JOHN L. FAILLA
about the author
John Failla’s journey begins in Omaha, Nebraska at the close of World War Two, being the fourth boy of five in a typical Catholic family. With a father of Sicilian descent who helmed an Italian language newspaper from the late 30’s to the mid 70’s and a mother the product of South Dakota farming pioneers, John inherited a tapestry of heritage.
Failla’s early years were blended by marriage, military service and attending the University of Nebraska and Creighton University. His fondness for history never delivered him too distant from the land and the profession of land surveying. John became a registered land surveyor in eight states. His passion for history yet continues as his collection of pre-revolutionary land surveys and deeds has been targeted “top shelf” by many collectors within the industry. Remaining as his favorite, within his collection, is a 1748/9 land survey of 8000-acres by George Washington and George Hume being approximately three and a half miles square and just south of Winchester, Virginia. Still in museum quality, it was divided into nine lots where five homes are on the National Historic Register, where one is General Danial Morgan’s Saratoga..
In 1972, John’s entrepreneurial spirit had him vacate his position with a large firm and begin a successful land surveying firm in Omaha. Clientele included major franchises as well as ten consecutive yearly contracts with the Corps of Engineers.
In 1996 he left Omaha and began another successful land surveying firm north of Atlanta where he continued until his son became registered and then left it in his good hands. Though semi-retired, John’s expertise in the profession remains as he teams up with his son for periodic “expert witness” assignments generally in the category of lot-line disputes. His most notable client over the years had been the renowned San Francisco attorney, Melvin Belli. John’s commitment to education continued through-out the years as he worked with the Georgia State Bar holding seminars for Georgia attorneys in satisfaction of continuing education hours. He has many articles written in magazines regarding some of his old surveys within his collection.
John remains mostly retired, yet finds time to get involved in some of his son’s more complex surveys in the north Georgia.
