HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Thomas Jefferys (c. 1719 – 1771), "Geographer to King
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
", was an
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
cartographer Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "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 im ...
who was the leading map supplier of his day.
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
, 2004.
He engraved and printed maps for government and other official bodies and produced a wide range of commercial maps and atlases, especially of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
.''Buckinghamshire in the 1760s and 1820s: The County Maps of Jefferys and Bryant'', Buckinghamshire Archaeological Society, 2000, . Information for this article has been taken from the introduction by Paul Laxton.


Early work

As "Geographer to the
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
", he produced ''A Plan of all the Houses, destroyed & damaged by the Great Fire, which began in Exchange Alley Cornhill, on Friday March 25, 1748''. He produced ''The Small English Atlas'' with
Thomas Kitchin Thomas Kitchin (also Kitchen; 1718–1784) was an English engraver and cartographer, who became hydrographer to the king. He was also a writer, who wrote about the history of the West Indies. Life He was born in Southwark, and was apprentice ...
, and he engraved plans of towns in the
English Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
.


Maps of North America

In 1754, Jefferys published a ''Map of the Most Inhabited Part of Virginia'' which had been surveyed by
Joshua Fry Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
and
Peter Jefferson Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...
in 1751. The next year he published a map of New England surveyed by John Green, and in 1768 he published ''A General Topography of North America and the West Indies'' in association with
Robert Sayer The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...
. In 1775, after his death, collections of his maps were published by Sayer as ''The American Atlas'' and ''The West-India Atlas''. ''The American Atlas'' was reissued in 1776, expanded in response to growing hostilities between the British and the Americans; it contains maps by
Joshua Fry Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
,
Peter Jefferson Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...
, Lewis Evans, and others. In 1754, Jefferys took a robust and public stance in the controversy with the French on the boundary of
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...
and
Acadia Acadia (french: link=no, Acadie) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. During much of the 17th and early ...
, which arose in the time and context of
Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Briti ...
, which is commonly held to have begun in 1749 and ended with the
expulsion of the Acadians The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...
in 1755. Jefferys posthumously lent his name in 1776 to ''The American Atlas: Or, A Geographical Description Of The Whole Continent Of America''. It contains works by, amongst others,
Joshua Fry Colonel Joshua Fry (1699–1754) was an English-born American adventurer who became a professor, then real estate investor and local official in the colony of Virginia. Although he served several terms in the House of Burgesses, he may be best kn ...
and
Peter Jefferson Peter Jefferson (February 29, 1708 – August 17, 1757) was a planter, cartographer and politician in colonial Virginia best known for being the father of the third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. The "Fry-Jefferson Map", creat ...
.


Maps of English counties

Jefferys commissioned surveys and published maps of several English
counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
. These were large-scale maps with several sheets for each county; in the case of Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire the scale was two inches to one mile (1:31680). *
Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
, surveyed 1765 by Scots cartographer
John Ainslie A plaque in Castlegate in Jedburgh John Ainslie (22 April 1745 – 29 February 1828) was a Scottish surveyor and cartographer. Life Ainslie was born in Jedburgh, the youngest son of John Ainslie, a druggist, Writer to the Signet and burgess of ...
, published 1765, reprinted 1983 Thomas Jefferys, ''The County of Bedford'', reprinted by Bedfordshire Historical Record Society, 1983. Introduction by Betty Chambers. *
Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popul ...
, surveyed 1766, published 1768 *
Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...
, surveyed 1766-67, published (by Andrew Dury) 1767 *
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly About North East E ...
, published 1768 *
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
, surveyed 1766-68 by John Ainslie, published 1770, reprinted 2000 * Westmoreland, surveyed 1768, published 1770 *
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
, surveyed 1767-70 by John Ainslie, published 1771-72 *
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, surveyed 1770-71, published 1774 *
Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
, survey (originally by Thomas Eyre) revised 1771, published 1779 After the death of Jefferys, these maps were re-issued by other map publishers such as
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 t ...
.


See also

*
Sea of the West The Sea of the West, or ''Mer de l'Ouest'', was a geographic misconception of an inland sea in the Pacific Northwest that appeared on many maps of the 18th century. The depiction was particularly common on French maps. The sea was supposed to be co ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferys, Thomas 1719 births 1771 deaths English cartographers 18th-century geographers 18th-century English people 18th-century cartographers