Edward Hitchcock, Sr. (1793-1864) was among the small group of Americans in the early nineteenth-century deeply interested in the new science of geology who pioneered ways to incorporate their scientific interests into paid employment. Hitchcock served in various, sometimes overlapping, capacities at Amherst College between 1825 and his death in 1864. He was professor of chemistry and natural history (1825-1845), president of the college (1844-1854), and professor of geology and natural theology (1845-1864). He also served as Massachusetts state geologist (1837-1841) and Vermont state geologist (1856-1861).

His sons Edward Hitchcock, Jr. (1828-1911) and Charles Hitchcock (1836-1919) both graduated from Amherst and both served as assistants on the Vermont state geological survey under their father’s direction.

Archival records (primarily personal correspondence) together with published biographical materials make it possible to compare and contrast the ways in which these two generations of Hitchcock geologists seek and achieve training, create or obtain paid positions, and ultimately pursue (or in the case of Edward Jr.) abandon professional geological endeavors