The Journal of San Diego History

The Journal of San Diego History

selected John B. Weller, a former Ohio Congressman, Mexican War veteran and

unsuccessful candidate for governor, to serve as the U.S. commissioner. Andrew

Gray, a surveyor who had worked on the boundary line between Texas and the

United States, accepted the position of U.S. Surveyor. The president appointed

Emory to serve as the chief astronomer, head of the Commission’s Topographical

Scientific Corps, and commanding officer of the military escort.^12

Major William H. Emory served as Chief Astronomer to the U.S. Commission and was appointed acting

Commissioner in January 1850. Courtesy of the National Archives, Washington D.C.