Ellisor created and opened the laboratory she made a major discovery of foraminifera in one of the companies wells at Goose Creek. These findings would be the basis of some of her most famous writing for years to come. Ellisor spent over twenty years working for the Humble Oil & Refining Company until she retired in 1947. She passed away at the age of seventy-two on September 22, 1964 in Galveston, Texas.[5]

Achievements

  • One of the first female's to contribute to the field of Stratigraphy, a student of Francis L. Whitney.[6]
  • Her study of foraminifera indicated Oligocene-aged coral reefs on the Damon Mound salt dome in Brazoria County.[7]

Awards and Honors

  • 1924 Vice-President of the Houston Geological Society[8]
  • 1930 Vice-President of the Houston Geological Society
  • 1941 Vice-President of the Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists
  • 1948 Honorary member of the Houston Geological Society
  • 1953 Honorable mention by the Desk & Derrick Clubs of North America (Outstanding Oil Woman of the Year)

Contribution to Science

Alva C. Ellisor studied the Gulf Coast, focusing on Tertiary and Cretaceous time periods of the era. She studied foraminifera and her findings led to the discovery of a coral reef from the Oligocene period in Brazoria County.[9] She helped discover the possibility of using foraminifera to correlate rocks from drilling cores.[10]

Works

  • Species of Turritella from the Buda and Georgetown limestones of Texas[11] (series: University of Texas bulletin. no. 1840: July 15, 1918)
  • Subsurface Stratigraphy of the Coastal Plain of Texas and Louisiana[12] (A.A.P.G. Bulletin, Vol. 9, No. 1, p. 79-122)
  • Coral Reefs in the Oligocene of Texas[13] (A.A.P.G. Bulletin (Vol. 10, No. 10)
  • The Foraminiferal Fauna of the Anahuac Formation[14] (Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 19, No. 6)
  • The Age and Correlation of Chalk at White Cliffs, Arkansas, with Notes on Subsurface Correlations of Northeast Texas (A.A.P.G. Bulletin, Vol.9, No. 8)
  • Correlation of Claiborne of East Texas with the Claiborne of Louisiana[15] (A.A.P.G. Bulletin, Vol. 13, No. 10)
  • Jackson Group of Formations in Texas with Notes on the Frio and Vicksburg[16] (A.A.P.G. Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 11)
  • Subsurface Miocene of Southern Louisiana[17] (A.A.P.G. Bulletin, Vol. 24, No. 3)
  • Rock Hounds of Houston

References

  1. ^ "The University of Texas at Austin". The University of Texas at Austin. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  2. ^ "Ball High School - Ball High School Homepage". www.gisd.org. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  3. ^ "The University of Kansas". www.ku.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  4. ^ "Memorial: Alva Christine Ellisor (1892-1964)". 49 (4). 1965-01-01. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Jr., Samuel P. Ellison; Clabaugh, Stephen F.; Morgan, Irma Jo (July 1962). "Department of Geology Newsletter" (PDF). Department of Geology Newsletter The University of Texas, 11, 2-3. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  6. ^ "Alva C. Ellisor (1892-1964) | Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab". www.jsg.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  7. ^ "Alva C. Ellisor (1892-1964) | Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab". www.jsg.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  8. ^ "HGS - Houston Geological Society | Houston Geological Society". www.hgs.org. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  9. ^ "Alva C. Ellisor (1892-1964) | Non-vertebrate Paleontology Lab". www.jsg.utexas.edu. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  10. ^ Cushman, Joseph A.; Ellisor, Alva C. (1 January 1945). "The Foraminiferal Fauna of the Anahuac Formation". Journal of Paleontology. 19 (6): 545–572. JSTOR 1299203.
  11. ^ "Details - Species of Turritella from the Buda and Georgetown limestones of Texas, by Alva Christine Ellisor. - Biodiversity Heritage Library". www.biodiversitylibrary.org. Retrieved 2016-12-02.
  12. ^ Applin, Esther Richards; Ellisor, Alva E.; Kniker, Hedwig T. (1925-01-01). "Subsurface stratigraphy of the Coastal Plain of Texas and Louisiana". AAPG Bulletin. 9 (1): 79–122. ISSN 0149-1423.
  13. ^ Ellisor, Alva Christine (1926-01-01). "Coral Reefs in the Oligocene of Texas". AAPG Bulletin. 10 (10). ISSN 0149-1423.
  14. ^ Cushman, Joseph A.; Ellisor, Alva C. (1945-01-01). "The Foraminiferal Fauna of the Anahuac Formation". Journal of Paleontology. 19 (6): 545–572. JSTOR 1299203.
  15. ^ Ellisor, Alva Christine (1929-10-01). "Correlation of the Claiborne of east Texas with the Claiborne of Louisiana". AAPG Bulletin. 13 (10): 1335–1346. ISSN 0149-1423.
  16. ^ Alva Christine Ellisor (2); (2), Alva Christine Ellisor (1933-01-01). "Jackson Group of Formations in Texas with Notes on Frio and Vicksburg". AAPG Bulletin. 17 (11). doi:10.1306/3d932bc6-16b1-11d7-8645000102c1865d. ISSN 0149-1423. {{cite journal}}: |last2= has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ Ellisor, Alva C. (1940-01-01). "Subsurface Miocene of Southern Louisiana". AAPG Bulletin. 24 (3). ISSN 0149-1423.
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