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Benjamin Ellicott

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Benjamin Ellicott
An portrait illustration of Benjamin Ellicott
Ellicott c. 1822
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 21st district
In office
1817–1819
Serving with John C. Spencer
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born(1765-04-17)April 17, 1765
Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA
DiedDecember 10, 1827(1827-12-10) (aged 62)
Williamsville, New York, USA
Resting placeWilliamsville Cemetery

Benjamin Ellicott (April 17, 1765 – December 10, 1827) was a surveyor, a county judge and a member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of New York.

Biography

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Ellicott was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1765.

In 1789, at approximately 24 years old, he accompanied his brothers Andrew and Joseph Ellicott in 1789 to the British Province of Upper Canada in a survey to determine the western boundary of the State of New York.[1]

During 1791, 1792 and 1793, he assisted his brothers in the survey and mapping of the future City of Washington and in the survey of the original boundaries of the 100 square miles (260 km2) District of Columbia, which were established in the Boundary Markers of the Original District of Columbia.[1][2]

During November–December 1792, he led a survey that helped settle a boundary dispute within the present Ontario County in Western New York, which was resolved with the establishment of the Preemption Line.[3] From 1794–1797, he was employed as a surveyor and draftsman for the Holland Land Company, assisting his brother Joseph in surveys of the company's lands in western Pennsylvania.[1][4] In 1798, he was in charge of the company's surveys in Western New York.[1] In 1803, he became one of the first judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Genesee County, New York in Batavia.[1]

Ellicott was elected as a Democratic-Republican representative from New York to the Fifteenth Congress (March 4, 1817 – March 3, 1819) for the 21st District.[1][5] He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1820 to the Seventeenth Congress and succeeded by Nathaniel Allen.[1][5]

Death

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He then retired from active life, and in 1826 moved to Williamsville, New York, where he died December 10, 1827.[1][5] He was interred at the graveyard in Williamsville (Williamsville Cemetery c. 1810).[5] He was re-interred at Batavia Cemetery in Batavia, New York, in 1849.[1][5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Benjamin Ellicott" in Bartlett, G. Hunter (1922). Frank H. Severance (ed.). "Andrew and Joseph Ellicott: The Plans of Washington City and the Village of Buffalo and Some of the Persons Concerned". Publications of the Buffalo Historical Society. 26. Buffalo, New York: Buffalo Historical Society: 33–36. Retrieved December 26, 2014. At Google Books.
  2. ^ (1) Tindall, William (1914). "IV. The First Board of Commissioners". Standard History of the City of Washington From a Study of the Original Sources. Knoxville, Tennessee: H. W. Crew and Company. p. 147. At Google Books.
    (2) Mathews, Catharine Van Cortlandt (1908). "Chapter IV: The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia, 1791–1793". Andrew Ellicott: His Life and Letters. Grafton Press. pp. 81–86. At Google Books.
    (3) Bedini, Silvio A. (Spring–Summer 1991). "The Survey of the Federal Territory: Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker". Washington History. 3 (1). Washington, D.C.: Historical Society of Washington, D.C.: 91. JSTOR 40072968.
  3. ^ (1) Henry, Marian S. (February 25, 2000). "The Phelps-Gorham Purchase". Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
    (2) Aldrich, Lewis Cass (1893). George S. Conover (ed.). History of Ontario County, New York. Syracuse, NY: D. Mason & Co. pp. 94–95. At Google Books.
  4. ^ (1) "Holland Land Company Maps". New York Heritage. 2013. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
    (2) Weissend, Patrick R. (2002). "The Life and Times of Joseph Ellicott" (PDF). Holland Land Office Museum. Batavia, New York: Holland Purchase Historical Society. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Ellicott, Benjamin, (1765 - 1827)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 21st congressional district
1817–1819
with John C. Spencer 		Succeeded by
[edit]
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