Thomas Ellicott was the author of "The Millwright's Guide"

Thomas Ellicott (1738-1799) did indeed write and include drawings in his section "The Practical Millwright" which was combined into Oliver Evans' Young Mill-wright and Miller's Guide, 1795. Ellicott was listed in the subscribers list at the end of the book for buying 150 copies at $2 each; and also wrote a 10 page article about his new mill in Occoquon, Va in the journal Repertory of Arts and Manufactures, London: 1796.  Thomas Ellicott was not involved in the mills in Maryland started by his brothers and now called Ellicott City.

John Colbrook Bury (1764-1850) from London was (falsely) claimed by his son Edward Bury (1816-1884) in an 1881 family history - a hundred years after the fact - as being the writer of the book section rather than Ellicott.  The account claims that his first mill was after his arrival in 1794 - 20 years after Ellicott's mills in Maryland was settled, and after the article in the 1796 London journal. Bury did not subscribe in the Evans book, nor can I find any writings by him.  Clearly a false claim from a son.

Excerpt from the webpage The Authoreship of "The Millwright's Guide." by the late Ted Hazen 

"He came to New York in the year 1793 or 1794. ... Some time after he contracted to build a mill in Baltimore for a man by the name of Ellicott. That was the first mill on record with elevators for cooling the flour, it was his invention [no]. It was many years after in the Old World before they worked on the same principle. 

While in Baltimore he wrote a book of plans entitling it "The Millwrights guide". He went to Philadelphia to have it printed there. They would not print it unless he would take the oath of Allegiance to the United States. He refused returning to Baltimore and presented the work to the two young [Thomas Ellicott was 26 years older than Bury and did not move to Maryland] men that worked with him. They were great favourites of his for their mechanical ingenuity. They were by name Ellicott and Evans [Oliver Evans lived in Delaware then Philadelphia]. Talking with a man about twelve months since he told me the mill is still called Ellicott's mills [now called Ellicott City, founded 1772, 20 years before Bury arrived in the US] and improved according to the times. The mill was built about the year 1796 [no]. 

After that time he went to Pennsylvania. Here he bought a privilege and built a flourmill of his own at the Susquehanna River. He sold his property there and married my mother at a place called Logantown. Her maiden name was Elizabeth Traver. He came to Canada in the year 1802 or 1803 to Kingston."

©2018 Patricia Bixler Reber
Forgotten history of Ellicott City & Howard County MD