Mid Life
Holcomb went into the business of surveying land about 1808 since he was familiar with optics and associated equipment. For a while he also did private tutoring in the fields of surveying, optics, and astronomy. In the 1820s he manufactured many sets of surveyors' instruments. His buyers were his students as well as other civil engineers.
Holcomb wrote his own almanac in 1807 and 1808, when he was twenty-one years old, because he found Nehemiah Strong's almanac was in need of much improvement. It did not predict the 1806 solar eclipse that he viewed on January 4 of that year. Holcomb had made astronomical computations from the books he had on hand and predicted this eclipse himself. Holcomb observed the eclipse with instruments he had made himself.
Sometime around 1810 he decided to fabricate surveying instruments, selling chains, compasses, and small transit telescopes. He also fabricated for sale magnets, electrical apparatus and leveling instruments. He was quite successful in the surveying trade, however left it in 1825 and went into civil engineering.
Read more about this topic: Amasa Holcomb
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