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Surveyor's Compass

PeriodCirca 1770 - 1790

Place MadePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

MediumBrass, wood, leather

Dimensions11.5 × 5.25 in. (29.2 × 13.3 cm)

Signed"Edwd. Duffield / Philadelphia" is marked on the dial rim.

ClassificationsOccupational Equipment

Credit LineGift of William Meirs, 1947

Object number3194

DescriptionA surveyor's compass with a central dial, marked with N, S, E, and W as well as SE, NW, NE, and SW. A fleur-de-lis is engraved directly under N. The compass needle turns freely on the central pin. Two upright sight brackets are removeable and slip onto the base arms. A socket extends from below the dial, originally to fit atop a pole or stake. A separate lid with a glass liner fits over the dial. The entire compass fits into a carved wooden case with a thick black leather strap hinge.
Curatorial RemarksSurveyors were key figures in the literal measurement of the colonies, marking out property lines, roads, land grants, and patents. Most early surveyors were self-taught or privately instructed in their trade. A good deal of surveying was seasonal, and allowed farmers, doctors, and craftsmen a second profession. George Washington was a surveyor in early life. Surveyors also had the opportunity to explore new land and purchase choice properties in the course of their work. Two key instruments for every surveyor was a good surveying compass and a set of measuring chains. In 1620, mathematician Edmund Gunter invented a standardized surveying chain which became the preferred measuring tool of subsequent surveyors. Each "chain," or length, was made up of 100 links measuiring 66 feet in length. Eighty Gunter's chains comprised a mile. The standardization of such measuring equipment made for more accurate maps and property lines.NotesClock and instrument maker Edward Duffield was born in 1720. Although it is unknown with whom Duffield apprenticed, he opened his clockmaking shop in Philadelphia in 1740. His skill earned him a reputation as one of the finest craftsmen in the city. Duffield is thought to have made one of the first pocket watches in the colonies. He made and installed the first public clock in Philadelphia, hanging the two-faced timepiece outside a second-story window above his shop. Duffield was energetic and involved, serving on numerous committees, promoting education, and at one point donating his time, funds and management to the city's Charity School for Negro Children. He met Benjamin Franklin, and the two became lifelong friends. After Franklin founded the American Philosophical Society in 1743, Duffield became a charter member. In his will, Franklin left Duffield his weywiser, a carriage odometer. Duffield was known for his case clocks, working with such cabinetmakers as Benjamin Randolph, Thomas Affleck, and Jonathan Gostelowe to provide the elegant housing for his clockwork mechanisms. Duffield also crafted measuring instruments such as this surveyor's compass. Duffield continued to produce clocks and other timepieces up to his death in 1801 at the age of 81. In addition to his successful clockmaking business, Duffield also had extensive real estate holdings, including acreage in Burlington County, New Jersey. Donor William R. Meirs of Colts Neck gave the Duffield compass to the Association in 1947. Family history held that it was used by William Emley (1648 - 1704), who emigrated from England to New Jersey in 1677 and worked as a surveyor. Emley died before Duffield began his career as clock and instrument maker, so the compass may have been owned by his son and namesake William Emley (b. 1675). William Emley Jr. also worked as surveyor, and mapped the Stockton Tract, today the site of Princeton.

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