Joseph Ellicott was subsequently sent to Georgia to survey the boundary line, established by treaty with the Creek tribe.

[4] He was then engaged to survey some property in western Pennsylvania which had been purchased by a group of Dutch investors, who had formed the Holland Land Company.

Ellicott was an observer for the investors at the Big Tree Treaty when the Senecas sold their rights to the land in Western New York.

[8] As seller and land agent, Ellicott offered generous terms to the buyers, some of whom purchased farms for as little as 25 cents down.

He offered some selected parcels free upon condition that the buyer would establish a mill or an inn, to help stimulate growth in the area.

Family members had him admitted to Bloomingdale Insane Asylum in New York City, where he died in 1826 by hanging himself.