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| Maynard
Bixby (1853 - 1935) Wendell E. Wilson |
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Maynard and his brother George both graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania in 1876. In 1880 George (age 59) was still in Wyalusing and had remarried to a woman named Clarra, by whom he had two young children. His older children Charles, Maynard and Ella, however, had moved out and were living together in Wilkes Barre, PA where Maynard worked as a bookkeeper and studied law, while Charles worked as a bank teller, and Ellen kept house for them. Maynard then traveled the country for a while, becoming involved in mining in Colorado and Arizona, and working for the Western Electric Company in Chicago. He spent a couple of years in Europe and also worked for Western Electric in New York. |
 Bixbyite - Named for its discoverer. |
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In any case, they were in Denver by 1890 and had moved to Salt Lake City shortly thereafter. Maynard explored the Thomas Range in Utah for minerals and staked several claims for topaz. One, the Maynard claim, is still being mined for specimens. The mineral bixbyite, which he discovered there, was named in his honor by Penfield and Foote in 1897. The red beryl also found there was named bixbite in his honor, but was later discredited as a variety. Bixby also wrote articles for The Mineral Collector, including "A collector in Colorado" (1894), "A description of topaz crystals, their localities and occurrences in Utah" (1895), "Idaho opals" (1894), "Montana sapphires" (1896), "Notable minerals in western mines" (1894-1895), "Notes on Collecting in Utah" (1897), "Notes on western minerals"(1896), "Pseudomorphs from Utah" (1895), "Rambles in Montana" (1896), "Topaz and other western minerals" (1896), "A trip to Globe, Arizona" (1897), "A trip to the Utah desert" (1897), "A Trip to the Old Jordan and Galena Mines, Bingham, Utah" (1896), "Utah notes" (1894). In the December 1896 issue of The Mineral Collector Bixby published his first ad, full-page, saying: "For several years I have collected the very finest of the Utah minerals and have concluded to offer them direct to collectors at the following low prices ..." In 1902 he published the first edition of his authoritative A Catalogue of Utah Minerals and Localities, and by 1916 had issued a fouth edition. Maynard and Katherine Bixby had four children between 1888 and 1900, but only one of them (Ethel, born in New York in 1889) was still living in 1900, the others having died young. Maynard's occupation is listed as "mining" in 1910 and he was self-employed. The 1890 census was destroyed by fire, but Maynard is listed in the Denver City Directory in 1890, so at least we know where he was. On the 1900 census for Salt Lake City he listed himself as a "mining broker." Maynard Bixby appears again on the 1920 census for Salt Lake City, but in 1925 he and his wife Katherine "M. S." Bixby and unmarried daughter Ethel moved to San Diego, California. And it is there that they both died: Katherine died on 11 Sept 1931 and Maynard Bixby died on 18 Feb 1935, at the age of 81. It's unfortunate that Katherine predeceased Maynard, because she would have been the best one to write his obituary (none has been found in the California newspapers). Reference:
MITCHELL, R. S. (1987) Who's who in mineral names: John George Cowles
and Maynard Bixby. Rocks & Minerals, 62, 120-123. A Catalog
of Utah Minerals and Localities MINERAL LOCALITIES BEAVER COUNTY Beaver City,
near; hyalite, banded in brownish and white to nearly colorless.
Copper Mountain
Mine;
azurite, cuprite, malachite.
Blacksmith
Fork; cerussite, galena.
Castle Gate;
coal, native coke.
Antelope
Island; copper minerals, epidote, garnet, micaceous hematite.
Castle Valley;
agates, azurite. and malachite in sandstone, chalcedony, epsomite
(?), silicified trunks of trees containing pockets of loose quartz
crystals.
Cannonville;
wheelerite.
Cisco, near;
agates, fine red jasper casts of fossil shells, chalcedony, travertine.
Cedar City,
west of; magnetite crystals occasionally with apatite crystals,
lodestone.
Bavarian
Con. Mine, 3 miles S E of Eureka; seam of coal in porphyritic
formation.
Alum Hills;
alum minerals.
Antelope
Springs, near; pyrite cubes altered to limonite in slate. MORGAN COUNTY Carbonate
Hill Mine, near Peterson; cerussite.
Belknap,
near; pyrolusite.
Western part; iron minerals.
Alum Point;
bushmanite.
Golden Queen
and other mines; gold.
Gunnison;
halite in fine cubes.
Fish Lake;
common opal.
Bonanza Flat;
green garnet (grossularite) in crystals and massive.
Brickyard
Mine at Mercur; melanterite, orpiment crystals (and foliaceous),
realgar crystals, sulphur.
Ashley, near:
cannel coal, asphaltum. carnotite.
American
Fork Canyon; cerussite, galena, molybdenite, pyrite, tetradymite,
tetrahedrite.
Blue Ledge
and Snake Creek; cerussite, galena, pyromorphite, sphalerite. WASHINGTON COUNTY Beaver Dam
Mts; realgar.
Fremont River;
selenite crystals of very large size, occasionally enclosing liquids.
Huntsville,
ten miles east; pyrolusite.
Tintic District--This district is noted for its fine specimens of the rare copper arsenates, as well as for its great variety of mineral species. Pearceite in crystals has been one of the rarest noted, and the specimens seen have been most remarkable in size, the largest being a half an inch or more across. The crystals are of tabular habit, coated with a bluish substance, and were associated with small brilliant crystals of enargite and anglesite. The crystals also show the peculiar triangular markings noted by Prof. S. L. Penfield in describing pearceite from Montana. Less than a half dozen specimens of this mineral have been preserved. Zeunerite also occurs with exceeding rarity, the crystals varying in color from yellowish to a deep olive, almost emerald green. They are of thin tabular habit, the largest being less than one fourth of an inch across. Olivenite has been abundant at times, but the red tinted specimens have been quite rare. The red crystals are usually very minute, and range in color from a light reddish brown to a deep blood red. They afford beautiful mounts for the microscope, and are usually found densely lining small cavities in a hard silicious ore, occasionally with enargite, also with anglesite, and included in the latter mineral. White olivenite occurs sparingly in very delicate felted bunches of capillary crystals. Scorodite occurs in crystals of fine quality, the largest nearly one fourth of an inch in size, of a bluish green color, also of brown tints. Leadhillite has been observed rarely, but the crystals seen were of good quality, nearly colorless, and averaged possibly more than a half an inch across. Anglesite occurs in a great variety of form, and its crystallography would be well worth careful investigation. Many fine translucent and transparent crystals have been collected, ranging in color from colorless and white, to dark grayish, and a fine yellow. Crystals measuring about two inches in length have been preserved and larger specimens have been reported. Cerussite has been seen rarely in beautiful nearly transparent twin crystals. Cuprite is rarely seen crystallized. A small quantity of mimetite was found, occurring in very delicate white, grayish and yellow, long slender hexagonal crystals. Brilliant small crystals of enargite have been observed at the mines of Eureka, also in large crystals of dull luster at the Homestake Mine, near Silver City, and of smaller size at the mines of Mammoth. Very fine crystallizations of this mineral have been obtained at the Commercial Mine, Bingham. Mixite has been collected at various mines of the Tintic District, but of finest quality at the Carissa Mine, where it frequently occurs in minute acicular crystals forming beautiful pale green velvety surfaces, largely in a barite gangue. Notable crystals of brochantite were found at the Eureka Hill Mine, the largest a half inch or more in length, and of the wedge habit. No other locality has furnished such crystals of this mineral. A very few remarkable crystals of linarite have been seen. A few specimens of Utahite in good sized crystals have been collected. Pseudomorphs in great variety occur in the Tintic mines. Topaz Localities--The Thomas Mountain localities are situated in Juab County, about nine miles in a northerly direction from Drum Springs, in the Detroit District, or about 55 miles in a northwesterly direction from Desert. The topaz crystals occur in cavities and seams of a light gray rhyolite, a great belt of which has been pushed up for 20 miles or more in both northerly and southerly directions from Thomas Mountains. The loose colorless crystals are found on the hillsides, and in the sands of the dry gulches, where they glitter in countless numbers. The sherry colored crystals are obtained by blasting the richer spots in the rhyolite, where the crystals are found attached to the sides of the cavities, and frequently loose in them, with a soft kaolin-like material. These colored crystals bleach very rapidly on exposure to the light, and particularly when exposed to the direct rays of the sun, losing nearly all color in a day. The writer has been unable to find any explanation of this fact. The largest topaz crystals have been found at the bixbyite locality in the Dugway Range, about 15 miles from Thomas Mountains, and several miles southerly from the Dugway grade. Opaque crystals of much larger size than any of the transparent kinds, filled with quartz, and occasionally with black cubes of bixbyite attached, have been found here sparingly. The curious groups of opaque gray topaz from Thomas Mountains are of exceedingly rare occurrence, in perfection, though many imperfect specimens are seen. The more imperfect crystals of the gray topaz appear as if eroded by some solvent. These topaz localities are exceedingly interesting to the mineralogist, and good specimens are obtainable at any time. Tiemannite and Onofrite--The locality near Marysvale has produced the only crystals of tiemannite known, and many fine specimens have been obtained, the largest probably one fourth of an inch across. They are generally of the tetrahedral habit and highly modified. No crystals of onofrite have been reported. These minerals occur in a limestone gangue the crystals appearing in open trains. Crystallized specimens are reported unobtainable now. Orpiment and Realgar--Probably the finest and largest known crystals of these minerals have been found in the gold mines of Mercur, mainly in the Mercur, Golden Gate and Brickyard mines. Crystals of great perfection and an inch or more in length, have been collected from these mines. The discovery of perfect crystals of orpiment including many of twinned habit enabled the classification of this mineral in its proper system of crystallization, viz.: in the monoclinic system, the crystals hitherto found being so imperfect that it was placed in the orthorhombic system. Groups of orpiment crystals occur with realgar crystals rarely among them. Beautiful crystals of realgar occur with crystals of calcite, and often penetrating the latter. Variscite--Variscite in large nodules associated with bluish wardite, has been one of the notable finds in Clay Canon, near Fairfield. Large specimens of fine green color, eight inches or more across, have been mined, which, sawed into sections and polished, made showy specimens for the collection. Martite--The largest crystals of this form of hematite known have been collected at Twin Peaks, Millard County. Octahedral crystals, showing but one termination, and five inches or more across, have been collected. Groups of martite crystals are also sparingly seen associated with crystals of augite and apatite. These specimens were collected in the soil, and consequently somewhat bruised, but smaller crystals are found in place in the eruptive rock of the mountains. Rare Minerals--Among the rare minerals, bixbyite, luckite, mallardite, wardite and utahite have not been reported outside of Utah. A mineral, however, giving the reactions and having the appearance of utahite, has been found near Morenci. Arizona. Zeunerite is exceedingly rare at the mines of Tintic but a half dozen or so having been preserved. It is possible that a small percentage of uranium runs through some of the Tintic ores. About two dozen specimens of lettsomite have been found, while chalcophyllite has been reported in but one or two specimens. Carnotite occurs in sandstone, near Richardson, also SE of Emery, Emery Co., and in other localities. Uraninite occurs in very small quantity at the localities. Dufrenoysite and binnite are probably unobtainable at present. The best specimens of covellite have been obtained at the O. K. Mine, but the mineral is rather friable. Copper arsenates, similar to those of Tintic have been found at mines near Clifton, and with development of the prospects there interesting finds may be made. The less rare molybdenite, which seems to be coming into commercial use, has been found in several localities, but no crystals have been reported. Utah has been and will continue to be an interesting field for the mineralogist, and it is to be regretted that no institution exists as in some neighboring States, to which the mines would be obliged to furnish good specimens of the various minerals discovered, for preservation in the interests of science. The preceding
is a partial reprinting of the Catalogue of Utah Minerals and Localities
by Maynard Bixby. |