Whitelaw succeeded Ira Allen as Vermont's surveyor general in 1787 and held the office until 1804. While in office he continued his private surveying and planned for a map of the entire state. The note on his Vermont printed map of 1796 almost exactly describes this manuscript when he states: "The outlines of the townships of Orwell, Cornwall, Salisbury, Goshen, Hancock, Rochester, Bethel, Royalton, Sharon and Norwich, & all north of them are laid down from correct surveys made under the direction of the surveyor general, between the years 1783 and 1790."
