Douglas
County Surveyor's
Office PLS Corner and Section Subdivision Application
|
John
Abercrombie was a proficient and popular County Surveyor for
Douglas County, Minnesota. He was considered a cultured gentleman
and one of the leading citizens of Alexandria. Mr. Abercrombie
was born at Bannockburn, Stirlingshire, Scotland, on July 7,
1844. His father was a descendant of the historic family of
that name, who were heroes in many a hard fought battle for
the British crown. He had the benefit of a good education attending
Andersonian College, near Glasgow, and afterward to the schools
of design in that city, and there became master of technical
drawing. He soon afterward found employment with J. & G.
Thompson, the extensive marine engineers of Glasgow, and then
worked several months at the Hyde Park Locomotive Works, also
in Glasgow. His desire was to become thoroughly proficient as
a civil engineer, which embraced surveying and mechanical drawing.
He qualified himself with attendance at the Governmental School
of Military Engineering at Chatham, England. For eleven years
thereafter he was employed in these duties, in the pursuit of
which he traveled considerably over England and the northern
part of Ireland. In 1871 he came to America, landing at New
York, and he found employment with Mr. McComb, at Newark, New
Jersey, who was making surveys of the towns of East and West
Orange, New Jersey, and he continued with this firm nearly five
years. He came to Alexandria in 1875 and continued the line
of work making surveys for the Northern Pacific Railroad Company,
the Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railroad, and the Little
Falls & Dakota Railroad. He was elected County Surveyor
of Douglas County in 1878 and served various times over the
next 40 years. |
