Existing comment:
Lincoln's Surveying Tools:
In late 1833, Abraham Lincoln was appointed deputy Sangamon County surveyor. The 24-year-old had no training but, as he remembered, "procured a compass and chain, studied Flint, and Gibson a little, and went at it." The part-time work, combined with his postmaster duties and other odd jobs, made it possible for the young man to "keep body and soul together."
For over three years Lincoln ranged across northwestern Sangamon County (today's Menard and southern Mason counties) mapping new roads, determining farm boundaries, and platting towns. He soon developed a reputation for honesty and accuracy, resulting in requests to arbitrate boundary disputes.
In 1834, the county sheriff seized and sold Lincoln's horse and surveying tools to help pay the debts of the failed store that Lincoln had owned with William F. Berry. A friend, James Short, purchased the surveying tools and returned them to Lincoln. |