William Bridges (1771 - July 10, 1814) was a surveyor and cartographer active in New York City early in the 19th century. Bridges was born in England. He must have arrived in the United States between 1805 and 1806. In 1806 he is advertising his services as a tutor in architectural drawing for young ladies and gentlemen. Bridges was a Federalist and was accused of election fraud when he attempted to force others to vote for his candidates. In cartographic spheres, Bridges is best known for his publication of New York City's grid structure in his important 1811 Commissioner's Plan of New York. The Commissioner's Plan is considered to be 'the single most important document in New York City's development' (Augustyn & Cohen). Unfortunately Bridges had little to do with the actual construction of the Commissioner's plan having stolen credit for the work from the actual surveyor, John Randel Jr. (1787 - 1865). Although Randel is credited for the Commissioner's Plan, it was Bridges who profited on the original issue and successfully held the copyright. In 1807, Bridges also issued an edition of the Mangin-Goerck Plan of New York City, attaching his own name to it as the 'Bridges Plan', and publishing it in a picture guide to New York. He died in 1814, shortly after publishing his version of the Commissioner's Plan, and is buried in St. Paul's Churchyard, Manhattan. More by this mapmaker...

Peter Maverick (October 22, 1780 – June 7, 1831) was a New York City engraver active in the early part of the 19th century. Peter Maverick is best known engraving several seminal maps of New York City, including the Mangin-Goerck plan of 1803, the Bridges Plan of 1807, and Commissioner's Plan of 1811. Maverick mastered engraving under the tutelage of his father, Peter Rushton Maverick (1755 – 1811), a well known New York engraver in his own right. He was active as an engraver from roughly 1802, when he married Mary Griffin and graduated from his apprenticeship, to 1817. Maverick took his own apprentice, Asher Brown Durand, from 1812 to 1817. Once Durand graduated form his apprenticeship, five years later, he and Maverick established a partnership which lasted until about 1820. Maverick's first shop was located at 68 Beekman Street, New York. He later recoated to Frankfort Street and then to successive locations on Nassau Street. Peter Maverick died of a heart attack on June 7th of 1831. Learn More...

Joseph-Francois Mangin (June 10, 1758 - 1818) was an architect, city surveyor, and civil engineer active in New York during the late 18th and early 19th century. Mangin was born in Vosages, France, the son of Jean-Baptiste François Mangin, the king's surgeon. He went to both high school and University in Nancy, graduating in 1781. He apprenticed under Ange-Jacques Gabriel in the design of the Place de la Concorde, Paris. He then traveled to the French colony of Saint Domingue (Haiti), presumably to make his fortune, but was force to flee in 1793 because of the 1792 Haitian Revolution (1792 - 1796). By this time the French Revolution was well underway, Mangin's family, royalists all, were arrested and executed at the guillotine. Mangin came to New York city in 1786 as a refugee, but quickly acquired the patronage of Alexander Hamilton, and was admitted as a Freeman of New York on May 9, 1796. He submitted several projects to the Common Council of New York, including a recommendation to drain the Collect Pond and various improvements to the port facilities. In 1797, he was commissioned, along with fellow surveyor Casimir Goerck, to make a large scale plan of New York City - the first since American independence. He presented the plan to the Common Council in 1801. While the council initially approved of the plan, it was dismissed in 1803 due to anti-Hamilton political maneuvering. Nonetheless, the Mangin-Goerck Plan, which proposed landfill work and a new street grid, was highly influential. Mangin is also today credited with the principal design of New York's first City Hall although fellow designer, John McComb unilaterally denied Mangin's claims in an attempt to steal credit for the work. Mangin remained favorite with the Common Council and was commissioned to work on the 1811 Commissioner's Plan of New York City, a truly meritorious work that laid out the permanent street grid for most of Manhattan. Mangin left New York in 1818, presumably back to France, and is believe to have died there. Learn More...

Isaac Riley (November 29, 1770 - March 14, 1824) was a New York City based book publisher and shipping merchant active in the early 19th century. Riley was born in Berlin, Connecticut. The earliest substantial refence we have found regarding Riley is from 1802, when he is recorded as a shipping agent based at 63 Pine Street, New York. It is not clear when he established his shipping business, or how it was run, but one report notes he owned sixteen vessels, suggesting considerable wealth. From at least 1805 to 1806 he ran Isaac Riley and Company, at 1 City-Hotel, Broadway, a printer and seller of legal books. This firm was sold in December 1806 to Brisban and Brannan. From roughly 1807 he had a new bookshop and printing office at the intersection of Wall Street and William Street, from which he published travel narratives, maps, and guides, as well as imported popular books from Europe. Riley was considered a major publisher, for a time touted as the 'largest in New York with a stock worth at least $400,000.' Nonetheless, when the War of 1812 led to a major recession, he, like many other publishers, was forced into bankruptcy. He recovered and was in business again by 1815. Around 1820 he relocated to Philadelphia, establishing his business there. He also was heavily invested in Maine real estate, where he is reported to have owned 'Ketcham' and 'Riley' townships. He established a colony of settlers from Philadelphia in Maine in 1823, traveling there with them. He died in Maine one year later, in 1824. Learn More...