Helen Plummer

Helen was born in Muskegon, Michigan, and grew up in Michigan and Illinois. She graduated from Northwestern University in 1913 and earned her master’s degree in 1925. In 1917, she was the first woman geologist hired by an oil company, Roxana Petroleum Company. (Carlotta Maury was the first woman to work as a consulting paleontologist for petroleum companies.) During her time at Roxana, Helen was based in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Helen married fellow Roxana geologist Frederick Byron “Fred” (“Ted” to Helen) Plummer (1886–1947) in 1918. She quit her job at Roxana and gave up her position as secretary and treasurer of the Roxana Red Cross Unit. Married women were barred from working at Roxana, which was common at the time. Helen relocated from Oklahoma to Mineral Wells, Texas, to join Fred.

Helen worked on a consulting basis for most of her career. Helen’s work as a consultant without a regular position at an oil company may have barred her from membership in the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG), a professional organization that she did not join until the late 1940s. Nevertheless, Helen attended the 1919 AAPG meeting in Dallas, Texas. She prepared a map for Fred’s presentation, which was successful. However, Helen was not acknowledged in the published version of his presentation—”Preliminary paper on the stratigraphy of the Pennsylvanian Formations of north-central Texas”—which also came out in 1919.

Helen and Fred eventually moved to Austin when Fred was hired by the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology (BEG). Beginning in 1933, Helen was a consultant for the BEG. She also published research papers describing many new species of forams and built a huge personal collection of samples and slides. She was widely known and sought out for her expertise. Helen was hired as a researcher by the BEG and became a member of AAPG after Fred died in 1947.

Helen fulfilled both traditional and modern roles for women in paleontology. She excelled at performing the household tasks expected of a wife in the first half of the 20th century, including cooking and gardening, even though she disliked both. Like the wives of some early male scientists, she acted as an illustrator and editor for her husband. Her memorial makes clear the extent of her involvement in Fred’s work:

“Because of the bulk and quality of her own work perhaps many who knew of it were not also aware of her constant help to Mr. Plummer in his scientific work—editing the manuscripts, doing with rare skill the necessary difficult drawings, painstakingly checking results, accompanying him on short field trips and even on some consulting expeditions. How much he depended on her only their intimates knew.”

— Mary Grace Muse Adkins (1954), AAPG Memorial to Helen Plummer

At the same time, she had her own professional identity and was a well-regarded scientist in her own right:

“Her work in micropaleontology, especially on foraminifera, gave her an international reputation. . . . Her publications, both solid and extensive, on various foraminiferal subjects attest her serious interest and her painstaking, accurate work.”

— Mary Grace Muse Adkins (1954), AAPG Memorial to Helen Plummer

Helen died in 1951 and is buried in Mission Burial Park South, San Antonio, Texas.

Helen’s research materials

The gallery below shows some of Helen’s research materials, including samples, slides, and notes. Click on each image to view at full size with detailed figure caption.

Selected works by Helen Plummer

Plummer, H.J. 1926. Foraminifera of the Midway Formation in Texas. The University of Texas Bulletin 2644, 206 pp. Link

Plummer, H.J. 1930. Calcareous foraminifera in the Brownwood Shale near Bridgeport, Texas. The University of Texas Bulletin 3019, 81 pp.

Plummer, H.J. 1932. Ammobaculoides, a new foraminiferal genus. The American Midland Naturalist 13: 86–88. Link

Stories & photos about Helen Plummer from oil industry magazines

1918. Texas news and personal notes. The Oil Trade Journal 9(4): 117. Link

1918. Roxana Red Cross Unit report, Subsurface Division, and The Texas Division. Roxoleum 1(4): 8–9, 20–21, 30–31. Link

1918. Roxana Red Cross Unit report, Skewes-Plummer wedding. Roxoleum 1(5): 12–13, 18. Link

1918. The Texas Division. Roxoleum 1(6): 14–15. Link

1919. Petroleum geologists meet at Dallas. Roxoleum 2(3): 8. Link

Biographical references & further reading

Adkins, M.G.M. 1954. Memorial: Helen Jeanne Plummer (1891–1951). AAPG Bulletin 38: 1854–1857.

DeGolyer, E. 1947. Memorial: Frederick Byron Plummer (1886–1947). AAPG Bulletin 31: 1698–1702.

Gries, R. R. 2018. Anomalies—Pioneering women in petroleum geology: 1917–2017. Revised Edition. Steuben Press, Longmont, Colorado.

Harvey, J.D., and M.B. Ogilvie. 1999. Plummer, Helen Jeanne (Skewes). In M.B. Ogilvie and J.D. Harvey, eds., The biographical dictionary of women in science: pioneering lives from ancient times to the mid-20th century. Vol. 2, L–Z. Routledge, New York.

Marks, E. 1952. The Helen Jeanne Plummer Collections. The Micropaleontologist 6(4): 30–47. Link

Moore, R.C. 1951. Helen Jeanne Plummer, 1891–1951. The Micropaleontologist 5(2): 28–30. Link

Plummer, F.B. 1919. Preliminary paper on the stratigraphy of the Pennsylvanian formations of north-central Texas. AAPG Bulletin 3: 131–150.

Young, K. 2010. Plummer, Helen Jeanne. Handbook of Texas Online. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Link 

Video content

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