# Nicholas Scull II

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nicholas_Scull_II
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Nicholas_Scull_II.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Scull_II
> Source revision: 1339366224
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

thumb|200px|upright=1.4|''A Map of Philadelphia and Parts Adjacent, with a perspective view of the State-House'' (1752), by N. Scull and G. Heap
'''Nicholas Scull II''' (1687–1761) was an American [surveyor](/source/Surveying) and [cartographer](/source/cartographer). He served as [Surveyor General](/source/Surveyor_General) of [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania) from 1748 to 1761.<ref name=WDL1>{{cite web|title=A Plan of the City and Environs of Philadelphia, 1777|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/9563/|work=[Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress)|publisher=[World Digital Library](/source/World_Digital_Library)|accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref>

==Early life==
Nicholas Scull II was born in [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania](/source/Philadelphia%2C_Pennsylvania). His Irish-born father, [surveyor](/source/surveying) Nicholas Scull, began laying out the path for the [Old York Road](/source/Old_York_Road) in 1697, and Nicholas II assisted on this as a teen.<ref name=Bedini/> Old York Road was the major route north through Philadelphia County, until the construction of [North Broad Street](/source/Broad_Street_(Philadelphia)) in the 19th century. Nicholas II was about age 16 when his father died in 1703. He apprenticed under Pennsylvania's first Surveyor General, [Thomas Holme](/source/Thomas_Holme), and also studied with surveyor Jacob Taylor. He was appointed the first Deputy Surveyor for Philadelphia County in 1719.<ref name=Bedini/>

Scull was one of the twelve original members of ''[The Junto](/source/Junto_(club))'', "a club for mutual improvement" founded by [Benjamin Franklin](/source/Benjamin_Franklin) in Autumn 1727. Franklin described him as "Nicholas Scull, a surveyor, afterward surveyor-general, who loved books and sometimes made a few verses,"<ref>''Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin'' (New York: The MacMillan Company, 1921), pp. 62-63.[https://archive.org/details/autobiographybe11frangoog/page/n84/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater]</ref> and noted that Scull was fluent in the local [Lenape language](/source/Delaware_languages).<ref name=Parkhill/>

==Career==
[[Image:Walking purchase en.png|thumb|left|upright=1.3|Area acquired by the Penn Family under the [Walking Purchase](/source/Walking_Purchase) of 1737. The northern [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River) courses along northeast border between the colonial [Province of Pennsylvania](/source/Province_of_Pennsylvania) and [West New Jersey](/source/West_New_Jersey) in the [Province of New Jersey](/source/Province_of_New_Jersey) (''shaded'')]]
In 1733, Scull was appointed Deputy Surveyor for [Bucks](/source/Bucks_County%2C_Pennsylvania) and [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia_County%2C_Pennsylvania) counties. His work included surveying the [Schuylkill](/source/Schuylkill_River) and [Lehigh River](/source/Lehigh_River)s. He handled [land dispute](/source/land_dispute)s in the [Delaware Water Gap](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap) region between Dutch, French and early Pennsylvania settlers. He accompanied Surveyor General Benjamin Eastburn on the notorious [Walking Purchase of 1737](/source/Walking_Purchase),<ref name=Bedini/> a "land swindle,"<ref name=EB>[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9075949/Walking-Purchase "Walking-Purchase" from ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']</ref> through which the Penn family claimed an area of 1,200,000 acres (4,860&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>).<ref name=EB/> Eastburn later hired Scull's son Edward as a surveyor.<ref name=Bedini/>

Scull ran for [Philadelphia County](/source/Philadelphia_County%2C_Pennsylvania) sheriff in 1744, and won. He served as sheriff until 1746, when he was asked to replace William Parsons as Surveyor General.<ref name=Parkhill>{{cite web|last=Parkhill|first=S.M.|title=Despite Surveyor-general Post, Lasting Fame Eluded Scull|url=https://www.mcall.com/1998/08/04/despite-surveyor-general-post-lasting-fame-eluded-scull/|work=Two Rivers Heritage|publisher=The Morning Call|access-date=1 January 2014}}</ref> Scull was formally appointed Surveyor General in 1748, and Edward Scull was appointed to the father's former position as Deputy Surveyor of Philadelphia and Bucks Counties.<ref name=Bedini/>

As Surveyor General, Scull published multiple maps of the Philadelphia region, working at times with his wife's relative, George Heap ({{circa}}1715-1752).<ref name=Bedini/> Heap's sketches for a prospect of Philadelphia were inspired by William Burgis, who created prospects of the cities of New York and Boston.<ref name=Snyder/> Following Heap's premature death, Scull completed the Philadelphia prospect.<ref name=Bedini/> Engraved and printed by [Gerard Vandergucht](/source/Gerard_Vandergucht) in London in 1754, ''An East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia'' was printed from four copper plates.<ref name=Snyder/> The four sheets could be trimmed and combined into a single image, that measured {{cvt|20|in|cm|sortable=on}} by {{cvt|82|in|cm|sortable=on}}.<ref name=Snyder >Martin P. Snyder, ''City of Independence: Views of Philadelphia before 1800'' (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1975), pp. 42-47.</ref>

==Personal life==
150px|thumb|Coat of Arms of Nicholas Scull
Nicholas Scull II married Abigail Heap in 1708. Together they had a daughter, Mary; and three sons: Edward, John, and Nicholas III, who became surveyors.<ref name=Bedini>{{cite web|last=Bedini|first=Silvio A.|title=History Corner: The Scull Dynasty of Pennsylvania Surveyors|url=http://www.profsurv.com/magazine/article.aspx?i=753|publisher=Professional Surveyor Magazine|accessdate=1 January 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101113055/http://www.profsurv.com/magazine/article.aspx?i=753|archivedate=1 January 2014}}</ref> His daughter Mary married [Captain Robert Callender](/source/Robert_Callender_(frontiersman)), a fur trader in [Carlisle, Pennsylvania](/source/Carlisle%2C_Pennsylvania).<ref name = "Hopkin">[https://thehopkinthomasproject.com/TheHopkinThomasProject/FamilyTies/BiographicalData/ps11/ps11_162.htm "Col. Robert Callender," The Hopkin Thomas Project, 7 May 2020]</ref>

Nicholas’s grandson was [William Scull](/source/William_Scull).

Scull died in 1761, and was buried in [Whitemarsh Township, Pennsylvania](/source/Whitemarsh_Township%2C_Pennsylvania).<ref name=Bedini/>

==Notable works==
{{multiple image
 | align     = right
 | direction = horizontal
 | image1    = S&H 1754 a.jpg
 | width1    = 160
 | caption1  = ''An East Prospect of the City''
 | image2    = S&H 1754 b.jpg
 | width2    = 159
 | caption2  = ''of Philadelphia'' (1754)
 | image3    = S&H 1754 c.jpg
 | width3    = 166
 | caption3  = 
 | image4    = S&H 1754 d.jpg
 | width4    = 159
 | caption4  = 
}}
*''A Map of Philadelphia and Parts Adjacent, 1752, by Nicolas Scull and George Heap, first edition'', 1752, [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania)<ref name=WPCH>{{cite web|title=1753 map of Philadelphia, by Nicholas Scull and George Heap, first edition|url=http://www.archives.upenn.edu/histy/features/wphila/maps/map1753scull_heap.html|work=Maps|publisher=West Philadelphia Community History Center|accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref>
**Scull & Heap's 1752 map of [Philadelphia](/source/Philadelphia) was adapted and republished by [William Faden](/source/William_Faden) in [London](/source/London) in 1777, during the American Revolution.<ref name=WDL1/>
*''An East Prospect of the City of Philadelphia; taken by George Heap from the Jersey Shore; under the direction of Nicholas Scull, Surveyor General of the Province of Pennsylvania'' (1754)
*''To the Honourable Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, Esqrs., true & absolute proprietaries & Governours of the Province of Pennsylvania & counties of New-Castle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware this map of the improved part of the Province of Pennsylvania,'' 1759, [Library of Congress](/source/Library_of_Congress)<ref name=LOC>{{cite web|title=To the Honourable Thomas Penn and Richard Penn, Esqrs., true & absolute proprietaries & Governours of the Province of Pennsylvania & counties of New-Castle, Kent & Sussex on Delaware this map of the improved part of the Province of Pennsylvania.|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/74692506|work=Map|publisher=Library of Congress|accessdate=1 January 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{commons category}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scull, Nicholas, II}}
Category:1687 births
Category:1761 deaths
Category:Surveyors from the Thirteen Colonies
Category:American cartographers
Category:People from Philadelphia
Category:People from colonial Pennsylvania
Category:Sheriffs of Philadelphia

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Nicholas Scull II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Scull_II) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Scull_II?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.