Benjamin Ellicott

Benjamin Ellicott (April 17, 1765 – December 10, 1827) was a surveyor, county judge, and member of the United States House of Representatives from the State of New York. He was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, on April 17, 1765, into the prominent Ellicott family, which produced several notable surveyors and public servants, including his brothers Andrew and Joseph Ellicott. His early life in Pennsylvania placed him in a milieu closely connected to the expanding frontiers of the early United States, and from a young age he became involved in the technical and practical work of surveying that would define much of his career.

By 1789, at approximately twenty-four years of age, Ellicott had begun to participate in major surveying projects of national and regional importance. That year he accompanied his brothers Andrew and Joseph to the British Province of Upper Canada to take part in a survey to determine the western boundary of the State of New York, a task that carried both legal and geopolitical significance in the post-Revolutionary period. His work in these early expeditions helped establish his reputation as a capable surveyor and draftsman at a time when accurate boundary surveys were essential to the orderly settlement and governance of new territories.

During the early 1790s, Ellicott was engaged in one of the most consequential surveying undertakings of the era. In 1791, 1792, and 1793, he assisted his brothers in the survey and mapping of the future City of Washington and in the survey of the original boundaries of the 100-square-mile District of Columbia. These surveys, commemorated in the boundary markers of the original District of Columbia, were central to the physical establishment of the nation’s new capital. In November and December 1792, he also led a survey in what is now Ontario County in western New York to help resolve a boundary dispute, resulting in the establishment of the Preemption Line, which clarified land claims and facilitated subsequent settlement and development in that region.

From 1794 to 1797, Ellicott was employed as a surveyor and draftsman for the Holland Land Company, a major landholding concern involved in the development of western territories. In this capacity he assisted his brother Joseph in the surveys of the company’s lands in western Pennsylvania, contributing to the systematic mapping and subdivision of large tracts for sale and settlement. By 1798 he had advanced to a position of greater responsibility, taking charge of the Holland Land Company’s surveys in western New York. His work during this period was integral to the opening and organization of large areas of the state’s interior, and it established his standing in the emerging communities of the Genesee region.

Ellicott’s professional prominence as a surveyor led naturally into judicial and civic responsibilities. In 1803, he became one of the first judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Genesee County, New York, sitting at Batavia. As a county judge, he played a role in administering justice and overseeing legal matters in a rapidly growing frontier county, at a time when local courts were central institutions in the establishment of civil order and property rights. His judicial service complemented his technical work by grounding him in the legal and governmental frameworks that underpinned land transactions and local governance.

As a member of the Republican Party—then commonly known as the Democratic-Republican Party—representing New York, Benjamin Ellicott entered national politics in the second decade of the nineteenth century. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican representative from New York’s 21st District to the Fifteenth Congress, serving a single term from March 4, 1817, to March 3, 1819. His service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, often associated with the “Era of Good Feelings,” when issues of national expansion, internal improvements, and post-war economic adjustment were prominent. During this term, he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents from western New York, contributing to the democratic process as part of the Republican majority in the House of Representatives.

After completing his one term in the House, Ellicott sought to continue his congressional career but was unsuccessful in his bid for election to the Seventeenth Congress in 1820. He was succeeded in representation of the district by Nathaniel Allen. Following this defeat, Ellicott retired from active public life. His withdrawal from politics marked the close of a career that had spanned technical, judicial, and legislative roles in the formative years of both New York State and the United States.

In 1826, Ellicott moved to Williamsville, New York, reflecting a final relocation within the region where he had long been professionally active. He died there on December 10, 1827. Initially interred in the graveyard in Williamsville, now known as Williamsville Cemetery, he was reinterred in 1849 at Batavia Cemetery in Batavia, New York, a community closely associated with his judicial and surveying work. His life and career, noted in historical references such as the Historical Marker Database, illustrate the intertwined roles of surveying, local justice, and national representation in the early republic.