Joseph Ellicott

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Joseph Ellicott

Joseph Ellicott (born November 1, 1760 in Buckingham Township , Province of Pennsylvania , † August 19, 1826 in New York City ) was an American geodesist , city ​​planner , real estate agent, lawyer and politician.

Life

Joseph Ellicott was born in Bucks County in what is now the state of Pennsylvania . He was one of nine children of the miller and clockmaker Joseph Ellicott (1732-1780) and his wife Judith Blaker (or Bleaker). The Quaker family lived in simple circumstances.

The geodesist Andrew Ellicott (1754-1820) and Congressman Benjamin Ellicott  (1765-1827) were his brothers. He wasn't married.

In the last years of his life he had serious psychological problems. His family placed him in a home in New York. There he hanged himself in 1826. Ellicott was first buried in New York. His body was later transferred to Batavia , New York.

Professional activity

The American government hired Joseph's brother Andrew Ellicott in 1790 to survey the federal territory on which the capital Washington was to be built. Joseph was Andrew's chief assistant at times. After completing the surveying work in Washington, Joseph Ellicott was commissioned to survey the Georgia border in accordance with the agreement with the Muskogee Indian tribe .

Holland Land Company

Ellicott then worked for the Holland Land Company . This consortium, founded by Dutch investors from Amsterdam , bought a considerable amount of land in the west of New York State in 1792 and 1793 (the so-called Holland Purchase ). The land was previously part of the so-called Phelps and Gorham Purchase . The seller was Robert Morris . In 1797, the Seneca renounced almost all of their rights to their home region in New York State in a treaty (known as the Treaty of Big Tree). Ellicott was an investor observer on this deal.

Ellicott was initially tasked with surveying some properties in western Pennsylvania. It also marked the border between New York and Pennsylvania to the west. After the extensive purchase in western New York, Ellicott was hired to survey this large area in 1797. He spent two years (1798-1800) surveying the new area and completed the work in October 1800.

General Agent Paolo Busti promoted Ellicott to Senior Real Estate Agent at Holland Land Company's headquarters in Batavia, New York, in 1800. From there, he oversaw sales in the region for 21 years. Ellicott personally signed many contracts.

In 1801 Ellicott designed the blueprint for Batavia and in 1804 that of Buffalo . He developed land to operate flour mills and founded communities.

Ellicott campaigned for the construction of a canal between the Hudson River and Lake Erie . In 1816 he was commissioned to oversee the construction of the canal. For health reasons , he resigned as Erie Canal Commissioner in 1818. At the initiative of Ellicott, around 400 km² for the project came from the Holland Land Company. The Erie Canal was completed in 1825. In 1821 Ellicott retired.

Joseph Ellicott Obelisk, Batavia Cemetery, April 2011

In his function as a real estate agent, Ellicott offered land on generous terms, he sold some farms at a discount of at least 25 cents. When some buyers could no longer afford to pay, he gave them a respite; as the buyers made progress, he sometimes waived interest payments entirely. Ellicott offered some properties free of charge if the buyers agreed to build a flour mill or a boarding house in return . In this way, he wanted to stimulate growth in the area. Years later, he became the scapegoat for those unhappy with the Holland Land Company.

Ellicott was credited with the decision by New York State to forego the acquisition of the Holland Land Company's unsold land. After giving up his work at Holland Land Company in 1821, he tried to finance the acquisition of these properties, but could not find any investors.

politics

Ellicott was in the 1804 presidential election in Electoral College for President Thomas Jefferson and George Clinton . In 1806 and 1807 he was the first judge of the Genesee County court .

Places named after Ellicott

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Rah Williams: Genealogy of Ellicott Family. September 27, 1998, archived from the original on February 1, 2013 ; accessed on May 1, 2017 .
  2. ^ The Holland Land Company and Joseph Ellicott. The History of Buffalo, New York, accessed May 1, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Ellicott, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American geodesist and city planner
DATE OF BIRTH November 1, 1760
PLACE OF BIRTH Buckingham Township , Pennsylvania Province
DATE OF DEATH August 19, 1826
Place of death New York City