A map of Philadelphia and parts adjacent - with a perspective view of the State-House LOC 98690000

Nicholas Scull II (1687–1761) was an American

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the ...

and

cartographer Cartography (; from , 'papyrus, sheet of paper, map'; and , 'write') is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an imagined reality) can ...

. He served as Surveyor General of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

from 1748 to 1761.

Early life

Nicholas Scull II was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. His Irish-born father,

Nicholas Scull, began laying out the path for the

Old York Road Old York Road, originally York Road, with reference to New York, is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. The road was built along the Raritan tribe, Raritan tribe's Naraticong Trail, als ...

in 1697, and Nicholas II assisted on this as a teen. Old York Road was the major route north through Philadelphia County, until the construction of North Broad Street in the 19th century. Nicholas II was about age 16 when his father died in 1703. He apprenticed under Pennsylvania's first Surveyor General,

Thomas Holme Thomas Holme (1624–1695) was the first surveyor general of the colonial-era Province of Pennsylvania. He laid out the first and original plan for the city of Philadelphia. Holme was a member of the Valiant Sixty, a group of early leaders and ...

, and also studied with surveyor Jacob Taylor. He was appointed the first Deputy Surveyor for Philadelphia County in 1719. Scull was one of the twelve original members of '' The Junto'', "a club for mutual improvement" founded by

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...

in Autumn 1727. Franklin described him as "Nicholas Scull, a surveyor, afterward surveyor-general, who loved books and sometimes made a few verses,"''Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin'' (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1921), pp. 62-6

/ref> and noted that Scull was fluent in the local Delaware languages, Lenape language.

Career

In 1733, Scull was appointed Deputy Surveyor for Bucks and

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

counties. His work included surveying the Schuylkill and

Lehigh River The Lehigh River () is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in eastern Pennsylvania. The river flows in a generally southward ...

s. He handled

land dispute A territorial dispute or boundary dispute is a disagreement over the possession or control of territories (land, water or airspace) between two or more political entities. Context and definitions Territorial disputes are often related to the pos ...

s in the

Delaware Water Gap The Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Wa ...

region between Dutch, French and early Pennsylvania settlers. He accompanied Surveyor General Benjamin Eastburn on the notorious Walking Purchase of 1737, a "land swindle,""Walking-Purchase" from ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
/ref> through which the Penn family claimed an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,860 km²). Eastburn later hired Scull's son Edward as a surveyor. Scull ran for

Philadelphia County Philadelphia County is the most populous of the 67 counties of Pennsylvania and the 24th-most populous county in the nation. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,603,797. It is coextensive with Philadelphia, the nation's ...

sheriff in 1744, and won. He served as sheriff until 1746, when he was asked to replace William Parsons as Surveyor General. Scull was formally appointed Surveyor General in 1748, and Edward Scull was appointed to the father's former position as Deputy Surveyor of Philadelphia and Bucks Counties. As Surveyor General, Scull published multiple maps of the Philadelphia region, working at times with his wife's relative, George Heap (1715-1752). Heap's sketches for a prospect of Philadelphia were inspired by William Burgis, who created prospects of the cities of New York and Boston. Following Heap's premature death, Scull completed the Philadelphia prospect. Engraved and printed by

Gerard Vandergucht Gerard Vandergucht (or van der Gucht) (1696 or 1697 – 18 March 1776) was an English engraver and art dealer. Biography Vandergucht, was born in London, the elder son of the Flemish engraver Michael Vandergucht. He was taught engraving by hi ...

in London in 1754, ''An East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia'' was printed from four copper plates. The four sheets could be trimmed and combined into a single image, that measured by .Martin P. Snyder, ''City of Independence: Views of Philadelphia before 1800'' (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975), pp. 42-47.

Personal life

Nicholas Scull II married Abigail Heap in 1708. Together they had a daughter, Mary; and three sons: Edward, John, and Nicholas III, who became surveyors. His daughter Mary married Captain Robert Callender, a fur trader in

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census ...

."Col. Robert Callender," The Hopkin Thomas Project, 7 May 2020
/ref> Scull died in 1761, and was buried in

Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania Whitemarsh Township is a home-rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It retains its former classification of " Township" in its official name despite being a home rule municipality. The population was 19,707 at the ...

Notable works

*''A Map of Philadelphia and Parts Adjacent, 1752, by Nicolas Scull and George Heap, first edition'', 1752,

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

**Scull & Heap's 1752 map of

was adapted and republished by

William Faden William Faden (1749–1836) was an English cartographer and a publisher of maps. He was the royal geographer to King George III. He replaced Thomas Jefferys in that role. The title of "geographer to the king" was given to various people in ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in 1777, during the American Revolution. *''An East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia; taken by George Heap from the Jersey Shore; under the direction of Nicholas Scull, Surveyor General of the Province of Pennsylvania'' (1754) *''To the Honourable Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, Esqrs., true & absolute proprietaries & Governours of the Province of Pennsylvania & counties of New-Castle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware this map of the improved part of the Province of Pennsylvania,'' 1759,

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scull, Nicholas, II 1687 births 1761 deaths Surveyors from the Thirteen Colonies American cartographers People from Philadelphia People from colonial Pennsylvania Sheriffs of Philadelphia