Joseph Ellicott
| Joseph Ellicott | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
November 1, 1760 Bucks County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died |
August 19, 1826 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician |
| Known for | Laying out Batavia and Buffalo, New York; advocating Erie Canal |
Joseph Ellicott (November 1, 1760 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – August 19, 1826 in New York City) was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.
He was the son of Quaker miller Joseph Ellicott (1732–1780). Joseph's siblings included older brother Andrew Ellicott (1754–1820), a fellow surveyor, and younger brother Benjamin Ellicott (1765–1827), a U.S. Congressman.
In 1790, his brother Andrew Ellicott was hired by the federal government to survey the new federal district, where the new capital city of Washington was to be built. Joseph was Andrew's chief assistant during the latter part of the survey. Joseph Ellicott was subsequently sent to Georgia to survey the boundary line, established by treaty with the Creek tribe.
He was then engaged to survey some property in western Pennsylvania which has been purchased by a group of Dutch investors, who had formed the Holland Land Company. He also extended the New York - Pennsylvania border westward. When the company purchased a huge tract of western New York (that became known as The Holland Purchase), Ellicott was hired in 1797 and was sent to perform the monumental task of surveying it. Ellicott spent two years (1798–1800) living outdoors in summer and winter, laying out the townships of the new land in order to complete the Great Survey of the land in October 1800.
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