Chester, Albert Huntington, 1843-1903

Albert Huntington Chester, chemist, mineralogist, and mining engineer, was born at Saratoga Springs, New York on November 22, 1843, the son of Albert Tracy and Elizabeth (Stanley) Chester of Connecticut. Chester married Alethea S. Rudd of New York City in 1869. When she died in 1891, he married Georgiana Waldron Jenks of Buffalo in 1898. He died on April 13, 1903. He had one son, Albert Huntington Chester, Jr.

Following two years of study at Union College, Chester entered the Columbia College School of Mines, where he graduated with an M.E. in 1868 and a Ph. D. in 1876. From 1870 to 1891, he was professor of chemistry, mineralogy and metallurgy at Hamilton College in New York. A degree of Sc. D. was conferred on him by Hamilton College in 1891. He then became professor of chemistry and mineralogy at Rutgers College, serving from 1891 to 1903. He was also a mining expert in the great iron deposits of the Vermilion District of Minnesota from 1873 to 1880. While at Rutgers. Chester served as director of the Rutgers Geology Museum in 1896.

From the description of Papers, 1871-1903. (Rutgers University). WorldCat record id: 55631458

Albert Huntington Chester, chemist, mineralogist, and mining engineer, was born at Saratoga Springs, New York on November 22, 1843, the son of Albert Tracy and Elizabeth (Stanley) Chester of Connecticut. Chester married Alethea S. Rudd of New York City in 1869. When she died in 1891, he married Georgiana Waldron Jenks of Buffalo in 1898. He died on April 13, 1903. He had one son, Albert Huntington Chester, Jr.

Chester was considered a philanthropist and active church member of the Collegiate Reformed Church. He was fond of fishing and owned one of the islands in the little Rideau Lake in Canada. Chester's great-great-grandfather, William Powell, served in the Revolutionary War with George Washington's army in New Jersey, and at the Battle of Bennington.

Following two years of study at Union College, Chester entered the Columbia College School of Mines, where he graduated with an M.E. in 1868 and a Ph.D. in 1876. From 1870 to 1891, he was professor of chemistry, mineralogy and metallurgy at Hamilton College in New York. A degree of Sc.D. was conferred on him by Hamilton College in 1891. He then became professor of chemistry and mineralogy at Rutgers College, serving from 1891 to 1903. He was also a mining expert in the great iron deposits of the Vermilion District of Minnesota from 1873 to 1880. While at Rutgers. Chester served as director of the Rutgers Geology Museum in 1896.

In 1882, Chester was chemist to the New York State Board of Health. He was a practicing mining engineer and published a number of scientific work, including "The Iron Region of Northern Minnesota" in Annual Report of the Minnesota Geological Survey, No. 11 (1884), 154-167; A Catalogue of Minerals Alphabetically Arranged, With Their Chemical Compositions and Synonyms (New York,1897); and A Dictionary of the Names of Minerals, (New York, 1896).

From the guide to the Guide to the Albert Huntington Chester Papers, 1871-1903, (Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives.)