[New Jersey surveyor’s 1792 manuscript notebook, likely kept by Ebenezer Tucker (1758–1845), for Land in Ocean County, New Jersey, near Little Egg Harbor and Manahawkin].

A charming and unique 1792 surveying artifact

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A rare surviving manuscript documenting the surveying of New Jersey Shore beach property in the 18th century.

Early American surveyors, per their professional creed, typically kept excellent records. Many survived to modern times. However, very few 18th century manuscripts appear on the market which actually document the surveying of what is now known to millions of America as “The Jersey Shore.”

The surveys described in this notebook were undertaken from mid-November to the beginning of December 1792 and are for parcels of land along the “Jersey shore” near Manehocking [Manahawkin], Barnagat [Barnegat], and Little Egg Harbour [Harbor].

Other places or roadways mentioned in the surveyor’s notes include Barnagat Old Road, Shore Road, Logg Creek, Old Hocking Cedar Swamp, Cedar Hummock, Old Whale Quarters, and Guning River. Houses are also used as reference points: “Bonet House,” “John Laywood’s House,” and “Carters House.”

The notebook also contains scattered journal entries, e.g.:

December 3d 1792. All the Commissioners mett att [sic] Richard Browns [sic] & . . . calculated the Distance on the Beach from the Testimony of Joseph Soper & others in Respect of the Old Whale Quarters which give the line on the Beach…

A reasonable attribution of this notebook’s authorship would be Ebenezer Tucker (1758–1845), an active surveyor, a native of Burlington County, who served in the Revolutionary War under George Washington and at the Battle of Long Island.¹

In 1791 Ebenezer Tucker would become collector at the Custom House at Little Egg Harbor, a port of entry for many importations into Gloucester County from Europe and the West Indies.

An active surveyor, a judge, a postmaster, Ebenezer Tucker was also a member of the United States Congress during its Nineteenth and Twentieth sessions. The town of Tuckerton, New Jersey is named in his honor.

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