Walter Lamb Nicholson (April 27, 1825 - April 13, 1895) was a topographer working with the United States Postal Service in the second half of the 19th century. Nicholson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he trained as a civil engineer. He emigrated to the United States in 1856, registered for the draft in the American Civil War (1861 - 1865) in 1863, and naturalized as U.S. Citizen in 1873. By 1860 he was working in Washington D.C. as a lithographer with the U.S. Coast Survey, where he introduced photolithographic technology. On July 15, 1861, he transitioned to the Postal Department, where he succeeded Henry A. Burr (1809 - 1863) as official 'Topographer'. He issued numerous important postal route maps from about 1866 to his retirement in 1887. His postal maps continued to be used and updated by subsequent Postal Topographers until about 1900. More by this mapmaker...

Paul Goepel (February 24, 1744 - June 17, 1913) was a clerk and draughtsman active with the Topographic Office of the United States Postal Service in Washington D.C. during the mid to late 19th century. Goepel was born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, Germany. He emigrated to the United States in August of 1863, settling in Washington D.C. Goepel was naturalized as a U.S. Citizen in 1868, while he was a student at Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (George Washington University). Shortly there after he began working with the United States Postal Service. He appears in city directories and Post Office records as a Clerk to about 1870, after which he is registered as a Topographical Draughtsman. Upon retirement he relocated to Hoboken, New Jersey and later New York City. His son, Carl Paul Goepel (1879 - 19??), was a Patent Counsel in the Washington D.C. Patent Office. Learn More...

David McClelland (1820 - 1899) was a Washington D.C. based copper plate engraver and publisher active from at least 1840 to about 1876. His work mainly consists of maps and other engraved documents for government publications, including maps for the Army Bureau of Topographical Engineers, Senate Reports, and General Land Office. In 1840, when he was just 19, McClelland was partnered with William Smith under the imprint of 'Smith and McClelland' with offices on Pennsylvania Avenue between 2nd and 3rd. The ordering of names in the imprint suggests that Smith was the senior partner, possibly the person who trained McClelland in engraving. While there is little evidence of Smith, there was an engraver of this name in Washington D.C. doing government engraving in the 1850s, and another living in Philadelphia. It is unclear if they are the same or different individuals. The partnership eventually dissolved, at which point Smith moved to Pennsylvania Avenue near 11h Street and McClellend to the Old Medical Collage at 10th and East Streets. McClelland is best known for his engraving of the important 1861 Albert Boschke map of Washington D.C. and the 1846 Topographical Engineers map of Florida. In 1863, during the American Civil War, McClelland had an altercation with the Federal Government War Department over the plates for the Boschke Map, which he owed in partnership with several others. The plates were ultimately seized without compensation for war use. After the war, McClelland appealed to Congress for restitution, which was finally granted in the 1890s. In the 1860s, McClelland published under the imprint of 'D. McClelland, Blanchard and Mohun' and 'D. McClelland, Blanchard and Mohun, Hugh b. Sweeny and Thomas Blagdon.' McClelland lived in Le Droit Park and is possibly responsible for that neighborhood being named as such. Learn More...