David H. Burr
David H. Burr | |
---|---|
Born | August 1803 topographer |
Spouses | Susan Cottle Bush (m. 1828)Sophia Augustine Howell
(m. 1835) |
Children | 9 |
David Burr (1803–1875) was an American
Early life
David Burr was born in August 1803 in
Marriage and family
Married Susan Cottle Bush on September 29, 1828. They had three children.
Married Sophia Augustine Howell on August 4, 1835. They had six children.
Professional work
He started working as a surveyor for Simeon De Witt, surveying roads in New York. Areas of the state were being rapidly developed in relation to industrialization and increased trade from the Erie Canal. He published his first atlas in 1829, the Atlas of the State of New York, which was sponsored by the state government. This was the second atlas ever created for a state.[2]
In 1832 Burr became the official
Around 1838, Burr traveled to London to collaborate with John Arrowsmith.[1] [a] to create the American Atlas, which was published in 1839.[4]
After he returned, Burr was appointed as a draftsman for the
On January 9, 1852, the U.S. Senate resolved to employ a draughtsman to compile maps of the Federal Surveys that had been conducted.[8] Burr was appointed this position.[9] It was during this tenure that he put forth his last known published map: Map of the United States, 1854.[10]
Travels west
In 1853, Burr traveled to San Francisco.[2] How or when he arrived there, or whether he did do as part of his official duties is unclear, but his son Shields was born late in August 1853, indicating that he was in Washington D.C. until late in November 1852. He may have traveled to the Pacific Coast to prepare maps of the surveys that had been completed so far in California and the Washington and Oregon Territories. He left to return east in July 1853, possibly to be with his wife for the birth of their son. It appears that he tried to leave a few weeks earlier and got as far as Panama where he was turned back for some reason, caught the SS Pacific at port and returned to San Francisco on June 13[11] leaving 17 days later on July 1, 1853, crossing Central America at Nicaragua.[12]
He was appointed the Surveyor General of Utah in 1855[2][b] and he and his sons, David Augustus (David A.-age 16) and Eugene (age 17) traveled overland from St. Louis,[13][self-published source][c] arriving in Salt Lake City (SLC) in late June or early July. At some point, Burr's oldest son Frederick H. Burr joined them from Montana and was hired as Deputy Surveyor General,[14] and Eugene was the Chief Clerk.[15] Burr's last known map: Map of a survey of the Indian Reservation of Spanish Fork Cr., Utah Territory : showing its connection with the U.S. Survey of the Territory / by David A. [i.e. H.] Burr, Surveyor was drawn during this time. On August 30, 1856, Burr wrote to Thomas A. Hendricks, the Commissioner of the General Land Office, that one of his Deputy Surveyors had been badly beaten by a "
Notes
- ^ This reference states that Burr traveled to London in 1846 to create the atlas. Since it was published in 1839, the source's date is either off by at least eight years, or Burr traveled to London at a later date for another reason.
- Digger Indian" was a somewhat disparaging term for Native Americans living a hardscrabble existence in Great Basin Desertwho would "dig" for much of their food source.
- ^ The story in this blog has some inaccuracies. Eugene Burr died in a hunting accident at the age of 19 that occurred not in Utah, but in Maryland. David A.'s younger brother was Shields, who died off the coast of Mexico in 1883, possibly working with Albert Kimsey Owen.
References
- ^ OCLC 6940396.
- ^ a b c "David H. Burr, Mapmaker". VIPs in the Port of San Francisco. The Maritime Heritage Project.
- ^ Walker, James. "Cartography of Oregon, 1507–1848". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved May 23, 2013.
- .
- OCLC 20611080.
- OCLC 39108089 – via University of Washington LibrariesDigital Collections.
- OCLC 20611080.
- ISSN 1931-2822.
- OCLC 20611080.
- OCLC 813206265– via David Rumsey Map Collection.
- ^ "SS Pacific, Arrive San Francisco, June 13, 1853". Passengers Arriving at the Port of San Francisco. The Maritime Heritage Project.
- ^ "SS Sierra Nevada, Depart San Francisco, July 1, 1853". Passengers Arriving at the Port of San Francisco. The Maritime Heritage Project.
- ^ Deihl, Douglas (January 4, 2013). "Plains Indian Artifacts and an 1855 Journey on the Oregon Trail" – via Skinner Auctioneers.
- ISBN 9780160335044.
- OCLC 20611080.
- )
- ISBN 9780806134260.
- ^ Granitecountyhistory (March 2, 2013). "Fred H. Burr". Granite County History – via Blogspot.
- ^ Palmquist, Peter E. & Kailbourn, Thomas R. (2000). Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. pp. 139–40.
- ISBN 9780806144429.
- OCLC 84645882.
- OCLC 1118975.
External links
- Geographicus Archived September 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- Media related to David H. Burr at Wikimedia Commons