Simeon De Witt
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Simeon De Witt (December 25, 1756 – December 3, 1834) was Geographer and Surveyor General of the Continental Army during the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
and Surveyor General of the State of New York for the fifty years from 1784 until his death.


Life and career

De Witt was born in
Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...
,Koeppel (2015), p.78 one of fourteen children of
physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
Dr. Andries De Witt and Jannetje Vernooy De Witt, both of
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
ancestry.Simeon de Witt
'' New Netherland Institute'' He was the only graduate in the class of 1776 at Queens College – now Rutgers College of
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...
– in New Brunswick, New Jersey. After the capture of New Brunswick by the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
during the war, De Witt fled to
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where he joined the Revolutionary Army. In June 1778, having been trained as a surveyor by
James Clinton Major General James Clinton (August 9, 1736 – September 22, 1812) was an American Revolutionary War officer who, with John Sullivan, led in 1779 the Sullivan Expedition in what is now western New York to attack British-allied Seneca and ...
, the husband of De Witt's Aunt Mary, De Witt was appointed as assistant to the Geographer and Surveyor of the Army, Colonel Robert Erskine, and contributed to a number of historically significant maps. After Erskine's death in 1780, De Witt was appointed to his post. After the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, De Witt attempted, but failed, to get the Continental Congress interested in a national mapping project. De Witt was appointed New York State Surveyor General in 1784, New York being one of the few states which had such an office. De Witt died 50 years later still holding that position, having been re-appointed and re-elected several times. Although he was a
first cousin Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
of DeWitt Clinton – the most powerful politician in the state, and both the Mayor of New York City and a State Senator – and was a Democratic-Republican, De Witt was never removed from office. Both Federalists and
Bucktails The Bucktails (1818–1826) were the faction of the Democratic-Republican Party in New York State opposed to Governor DeWitt Clinton. It was influenced by the Tammany Society. The name derives from a Tammany insignia, a deer's tail worn in the ha ...
recognized his outstanding qualification for the office. De Witt was elected to the
American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...
in 1787. In 1796,
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
favored De Witt to become the Surveyor General of the United States, but De Witt turned down the nomination. Washington wrote to
Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
about De Witt "I can assure you, he is extremely modest, sensible, sober, discreet, and deserving of favors. He is esteemed a very good mathematician," but despite this praise, none of De Witt's various proposals gained traction during Jefferson's presidency, and De Witt had nothing to do with the Land Ordinance of 1785, despite what some sources claim. De Witt was appointed in 1807 by the state legislature, at the request of the New York City Common Council, to a three-man commission which was to determine how the city's future streets would be laid out. Frustrated by opposition from landowners, who wanted to determine for themselves where streets would go as they developed their properties, and interference from various political factions, the Council had called on the state for assistance. The Commission was given "exclusive power to lay out streets, roads, and public squares, of such width, extent, and direction, as to them shall seem most conducive to public good, and to shut up, or direct to be shut up, any streets or parts thereof which have been heretofore laid out... utnot accepted by the Common Council."Commissioners' Plan of 1811 The Commissioners' Plan of 1811 was the original design for the streets of Manhattan above Houston Street and below 155th Street, which put in place the rectangular grid plan of streets and lots that has defined Manhattan on its march uptown ...
, which laid out Manhattan's streets above 14th Street – and to a certain extent between 14th and
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
Streets – in a regular rectilinear gridiron pattern, which has garnered both praise and intense criticism ever since it was presented to the public. Ironically, considering the massive effect on Manhattan of the Commissioners' Plan, De Witt himself did not much like New York City. He never took up residence there, and seems to have held his time there to a minimum. In addition to his work on New York City, De Witt laid out rectilinear street grids in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
;
Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named ...
, of which he is considered one of the founders; and on a number of other developments of state-owned land.Koeppel (2015), p.79 From 1810 to 1816, De Witt was also a member of the first Erie Canal Commission, a project dear to the heart of his cousin, De Witt Clinton. He ordered the making of surveys which would prove essential for the eventual building of the canal. As well as being Surveyor General of New York, from 1829 until his death in 1834, De Witt was the Chancellor of the University of the State of New York and thus the head of the
Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual c ...
; he had been a Regent since 1798. The Board of Regents is the governing body for the
University of the State of New York The University of the State of New York (USNY, ) is the state of New York's governmental umbrella organization for both public and private institutions in New York State. The "university" is not an educational institution: it is, in fact, a lic ...
– not to be confused with the State University of New York – which regulates many public and private institutions in New York State, licensing, accrediting and setting standards for schools operating in New York State, from pre-kindergarten through professional and
graduate school Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...
, as well as for the practice of a wide variety of professions. De Witt was often given credit for giving Classical
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and Roman names to the twenty-eight
central New York Military Tract The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of bounty land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War. Establishment T ...
townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, C ...
that his office mapped after the war, to be given to veterans in payment for their military service. More recently, credit has been given to his clerk Robert Harpur, apparently a reader of classical literature. De Witt did not leave much in the way of writings. He wrote a treatise published in 1813 on perspective drawing, and one in 1819 which argued for the establishment of a state agricultural college, and also had some letters published on scientific topics.


New York State map

In 1802, De Witt produced a detailed map of the state of New York, which was then engraved by Gideon Fairman. The map is said by historian Gerard Koeppel to have been "meticulously drawn" and to have "set a standard for American cartography; it is still considered 'the most important map ever made of the Empire State.'"Koeppel (2015), p.79, quoting The map shows New York state to be primarily uninhabited, at least as far as white settler go: the map does not indicate Native American encampments or lodges.


Personal life

De Witt was almost tall, and was described by his son as having "a noble, serious face, resembling in some respects that of Genl Washington." He was a devout Christian. De Witt was married three times. In 1789, he married Elizabeth Lynott (1767–1793), the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Van Valkenburgh Lynott, and they had two children. In 1799, he married Jane Varick Hardenbergh (d. 1808), the widow of Abraham Hardenbergh (1756-1794), and the sister of
Richard Varick Richard Varick (March 15, 1753 – July 30, 1831) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who has been referred to as "The Forgotten Founding Father." A major figure in the development of post-Independence New York City and Stat ...
, the longtime mayor of New York City. Their son, Richard Varick De Witt, became a prominent civil engineer. Later, Simeon married Susan Linn in October 1810. Linn was the daughter of the theologian William Linn. The Linns were a literary family: Susan wrote fiction and
poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...
, her brother John Blair Linn was a poet, and her sister, Elizabeth, married Charles Brockden Brown, who wrote novels. De Witt owned a considerable amount of land in the
Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York, in the United States. This region straddles the northern and transitional ...
area, and held four slaves at his residence in
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
, but by 1810 he had freed them, a common practice of the area. They continued to work in his household. De Witt died in Ithaca after having caught a very bad cold while traveling to his various properties in upstate New York. He was buried on his estate in Ithaca, but his remains were subsequently moved to
Albany Rural Cemetery The Albany Rural Cemetery was established October 7, 1844, in Colonie, New York, United States, just outside the city of Albany, New York. It is renowned as one of the most beautiful, pastoral cemeteries in the U.S., at over . Many historical A ...
.


Exhibitions and collections

On May 25, 2010 the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
National Museum of American History exhibited the oldest surviving Anglo-American star map, hand-drawn in 1780 by Simeon De Witt, in its Albert H. Small Documents Gallery. The map shows the stars visible from De Witt's post in New Jersey. Drawing such a map, as De Witt himself later said, fostered an appreciation of "the ever shifting scenery of the skies and all the gorgeous drapery of heaven." During the Revolutionary War, when cut off from trade with Europe, colonists had to make their own maps; De Witt assisted military geographer and surveyor general
Robert Erskine Robert Erskine (1735–1780) was a Scottish inventor and engineer who came to the British colonial Province of New Jersey in 1771 to run the ironworks at Ringwood, New Jersey. He subsequently became sympathetic to the movement for independen ...
in drawing the maps needed by
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
. Also on view are De Witt's drawing instruments and examples of European star maps and astrolabes. The exhibition closed on December 5, 2010. An existing online exhibition offers views of the star map and images of objects in the exhibition.


Portfolio samples

The following map sections were drawn by, or under the direction of, Simeon De Witt. The originals were not colored as these are. File:Simeon DeWitt Central NY Military Tract c.1792.png,
Central New York Military Tract The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of bounty land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War. Establishment T ...
, File:Simeon DeWitt Twenty Townships c.1792.png, Twenty Townships, File:Simeon DeWitt Otsego County NY c.1792.png,
Otsego County, New York Otsego County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 58,524. The county seat is Cooperstown. The name ''Otsego'' is from a Mohawk or Oneida word meaning "place of the rock." History In 1 ...
, File:George Croghan's Otsego Patents.png,
George Croghan George Croghan (c. 1718 – August 31, 1782) was an Irish-born fur trader in the Ohio Country of North America (current United States) who became a key early figure in the region. In 1746 he was appointed to the Onondaga Council, the governin ...
's Otsego Patents, File:DeWittmapofAlbany1790.jpg, Albany, New York 1790


References

Notes Bibliography * Further reading * * *


External links


1802 Map of Central New York


on the
New York State Museum The New York State Museum is a research-backed institution in Albany, New York, United States. It is located on Madison Avenue, attached to the south side of the Empire State Plaza, facing onto the plaza and towards the New York State Capitol ...
website.
''Franklin and his Friends''



Department of the Geographer to the Army Reenacting Unit, Brigade of the American Revolution


at Christ Church Cemetery, Manlius

at Mr. Jumbo {{DEFAULTSORT:De Witt, Simeon 1756 births 1834 deaths People from Wawarsing, New York Military personnel from Albany, New York American cartographers American people of Dutch descent Rutgers University alumni Continental Army officers from New York (state) Erie Canal Commissioners New York State Engineers and Surveyors People from Ithaca, New York New York (state) Democratic-Republicans Central New York People of the Province of New York Clinton family of New York Members of the American Philosophical Society De Witt family