The name, Othniel Charles Marsh, is not a name that is usually dropped around Niagara County social circles. A few might recognize the name if shortened to O. C. Marsh. In fact, his friends usually called him “Oh See.”

Marsh was born in 1831 in Lockport and spent his youth at hard labor on the family farm, which turned out not to be his heart’s desire. Instead, he developed a curiosity for fossils and spent whatever free time he could muster exploring the rock ledge along the Erie Canal. The digging of the canal had unearthed a veritable geological treasure trove of life from by-gone eras. Without the money to pursue his dream of studying paleontology, it seemed Marsh was destined to always be just an amateur rock hound. In 1852, the story of Marsh’s life entered a new chapter, one that gave him his start towards greatness. Marsh, though grindingly poor, had a rich uncle, Mr. George Peabody. Peabody made his fortune in banking and finance and actually gave J.P. Morgan his start in the field. Uncle George realized that young O. C. Marsh had a bent for scientific discovery and agreed to fund his college education. Marsh studied geology and mineralogy at some of the most prestigious universities in the United States and abroad, and graduated from Yale in 1860.

Another stroke of good fortune befell Marsh in 1869 when the Union Pacific Railroad was moving into the Dakotas, a region that was once only accessible by Native Americans. Just like the Erie Canal stone fossils that Marsh hunted as a child, the construction for the railroad uncovered a plethora of fossils, the likes of which had never been seen before. Experts quickly discovered that the American West contained the greatest collection of dinosaur bones in the world. Marsh, having established himself as the preeminent paleontologist at Yale, was a natural choice to head the expedition out west.

Even though the railroad brought transportation to the Wild West, it did not bring civility, and Marsh and his men faced serious threats and danger each day. Marsh equipped his men, not only with hammers and picks, the standard tools of the trade, he also equipped them with Colt six-shooters for their own protection. Eventually, Marsh sought and received the help of General William Tecumseh Sherman and asked for a military unit to provide security to his team at the “dig.”

Marsh and his “nemesis,” Edward Cope (whose rivalry probably provided the plot for many of the “Indiana Jones” movies today), conducted a so-called “Bones-War,” to see who could unearth the greatest number of new dinosaurs. In spite of the conflict, the two were credited with the discovery of over 120 additional species. Marsh had the ultimate satisfaction of “outliving” his professional rival. He continued his studies and persuaded his uncle to establish the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale where Marsh served as co-curator.

Douglas Farley, Director
Erie Canal Discover Center
24 Church St.
Lockport NY 14094
716.439.0431
CanalDiscovery@aol.com
www.NiagaraHistory.org