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.^12Major 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.