Simeon De Witt (December 25, 1756 – December 3, 1834) was Geographer and Surveyor General of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

during the American Revolution 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,Koeppel (2015), p.78 one of fourteen children of physician Dr. Andries De Witt and Jannetje Vernooy De Witt, both of Dutch 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 – in

New Brunswick, New Jersey New Brunswick is a city (New Jersey), city in and the county seat, seat of government of Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.British during the war, De Witt fled to New York City where he joined the Revolutionary Army. NYC-GRID-1811

In June 1778, having been trained as a surveyor by James Clinton, 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, De Witt attempted, but failed, to get the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...

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 of

DeWitt Clinton DeWitt Clinton (March 2, 1769February 11, 1828) was an American politician and naturalist. He served as a United States senator, as the mayor of New York City, and as the seventh governor of New York. In this last capacity, he was largely res ...

– the most powerful politician in the state, and both the

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and a

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– and was a Democratic-Republican, De Witt was never removed from office. Both

Federalists The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of d ...

and Bucktails recognized his outstanding qualification for the office. De Witt was elected to the American Philosophical Society 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 th ...

favored De Witt to become the Surveyor General of the United States, but De Witt turned down the nomination. Washington wrote to Thomas Jefferson 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 The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have ...

, 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, which laid out Manhattan's streets above 14th Street – and to a certain extent between 14th and Houston Streets – in a regular rectilinear

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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; Ithaca, New York, 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. Map of the State of New York, by Simeon De Witt, 1802

Map of the State of New York, by Simeon De Witt, 1802

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; he had been a Regent since 1798. The Board of Regents is the governing body for the University of the State of New York – not to be confused with the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...

– which regulates many public and private institutions in New York State, licensing, accrediting and setting standards for schools operating in New York State, from

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through professional and graduate school, as well as for the practice of a wide variety of professions. De Witt was often given credit for giving Classical Greek and Roman names to the twenty-eight central New York Military Tract townships 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, the longtime mayor of New York City. Their son, Richard Varick De Witt, became a prominent

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

. 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, her brother

John Blair Linn John Blair Linn (March 14, 1777August 30, 1804) was an American clergyman and poet. John Blair Linn was born in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, on March 14, 1777. William Linn, his father, was an academic administrator. Linn graduated from Columbi ...

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 area, and held four slaves at his residence in Albany, New York, 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.

Exhibitions and collections

On May 25, 2010 the Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and military history. Among the items on display is t ...

exhibited the oldest surviving Anglo-American star map, hand-drawn in 1780 by Simeon De Witt, in its

Albert H. Small Albert H. Small (October 15, 1925 - October 3, 2021) was a real estate developer and philanthropist. Early life and education Born to a Jewish family,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 in drawing the maps needed by

. 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, File:Simeon DeWitt Twenty Townships c.1792.png, Twenty Townships, File:Simeon DeWitt Otsego County NY c.1792.png, Otsego County, New York, File:George Croghan's Otsego Patents.png, George Croghan'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 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