Tomkins, Ivan Rexford, 1893-1966.

Ivan Rexford Tomkins (1893-1966) was born in Ellington, Pennsylvania. He served in World War I, first in the Infantry (1917), and later with the 56th Engineers (1918). He moved to Georgia in 1922 to work with the Public Health Service and was assigned to the U.S. Quarantine Station on Cockspur Island, Savannah River. Soon after, around the year 1925, he accepted the position as Dredging Inspector with the Corps of Engineers. He rose to the position as Chief of the projects Branch of the Savannah District until his retirement in 1956. His work at the Quarantine Station and on the dredges gave him ample opportunities to develop his interest in the life of the salt marshes, beach, and waters surrounding him. His knowledge and advice was sought by many men of science. He became an excellent photographer. He published articles in Auk, Wilson Bulletin, Oriole, The Journal of Mammalogy, as well as studies for the Georgia Ornithological Society. He discovered a unique spiny mussel, Elliptio Spinosus, in the Altamaha River swamp.

From the description of Ivan Rexford Tomkins papers, 1911-1966. (Georgia Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 144570315