Date:

1821

Title:

Map of Florida with insets of Mobile Bay, Perdido and Pensacola Bay and Espiritu Santo

Cartographer:

Darby, William (1775-1854) - surveyor; Tanner, Benjamin (1775-1845) - engraver and publisher

Summary:

This map accompanied William Darby's Memoir on the Geography and Natural and Civil History of Florida printed by T.H. Palmer of Philadelphia in 1821. The information was probably gained by studying the writings and maps of George Gould, Bernard Romans, William Stork, John Bartram and others. The notation states that it was published by Wm. Darby and B. Tanner in Philadelphia March 21, 1821, about one month after the ratification of the Adams-Onis Treaty by the U.S. under President Monroe.
William Darby was a surveyor who worked in the Louisiana Territory. John Melish used his surveys in his 1818 map of the United States, but did not give credit to Darby. The Melish map was important in the recognition of Spanish boundaries in the West that encouraged Spain to transfer Florida to the U.S. in 1819-1821. Darby's second wife, Elizabeth Tanner, was the sister of Henry Schenck Tanner, the Philadelphia engraver and publisher. Benjamin Tanner was Henry's older brother.

Note:

Darby's Memoir, reprint by the Florida Historical Society Press, Cocoa, Fl. 2005

Coverage Time:

1800s