Arthur Carl Victor Schott was a German-American artist, naturalist and ethnographer. He was hired as a "special scientific collector" for the United States Boundary Commission, and participated in their survey of the new border between the United States and Mexico established after the Mexican–American War.

William Hemsley Emory was a prominent American surveyor and civil engineer of the 19th century. As an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers he specialized in mapping the United States border, including the Texas–Mexico border, and the Gadsden Purchase border, 1844–1855, and published lasting scientific reports on the border region.