I represent George Gauld. I was a man of many talents, but in West Florida I was known for exploring, surveying, and mapping the Gulf Coast. I was born and raised in the Scotland, and my first assignment by the Admiralty was as a schoolmaster aboard naval ships. Then they realized how lacking they were in knowledge of the coastline of their new colony, and I became a surveyor. I was a Justice of the Peace in Pensacola and elected to represent the town in House of Commons for the provincial General Assembly for the 3rd, 4th, and 7th Assemblies. In 1765, I sketched a famous view of Pensacola from the harbor that shows the earliest days of the British town. The year before I had done the first official British survey of Pensacola Bay. My appointment lasted through the surrender of Pensacola, and except for about 18 months I spent in the Caribbean, I concentrated on the coast of Florida – and a little bit of surreptitious nosing about in Spanish Louisiana. My work brought me a good salary and good connections in Pensacola, though nothing could prevent my experiencing an annoying challenge to my work – shortages of paper. I had a town and garden lot in addition to a tract in present-day Gulf Breeze. I married in early 1775 to Ann, about whom not much is known before her marriage to me. We were very good friends with Dr. John Lorimer and his wife, to the point where it’s assumed we knew each other before coming the West Florida. During the siege of Pensacola, I served in the Engineer’s department and used my fluency in Spanish and French to translate letters for General Campbell. After the surrender, Ann and I went to New York with the rest of the survivors from Pensacola. We had no children, and I left poor Ann all but penniless when I died, having lost everything in Pensacola.
Sources: 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 35, 39