Maine Map-Makers and Their Maps: Osgood Carleton By Edgar Crosby Smith Sprague Journal of Maine History Vol. 11 MAY, 1914 No. I Maine Map-Makers and Their Maps I Osgood Carleton By Edgar Crosby Smith Osgood Carleton was the most celebrated map-maker of his time and the man who made the first map of Maine that had any claim to completeness and accuracy. He was born in Nottingham, New Hampshire, June 17, 1741. He was the eldest son of Jeremiah Carleton, who was the son of Joseph Carleton of Newbury, Massachusetts. Jeremiah moved from Newbury to Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, when a young man, and later to Nottingham, where Osgood was born. His mother was Eunice Taylor, and his grandmother was Abigail Osgood, whence his Christian name. Material from which to gather information regarding the early life of Mr. Carleton is very meager, and it is impossible to give anything like an extended and chronological sketch of his life. we learn from the Massachusetts Archives that he enlisted May 2, 1758, as a private and served seven months for the "Reduction of Canada; " he is especially mentioned. as being the son of Jeremiah Carleton. His residence is there given as Litchfield, and that of his father, Woburn. He served in the regiment of Colonel Eleazer Tyng, attached to the command of General Jeffry Amherst. He again enlisted January 1, 1760, and was a member of the company of Captain Joseph Newhall, in the regiment commanded by Colonel Jacob Bayley. The regiment was stationed at Louis- burg. He was discharged in December of that year. These enlistments and discharges do not go to show how long he was in the service, but simply establish the fact of his government service beyond any controversy. It is certain that he was connected with the army for a much longer period than is indicated by these dates. 4 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE, HiSTORY Being stationed at Louisburg brought him under the notice of 'Major General John Henry Bastide, who was director and engineer of the King's ordnance at Louisburg and Annapolis, and an eminent engineer. It was while here in Nova Scotia that Mr. Carleton's natural ability and aptitude for mathematics and engineering was first noticed and recognized, and he was made a member of the working force of the navigators and artillerists of the King's army and navy. It is said that he was a member of General Bastide's household, and was under his instruction while in the Provinces and on the high seas foi- a period of about five A-ears. Much wonderment has been expressed and speculation made as to where engineering and navigation was. Mr. Carleton's knowledge of acquired, but being the apt scholar that lie was, and the long service with General Bastide, seems a sufficient explanation. His military connections and service in the King's employ gave him a wide experience, not only in that which afterward he made his profession, but in the political affairs of the time, and it was a substitute for a liberal education. After leaving the armry he was for a time a surveyor of the Province of New Hampshire. -Notwithstanding his years of service with the British govern- ment and his close association with officers of the Royal army, and the many friendships that he had there formed, Osgood Carleton was a patriot, and responded to his country's call at the beginning of the War of the Revolution. At first he was in Captain John Wood's company, in the regiment commanded by Colonel Paul Dudley Sargent; he took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, where also was his brother David, who was killed. In 1776 lie was quartermaster of the Sixteenth Continental Infantry. Later, Janu- ary 1, 1777, he was promoted to a lieutenancy. He was not of robust enough constitution to stand the hardships of the long cam- paigns, and in the fail of 17 7 9 was transferred to the Corps of Invalids. After being attached to this division of the arm\- he was employed principally in carrying despatches between Boston and Philadelphia, and in transporting money for the use of the Continental Congress and the army. Not long after the close of the War of Independence lie established in Boston a school of instruction in navigation, MAINE MAP-MAKERS AND THEIR MAPS 5 mathematics and cartography, and for twenty-five years this was the leading school of its kind in this part of the country, if not in the whole country. He had pupils from all parts of New England. and as a teacher and map-maker he was in the foremost rank. Aside from his maps of Maine, of which I give in account below, he compiled maps of Massachusetts, one in 1798, and another in 1801, and a map of Boston in 1795. He published the American Navigator in 1801, and the South American Pilot in 1804. In 1810 he published his Practice of Arithmetic. rhe American Pilot, published by John Norman in 1791, was compiled under his supervision, and was a work that required a great amount of labor, being the first of its kind produced in this country upon which much reliance could be placed by mariners. For a number of years he published an almanac, the astronomical calculations of which were exact and valuable. As a map-maker Osgood Carleton was a leader in his time. The art of map making was in its infancy on this continent when lie eommenced his work. His instruments were crude, and accurate surveys of territory delineated were seldom made. Material for maps was gathered from different sources, widely separated, and made by many different persons, and to place them together to make one complete whole was a difficult undertaking. Yet lie succeeded. and his work still stands as a monument to his skill and untiring energy. He married Lydia Johnson of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The followings named children were born to them: Osgood, John and David. lie lived to attain the age of 75 years, and died it Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, in May or June, 1816, while there on a visit. His widow was granted a pension on account, of her husband's service in the Revolutionary War. The Carleton Maps These maps are famous, and on account of their making Osgood Carleton became so connected with the history of the district of Maine, that his name will always hold a prominent position on the roll of honor of our State. 6 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY I have consulted all the authorities that I could find in relation to the maps, and I discover the number of edition-, invariably given as four, 1795, 1798, 1799 and 1802, and all supposedly of the same size, but each edition corrected to date from the latest and, best sources of information. Mr. Williamson in his bibliography gives this item under title 5816: "An accurate map of the district of Maine, being a part of the commonwealth of Massachu- setts; compiled pursuant to an act of the general court from actual surveys of the several towns, etc. Taken by their order. By Osgood Carleton, Boston; published and sold by 0. Carleton and J. Norman. Sold also by William Norman, No. 75 Newbury street. (1795)." In a note he gives the size as fifty-four by thirty-nine, and says the same was published in other editions ill 1798, 1799 and 1802. Other authorities previous to Williamson have made the same statements. I believe these statements are errors in a measure, not in the number of editions. but in the size of the maps. I am satisfied from my researches relating to the matter that only two large maps of Maine, of the size indicated by Williamson, were ever published by Carleton, and as I continue I will give the reasons that to me seem conclusive. The first map of Maine published by Mr. Carleton, and one unknown to most collectors, is a very small one, ten and five-eighths by eight In size, bearing the inscription, "The District of Maine from the Latest Surveys. 0. Carleton, Delin." 'this map was made not earlier than 1789, as it shows the counties of Hancock and Washington which were incorporated that year, nor later that) 1795, as the Carleton map in Sullivan's history appeared then and showed many changes and improvements. I place the date of this map at 1789, or 1790, as considerable surveying of the lands in Maine was done as eaarly as 1791, and Mr. Carleton drew some plans of land surveyed in the last named year and this map sbows nothing of' these surveys as it undoubtedly Would have if it had been drawn later than 1791. The work is crude, not so much in its execution as in its lack of detail and shows that very little was known of the topography of the Territory. It is without doubt his first map of Maine. In 1795, Mr. Carleton prepared his map of Maine for Judge Sullivan's History of the District of Maine. This map was MAINE, MAP-MAKERS AND THEIR MAPS 7 sixteen by twenty in size, and I will not go into any details in relation to it as it is very well known, but will proceed to his more important work. No satisfactory or practical map of either Massachusetts or Maine having ever been published, the legislature of the common- wealth, in 1794, passed an act requiring all the towns to furnish plans of their boundaries with the end in view of preparing maps Ing of Massachusetts proper and the district of Maine, and satisfy a need that had become urgent. The plans were quite generally furnished, and the work of constructing the maps was intrusted to Osgood Carleton. The date when this map was completed and publisbed has always been given as 1795, but I am inclined to believe that this date has been confounded with that of the map in Sullivan's Maine. I will now give some of my reasons for coming to this conclusion. A large number of these maps were to be purchased by the State for distribution, and a contract was made with John Norman of' Boston, to engrave the plates. After the map was complete(], the legislature refused to accept the work on account of the many errors in engraving, and we find Mr. Norman petitioning the General Court for relief. Tbe General Court did not give Mr. Norman the contract again, but intrusted the work to B. & J. Loring of Boston, who employed J. Callender and S. Hill to do the engraving and this second map was completed in 1802. Only one edition of this large map could have been executed by Mr. Norman, as there would have been no call for a second edition, for the first could not be disposed of. Now as to the date of the Norman map. It must have been between 1795 and 1798, and I take the date to be 1798. In comparing the map with the one in Judge Sullivan's History, we find many alterations and corrections: e. g., the eastern boundarv of the State as it was then claimed is correct; beginning at the source of the St. Croix as fixed by the treaty of 1794. Although this treaty was made in 1794, the commission to fix and locate the particular river and the exact source thereof under the treaty, did not survey and locate the point until 1797. The Sullivan map of 1795 delineates the eastern boundary of the State about forty miles farther east than the Norman. By no change appearing in 8 SPRAGUE'S JOURNAL OF MAINE HISTORY the Sullivan map from what had always been claimed as the eastern boundary, it shows that Mr. Carleton did not attempt to make any change on this point in his maps until after the location of the source of the St. Croix had been fixed by the commissioners in 1797. In fact, this State always claimed to the eastern river until the dispute was settled by the commissioners, consequently would have executed no maps showing a different location. Another fact: In The Gazette published in Portland, by Eleazer A. Jenks, in the issue of November 5, 1798, is found an advertisement of the "Large maps of Maine and Massachusetts," then offered for sale in Portland, by Stephen Patten. This is the earliest date of the appearance of the advertisement and it is more than probable that notice of the maps would have been given is soon as tbey were read y for distribution as the call for a map of the district was urgent. The size of' this map was fifty-four by thirty-eight, and it was published by 0. Carleton and J. Norman, also sold by William Norman of 75 Newburv street. It is to be regretted that so great an undertaking resulted in failure. The next in order of the Carleton maps of Maine is a smaller one, twenty-four and one-fourth by nineteen and one-fourth in size, bearing the following inscription: "A New Map of the District of Maine, taken from the original map compiled by Osgood Carleton, Esq., from the actual surveys that were made by an act of the general court. With additions, corrections and improve- ments, Boston, published and sold by J. Not-man, engraver." It is plain from the inscription that this followed the original map, also that some alterations and corrections were made; and as Kennebec County, wbich was incorporated February 20, 1799, does not, appear on the map it must have been published before that date. It is very probable that when the map of 1798 had been condemned and rejected by the legislature, Mr. Norman engraved this smaller map, correcting some of the errors that appeared in the previous one, and attempted to retrieve something of his lost fortunes on account of his failure heretofore. This map was probably published immediately following the condemnation of his other work, and appeared the very last of 1798, or the first of 1799, and has been accredited to 1799. After the failure of Mr. Norman to engrave Mr. Carleton's MAINE MAP-MAKERS AND THEIR MAPS 9 map in a manner satisfactory to the legislature, the work of constructing maps of Maine and Massachusetts, as has been previously stated, was intrusted to the care of B. & J. Loring and the General Court appointed the Reverend Dr. Morse and Professor Webber, special agents of the commonwealth, to have the over- sight of the work. A new di-aft was made by Mr. Carleton, the engraving was done by Messrs. J. Callender and S. Hill and the vignettes, emblematical of agriculture, commerce, etc., were drawn by Mr. G. Graham. The completed maps were inspected by the Massachusetts Historical Society and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The greatest care and skill were extended in their execution, and the work was considered as good, if not the best produced in this country up to that time. The copyright on the maps was given by the legislature to the two above named institutions, as well as the copper plates on which they were engraved. The maps were advertised to be ready for delivery November 1, 1801, and possibly a few were delivered in the latter part of that year; but the imprint on the border is 1802. The size was fifty-four by thirty-eight, and they were gotten up in four styles; 1. on heavy paper; 2, cloth back; 3, cloth backed on rollers; 4, mounted on cloth and folded in cases. The 1802 map, with the possible exception of the one of 1795 in Sullivan's Maine, is the be known of the Carleton maps, and the most frequently seen, yet they are all rare. Society of American Wars The annual meeting of the State of Maine Commandery, Society of American Wars, was field in Portland January 14, 1914. Officers chosen were: Commander, Archie Lee Talbot, Lewiston; senior vice cmmander, Philip F. Turner, Portland; Junior vice commander, Frederick S. Vaill, Portland; recorder, George W. Beyer, Portland; treasurer, Edward W. Corey, Portland; registrar, William T. Cousens, Portland. Enjoy David C. Young PO Box 152 Danville, Maine 04223 courtesy of the Androscoggin Historical Society ************************************************* * * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. 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