John H. Dye facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John H. Dye
John H. Dye, from a 1912 publication.
Born	September 9, 1833 Kensington, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Died	April 8, 1906 Germantown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Spouse(s)	Emily deCamp Dye; Clarissa F. Dye (married 1872-1906)

John Henry Dye (born September 9, 1833 – died April 8, 1906) was an American civil engineer and surveyor. He worked in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His city map from 1869 was very important. He made it with a printer named Henry J. Toudy. People say it was a "major milestone" in mapping Philadelphia.

Early Life

John H. Dye was born in Kensington, Pennsylvania. His parents were William and Christiana Dye. He learned about civil engineering from his uncle, James P. Davis.

His Work

John Dye worked for the Chief Engineer of Philadelphia, Strickland Kneass. He even signed as a witness for Kneass's invention (a sewer valve) in 1861.

During the American Civil War, he was a lieutenant in the Union Army. After the war, in 1865, he got an important job. He was chosen to create the Registry Bureau for Philadelphia's Survey Department. He managed this bureau as its registrar until 1896.

In 1880, John Dye wrote a funny letter about a map his office received. He joked, "I claim to be able, in a general way, to make a map; but the map of Delaware Bay which you send me, is a huckleberry above my persimmon." This means the map was too complicated for him to understand!

In 1885, he became the chairman of the city's Engineers' Club. He also helped lead some railroad companies. He had an office in the Girard Building in Philadelphia in 1896.

The Big Map of Philadelphia

John Dye and Henry J. Toudy made a very large map of Philadelphia in 1869. This map was a huge project and is famous in the history of the city's maps. Not many copies of this map still exist today. You can find one at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Another copy is at the Huntington Library, and one is in France at the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

Family Life

John H. Dye was married two times. His first wife was Emily deCamp Dye. They had four children together: Strickland, Horatio, John, and Emily. Emily died in 1872. Later that year, he married Clarissa F. Dye. She was a nurse during the Civil War and a schoolteacher. John H. Dye passed away in 1906. He was 72 years old and died in Germantown.

Maps and Surveys by Dye

• An original copy of Dye's Plan of lots laid out for John Pitcairn at Huntingdon Valley, Montgomery Co., PA (1897) is kept at the Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn Archives, Glencairn Museum, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.