Carey V. Hodgson – Major, United States Army

Coast & Geodetic Survey

From a contemporary account: May 1929

Major Carey V. Hodgson, hydrographic and geodetic engineer and assistant chief of the division of geodesy, and his son William, aged 10, were drowned while canoeing in Chesapeake Bay, near Annapolis, Maryland, on Sunday, May 19, 1929. A sudden squall, such as is common over the bay region, is supposed to have caused the tragedy, though no one seems to have seen the accident, owing to the rain and mist which accompanied the squall. Major Hodgson’s body was recovered on Wednesday, May 22, and he was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, May 25. At the time of this writing the body of his son is still missing.

Major Hodgson was born in Wilmington, Ohio, July 11, 1880. He was a graduate of Wilmington College, Ohio, and Haverford College, Pennsylvania, receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree from both of these institutions. He was married April 17, 1916, to Miss Edith Hockett, of Westboro, Ohio.

He entered the Coast and Geodetic Survey as an aid in the field service March 31, 1904, remaining in the service until his death, except between December 18, 1905, and October 20, 1906, when he was in private engineering work, and during the World War, when he was transferred to the Corps of Engineers, United States Army.

He was commissioned a Captain of Engineers on his transfer, and after training in this country and service with troops, went to France with the 29th Engineers and served overseas until the close of the war. While in France he was promoted to the rank of
Major. He returned to the Coast and Geodetic Survey and resumed his duties on March 9, 1919.

During his many years’ service in the Coast and Geodetic Survey, Major Hodgson was in hydrographic, topographic, and geodetic parties. He served in the Philippine Islands and had command of the RESEARCH, engaged in surveying those waters. He also served aboard ship in Alaska. He had charge of many geodetic parties engaged principally in triangulation, base measurement, and the astronomic determinations of latitude and longitude. In all branches of his field work he was most efficient and showed splendid executive and technical ability.

In 1920 Major Hodgson was appointed assistant chief of the division of geodesy and served in this capacity until his death. He made a notable record in this position, and at the same time took an active interest in outside engineering lines. He had been
secretary of the executive committee of the division of surveying and mapping of the American Society of Civil Engineers since its organization in 1926. He was a member and director of the Society of American Military Engineers, a member of the Washington Society of Civil Engineers, and for several years a director in the latter society. He had a broad grasp of all surveying and mapping activities and of their relation and importance to engineering and industrial developments.

In addition to the above organizations, Major Hodgson was a member of the American Geographical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the Philosophical Society of Washington, the Cosmos Club, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

He was the author of a number of reports and manuals of the Coast and Geodetic Survey dealing with geodetic subjects and of papers on surveying and mapping subjects which appeared in technical journals.

Due to his universally recognized ability as an engineer, his writings, and his activities in engineering societies, Major Hodgson was one of the most widely known members of the Coast and Geodetic Survey. In addition to his high professional qualifications, he possessed a personality and character that impressed, most favorably, every one with whom he came in contact. The respect and affection in which he was held were attested by the many telegrams and letters received at the offices of the survey expressing sorrow at his death. No member of the Coast and Geodetic Survey has ever been held in higher esteem by his coworkers than was Major Hodgson.

HODGSON, CAREY V
MAJOR 2ND BN 104 ENGRS 29 DIV
DATE OF DEATH: 05/19/1929
BURIED AT: SECTION 7  SITE 8229
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard