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Name a licensed land surveyor who lived here
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14 Replies
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After 1800
Well, it would have to be after 1800. John Adams was the first president to live in the White House.
I’m thinking Abraham Lincoln, stretching the definition of “licensed”.
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Thomas Jefferson resigned his commission
Well, Thomas Jefferson had received a commission as surveyor of Albemarle County, Virginia in 1773, but resigned it. I suppose it depends upon whether he remained a “licensed” surveyor thereafter. If so, he preceded Lincoln.
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Thomas Jefferson resigned his commission
Once a surveyor always a surveyor. Would Jefferson’s number have been a roman numeral?
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Thomas Jefferson resigned his commission
If you take away the licensed part, there are 6 presidents I know of who have done surveying.
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Thomas Jefferson resigned his commission
So, of the six, which lived at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave? And who were the others?
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Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover did some surveying.
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Herbert Hoover
And he was from Iowa.
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Washington was licensed as a surveyor (he was appointed surveyor for Culpeper County, Virginia), but of course he never lived in the White House.
Jefferson was also granted a license (he received a commission as surveyor of Albemarle County), and he DID occupy the White House, the second President to do so.
Hoover and Carter were engineers (mining and nuclear engineering, respectively), but not surveyors.
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HC didn’t say it was a president.
Other people live in the White House. Secret Service agents, some cleaning/cooking/maintenance staff, the President’s physician.
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Herbert Clark Hoover
Well, here’s what the Herbert Hoover bio has to say about his work experience:
>Various other jobs and summer employment in Arkansas and California with the United States Geological Survey helped Herbert earn his way through Stanford with no loans.
http://hoover.archives.gov/education/hooverbio.html
Apparently, anyone who has ever spent a summer working on a survey party is definitely a surveyor. At first, I was skeptical, too, but after hearing so many old guys stop me to tell me that they had been surveyors also for a summer, I had to conclude that I was wrong. :>
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My first thought
> HC didn’t say it was a president.
Actually, my first thought was that Andrew Ellicott or Benjamin Banneker had lived in the White House while it was under construction.
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And tha answer is ….
OK – the 6 who did surveying:
The big three – Washington, Lincoln & Jefferson
The minor ones:
Hoover – actually worked on field crews for 3 summers while in college and upon graduation his first choice of a career was to be a surveyor, but couldn’t find a job.
Zachary Taylor – did a limited amount of surveying in Tennessee. I need to do additional research on this, but I am confident he was a legitimate surveyor.
And finnally
Ronald Reagan – a summer job while in college – it’s in his bigraphy, but I need to do more research to get better details.
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A SLIGHT CORRECTION
A slight correction to my post just above – ZT surveyed in Kentucky.
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And tha answer is ….
I’m with Kent. Reagan et al who “held the stick” for a summer apparently qualify as legitimate surveyors in some peoples minds.
I guess everyone has heard those “I held the stick” stories while out on a survey.
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