List of Surveyors for William & Mary

In the Royal Charter establishing William & Mary, Article XVI appoints the college to serve as the Surveyor-General of the Colony of Virginia and was given the right to examine and license surveyors, collect the license fees and fees for each survey performed. Any who wished a surveyor's license in the Colony or early State of Virginia had to obtain a license in order to conduct surveys in their assigned county. United States Presidents George Washington and alumnus Thomas Jefferson received licenses to survey in Virginia from William & Mary. After the American Revolution, the rate at which William & Mary granted surveying licenses began to decline drastically and ceased entirely by around 1810 (Surveying, University Archives Subject File Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.)

Material in the Special Collections Research Center

• The University Archives Subject File Collection contains reference files related to surveying at William & Mary as well as examples of surveyor's licenses.

List of Surveyors

The following is a list of surveyors arranged alphabetically by last name, including the year they received their license, and the counties in which they were allowed to survey. Surveyors for companies and counties that would later become states, such as areas in Kentucky and Ohio, are also included. This list was compiled from a variety of sources and cannot be considered exhaustive, and changes will be made as more information becomes available. Many of the William & Mary College records for this era were burned, these records are collected from various sources including extant surveyor's licenses, statements of fees collected from the college for survey's performed, surveys and letters. From Surveying--Lists of Surveyors, University Archives Subject File Collection, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.

External Links / Further Reading

From Williamsburg to Wills Creek the Fry Jefferson Map of Virginia, an Exhibition at the Library of Virginia, 2009.