Samuel Holland (363)

Samuel Johannes Holland (1728–28 December 1801) was a military engineer, surveyor, politician, and a member of the American Philosophical Society, elected in 1775. Born in Nijmegen, Netherlands, Holland entered the Dutch Artillery in 1745, fighting in the War of Austrian Succession. By 1756 he had moved to England, received a commission as lieutenant in the Royal Americans, and surveyed in New York province. The accurate map he produced earned him a promotion to captain lieutenant (1757), and he began surveying and engineering while also fighting alongside Brigadier General James-Wolfe. Holland became a captain in 1759 and continued to serve under General Wolfe until he returned to his surveying duties. In 1764 he became surveyor general of the Northern District of North America, and his first assignment was to chart British holdings north of the Potomac River. Holland earned renown for his accuracy: fixing latitude and longitude using astronomical calculations, he divided territories with precisionHolland leveraged his surveys to take possession of land, which he then capitalized on by leasing it to the farmers who settled therein. By 1767 he became established in Quebec, sitting on committees regarding land, roads, and public works. In 1770 he began the massive undertaking of mapping the Atlantic Coastal Lands down to New York City. Using the latest astronomical instruments, he produced the first accurate map of New Hampshire (1770), served on the New York–New Jersey boundary commission (1769-1770), and settled a border dispute between New York and Pennsylvania (1774). From these endeavors he obtained thousands of acres in New Hampshire and Vermont, which he lost after rejecting offers to join the American revolutionaries and fleeing to England at the outbreak of war. He returned in 1776, serving under a Hessian commander. Two years later, he left to resume surveyor general duties back in Quebec, joining the legislative council there in 1779. He continued surveying Canadian lands until his health began to fail. He suffered from an attack of palsy in 1790, withdrew from public life, relinquished his surveyor general duties, and died in 1801.