Shuler, Ellis W. (Ellis William), 1881-

Ellis William Shuler was born on Oct. 15, 1881, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia near the small settlement of Corners Rock. He was the son of Rev. James Alexander Hamilton Shuler and Amanda Harrington Shuler. Ellis W. Shuler’s father entered the Methodist ministry in the Holston Conference of the Southern Methodist Church in 1886 and from then until his death in 1932, Rev. Shuler was active in pulpits and circuits in Southwest Virginia and parts of the contiguous states.

Ellis Shuler became interested in geology as a child after a series of tremors known as the Giles County Earthquake that shook the Southwest Virginia region in May 1897. After the earthquake, Shuler’s father made an urgent request of the United States Geological Survey that these phenomena be studied, and Marius R. Campbell was sent to investigate. After completing his field studies, Campbell joined the Shuler family for several days at Mountain Lake on nearby Salt Pond Mountain. Young Shuler became well acquainted with the great geologist and undoubtedly decided to follow in his footsteps.

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