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76-5547
DOOLEY, Mary Marjorie True, 1924THE ANDREWS BAILIWICK: A GEOGRAPHIC STUDY OF
MIGRATION TO AND SETTLEMENT OF NORTHERN MACOMB
COUNTY, MICHIGAN, 1810-1850, AS PERCEIVED BY
SELECTED PARTICIPANTS.
Michigan State University, Ph.D., 1975
Social Geography

Xerox University Microfilms,

Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106

(e)Copyright by
MARY MARJORIE TRUE DOOLEY
1975

THE PRIMARY STUDY AREA
N o rth e rn

Macomb C o u n ty ,

M ic h ig a n

-L .

Romeo

L_

T

Miles
I--

--I

1_.

_u

-j__

~T
—

r

Detroit

Moraine
Glacial lake shores
Maumee
Whit tl es ey
Arkona
Warren
Andrews purchase,

1831

WTD/GP

Frontispiece

THE ANDREWS BAILIWICK
A GEOGRAPHIC STUDY OF MIGRATION TO AND SETTLEMENT OF
NORTHERN MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN, 1810-1850,
AS PERCEIVED BY SELECTED PARTICIPANTS
By
Mary Marjorie True Dooley

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Geography
1975

ABSTRACT

THE ANDREWS BAILIWICK
A GEOGRAPHIC STUDY OF MIGRATION TO AND SETTLEMENT OF
NORTHERN MACOMB COUNTY, MICHIGAN, 1810-1850,
AS PERCEIVED BY SELECTED PARTICIPANTS
By
Mary Marjorie True Dooley

A strip of land along the southeastern edge of the
state of Michigan, approximately twenty-five miles wide, is
glacial lake plain, described at the time of settlement as
low, level, wet, and heavily timbered.

The earliest

settlers either stayed in shoreline settlements such as
Detroit or moved inland past the lake plain to the somewhat
higher, rolling, better drained land with less dense vege­
tation.

Generally purchases in the area of the lake plain

were made only after much of the land in Inner Michigan had
been bought from the government.

This study examines the

settlement of the portion of the lake plain in northern
Macomb County; it focuses on the period of great change in
the landscape when a wilderness of forest and brush was
purchased by settlers and converted to farmland.
Reconstructions of past geography are made for two
periods.

The wilderness landscape is examined, using the

reports of government surveyors and the state geologist,
archaeological studies, and the descriptions of early
pioneers.

Attention is given to the perception of the land

Mary Marjorie True Dooley
by the pioneers and to their reasons for selecting the
land they purchased.

In the primary study area, the

settlers began to impact the landscape in the early 1830s.
The second cross-section through time is for 1850.
By this date the residents of the area considered it
"settled," and enough material is available in the federal
census and in a private manuscript collection so that a
reasonable reconstruction can be made.
Each of these cross-sections is preceded by a
narrative description to provide background for the recon­
structions.

This part of Michigan was settled as part of

a major migration from New England through New York State
to Michigan.

The movement of selected participants is

traced from Vermont through New York during the period 1810
to the 1830s.

Also the process of clearing the land and

establishing farms is examined for the period 1832-1850.
For both of these narratives, private papers are a major
source of information.
This is a source-oriented study.

The personal

papers of one family and its associates contained enough
significant information that the study is shaped by them.
The study area is defined as the sphere of activity of that
family, and the style of presentation is designed to take
advantage of the wealth of primary source material avail­
able in the manuscript collection.

The Andrews family

participated in the migration from Vermont to Michigan,

Mary Marjorie True Dooley
and they settled on the lake plain.

While it is not neces­

sarily the "average" family in the area, in many ways it
was representative of other settlers there.

One major

purpose of the dissertation was to deal effectively with
these unusual source materials and to blend the information
gained from them with that from standard sources.

Thus the

paper is written about the family in an informal and very
personal style.

I believe the extensive use of personal

materials will enable the reader to see the area and the
process by which it was settled through the eyes of those
who participated in the settlement of the area.
Settlers in northern Macomb County developed the
area in much the same way as did those occupying the higher
morainic land of Inner Michigan, and they encountered
similar problems.

Most of the study area involves the

higher levels of lake plain, however, and would not present
as severe management problems to those establishing farms
as would the lower, wetter levels of lake plain close to
the shore.

To the next generation,
especially Gary, Steve, and Kristi,
and all the generations that follow.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A number of people have contributed to the success
of this study, many of them unknowingly.

The Andrews

family and their friends and associates never expected
that their correspondence and other miscellaneous papers
would become the basis of a doctoral dissertation.

Other

source materials were available for this study, but they
were skeletal— a solid framework but somewhat limited.
The Andrews collection provided the flesh for my report
and added greatly to its interest.

I am exceedingly

grateful to all those who recorded their thoughts and ob­
servations and also to their successors who preserved the
material.

My mother, Edith Mills True, was one of those

who appreciated and kept those records; she was also most
helpful in interpreting some of the puzzling passages and
recalling bits of information about the family and about
early farming practices in the study area.
Staff members at various libraries were helpful in
locating appropriate source material, especially Geneva
Kebler of the Michigan Historical Commission Archives.
I appreciate their efforts.
I also express my thanks to two of my colleagues,
Dr. Jane Pyle and Dr. Bert Burns, who read this

dissertation when it was near completion.

Their sugges­

tions and comments were valuable in preparing the final
version.
I am grateful to my major professor, Dr. Clarence
Vinge, and the other members of my committee for their
patience and guidance.

Dr. Vinge, Dr. Lawrence Sommers,

and Dr. Harry Brown have worked with me throughout my
graduate program.

Dr. Daniel Jacobson very graciously

agreed to serve on the committee after the death of
Dr. Paul C. Morrison.

I regret that Dr. Morrison, who was

my advisor in my undergraduate as well as the earlier part
of my graduate study, did not live to see the completion
of this work.
Lastly, there are always friends who may not have
contributed directly to the success of a study but who have
been of help by being supportive and encouraging.

Thanks

to Susan B. Smith and H. Roger Smith and to James LeBeau
for being there when help was needed.

I am sure they will

Join me in celebrating the completion of the study.

v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF T A B L E S ...................................... viii
LIST OF F I G U R E S ..................................

ix

PROLOGUE..........................................

xi

Methodology
The Study Area
The Style of Presentation
Organization
THE ANDREWS BAILIWICK
CHAPTER

I. BY WAY OF E X P L A N A T I O N .............

1

CHAPTER

II. THE FAMILY AND ITS BACKGROUND IN
VERMONT AND NEW Y O R K ..............

10

Family and Friends
New England Background
Migration to New York
CHAPTER

III. THE LAND IN MIC HI GA N..............

41

Speculation
A Closer Look at the
Land Selected
CHAPTER

IV. A FARM FROM THE FOREST— INITIAL
D E V E L O P M E N T ......................

60

Tenancy Arrangements
Original Structures
Clearing the Land
Breaking the Land for Crops
Crops and Livestock
Interim Period
CHAPTER

V.

THE ESTABLISHED F A R M ..............
Crops and Livestock
Marketing Farm Products
Structures
vi

78

?-•
V\\

|
p
|
i
i

CHAPTER VI.

TOWARD AH "OLDER SOCIETY" ..........

99

Township Population
Roads
Postal Service
Religion
Education
Music
Health
Public Service
Financial Matters
The End of the Rainbow?
GENEALOGICAL APPENDIX

..........................

118

N O T E S ..........................................

123

FORF I G U R E S ....................

131

EPILOGUE..........................................

134

LIST OF SOURCES

The Area and Its Development
The Source Materials
The Style of Presentation
BIBLIOGRAPHY ......................................

vii

141

LIST OF TABLES

1.
2.

Agricultural census records for Armada Township,
1850

82

Cost of building a 46' x 32' barn in 1847

97

viii

....

LIST OF FIGURES

The primary study area, Northern
Macomb County, Michigan ..........
I.
II.
III.

Frontispiece

Generalized soils, Northern Macomb
County, Michigan ..........................

xix

Level land typical of the lake plain in
Northern Macomb County ....................

xxi

The valley of Coon C r e e k ....................... xxii

1.

Westward migration of the Andrews family . . .

3

2.

Reference map of New E n g l a n d ................

11

3.

Ned's sketch map of Putney, Vermont

........

16

4-. View of the village of Putney from the family
g a r d e n ....................................

17

5.

The brook where the Andrews children used to
p l a y ......................................

18

Ned's map of the Town of Putney and the
surrounding a r e a ..........................

22

7.

Grist mill and dam in Putney, Vermont

23

8.

View of meadows and Bare Hill from the
village of Putney
..................

26

9.

Reference map of New York S t a t e ............

31

10.

Land purchased by Elisha D. Andrews for
himself and members of his f a m i l y ........

42

Topographic map of northern Macomb County,
Michigan..................................

49

Land sold in 1831 and before, northern
Macomb County, Michigan ................

50

6.

11.
12.

ix

....

.

13 • Condition of vegetation in 1817-1818, northern
Macomb County, Michigan ....................

52

14. Effectiveness of drainage in 1817 and 1818,
northern Macomb County, Michigan ..........

55

15• Distribution of Indian population before and
during the first white occupancy . . . . . .

57

16. Archaeological sites, northern Macomb County,
M i c h i g a n ..................................

58

17.

Part of a letter written by Henry TenEyck . . .

64

18.

The Andrews farm, showing those developments
completed between 1852 and 1851 which can be
located with reasonable accuracy ..........

65

19*

Farmland showing worm fences

................

70

20.

An example of crop records in Elisha's account
b o o k .......................................

88

21.

A typically fat hog of the 1 8 0 0 s ............

94

22.

Location of services utilized by residents of
the Andrews farm between 1831 and 1850 . . .

103

The back of one of Henry TenEyck's letters,
including address and postmark ............

104

23.

PROLOGUE

PROLOGUE
The settlement of southern Michigan has been
studied and discussed by both historians and geographers,
one of the most frequent topics being the relatively slow
rate of settlement in the area.

Ralph Brown suggests

several reasons in his book on the Historical Geography
of the United States; one of the more controversial
reasons given is that unfavorable (and inaccurate) reports
by surveyors caused settlers to avoid the area.^ Madison
2
3
Kuhn and Bernard Peters^ have written somewhat conflicting
analyses of the effect of these reports.
But disagreements about the nature of the landscape
applied mainly to the interior of the Lower Peninsula.
There was general agreement that the strip of land paral­
leling the southeastern shore was level, poorly drained,
and heavily timbered.

And although some settlements had

^Ralph H. Brown, Historical Geography of the United
States (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1948),
pp. 270-76.
^Madison Kuhn, "Tiffin, Morse and the Reluctant
Pioneer," Michigan History, 50 (1966):lll-38.
x
^Bernard C. Peters, "Early American Impressions and
Evaluations of the Landscape of Inner Michigan with Em­
phasis on Kalamazoo County" (unpublished Ph.D. disserta­
tion, Geography Department, Michigan State University,
1969), pp. 13-30.

been established in waterfront locations, few people had
been attracted to the portions of the lake plain which were
situated back from the shore.

Even after many settlers had

moved into Inner Michigan, large portions of the lake plain
had not been purchased.
The purposes of this study were two.

First, I

wanted to investigate the settlement of a portion of the
lake plain.

That area had been bypassed by many.

What

attracted the people who finally settled there to the land?
How did they perceive it?
they able to establish?

What sort of agriculture were
What problems did they encounter?

My intention was to concentrate on the settlement process
as perceived by the people involved.
Second, because of the nature of the primary source
material available, it seemed that the customary methods of
presentation would not do it justice.

Therefore, I em­

ployed a different style of presentation, one which I
believe utilizes these resources most effectively.
Methodology
Over the past half century attempts have been made
to define historical geography and to categorize methods
by which research in historical geography should be con­
ducted.

It seems to me that too great an emphasis may be

put on restricting the field.

My own opinions concur with

recent statements that depict historical geography not as
a branch of geography with its own techniques but simply as
xii

geography which happens to deal with the past and which
may use any of the approaches or techniques of contemporary
geography that seem appropriate.

Roger Minshull states

such a view in The Changing Nature of Geography.

And

Wilbur Zelinsky, in his article "In Pursuit of Historical
Geography and Other Wild Geese," writes that:
A scientific discipline can be defined logically only
in terms of the kinds of questions it asks; and the
so-called field of "historical geography" is limited
to precisely the same set of questions as those posed
by other forms of geographic inquiry.5
Other authors imply the same attitude by presenting for
historical geographers the same possibilities as those
available to geographers working in the current scene,
such as developing models, using quantitative techniques,
and analyzing perception.
A commonly used approach is referred to as "recon­
structions of past geography," and studies using this
approach can be handled in various ways.

They may be of a

single slice of time, as demonstrated so ably by Ralph
Zl

Roger Minshull, The Changing Nature of Geography
(London: Hutchinson & Co., Ltd., 1970), p. 140.
^Wilbur Zelinsky, "In Pursuit of Historical
Geography and Other Wild Geese," Historical Geography
Newsletter, 3 (Fall 1973)sl»
^Robert M. Newcomb, "Twelve Working Approaches to
Historical Geography," Association of Pacific Coast
Geographers Yearbook, 3±' (l$69):27-51IH. C. Prince,
"Progress in Historical Geography," in Trends in Geography,
ed. Ronald U. Cooke and James H. Johnson (New York:
Pergamon Press, 1969), pp. 110-18; Jan 0. M. Broek,
Geography: Its Scope and Spirit (Columbus, Ohio: Charles
E. Merrill Books, Inc.), pp. 29-30•
xiii

Brown's Mirror for Americans

P

Or they may comprise

several selected time periods which are considered signifi­
cant.

Robert Newcomb, in what he describes as an "exercise

in stocktaking," lists twelve approaches or methods for
O

doing work in historical geography.

What he refers to as

"The Dagwood Sandwich" and Jan Broek has called "crossQ

sections through time"7 seems to me most appropriate for
many historical geography studies and particularly for the
one undertaken here,
"Sequent occupance," advocated in the late 1920s by
Derwent Whittlesey, is one way of using cross-sections.^
It involves reconstruction of the geography of a study area
for several periods when conditions there were fairly well
stabilized, with comparisons then made between periods.

My

study focuses instead on a period of dramatic change in the
landscape, the change from wilderness to farmland.

Louis

Seig, following the lead of his mentor, Jan Broek, suggests
that cross-sections through time may be used to study a
region through its whole history or to deal with changes in
one significant period.

He believes there should be

7
'Ralph H. Brown, Mirror for Americans: Likeness
of the Eastern Seaboard (l6l0) (New York: American
Geographical Society, 1943}.
O

Newcomb, ibid., p. 31•
q
'Broek, ibid., p. 28.
^Derwent Whittlesey, "Sequent Occupance," Annals
of the Association of American Geographers, 19 (March
1929) : 162-65.

"relatively narrow slices of time interspersed with
narrative description of the process which brought them
about."11
The change from wilderness to farmland was a
drastic alteration of the landscape, and I have recon­
structed the geography of the area at the beginning and
again at the end of that period of change.

Dates of pur­

chase of land and time of settlement were rather easily
determined, and they establish the beginning of the period.
I have accepted as the end the judgment of the settlers
themselves.

Recorded comments indicate that the area

seemed "settled" about sixteen to eighteen years after the
first clearings were made; thus the reconstructions are for
either end of this span— the early 1830s and 1850.
Better understanding of the developments can be
achieved by expanding the study to include background ma­
terial.

Knowledge of the period prior to settlement is

important.

Information about the process of developing

farms from an area of forest and brush is also helpful in
analyzing the farming operations that were established.
Both of these background periods, 1810-1831 and 1832-1850,
are covered by narrative, as suggested by Seig.
11Louis Seig, "Concepts of Change and the His­
torical Method in Geography: the Case of Springfield,
Massachusetts" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, Geography
Department, University of Minnesota, 1968), p. 32.

The Study Area
The specific area selected for study was chosen and
defined on the basis of materials available.

I began by

looking for information about the lake plain between the
Ohio border and Lake Huron.

A variety of material is

available, but a manuscript collection in my own family is
a gold mine of information.

12

The detailed information

therein is in such contrast with the other materials (in
amount of detail) that I decided to make it the focus of
the study.
The collection includes the correspondence and
business records of one family (that of Elisha Deming
Andrews) and its associates.

The activities of this family

were certainly representative of others settling in the
same area in the 1830s and 1840s, although no claim is made
that theirs was an "average" family.

Several members of

the family were trained natural scientists, and their per­
sonal correspondence contains many observations of interest
to geographers.

These observations have proven to be re­

liable when checked against other data available.

In

addition, many business transactions were carried on or
arranged by mail, and the letters report the details.
To me the geographic information contained in these
papers seemed valuable enough to provide the basis for the
study.

With it as the basis, the study area had to be the

12
Manuscript collection of the Frank True family,
Armada, Michigan.
xvi

area in which the family's activities were concentrated.
Naturally, the focus was the farm itself, but commercial
and social contacts were also made in the surrounding area.
Portions of the six northernmost townships of Macomb County
were involved in one way or another, and although in some
instances the association was marginal, I included all of
the six townships in the study area (Frontispiece).

The

surveyor's township was used because during that period it
was the area unit referred to by the people involved.

In

addition, statistical information from other sources was
listed by township.
To determine the study area because of availability
of material may seem to be a reversed approach, but it is
not unusual in historical studies.

After all, the his­

torical geographer does not have as many options open to
him in collecting data as does the geographer working with
the current scene.

Ralph Brown, in discussing his study of

the Eastern Seaboard, stated:
The availability of trustworthy geographic
materials . . . must be the guide to the selection of
the period for which a reconstruction of its past
geography is made and must also govern the areal limits
within which this may be done with confidence.13
With the exception of the western halves of Bruce
and Washington Townships, the area within the six townships
is classified as lake plain and thus falls within the
"^Ralph H. Brown, "Materials Bearing upon the
Geography of the Atlantic Seaboard, 1790 to 1810," Annals
of the Association of American Geographers, 28 (1938)263-4-•
xvii

larger search area which I first examined.

Much of it

is older or higher lake plain; the lower, younger deposits
are toward the southeastern part of the study area and
extend beyond it to the present shoreline of Lake St.
Clair.
The beach ridges which developed along the shores
of each successive level of the glacial lakes are generally
minor features on the landscape.

The only really distinct

beach ridge is that of Lake Whittlesey, which meanders in a
generally southwest to northeast direction across the study
area.

The difference in elevation between the two lake

levels on either side of that ridge is only about twentyfive feet.

More significant than the gentle slope, for

most uses, the area along the ridges has accumulations of
sand and gravel.

This is a disadvantage to farming but

makes the ridges attractive sites for roads, a railroad,
and structures of many types.
Although the settlers in the early 1800s were
apparently somewhat dubious about buying land in the lake
plain for development of farms, a recent soil survey indi­
cates that much of it is well-suited to farming.

Most of

the somewhat-poorly-drained soil shown on the soils map
(Figure I) is described as follows:
This association is one of the best in the
county for crops. The soils in it are medium to high
in fertility and respond readily to management. Nearly

xviii

GENERALIZED
L V W W . W V . .V.

SOILS

.i J i ll 1

fcifi

W
SS8§®i
m ^iw x U x -.'.'.y io

-

• fifftffff■

::::::::::::::::::::::^x:::::Jo>foo<^^«''^>' ■

’W

Jlj§
R 13 E

R 14 E
Mi les

Land p r i m a r i l y in slope; soil we lldrained, m e d i u m to c o a r s e texture
K l ^ l i

Land level; soil somewhat p oo rl y
drained, m e d i u m te xt ur e
Lan d level; soil p o o r l y drained,
m e d i u m t exture

Detroit
Land level; soil p oo rl y drained,
line text ur e
Land level; soil p oorly drained,
m e d i u m to c oa rs e text ur e (alluvium)

Source:

Soil Survey of Macomb County, M i c higan.

Figure I,
County, Michigan.

Generalized soils, Northern Macomb
xix

MT D

all areas have been cleared and are cultivated.
cessive wetness is the main limitation. 14-

Ex­

Under the Soil Conservation Service ratings, the limita­
tions for farming are only slight, even less than that of
the hilly morainic area in the western part of the study
area.

There the slopes are subject to erosion.

Many of

the poorly drained areas to the southeast are also well
suited to crops with proper management.^
But most of the lake plain presents severe problems
for modern residential and recreational development.

This

was not so serious a problem in the past, but as the
Detroit metropolitan area continues to expand into the
study area, the difficulties will be of greater signifi­
cance.
With the exception of the rolling morainic hills in
the west, most of the study area is level (Figure II).

The

greatest local relief within the lake plain is in the
valleys cut by the small streams which drain the surface
(Figure III).
The Style of Presentation
One of the major goals of the historical geographer
is the determination of the beliefs and attitudes during
14United States Department of Agriculture, Soil
Conservation Service, Soil Survey of Macomb County,
Michigan (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office,
1971), P. 3.

xx

Figure II. Level land typical of the lake plain
in Northern Macomb County. This is a view from the
northwestern corner of Section 21, Armada Township,
looking southeastward across what was the Andrews farm.

Figure III. The valley of Coon Greek. The view
is from the northeastern corner of Section 21, Armada
Township, looking generally westward along Armada Center
Road. In the distance on the left side of the picture,
the buildings partially hidden in the trees are on the
site of the Andrews farmstead.

xxii

the period being analyzed.

Carl Sauer indicated, in his

"Foreword to Historical Geography":
This is about the most difficult task in all human
geography: to evaluate site and situation, not from the
standpoint of an educated American of today, but to
place oneself in the position of a member of the
cultural group at the time being studied.16
The great value of the Andrews collection is that many
observations and evaluations were clearly stated by wellinformed, observant, articulate people.

I have included

many direct quotes because of the flavor and quality of the
writing.
My desire to use the quotations and also to in­
corporate other rather personal types of material led me
to develop a somewhat different style of presentation.

In

talking with various people about the study, I found myself
interweaving the various types of information— reporting on
and talking about what I had discovered.

I decided to

write the dissertation as if I were reporting my findings
from all the sources to the other members of my family.

It

was my feeling that the use of a large amount of personal
material called for just such a personalized treatment of
the problem.
This method or style of writing permits a synthesis
of different kinds of source material; it also permits the
■j /r

C. 0. Sauer, "Foreword to Historical Geography
(194-0)," in Land and Life: A Selection from the Writings of
Carl Ortwin Sauer, ed. John Leighly(Berkeley: University
of California Press, 1963), p. 362.
xxiii

inclusion of comments which might be out of place other­
wise.

Jan Broek, in a review of Ralph Brown's Mirror for

Americans, wrote:
Drawing on all available sources written before that
date Brown presented the portrait of the Atlantic
coast as seen through the mind of a fictitious geogra­
pher of the period. In this manner the author lets us
share in the conceptual image which Americans of 1810
had of their habitat. The reader may feel that the
author, from the vantage point of present knowledge,
could have given more by commenting on erroneous views
held in 1810, or by comparing past and present circum­
stances. Indeed he could, but it would have destroyed
the very purpose of the study.17
The style I have chosen permits the inclusion of com­
mentary, and through the use of this approach, I believe
the reader will relate more thoroughly to the past situa­
tion.
Some may feel that this study is too localized and
too personal to be a real contribution to the field of
historical geography.

I believe that it has value because

the conditions portrayed were representative of a larger
area.

Louis Seig appears to support studies such as this.

He wrote of historical geography: "The approach may be
either idiographic or nomothetic depending on the available
I O

data and the nature of the problem."

And I believe that

this study succeeds more than most in placing the reader
"in the position of a member of the cultural group at the
time being studied."
"^Broek, ibid., p. 29.
^®Seig, ibid., p. 3*
xxiv

In his introduction to Human Nature in Geography,
John K. Wright indicated his conviction that:
geographical writing and teaching could be made more
interesting, inspiring, and generally effective were
there at least a few scholars who could and would
treat geography as one of the humanities rather than
exclusively as a natural or social or socio-natural
science.19
I applaud the efforts of other historical geographers to
apply various methods, such as quantitative analysis and
model building, to geographic studies whenever they seem
appropriate.

But I also agree wholeheartedly with

Dr. Wright that there is a place in the field of geography
for an approach more commonly used in the humanities.
Organization
Because of the style of presentation, I have
organized this dissertation in a somewhat different form.
Background and explanatory materials are presented in this
prologue.

The body of the study is then set apart.

clusions are given in an epilogue.

Con­

The prologue and

epilogue are handled in traditional style, but the body of
the dissertation is written in a style which is informal
and personal.

In that section, footnotes at the bottom of

each page seem to be out of character.

I have, therefore,

placed those notes at the end of that material.

The vast

majority of the notes merely identify a specific paper in
■^John Kirtland Wright, Human Nature in Geography
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Univers1ty Press,
1966), pp. 6-7•
xxv

the manuscript collection.

Appendixes related to the main

text also follow that section.

The bibliography, which

contains material pertaining to the entire work, is placed
after the epilogue.
Most of the illustrations are incorporated in the
body of the study and numbered consecutively within it.
With the exception of the frontispiece, those essential to
the prologue I have numbered separately with Roman numer­
als, as are the pages in that section.

In this way the

body can stand by itself as a unit of work.

The list of

sources for the figures presented in the body appears
following the notes, again because it seems inappropriate
to include that kind of detail on figures interspersed
through an informal text.
Many direct quotations from private papers are in­
cluded, and I have tried in all cases to reproduce the
original spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

In

some instances the errors are numerous and to have in­
serted "^sic7" to identify them would have been cumbersome.
I have, therefore, not used "/sic/" in any of the quota­
tions, and you may assume that misspellings and other
errors there were copied from the originals.
Within the main text, Chapters I and II are back­
ground material.

Chapter I sets the theme and establishes

the style of presentation.
ment of material.

It also explains the arrange­

Chapter II covers the time the family

xxvi

spent in Vermont and New York.

It is a narrative which,

by describing the route of the family migration and the
factors affecting the moves, establishes their moves as
part of a large scale migration of New Englanders westward
through New York State into Michigan.

According to the

1850 census, 48 percent of the heads of household in Armada
Township had been born in New York and 34 percent in New
England.

Canada, with almost 7 percent, was the only other

political unit listed which contributed more than 2 per­
cent.
The family's attitudes toward migration and some of
the reasons for moving are identified in Chapter II.

Their

activities in New England and in New York, so far as they
can be determined, are also described.

During the develop­

ment of the farm in Michigan, some of those former activi­
ties were transplanted to the frontier, and commercial as
well as personal contacts were maintained with individuals
in the previous home areas.

The more personal material

included there introduces the members of the family and
identifies them as "typical” New Englanders in some
respects but quite unlike the stereotype in others.

They

displayed a sense of humor and flights of fancy which I had
never associated with the deeply religious forefathers.
Their failings in some instances also established them as
totally human!

xxv ii

Chapter III is a compilation of material describing
the study area in Michigan and attitudes toward the land at
the time of settlement by whites.
from standard sources.

Much of the material is

The field notes of the original

survey, done in 1817 and 1818, contributed valuable information on soils and vegetation.

20

Further information

on the condition of the timber was found in the field
notebooks of Bela Hubbard, state geologist, who studied
21
the area in 1840.
Two county histories provided some
22
commentary about the landscape at that time.
Newspapers
were also consulted for further information, but for the
most part references were too general to be of much use.
Most of the old newspapers that were published in the area
began publication at a later date, and some of those that
might have contained useful information were lost when
files burned.
Evidence of former occupance by Indians indicated
that the environment in 1817 was not totally natural.
20

’’United States Survey Field Notes,” Lands
Division Office, Michigan Department of Conservation,
Lansing, Michigan.
^ B e l a Hubbard, "Geological Survey of Cos. of
Shiawassee, Clinton, Barry, Macomb, St. Clair & Lapeer,
May 21 to Sep. 22, 1840” (unpublished field notes,
University of Michigan Historical Collections).
^Robert F. El dredge, Fast and Present of Macomb
County, Michigan (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
1$05); M. A. Leeson, History of Macomb County, Michigan
(Chicago: M. A. Leeson & Co., 1882).

xxviii

Hinsdale's work on the Indians in Michigan provided some
material specific enough to use here.^
The manuscript collection contains information on
how the Andrews perceived the land and why they chose that
particular area to settle.

It also portrays the family's

involvement in the speculation that prevailed at that time.
Chapter IV pieces together what is known of the
transformation of the landscape— -the time between wilder­
ness and established farm.

Actual activities carried out

in accomplishing the task are described, and some of the
problems encountered are reported.

Most of this material

comes from the manuscript collection.
In Chapter V an analysis is made of the established
farm operation— the economy.

Here especially the family

farm records were of interest.

They contain cost estimates

of many phases of the operation and even essays analyzing
and explaining various activities.

So that a comparison

can be made with other farms in the area, data from the
manuscript census are included for the rest of Armada
24
Township.
The land; the economy; but what about society?
Chapter VI completes the picture by focusing on the
23
•'Wilbert B. Hinsdale, Archaeological Atlas of
Michigan (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,' 1931)»
an<* Distribution of the Aboriginal Population of Michigan
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1932).
24
"United States Census of the State of Michigan's
Products of Agriculture, 1850," on file at The Archives,
Michigan Historical Commission, Lansing, Michigan.
xxix

development of services of various kinds.

Wherever

possible, the sites of the service agencies and facilities
used by the Andrews family have been identified.
the services were economic, some social.

Some of

They were the

ties that bound the family to the community.

By plotting

their distribution, one can identify and visualize the
Andrews Bailiwick, the functional region which was of
immediate concern to one American family in a newly de­
veloped area in the middle of the nineteenth century.

XXX

THE ANDREWS BAILIWICK

CHAPTER I
BY WAY OF EXPLANATION
To the members of the True clan:
We've all spent wonderful moments, even hours,
rummaging through the storerooms and attic at the farm and
heard from Mother many stories about certain pieces of
furniture or mementos stored there.

Having spent whole

summers at the farm recently, I've had more opportunity
than the rest of you to look through things in detail,
especially two large boxes of old letters and papers.
We've always teased Mother about never throwing anything
away, and apparently her predecessors in the house were
the same way.

They saved many of the letters they received

and, in some instances, drafts of letters they sent.

Ac­

counts were kept and some copies of deeds and contracts
were saved.
tucked away.

Favorite poems and recipes were copied and
And just as we all have things left at the

farm for storage, members of previous generations left
things when they moved away.
Old letters are not always interesting, but many of
these are intriguing and informative.

The people who wrote

these were generally well educated, actively involved in
the community, and concerned with local and national

1

2
0

affairs.

Their personalities shine through.

One letter

that I located fairly early in the poking around really
aroused my interest.

It raised some questions in my mind

about the area around home when it was settled and spurred
me on to look for answers.

Other letters produced some of

the answers (and also raised more questions), but sometimes
I had to go to different sources for additional informa­
tion.

Despite considerable searching, some of the ques­

tions are still unanswered.
The letter that started me digging was written to
our great great grandfather, Elisha Deming Andrews, who
was a minister, land agent, and farmer.

He is the one who

moved the family from Vermont to New York State and then
finally to Michigan to take up land from the government and
establish the farms on which the family lived (Figure 1).
Part of the land he bought is the farm we grew up on.

The

letter was written to Elisha by a friend and former minis­
ter who had preceded him to Michigan and was living there
near Romeo.

Mr. Taylor wrote Elisha to tell him what he

was getting into— what conditions existed in that part of
Michigan and what someone settling there should bring with
him.

The letter is a fairly long one, but I think you'll

understand, when you have read it, why I was fascinated.
Romeo, Dec. 17th 1832
Rev. & Dear Sir,
I yesterday received yours dated Nov. 23d. I
was much gratified in receiving a letter from you. I
had heard nothing from you since I left Mendon: nor
anything from there for many months. I now feel

.WESTWARD MIGRATION

*V

P itts f o r d ,
>1832-1841

A rm a d a ,

NoY
^

Putney,

:

M ic h

Mendon,

1 8 4 1 --------

Vt. •■

1 8 0 6 ( ? )-1 8 2 9 '

J

N.Y.y~

1 8 2 9 -1 8 3 2

y

\
i

I___

T'l

100
M ile s

M T D /G P

Figure 1.

Westward migration of the Andrews family.

200

4
anxious to hear farther from my sons family: but I
conclude that nothing serious or rather calamitous has
taken place— otherwise, probably, my son would have
written before this.—
You ask how we like Michigan, and how we get
along? I know as yet but a little about the particular
state and condition of the Territory. The people gen­
erally as is the case in all new countries appear to be
very industrious and friendly. And the lands are
settling rapidly— In process of time, and at no great
distance this will, without doubt, be a rich and flour­
ishing state in the union. In my circle I can say that
I am much pleased with most of the Inhabitants. Gen­
erally, they are industrious, moral young men with
small families. I have a meeting every other sabbath
at my house— -at which from 50 to 70 attend— and 2 miles
west I have a meeting also every other sabbath— at
which about 50 or 60 attend. These people at both
places have emigrated to this Territory, nearly all of
them within 2 years— and most of them within a year.
I have had one communion— and found 13 members who par­
took— 2 or 3 were necessarily detained. There is good
attention to preaching. We have, however, a few loose
characters who attend no meetings. We have, 3 excel­
lent Scotch families who came in in Augt. last— they
have purchased nine lots near me— they are strong
handed and are making great openings— some of them are
wealthy— The father was an Elder in one of the chhs in
Ayrshire, and is a valuable man. he has a son of pub­
lic education— and is a physician. He has 2 other
sons young men and 2 daughters. The minds of this
family are much improved by education and reading.
Upon the whole I feel myself happily situated as
respects society, far beyound my expectations. As to
the goodness of our lands, we have made no mistake.
There can be none better— We have not got so much
cleared and into wheat as we intended, in consequence
of having so much to do to make our house comfortable.
We have however got in 16 acres of wheat, which looks
well and have broke up for spring crops 8 or 9 acres—
and several beside cleared ready for the plough. We
calculate that next season we shall take crops from
about 40 acres beside a pasture of ten acres. With
respect to living we are as comfortable here as we were
in Mendon— apples excepted. But to ballance this we
have the best of venson— and enough of it— one of my
neighbours within a year and 4 months has killed 48—
and perhaps more within a few days.— I see them every
day or 2, but I am no Nimrod.
Now for your questions respecting your own
concerns. My son John thinks, if your timber is
handy— that you had better build a good log house it
will be comfortable— and will be useful many years.

5
But few other houses in this region. If your young
man should come on— and cut the timber— and hire cattle
to draw it— then get a man acquainted with the business
to assist him— and get it up, he can do the remainder
of the work himself— he will have to get 2000 feet of
boards— which will cost according to their goodness,
5-6-7-or 8 Dollar per 1000— beside the waggoning or
slaying. Shingles you can calculate when you fix upon
the dimentions of your building— 12 s. 1000.— I should
think that 16 feet by 23 would be large eno' for a
small family— how such a building could be built by the
Job, I know not. I hope the young man will come on and
go to work— I think it would be better for him, and for
you.
Oxen and cows are about 1/5 higher here than
they were in Mendon when we left.
The quickest and cheapest way to move a family
is by water.
Bring no wheat— it is cheaper here than there—
bring as much pork as you please— it is scarce here and
is dear— and not good— Ohio pork is miserable and that
is all that can be bought here.
Farming tools of all kinds had better be
brought, they are much dearer here— and far from being
as good as those_made among you. Get a strong plough
with a coulter /cutter to cut the turf7 and wrought
Iron share well steeled. A wheel under the beam is of
great use, but that had better be put on here. It re­
quires 2 yoke of oxen to break up the land well.
Perhaps you had better send on grass seed—
clover seed is not to be had here— and herds grass is
here
per bushel.— It will be difficult to winter
much stock the first year— hay is $7 per ton— I do not
at present think of any farther information that will
be necessary. As respects taxes we can give you no in­
formation— we have never been called upon for any taxes
as yet— except highway— I will, as I have opportunity,
make enquiries respecting taxes
give you notice if
I find it necessary.
Now for mud— I am very sorry that gent of my
acquaintance— and ministers too and on the sabbath,
should fall into the mud-— but this seems to have hap­
pened in open daylight— these things look dark— I am
fearful you were thinking about politics— and that in
your reveries you were anticipating the mud and mire in
which all will be involved in less than 4- years— but I
think it best to take the plunge in good nature when we
cant avoid it— whenever this happens I think it will be
harder work to d e ns e ourselves from our political im­
purities than from the clay and morter of Pittsford
streets.
One thing I forgot to mention in its proper
place— The whole face of the country here as far as I

$2

—tvnd

6
have traveled in the woods is covered with corn hills
^small mounds of dirt in which the Indians planted
corn7— which is an evidence of the goodness of the
land— and that it has been tilled by a vast population
in some ancient time.
On the road that is laid from my land to yours
there are now 3 good familes— and more are going in in
the spring. Your land is of a same quality with ours,
but I should advise you, in the spring to purchase a
good timber lot— it is the language of all acquainted
with your purchase that you have not a sufficiency of
timber for such a tract of open land.— I must close—
family is in usual health— Miss Cloe Leech has been
sick but is convalescent and recovering fast— she sends
her respects to you and love to family. Mrs Taylor
with myself desire to be remembered with affection to
your wife and family— so also my son and his wife.
Yours affectionately
John Taylor
Snow fell last night about 3 inches.— Dec. hitherto,
has been very mild— but in general cloudy. We have
had 2 little flights of snow— which lay 3 or 4 days—
the ground has been open untill now— and free from
frost. Be pleased to fetch me at least 100 scions of
the best kind of apples in your neighbourhood. Tell
your neighbour Lusk I would thank him to send me 30 or
4-0 scions of his great apples.— If you will fetch me a
bushel of dried apples when you come up you shall re­
ceive your reward.
J.T.
Isn't that great?

There are so many things that

show through that letter: New England attitudes, a concern
for "society," the importance of the church, the respect
for education, the concern over politics.

And yet there

is the practical side attending to the basic necessities
of food and shelter.
Going through the letters and other papers has
sometimes seemed like an unending job.

I haven't counted

them, but there are certainly several hundred.

They were

all Just stuffed in the boxes without sorting or arranging.
Mother and I gradually sorted them by writer or subject and

I

7
filed them chronologically, so they are now easier to work
with.

I found, however, that I had to go through them more

than once, and I kept going hack to check something or
other.

A remark would he made in one letter that meant

little when first read; then later on another letter would
contain a sentence that gave it meaning.

Each time I went

through them I caught something I had passed over before.
In some instances I have changed my interpretation of an
incident.

All this means, of course, that in spite of all

this work I still cannot be positive of having a completely
accurate picture of their situation.
At least all the letters and miscellaneous papers
are now collected and arranged.

There are enough of them

from a variety of family members, friends, and business
associates that I can put together a remarkably complete
description of a period well over a hundred years ago.

The

papers contain a fascinating account of the early settle­
ment and development of our home area as well as a re­
vealing introduction to our ancestors and some of their
acquaintances.
Because I believe all of you would appreciate this
material and the information it contains, I decided to
summarize it, telling as much as I can from the letters
themselves and occasionally, when something was unclear
there, including material from other sources— county his­
tories, government records, newspaper articles.
volume is the result.

This

I was reasonably sure that none of

8
you would have the time (and perhaps not the inclination)
to wade through the original letters, but hopefully you
can, through this book, know our family better and look
through their eyes at their move to the west.

Naturally,

I've selected the comments from the letters that seemed
most revealing to me about the subjects that interest me
particularly— the personalities of the people, descriptions
of the land, the development of the farm, and the family's
community activities.

I think you'll find them interest­

ing, too.
So that you can keep track of who's who, the first
step must be a brief introduction to the family members
most involved, with some background material on their lives
prior to the move to Michigan.

Then I'll go on to their

decision to move, the selection and purchase of land, its
development, and the process of turning a wilderness into
profitable farm land and a pleasant community.

For easy

reference, I've listed on the next page the people most
directly involved (shades of Dr. Zhivago I); in addition,
if you want to check more on the details of the family
tree, I have added that kind of information in the ap­
pendix.

9
Name

Relationship

Elisha Deming Andrews - - - - Our great great grandfather
and head of the principal
family involved.
Betsey Lathrop Andrews - - - Elisha's wife, our great
great grandmother.
Seth Lathrop Andrews )
Anne Amelia Andrews
)
Joseph Lathrop Andrews) - - - Children of Elisha and
Betsey; Anne is our great
Charles Andrews
)
grandmother.
Edmund (Ned) Andrews )
George Andrews
)
Edward Lathrop - - - - - - - Brother of Betsey Andrews.
Emma Andrews Lathrop - - - - Wife of Edward and sister
of Elisha.
The three older Lathrop
Charles Lathrop)
children (there were eleven
Seth Lathrop
altogether).
Jane Lathrop
)
Solomon Lathrop - - - - - - - Brother to Betsey and Edward;
he moved with them to
Michigan.
- Uncle to Betsey and Edward.
Samuel Lathrop
- Our great grandfather;
Eleazer W. True
husband of Anne Amelia
Andrews.
Daniel True)
Joseph True)
Betsey True)
John Taylor

Henry TenEyck

- Eleazer's brothers and
sister.
- Close friend of Elisha's,
who preceded him to
Michigan.
- First tenant on Elisha's
Michigan land.

CHAPTER II
THE FAMILY AND ITS BACKGROUND
IN VERMONT AND NEW YORK
Most of the correspondence relates to the familyheaded by Elisha Deming Andrews, our great great grand­
father, who was born in Southington, Connecticut, in 1783.
After graduating from Yale College in 1803i he moved to
Putney, Vermont (Figure 2), where he spent about twentythree years as minister of the Congregational Church.

He

married Betsey Lathrop of West Springfield, Massachusetts,
a granddaughter of the Rev. Dr. Joseph Lathrop, who was
Elisha’s advisor on religious affairs.

Although Elisha was

primarily a minister, he bought and operated a farm which
was home to the family.
Family and Friends
Elisha and Betsey had eight children, two of whom
died in infancy.

Of the remaining six, the oldest, Seth,

studied at Andover and Dartmouth and then taught briefly
before becoming a medical doctor.

He spent twelve years as

a medical missionary in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii).

Not

long before sailing to the Sandwich Islands, he married
Parnelly Pierce, who bore him four children.

10

Their whole

11

NEW
ENGLAND
100

50

Mi les

Dartmouth

H anover

Putney •

Andover

!_

• W.

Springfield

; c o t e ;
(Southington)

I

• I

I Yal e
f N e w \
I College • H a v e n 'h

i

. .

'1

/

los

A t

^vrr*'

MTD/GP

Figure 2.

Reference map of New England.

12
family suffered a great deal from various illnesses, and
Parnelly and three of their children died on the Islands.
Seth, in poor health himself, returned home with his re­
maining child, George, in 1848.

Later he remarried and set

up medical practice in Romeo, Michigan.
Anne Amelia Andrews was next oldest and was our
great grandmother.

She attended the female seminary in

Canandaigua, New York, then did some teaching, but was at
home most of the time until her marriage to Eleazer Wells
True, also a teacher.

They had known each other for many

years, both in New York and in Michigan, but did not marry
until 1847 when she was thirty-six and he was forty.
Eleazer was always referred to as Mr. True, even in Anne's
diary, and Mother reports that he was always so addressed,
even in the immediate family.

In his pictures he looks

like the sourest, grouchiest man imaginable, but his family
described him as having a rare sense of humor.

I wonder

whether the "rare" referred to the quality of his humor or
to the frequency of its appearance!

Mr. True conducted a

private school for a few years, but he eventually took over
the operation of the farm which had been their wedding
present from Elisha.
There are letters from some of the True siblings—
Daniel, Joseph, and Betsey.

The Trues were from Maine but

had moved to New York and then westward, though not all to
the same place.

The other four Andrews children were all sons.
next oldest, Joseph, was less fortunate than the rest.

The
He

suffered brain damage during a period of prolonged high
fever.

In 1851 Elisha wrote that he:

has long been an invalid, subject to mental derange-^
ment and for a year was a raving maniac so that we had
to keep him in close confinement. He is now composed
and quiet, and devotes most of his time to reading
medical Books, to which he is so enthusiastically
attached, as to constitute a monomania.1
Anne took care of him after their parents died, and the
brothers all contributed to his support.

Letters to

"Josie" from them and later from nieces and nephews all
display great affection and concern for him.
Charles became a successful farmer on part of
Elisha's original purchase in Michigan and also served
briefly as a state senator.

Edmund (Ned) studied medicine

at the University of Michigan, was an anatomy professor
there for awhile, and then became a highly successful
surgeon in Chicago.

He was influential in starting the

medical school at Northwestern University and also in de­
veloping the Museum of Natural Science.

George helped his

father farm for a few years, then studied law in Detroit,
practiced in Knoxville, Tennessee, served as a United
States District Attorney and finally was a justice of the
Tennessee State Supreme Court.
New England Background
The members of the family all seemed to be very
close, and their warmth and a great sense of humor are most

14
obvious in their letters.

The basis for their closeness

must have been established in Putney, although there is
little in the records from that period.

Among the few

references to their early childhood are some found in
letters that Ned wrote in 1886, after he had made a senti­
mental journey back to Vermont.

I was especially touched

by two letters, one to Charles and one to Anne.

In 1888

Ned hired a commercial photographer to take pictures of
familiar places around Putney (Figure 3)> and he sent these
to his brother and sister.

The old home and barns were

gone, so he could not include pictures of those, but the
town and countryside are shown (Figure 4).

Ned had looked

for souvenirs to send, and it is about these that he wrote.
Nov. 18, 1886
Dear Charlie,
When in Putney last summer I strolled up our
old home brook /Figure
where the ends of father's
old irrigation ditches still remain. I tried to find
some pretty pebble or something for a memento to send
you but without brilliant success. However you re­
member down at the edge of the meadow the brook spread
out into a pool under the arching bushes, where we used
to swim,— or paddle. Well, I picked up a little piece
of white quartz, in the bottom where our naked feet may
have pressed it. I had a lapidary cut off a little
slab of it to set in my box, and also cut out a pair of
sleeve buttons for you, which I send by express here­
with. There are curious alternating bands or clouds of
white and transparent quartz in it, which look rather
pretty in my eyes, though not conspicuous to a careless
glance. I believe you will enjoy them for the sake of
their origin in our old brook.
We are well & all send love,
Ned.
P.S. The following is a postcript to the history of the
stone. If it isnt externally a literal truth, maybe it
"sort of true inside."
You know the streams winding among those hills
are often under the care of brook-sprites, who have a

15

Figure $. Ned's sketch map of Putney, Vermont.
On it he indicated the location of places which were
photographed:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
M
P
E
S
T
X

David Crawford's
Bridge
Church
Dam
Emory Mason's
Cascade in brook
Grist mill
Old house
Maples
Paper mill
Cart road crossing
Corner store
Tavern
Old school house

17

Figure 4.
family garden.

View of the village of Putney from the

18

Figure 5»
to play.

The "brook where the Andrews children used

19
care for the beauty of the brooks, & take an interest
in the enjoyment of everything along their margins.
Well— you remember too the falls up the brook. They
are higher than my memory painted, being in fact about
20 ft, & overarched with trees as of yore.
You see, the brook sprite lives there, or
rather the entry to her home is there behind a silvery
sheet of spray. It looks merely like a deep crevice
in the rock, but it leads far back westward into the
heart of Bare Hill, where she has a suite of cavernous
apartments, lighted with phosphorescent crystals.
There are groves of trees, whose trunks are stalac­
tites, the leaves emeralds, & the fruits are crystals
of that splendid & rare emerald green flour spar,
which father found.
His discovery was merely a few of
these fallen fruits, washed out by the outlet of the
little lake on whose margin the trees stand, in the
middle of the group of caverns.
Well this is getting prosy, since you knew all
about it before. This summer, I wandered up to the
falls, & sat down in the little cool gorge to rest,
leaning back against the rock. I took the little
quartz stone out of my pocket, & began to examine it,
especially the little wayward alternating bands of
whiteness & transparency. A voice— very soft— -like a
mingled sound of wind & plashing water— said, MDo you
know what those bands are?” I looked up, & there
across the little gorge not five feet from me sat our
brook sprite on a mossy stone— faint, & dim, but real.
I replied, "No, I dont quite understand it." "Well"—
she said— "that is one of my record stones. Many years
ago there were some little chattering children, Andrews
by name, who lived down yonder. They used in the sum­
mer to come down & play in my brook, & in the winter
they came over the snow on their sleds. It was part
of my duty to prevent them from getting hurt about my
brook, & it was pleasant to see them, so I used to keep
a record of their coming. Every summer I used to
crystalize some of the brook water into a layer of
transparent stone, so the clear bands in the pebble
count the summers these children spent about the brook.
Every winter, when the snow brought them down on their
sleds, I laid on a white band. So the clear bands show
the summers, & the white bands the winters which the
frolicking Andrews children spent there. I seem to see
their mother now, as she used to bring them to the
front door of the house & send them toddling down the
orchard, looking after them as they went,— shading her
eyes with her hand as she stood in the doorway.
After a few years they went away. I was
grieved, & threw the record stone into the pool where
they used to swim. Then she suddenly looked at me more
earnestly, & added, "By the bright waterfalls I I

20
believe you are one of them— but you don't look as
pretty as you used to." Then her form got more misty
& seemed to recede into the crevice behind the spray
& disappeared. I sat there a long time, & had a nap
leaning on the rock, but I did not see her again.
So you see how the soft cloud bands came to be
in the stone, & how it happened that the number of
bands is about the same as the summers & winters we
spent about the dear old brook. Really, I didnt feel
like throwing the stone away after that, so I had it
cut into a pair of sleeve buttons for you.
Ned
And to Anne:
April 1887
Ma Soeur Tres Ainee,
Isaac Puffer of Putney, when he pulled down
our old house, made an exception in favor of the pro­
jection at the S.W. corner wherethe bedroom was. He
moved that bodily to his new location & it stands there
yet, a kind of catch-all tool house, with its old
plastering, etc unchanged. I pulled out an old
fashioned hand made wrought nail from a cleat on the
wall, one of a row of nails on which mother used to
hang things. Now I said to myself, behold this old
nail shall be glorified. So I have had it straight­
ened, & polished, & gilded, & a pin attached to it,
wherewith you can pin your shawl, or whatever else is
customarily done with pins, and I send it herewith by
express in memory of the old house in the hills, lest
for want of a relic you grow negligent, & forget the
"spot where we was born on."
With much love,
Ned.
P.S. When I entered the old tool house or bedroom, I
was dreamy with memories, but looking around I saw this
nail nodding & wagging its head, & trying to wink, & as
I approached to see what it wanted, it remarked in a
clinky voice, "There used to be a little black haired
girl flouncing about here,— up to mischief generally.
One day she tried to take down her mother's dress,
hanging on m e , & she scratched her hand on my head.
She cried & hopped around the room, & looked so pretty
with her black eyes full of tears, that I have wanted
all these years to see her again."
I said she's all right, come with me & you
shall go & stay with her the rest of your little
wrought iron days. So I pulld it out of the cleat &
put it in my pocket, & here it is.
N.

21
These letters certainly don’t sound as if they had been
written by the stereotyped straight-laced, no-nonsense New
Englander!
Putney may have had great sentimental significance
for them, but like so much of New England, the area was a
real challenge to a farmer.

The village is located about

a mile from the Connecticut River and extends along the
valley of a tributary stream, Sacketts Brook (Figure 6).
The hills on either side of the brook rise eight or nine
hundred feet above the valley in a distance of one and a
half to two miles.

Ned described the area as follows when

he visited there in 1886:
This is a very pretty township in point of scenery &
the soil is good. Even wheat grows here now. The
hills seem high. The gorge of the big brook by my
barometer is 130 feet deep, from the top of the upper
dam above the bridge down to the water below the last
tumble. The old grist mill is there, & sundry other
factory concerns above & below it /Figure

']J^

When the family moved from Putney to New York
State in 1829, Anne and Seth had some discussion about the
relative merits of the two areas.

Anne thought New York

was an improvement, while Seth still preferred the old
home.

Ned’s comment about growing wheat "now" confirms a

comment in a letter from Seth to Anne written July 19,
1831 :
regards the beauty of N.Y. & Con. river, I could not
imagine, when I was in N.Y., what had perverted your
tastes so much, but have come to the conclusion that
it must be owing to a change of diet; having been
accustomed to live on rye, when you came to live on
wheat you found it so much better, that you at once
concluded the country was better.

22
^

•/

,

suO

■—

4

......—

A

X

A
w

Figure 6. Ned's map of the Town of Putney and
the surrounding area.

23

Figure 7»

Grist mill and dam in Putney, Vermont.

24
So while the Putney area may have had the edge in beauty,
their New York home must have been an easier and more re­
warding area to farm.
The farm in Vermont may have presented some diffi­
culties in operation because of fragmentation, although one
piece of it contained seventy-five acres.

The typical New

England town system of development was used there, as is
evident in the deed to the farm which Elisha bought in
1815.

He had purchased other small lots in 1810 and 1815*

but the portion of a deed quoted below illustrates
especially well some of the characteristics of the town
system and of metes and bounds descriptions.
Know All Men by these presents, that I Jeremiah Ryan
of Putney in the County of Windham in the state of
Vermont, for and in consideration of the sum of one
thousand three Hundred dollars current money of the
United States received to my full satisfaction of
Elisha D. Andrews of Putney aforesaid the receipt
whereof I do hereby acknowledge have given granted,
bargained & sold and by these presents do give grant,
bargain, sell, alien, release, convey & confirm unto
the said Andrews his heirs and assigns forever certain
pieces or parcels of land lying and being in Putney.
Viz one piece containing ninety five square rods of
land described as follows, beginning at the North East
corner of the old part of the Barn on the stage road
thence south 15 degrees west through the barn seventeen
rods to the road leading to Robins Ferry (socalld)
thence northwesterly on the East line of said road
seventeen rods 18 links to the stage road, thence
easterly on the south line of the stage road to the
place of Beginning, with the old part of the Barn
thereon standing.
Also, a certain other piece of land containing
seventy five acres lying East of the road leading to
Robbins Ferry and on the south line of lot No 20 in
the 5th Range of fifty acre lots, Beginning on said
road, thence East 10 degrees south one hundred and
thirty eight rods and on half to a stake and stones;
thence Northerly on the east line of said lot seventy
six and an half rods to a stake and stones, thence west

25
ten degrees North to the road aforesaid, thence
southerly on the East line of said road to the place
of beginning.
Also one other piece of land, called the House
lot, lying west of the stage road, it being my part of
the House lot as set to me by Commissioners of the
Court of Probate with the buildings and appertainances
thereunto belonging, also the additional Half of the
upper part of the House as conveyed to me by Eliphalet
Whitney Junr.5
There is not much information on the farming
activities in Vermont in the family papers.

As mentioned

before, they must have grown rye instead of wheat.

Also,

many years later Elisha stated that he had raised sheep
for forty years.

4.

Certainly they harvested grass.

One

interesting paper about that remains and indicates that
Elisha was inventive and enterprising in his activities.
It is a draft labeled "For the New England Farmer," and it
explains those irrigation ditches Ned referred to.
_
I own a farm in the hilly parts of Vermont
^/Figure 87, through which a small brook runs, by which
I have irrigated my lands to very great advantage.
Where I have carried the water my crops of grass have
been doubled, and in some places increased three or
four fold.
Some pieces on which two years ago, the grass
was hardly worth mowing, this year yielded grass that
lodged so that I was obliged to cut it two weeks before
the usual time of mowing; and from the same ground I
cut a heavy second crop.
I have lately cut a canal of two furrows, sixty
or seventy rods, for the double purpose of irrigating
my own lands, and of filling my neighbors well. The
latter object was completely effected. By spreading
the water over the ground for some rods above the well,
tho it had been dry two or three months, in three or
four days, it had ten or twelve feet of water.
A little practice has taught me that water may
be carried, where a few years ago I should have sup­
posed it impossible to carry it; and some of my
neighbors have said that I actually have carried it
up hill.

26

Figure 8. View of meadows and Bare Hill from the
village of Putney.
The Andrews farm was on the opposite
side of Bare Hill.

I

27
The process is very simple and easy, if you
are provided with a proper implement to lay out the
canals. They cannot be drawn with any success merely
by the eye, or by guess.
The only instrument, that I have as yet made
use of, is a very simple one that any farmer may make
in ten minutes. I took a thick piece of board about
six inches square, thro the centre of this bored a
hole & put in a staff about 3-1/2 feet long with the
lower end sharpened to stick into the ground. Upon
this standard I lay a larger board planed smooth, for
instance such as my wife turns her cheeses upon. I
then turn water upon the surface and turn the board so
that the water will run very moderately in the direc­
tion I wish to lay the canal.
I begin my operations by making a dam across
the stream, with stone or other materials from one to
two feet high. When I make the dam with stone I lay
the largest stone at the bottom, and the second tier I
draw back up stream six inches or a foot if I have
bottom stone large enough, so that the lower stones may
project far enough to recieve the flood-water when it
pitches over the dam. This will prevent a deep hole
being worn out below, which might endanger the dam and
do other mischief. I then begin the canal on the bank
keeping it level and choose to make the lower side
with stone till I get beyond the reach of high water,
as earth would be washed away. If the bank of the
stream is a rock and too high to raise a dam over it,
a trough of boards or plank may be used to convey the
water till you can find suitable ground to begin the
canal. I then set my instrument for leveling so as to
range with the surface of the water in the pond, and
then by looking across the board I see at once where
the canal must be cut. I then send a man with a hoe,
beginning at the upper end of the canal to make marks
in the turf to direct its course. These marks, if the
ground be quite even may be a rod apart, but if it be
uneven they should be as nigh as three or four feet,
for I find that on uneven ground, if they are distant,
there is danger of running the channel either too high
or too low and thus of increasing the labor of making
the canal.
After having marked out a suitable portion of
the canal, I put in the plow so as to turn the furrow
down hill, and carefully keep it upon the line of the
marks, and after drawing about two furrows clear out
with a hoe, and this will make a canal sufficient to
carry water to a great extent, and two men with a team
will make from one to two hundred rods in a day.
This canal being nearly level will not be
gullied out by a swift current; you may dam it and
overflow it where you please, or which is better, put

28
in the bank a piece of board with an auger hole in it
to let out such a quantity of water as you please.
The ground below will be soaked full of water and
springs will often be made many rods below. To catch
the waste water & carry it where it will be most useful
a number of canals one below another may be made as
necessity requires.
Canals of this kind can be made at a very
little expense, and a very little attention will keep
them in repair. One dollar laid out in this way will
with a little care yield five dollars a year for ever.
In those parts of the country which abound with hills
and streams the water rightly applied I have no doubt
would increase the value of our produce enough to pay
taxes of every species and to defray all our public
expenses.
I had not thought of Vermont as deficient in
moisture and in need of irrigation, but a decrease in water
supply in the summer was indicated in one of Ned's letters
discussing instructions to the photographer.

He says:

the pictures ought to be taken as quick as the leaves
are on the trees, & before the brooks are too much
dried up. The clearing of the woods plowing the ground
on so many of the Vermont hills & valleys lets the
water run off early in the season, & leaves the streams
& cascades very feeble in August.5
Despite the success or lack of it in farming,
Elisha's first call was to the ministry, and basically it
was a change there that caused him to make a move to New
York.

Some minutes of church meetings indicate trouble

between two groups in the church, although the information
is not complete enough to figure out the basis of the
difficulty.

Elisha said, however, in a letter written

years later:
I was settled in the ministry about 23 years in
Vermont, and probably had as much peace and mutual good
feeling as is the ordinary lot of my brethren. A
division in the society induced me to ak a dismission
in 1829. I removed to the state of N. Y. 8 miles from

<

29
Rochester, where I remained 12 years, a part of the
time with a pastoral charge and part of the time on a
farm, where I endeavoured by precept & example to teach
my young boys habits of industry and agricultural
knowledge in which I was not altogether unsuccessful.^
Admittedly the information for this early period
in Vermont is sketchy, but it provides some insight into
the family and their situation.

When he resigned from his

pastoral position in 1829* Elisha sought another assign­
ment.

The western part of New York State was developing

rapidly, and it was there that he found a promising site
to settle.
Migration to New York
Elisha had spent most of June and the early part
of July 1828 traveling in New York State.
indication of his reason for the trip.

He gave no

Perhaps he could

foresee the schism in his church and was investigating
possible new locations.

Or he could have been considering

moving to greener pastures, as had some of his friends,
without any unusual reasons for leaving Vermont.
this was just a pleasure trip.

Maybe

Certainly he visited many

friends and acquaintances in a number of different places,
and he also "saw the sights."
Two of the letters he wrote Betsey while on the
trip are in the collection, and they are filled with in­
teresting descriptions of the area, methods of travel, and
the people he met.

I have deleted most of his references

to old friends and the state of their health, but I am

30
including all his comments of general interest.

By way of

explaining his references to papers sent, the family used
newspapers as messages; when they arrived somewhere, they
mailed a paper to indicate their safe arrival at that
spot.

Location of places mentioned in his letters are

indicated in Figure 9Utica

June 13th

1828

Frid. Morning

My Dear
I arrived here last evening, in the Midst of a
hard shower, in good health. I had last evening only
time to dispatch to you a Utica Paper. I have so far
had a prosperous journey and a pleasant one except
some had roads and crowded coaches. I have travelled
wholly by the stage, as it would give me a better
opportunity to see the country, and a more delightful
country I should think could not be found on this
dirty planet. The valey of the Mowhawk is very fine
the whole distance except about the little falls,
which is a place of considerable business. The inter­
vals upon the river are very fine, extensive in many
places, and not interrupted as on the Connecticut.
From this to Herkimer, fifteen miles, we travelled
over a rich alluvial soil to every appearance equal to
the best intervals on Connecticut or Deerfield Rivers.
Such fields of wheat I have seen as I never saw be­
fore. Many of them are extensive and as stout as they
can grow, in very many instances it is already lodged.
Yet this is not so much of a wheat country as some to
the west. As to the moral & religious condition of
the country I have as yet been able to make a few ob­
servations. This I can say, I have found very civil
houses and company. No drinking, no swearing except
by some ostler or low character.
Thursday 11 o clock. . . . This place is all
business & Bustle. The moving of boats, the sounding
of bugles, the ringing of packet bells, the coaches &
the throng in the streets have a kind of holiday
appearance & remind one of the busy scenes of New York.
Everything here is neat & elegant. The buildings are
none of them in a state of decay and many of them
elegant.
Hamilton College, Clinton, Saturday Morning
It is a delightful morning, and I am on the
most delightful spot I ever set eyes on. I cannot see
how one feature of the natural scenery could be

iSfttw

N ew York

Settlement
York

Indian village
Lake

Ontario
Erie Canal

Gaines
Tuscarora
Queerstown Hts.
Manchester!

Lockpor'

Albion
Syracuse«
« Mendon
Erie Canal
I*West Bloomfield

Niagara Falls

Utica
Herkimer

Oneida

Vernon /Clinton

Buffalo
Geneseo
eg

50
Miles

Figure 9.

Reference map of New York State

32
altered for the "better. The college buildings are
extensive & beautiful, resembling Yale except that they
are of stone painted white. They have a beautiful &
extensive yard. They stand on a considerable eminence
which has a commanding & most delightful country around
it. The . . . broad, rich & fertile valey of the
Oriscany lies before it in full view, on the east side
of the valey 1-1/2 mile distant is the pleasant vilage
of Clinton, and on the east side of the valey the
country is gently assending so as to present to the
best advantage extensive well cultivated fields, groves
of wood and handsome farm houses.
The husbandry is good, everything is neat & in
good order, differing in this respect from the rich
valey of the Mohawk inhabited by the Dutch. The hills
on that valy rise more abruptly & are not by any means
so pleasant.
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

I can write to you but a sketch. You see I
grow feverish. They say the country is more delightful
to the west. If so my next letter may be in poetry.
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

«

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Saturday 6 o clock P. M.
I have now arrived at Vernon 17 miles west of
Utica where I expect to spend the Sabbath with a
clergyman who appears to be a good man. Monday morn­
ing I expect to continue my rout in the stage to the
west, and shall not probably arrive at Rochester till
about the close of the week. My visit to Hamilton
College has been a very pleasant one. . . . Doct.
Davis as there was no stage to this place sent his
chaise 8 miles to bring me to this place a civility
which I should have declined except from the cordiality
with which it was offered. He proffers me any assist­
ance in his power should I be in a situation to need
it. Love to all the family. I am within five miles of
Oneida the Indian settlement and the natives have a
number of them just passed. They look a little
superior to the vagrant Indians of Connecticutt, But
appear to be a wretched set of people, tho they have a
fine country & enough of it to render every man in the
tribe independent.
I have but little more paper and
can only say I should be very glad to see you; and bid
you once more good bye.
E. D. Andrews
There must have been at least one more letter be­
tween the one just quoted and the one which follows.

I

wish we could find that one, since it covered the part of

33
New York to which they eventually moved.

The next one is

also very interesting, however.
Manchester village, American side of Niagara Falls
My Dearest
My last was sent from W. Bloomfield. Thence I
was carried by Mr. Arnold to Rochester. . . . Rochester
is a place of great business. We see here an elegant
town surrounded by stumps & trees and other marks of a
recently subdued forrest. The country west of
Rochester is wild. There is much unsettled land, and
not a few log houses. From Rochester I went on the
canal as far as Lock Port. This is a thriving vilage.
The Locks are a superb work of Masonry & look as if
they would stand for ages. The excavation of the
solid rock for miles in length & 20 feet deep looks
like a work too great for human skill. The masses of
rock thrown out upon the banks look more like mountains
than anything I have seen in this western country.
. . . From Lockport I took the stage for Tuscarora.
. . . The Tuscaroras are some of them interesting.
The chief & one of his sons came in & could talk in
English. Many of them have cultivated fields, horses,
oxen, cows, sheep, &c. Their children look bright &
intiligent and I am told that many of them make good
proficiency in learning. A few of them are pious &
exemplary members of the church.
The country through which I have passed is
very rich & fertile. It appears to lie upon Horrizontal strata of limestone, and of course is a flat
country, without any of those steep & rough ascents
that we see in New England. From queenstown Heights a
few miles below the falls there runs a hill, or moun­
tain ridge as it is called, east beyond the Genesee
river. This hill is formed by the horizontal strata
of limestone being suddenly cropped off and making a
hill of 100 or more feet in Height. All above this
hill is a flat or gently undating country, or what is
called table land. Below the hill is also a country
still more flat or level, & was doubtless the bed of a
lake before the Barriers were worn away by the St.
Lawrence. The Tuscarora settlement is on the sumit of
this hill, and has a comanding view of Lake Ontario,
tho at the distance of ten or more miles. The oppo­
site shore is just visible east of York. The country
between the lake and ridge lies before you an almost
unbroken forrest and looks as level as the lake itself
as far as the eye can extend to the east & west.
Except for its deep & beautiful verdure you might
mistake it for an ocean. The trees here are Majestic
& lofty. The oaks hickory & black walnut tower into
the skies like the loftiest of our pines. Such

34-

beautiful timber I never before saw. At Tuscarora I
could hear the incessant roar of the great wonder of
the world like a gentle murmur in the Breeze. I have
Just arrived at the falls in the heat of the day but
have chose to converse with you a while before I take
a particular survey of this interesting scene. I have
had a distant view of the cataract and rode some
distance upon the high banks of the Niagara Below. It
is a majestic stream, and the water presents a deep &
lively green, as if it had been tinged by some
brilliant dye. It is not so deep as the green of the
sea. Its colour is probably owing to its depth. More
about this hereafter.
I design to go from this place tomorrow up the
Canada side to Buffaloe where I design to keep the sab­
bath. Thence I shall return home as rapidly as pos­
sible. The fourth sabbath I design to spend at Syra­
cuse or East of there. I think I shall return by the
springs, where I may spend a day or so. I hope to
hear from you at Buffaloe. I cannot now fix the day
of my return, but if I do not write you, I will put
the expected day of my return upon a paper. This I
design to forward from Buffaloe. . . .
British side Niagara falls June 28th
I arrived yesterday afternoon on the American
side & spent the afternoon in viewing the wonders of
the place & this morning have taken a view of this
side. I will not attempt a particular description
till I see you. I cannot say that the scene much
exceeded my expectations, nor was I so much disap­
pointed as Charles was at Bellows falls. It is
certainly something more than a mill dam & I would
very gladly give a few dollars if you & the children
could behold the scene with me.
I have been to visit the ground on which was
fought the bloody battle of Bridgewater, between 800
& 900 on each side were killed & missing. I saw the
skull of a poor fellow that was left in the woods un­
buried. I have a ball that a boy that was with me
picked up, for which he charged me a sixpence.
I go this afternoon on the Canada side to
Buffaloe where I expect to keep sabbath. I am in one
of the most superb hotels that I have ever seen. From
the top of the building I have a full view of the falls
at a little distance beneath. The house trembles by
the pouring of the waters. The roar here does not
appear loud, tho it is heard at a great distance.
From the top of this very high house there is a very
extensive prospect and the wilderness around all ap­
pears as level as the ocean, except a little elevation
to the south, which I suppose to be on the east shores
of Erie, and on the west at a great distance there is
a very little rise above the general level. The

35
country on each side of the falls is a level champain
country, & the falls have evidently worn a mighty
chasm in the rocks which are the common blue limestone
in horizontal strata on which this whole western world
is based. The strata is sometimes very thin & easily
crumbled away. In other cases it is thick & solid &
lies in tables several feet thick & so hard as to ap­
pear imperishable. This is the case with what is
called the table rock on the west side. There is a
strata 3 feet thick on the surface very hard & solid,
beneath this it is more soft & perishable & of course
has worn away & left the upper strata projecting over
many feet.
Buffaloe, June 29th
I have Just finished reading your letter the
3d time and can assure you I was very glad to recieve
it. I arrived here last evening at Dark. I had a
very pleasant ride from the falls. The whole distance
20 miles is without a hill, 16 miles of it upon the
river bank and not a bush upon the shore to interrupt
the prospect. The banks from 2-1/2 to 5 feet high.
The river a smoth gentle stream from 1/2 a mile to a
mile wide. On the right of the road rich & well culti­
vated fields the whole distance and about 100 rods in
the rear a continued & unbroken forrest of majestic
trees. I have seen places more fertile, but none on
the whole that presented more to delight the eye of
the traveller than this. . . . I am glad I have doubled
my Journeys end & shall make my way home as rapidly as
possible. I design to spend a day at Geneseo, part of
a day at Bloomfield, part of a day or a sabbath at
Syracuse, a day at the springs & mean to be home as
early next week as I can. I have not seen enough of
this place to give much account of it. But I think it
to be a place of increasing business & many handsome
buildings.
With much love, yours
E D Andrews
There is no doubt that Elisha was impressed with
New York State, and a year or so later he moved his family
there from Vermont.

He accepted an assignment at Mendon

to serve a mission church of forty families

.7' Not

much is

said about how the family managed to live for the next two
years.

According to the official papers outlining his

ministerial appointment, the Presbyterian Church guaranteed

36
Q
Elisha only fifty dollars a year.

He was supposed to

collect as much of that fifty dollars from the congrega­
tion as possible; the central church only made up any
deficit.

In a report Elisha made to the church in late

1831» he told of the poor collection he had made toward
his salary (only $25)? explaining that "the church have
lost much by emigration, eight members went to Michigan in
one family.
During this same time, the family continued to in­
vestigate other possibilities for settlement.

Since the

opening of the Erie Canal in 1825, migration to Michigan
had been increasing steadily, and the Andrews were well
exposed to this movement.

They must have heard numerous

reports from travelers and tradesmen, and some of their
friends and acquaintances were moving west.

Elisha and

Betsey's brothers from Massachusetts discussed the prospects of a move west.

A letter from her brother Solomon

written in December 1830 commented: "Whether Michigan is
the best I cannot say, but one thing I can say, i.e., if
circumstances would justify my leaving this place I would
do it immediately & I know not of any place I should prefer
looking to than Michigan.
In the spring of 1831 Elisha made an exploratory
trip to Michigan.

Both Seth and Anne were in New England,

Seth getting ready for graduation from Dartmouth College
at Hanover, New Hampshire, and Anne visiting relatives in
Connecticut and Vermont.

Seth wrote Anne several letters

37
passing on to her family news, including some glowing re­
ports about Michigan.
Father did not write how the improvements are
to be made in Mich. I conclude the soil is so fertile
that houses, barns, &c. grow there spontaneously.
I
should like to know how long it takes to raise a crop,
and whether the young ones can be transplanted. If
they can I would get one and set it out somewhere in
the valley of Connecticut river and let it grow up
while I prepare myself to occupy it.11
Despite the

appeal of Michigan, byAugust Elisha

showed a preference

for New York State as ahome for the

family.

again from Seth:

Anne heard

Mr. Bates and wife have visited at our house,_and
father has been absent a week to visit them /at
Gaines, N. Y^Z- He says he saw some fine situations in
that part of the country which he should prefer for a
residence to Mich., and perhaps may purchase and re­
move there at the close of his year in Nov. The place
that he was most pleased with, was two miles from the
village of Albion; and for pleasantness and fertility
would not be inferiour to old Judge Barnards. The
buildings are worth more. The farm contains 155
acres. He says nothing about it there, till the
business is settled which will be in a few weeks; per­
haps it would be as well to say nothing about it, for
fear some bird of the air should carry it. I hope he
will purchase it. Do you know wher the said village
of Albion is?
it is not on my atlas. 12
This

dealwas never completed, however, and in

February 1852 Elisha wrote to friends:
I have purchased 105 acres of land under very good
improvement & fence, and buildings estimated to be
worth from 1500 to 1500 dollars. I give 55 hundred
dollars. I have also the expectation of buying an
addition
thatwill make my farm a respectable one.
My place
lies2 miles south of the canal in the
village of Pittsford.13
Elisha did try to expand the farm.

Several statements

appear in letters about unsuccessful attempts to buy more

38
land, and Seth reported to Anne that "he means to buy all
the land that joins him."

1 4

Not only was the farm itself considerably im­
proved, but the village of Pittsford was well developed.
As early as 1830 it had been described a s:
an incorporated village pleasantly situated on the
Erie Canal. It has three lawyers and five clerks,
four Physicians and three medical students, one priest
and one theological student, one meeting house one
school house, 5 dry goods stores, four publick
houses.15
Despite a pleasant situation in New York State,
Elisha continued to be interested in Michigan.

He had

bought 720 acres of land there in 1831, the farm to which
the family finally moved ten years later.

The decision to

live in New York while investing in Michigan seems to have
been based on family difficulties.

Betsey's brother

Edward had married Elisha's sister Emma.

The couple had

been living with their children in West Springfield,
Massachusetts, and Edward had fallen in with "bad com­
panions."

He had spent all the money he could lay his

hands on, plus running up debts against the property Emma
had inherited.

He was being threatened by his creditors

and finally skipped town to avoid arrest, going to join
Betsey and Elisha.

Edward must have kept his whereabouts

secret from most people, for his brother Solomon wrote
Elisha on December 27, 1830: "I am apprehensive that it
would be well for you when you write in relation to his
matters to have the superscription in another hand as yours

39
is known & to have it put into an office in some place be­
sides Mendon."
Edward wanted to go to Michigan and make a new
start, then have his family join him.

His father (and

Betsey's) was seriously ill and not expected to live long,
and Edward thought his inheritance from that estate would
make it all possible.

But the father questioned Edward's

ability to stick to his resolutions for reform; he put
Edward's portion of the estate in the hands of trustees,
to be handled for the benefit of Edward's children.
Nothing could be done with the land or the funds without
the approval of the trustees, his brother Solomon and an
uncle.

The father also spoke of his fears to the trustees,

and Solomon wrote to Edward after their father's death:
He said however that your health was not good & your
Boys not the stoutest & he feared that if you went onto
a farm entirely new, you would not be able to get along
with it. he hoped that you would find one with some
clearing already made. He was desirous also that you
& Mr. A. /ndrews/ should make a pitch near each other.
. . . Emma says she wishes me to tell you that she has
nothing in particular to say, only that she is willing
to go anywhere, but does not want to go to Michigan.1°
And so Edward bought a farm in West Bloomfield,
and they all decided to remain in New York for a while at
least.

It was some time before all the financial affairs

were straightened out and Edward proved that he could
manage on his own.

Finally, although the funds were still

under control of trustees, it was agreed in 1837 that:
"If he & his family are willing to go to Michigan, there

40
can be no doubt but that it will be a movement which will
contribute greatly to the pecuniary advantage of his chil17
dren."
The inheritance from the Lathrop estate was no

'

doubt of considerable help to both families in their in­
vestments.

Edward received (or rather his children did)

land appraised at

$1,136.58

TO

and Betsey half that amount.

Actually, in 1836 three families— Solomon Lathrop's
(the brother in Massachusetts), Edward Lathrop's, and
Elisha Andrews'— planned to make the move to Michigan to­
gether in 1837*

The first two succeeded in selling their

eastern farms, but Elisha was unable to do so.

He, there­

fore, had to stay in New York when the others moved.

The

depression which hit in 1837 made it difficult to get cash
for anything.

On December 16, 1839 1 Elisha wrote Edward

about some prospective buyers but indicated: "I have been
so often disappointed that my hopes are not very strong."
Not until 1841 did the Andrews manage to join the other
families in Michigan.

CHAPTER III
THE LAND IN MICHIGAN
With the exception of the first couple of years,
most of the family's stay in New York State was considered
temporary.

Their direct participation in the westward

movement had been halted for a few years, but Elisha's
interest in Michigan land continued, with speculation on a
grand scale as one goal and the development of farms for
himself and his children as another.
Speculation
Elisha was active in various land matters in
Michigan.

In addition to his original purchase in 1831,

he bought more land for the family, some of it in Betsey's
name.

A quarter section was purchased for Seth's fiancee

in 1836.

He also acted as a land agent for friends or

acquaintances in New York and New England.

There may have

been other transactions, but those are the ones that the
letters identify (Figure 10).
When we discovered letters about land speculation,
Mother was shocked.

They say there's a skeleton in every

family's closet, and she thought we'd turned up ours.
speculator!

And a minister at that!

A

Actually, in those

days everyone who had any spare cash was likely to invest
41

42

ANDREWS LAND PURCHASES

1835
1836
1846

1839

1835
1850

1831

1837

1838
Romeo

Miles

-T

_L
Detroit

MTD/GP

10. Land purchased by Elisha D. Andrews
for himself and members of his family.

4-3

in land.

And if you couldn't get around in person to

locate promising land, what could be better than entrust­
ing your investments to a minister?
The extent of people's interest in land is indi­
cated in a portion of a letter Eleazer True received from
his sister, who seems less well educated than the rest of
her family.

She lived with another brother, Daniel, and

earned a little money by sewing and doing housework for
neighbors.

Nevertheless, she was interested in land.

In

1836 she wrote Eleazer:
I have not much I can call my own. I have some few
dollars coming to me I spose, would you not advise me
to lay that money out in land in M. 2>chigan7 T.
,/erritor^7 and let it lay. woud it not in a couple of
years bring me double, if I should want to sell it?
let it lay now it would still be raising in value, may
be at some future day make me a home when Danil gets
married and I not wanted.!
Although emigration to Michigan had been increasing
since the opening of the Erie Canal, 1836 was the year of
peak interest in Michigan lands.

The effect on the one

small town of Pittsford is indicated in a letter written
by another brother, Joseph True, to Eleazer on July 2,

1836:
The Michigan fever has raged very violent here
this spring. The Spirit of Speculation in Michigan
Lands far exceeds anything else, it is the "Aarons
Rod" that consumes every other spirit— all that could
raise money enough to buy a lot, either by borrowing
or Begging, have gone, sent, or are going, and Thou­
sands of Dolls, has been carried from Pittsford this
Spring which makes money very scarce, it being all
locked up in the Public Treasury and the key lost I
should judge from appearances. Bronson has retd.
having traveled through Michigan & Ouisconsin, as far
west as the Mississippi River, and made some purchases.

44
Mr. Buck in company with Sami. Lathrop has just retd.
from a tour of Michigan, and have made some pretty
extensive purchases, say forty or fifty Lots in dif­
ferent sections of the Territory. They have purchased
a place in Adrian where they intend to remove with
their families and Lot, of Dry Goods, this Fall though
do not intend to locate permanently in that place.
Mr. Potter has made a purchase of a $1000. Doct.
Huntington as much or more, having sent the money by
agents, sure of a great advance located any where.
Bellow & his Brother starts next week to make a pur­
chase. Stephen Lusk has gone. Dennis has been, &
Harry is there. Lorenzo Winslow has been there and
bought in Allegan where he intends to move this fall.
Geo. Dennis has been there & bought and is about to
move. Stillman has sold his farm to John Benedict and
will remove to Pennsylvania and in indeed there is but
very few but have set their faces to the west, and
their desire to see the fancied paradise increases
with every days report of Praries vast and Pleasand
vales with which Michigan is filled, as to myself
I've been at times considerably troubled with this
fever, but an Empty Purse has thus far proved an
Effective refrigerent.
Nevertheless, Joseph did manage to join the west­
ward movement; in October his employer, a storekeeper,
2
moved and took Joseph along.
A year later, on October
13, 1837* be wrote again from Adrian, Michigan, reporting
the effect of the depression of 1837*
The fever for speculation which raged so violently
when I came here last fall has almost entirely sub­
sided, lands have fallen at least one half and no
sales of consequence at any price. Those that sup­
posed themselves vastly rich are now poor indeed.
Those that have lands and are able to hold them till
times change for the better will do well. The Pres­
sure has not been felt here as sensibly as farther
East, yet it has had a tendency to lessen the amount
of business and retard Considerably the improvements
that were about being made.
Elisha had a well-developed case of the fever also,
one which didn't subside easily.
purchase an entire township.

He promoted a plan to

Early in 1836 he corresponded

45
with friends, attempting to collect enough money for the
x
project.
One gentleman agreed to furnish $5»000. Some
people said they would be willing to settle on his land
when the purchase was completed.
long to develop.

But the scheme took too

Early in 1837 at least one of those in­

volved, David Crawford, questioned "whether it is a good
time to invest money in Michigan."

He wrote again on

April 25 * 1838:
Under these circumstances of scarcity of money, gen­
eral depression of business & little emigration to the
west, I have some doubts of the contemplated invest­
ment proving profitable, but still am not prepared to
go back if you remain of opinion that it is best to
proceed. As I am confined here I should not for a
moment think of investing money in Michigan lands
except in company with yourself, and you to see that
the Taxes are paid, and other necessary cares exer­
cised in regard to it.
Elisha must not have been discouraged by the de­
cline in migration, for in May of 1838 Mr. Crawford
spelled out the terms of an agreement:
The agreement I understand to be this, that we
are to furnish equal sums of money; that you are to
invest the whole furnished between us in lands in
Michigan, or return to me my share of what shall not
be so invested by you; that I loan to you your half of
the money so furnished between us for which you are to
give me your note, 7 pr ct Int. That you are to pay
the Taxes which may be assessed on such lands as may
be so purchased, charging one half to me, and that we
are to be equal owners of the lands & share equally in
the profit or loss.
The agreement as written provides that the
title is to be taken to me. I should have prefered
that the title of the whole should have been taken to
you & me jointly, were it not for the Common Law
principle (which may prevail in Michigan, or may not,
I do not know) which would make us joint tenants, and
prevent the sale of the land by either of us without
the consent of the other, and by which also, upon the

4-6
decease of either, the whole property would vest in
the surviver to exclusion of the heirs of the deceased.
Sometime in May or June 1838 Elisha made a trip to
Michigan to purchase land and reported on the venture.
This report shows the change in conditions and also gives
you a good idea of what they were looking for in land.
I can give you hut a poor account of my suc­
cess in purchasing land. On my arrival at Detroit I
went to the land office and found that there had been
much more land taken up than I supposed there could be
in these hard times, and that the prospect of finding
government land in the region where I wished to pur­
chase was but a lean one. I however took an account
of the unsold lands in 8 or 10 townships, and on re­
pairing to the region I found as I anticipated, that
they were only refuse lots which I would not take even
at government price. I found that the whole region
had been repeatedly explored, and that those who ex­
plored it had left without purchasing.
One man in the neighborhood of my land had
sold his farm and after exploring the regioun about
for 2 weeks was obliged to go to the western part of
the state on Grand Biver to purchase.
By going seventy-five or a hundred miles
distant I suppose I might have purchased, but I have
always had an aversion to purchasing in the interior,
and to go such a distance to purchase and annually the
same to look after the lands and to pay taxes, seemed
to be undesireable for me. I then turned my attention
to purchasing second hand land but I could find no
good lands to be sold short of 4- or 5 dollars per acre.
1 could get lands not well situated, destitute of
living water or too level and wet at 2.50 per acre, but
the taxes are high, and have been increasing at a
formidable rate. They are 50 per cent higher than they
were last year and a 100 per cent higher than they were
two years ago. Under these circumstances I concluded
not to purchase at all. But just as I was leaving two
pieces of land were offered me at a rate that I thought
they could not fail to be good purchases. One is a lot
of 80 acres of a good & I think 1st rate soil, a living
stream of water thro it, a sufficiency of good timber,
in the neighborhood of a good settlement about it, and
a grist & saw mill at 1-1/2 miles distant on Belle
Biver it is said will soon be built. There is a log
house upon it and 1 acre chopped. For this I gave
2 50 per acre and I think it a good purchase. The
other is a forty acre lot of very good black ash,

47
intersperced with some good oaks & white woods. It is
1-1/2 miles from my first Purchase or 2 miles as the
road now runs, in the midst of settlements which have
been made 5 or 6 years. For this I gave five dollars
per acre and consider it a good purchase. I found no
other offers for land that I thought worth accepting.
I took the deeds in your name but at the same time
feeling it to be doubtful whether you would choose to
have an interest in the land unless the whole was in­
vested. If you should not, I will engage to take them
of from your hands at cost & interest and give you one
or two years to make your election and the lands may
remain in your hands for security till the money is
paid.
The best chances for investing money in Michi­
gan I think is in improved lands. Various causes
operate there to produce hard times, & these I think
are like to continue, untill they have made such a
surplusage of produce that they can make remittances
to the seaboard to pay for their goods. A great deal
of land must come into market & be sold at a low rate.
These considerations and others which I could name if
I had time have made me cautious about purchasing.
Under these considerations I have thought it would be
better for me to improve the lands I already own than
to purchase more. If I could retain for two or three
years the money which I have in my hands I would pay
you New York interest, and I should have a hundred
acres cleared this year & put into wheat the next. I
have but 4 yoke of oxen & 4 cows with a few young
cattle, where I might easily keep summer & winter five
times the number. If I increased my clearing it would
be necessary to increase my stock.5
Elisha thus seems to have reached a decision to concen­
trate on land development rather than continued specula­
tion.
A Closer Look at the Land Selected
It is interesting to analyze the land Elisha
bought in 1831 according to the characteristics of good
land that he outlined in his 1838 report to David Crawford.
He wanted land well situated (in the neighborhood of a
good settlement), not too level or wet but with "living”

48
(running) water, good soil, and a sufficiency of good
timber.
When he began to look for land, many settlers from
his part

of western New York were locating in different

parts of

Michigan, and while many of them headed for the

interior, Elisha indicated that he had an aversion to that
part of the Territory and was looking nearer the shore.
By 1831 settlement in eastern Michigan had progressed
northward along old Indian trails to the vicinity of
Romeo, which promised to become a prosperous community.
Two major trails converged there— one from Detroit and
Pontiac which skirted the interlobate moraine and another
leading due east across the lake plain to the northern end
of Lake St. Clair (Figure 11).
One of the early pioneers reminisced about the
early settlement of the county as

follows:

From the year 1824 to 1830 Romeo and the im­
mediate vicinity grew rapidly; in many respects it had
an advantage over other portions of the county. One
of these was the location in reference to diversity of
soil and scenery. West of the village it was hilly
oak land and well adapted to the growth of wheat, and
fitted to please the eye of those who loved the hills
and valleys of the eastern states. The eastern side
was flat and heavily timbered with elm, swamp oak,
ash, and hickory, and just suited to meet the tastes
of those who sought a grazing district.6
By 1831 the area around and to the southwest of
Romeo had filled in fairly completely, and settlement had
begun to spread out to the east along the Indian trail or
the streams.

To the northeast, however, little land had

been claimed (Figure 12).

*-

-

,

In comparing areas purchased

49

TOPOG RA PHI C M A P

i
'£

R 13 E

R 14 E
Miles

Trail
* * Trail, location not
accurately determined

O

Settlement

Detroit

Contour interval 25 feet

MTD/GP

Figure 11,
County, Michigan.

Topographic map of northern Macomb

50

L A N D SOLD IN 1831 A N D BEFORE

uUJ
T

Miles

-i---

1
--

Land purchased from government before 1831
| Land purchased from government in 1831

'--i

O

Settlement

Detroit
J „

♦ ♦ + Trail, location not accurately determined

MTD/GP

Figure 12. Land sold in 1831 and before, northern
Macomb County, Michigan. Section 16 in each township was
reserved for later sale by the township for the support of
education. Section
T4-N, R12 E, was reserved by the
federal government because there was a salt spring there.

51
with those unclaimed, they seem to he similar in most
respects.

The main difference was in the vegetation.

John Taylor's letter to Elisha mentioned the lack of good
timber, and the surveyors' notes record a large expanse of
fallen or partly fallen timber extending over much of the
northern tier of townships in Macomb County (Figure 13).
Also, a write-up about Ned Andrews, which someone had
clipped from a Chicago newspaper and saved, contains the
following information:
The site of the new farm was in a "wind fall,"
a tract made possible by some great storm fifty years
before. The fallen timber had rotted away, and from
its bed young saplings had grown in thickets,
"Staddles" these saplings were called, after the
English term used by Spenser in his "Faerie Queene,"
and to this day no one knows how this word got into
the backwoods of Armada.7
This piqued my curiosity, and I searched for other refer­
ences to it.

In the History of Macomb County one of tho

local settlers reported:
When I was looking to locate my land_. . . I
started at the Northwest corner of Sec. 36 /of Armada
Township/ and tried to trace the line to where the
village of Armada now is /along the section line be­
tween Secs. 23 and 24/. I could find the line as far
as the timber went, but before I had gone a mile it
opened into brush land and open plains. Having nothing
but a pocket compass to guide me, I could not find the
section corners south of that place /Armada/, nor the
quarter stake, where the village now is, and gave it
up, not dreaming of the possibilities of the future—
never thinking of what that sea of brush might be con­
verted into.8
The field notebooks of Bela Hubbard, a geologist
who surveyed the area in the summer of 1840, contained the
following descriptions:

52

CONDITION OF VEGETATION

+f|H

t '{///An-;

—

V///AP

If

I

..A J

I

*

3C

s
L

M£

f- &

i' <1; •& v'-sl

£

fc r\.M. .1 I (ctl I 7 I

$

£

£

*\ £

}%

f

;£

J &

£

1 ,

% £)

D

& ( <?) §
s?
i 1
a
is y

R 13 E

*>

*. '
i: ;

R 14 E

‘
0

Miles

1#& R #Ji. Good standing timber
:. '■•'•:■■;.'5;.:'Poorly timbered
Burnt timber

N

U t-H-HUH- Partly fallen timber
Detroit

'////////////z . Fallen timber
jMfc

Wet prairie

MTD/GP

Figure 13. Condition of vegetation in 1817-1818,
northern Macomb County, Michigan, as it was reported along
section lines by government surveyors.

53
An extensive windfall, now overgrown to
stadel, oak, poplar, maple, & lynn, covers a large
portion of the town of Armada and Rich.
The trunks of the original timber are still
left in remnants, & are mostly large. Now however,
the soil wh is inclining to gravel or sand, resembles
rather that of the openenings producing similar
herbage. . . .
_
The windfall crosses these towns /Dryden and
Bristol in Lapeer County7» having a breadth varying
from 1 to 3 or 4 ms. The stadel timber which has
succeeded the former growth is frequently of good
medium size. The line of very light timber seems to
be narrow. It produces poplar & other small trees and
is often partially plains.
The fallen timber is now fast decaying. I ob­
served that the trees all (or nearly so) lie with
their tops easterly, showing the direction of the wind
to have been from the west, but very many of them
point NE & SW crossing each other at about a right
angle. Some lie in N & S direction. I could not de­
termine whether any central point within the track was
indicated by these directions, or whether any indica­
tions were apparent of a gyratory motion to the hur­
ricane. 9
The storm is referred to as a hurricane, but it
seems unlikely that a true hurricane would have sufficient
power to cause destruction so severe and so localized as
far inland as Michigan.

The type of violent storm more

likely to hit this area is the tornado, but the size of
the swath is far greater than even a large tornado would
produce.

Perhaps there were several funnels.

Obviously

it must have been a very severe windstorm and a freakish
one.

Ned wrote to Charles about the storm more than a

century after its occurrence, saying: "I do not remember
hearing of any in Michigan later than the one said to have
occurred in Armada about the time of the Revolution, which
is supposed to have caused the formation of the 'Staddle
lands.'m1°

54
I've wondered whether there might he something
else that could explain the width of the swath, whether
there was something that made the trees there especially
susceptible to wind damage.

If this had been a marshy

area with shallow rooted trees, that might explain it, but
that does not appear to be so.

Much of the land was poorly

drained when it was surveyed (Figure 14), but that was the
result of the windfall rather than the cause of it.

At

least that was the opinion expressed in the county history:
the streams of Armada were sluggish, and being
clogged by the fallen timber, the water was held back
and covered the low lands, thus making the country
appear more water soaked than it actually was. As a
matter of fact, the township had no lakes, hills or
marshes within its borders.11
Another possibility that occurred to me is that
many of the trees in this area had been killed by the
Indians in establishing their agriculture.

John Taylor's

letter mentioned the wide distribution of old corn hills
in the area.

Indians usually established their fields by

girdling the trees to defoliate them rather than chopping
the trees down.

Then they made small mounds or "hills"

and planted corn in the tops of the mounds.

These old

corn hills remained as evidence of the agricultural use of
the land long after the fields had been abandoned.

There

is also a comment in the History of Macomb County which
states: "In many places in the brush or light timbered
land, where the soil is sand or light loam, distinct rows
of hills may be traced.

They are in many places so

EFFECTIVENESS OF DRAINAGE

1

I

r J :
^ ^•

Miles

'///////////// Dry
Part wet, part dry

Detroit

Wet prairie

MTD/GP

Figure 14-. Effectiveness of drainage in 1817 and
1818, northern Macomb County, Michigan.
The two western
townships were surveyed in February 1818, the four central
and eastern townships in September 1817«

56
prominent as to interfere with the first plowing of the
12
land.”
Scattered old fields with their dead trees would
have been flattened by a storm much more easily than live
trees in the midst of heavy forest.

Even the intervening

area of timber not disturbed by Indians would have been
more exposed and subject to wind damage than the un­
disturbed forest in other areas.
One of course wonders whether there had been enough
Indians in the area to make that much of an impression on
the landscape.

Local Indians were not mentioned in the

letters, except to refer to the old corn hills.

Some of

the best and most complete studies of the Indian population
in Michigan were published in the 1930s by W. B. Hinsdale.
He indicated that there was a relatively large concentra­
tion of Indians in the northwestern part of Macomb County
(Figure 1 5 ).^

At least they left a rather large number

of clues to their occupance there besides the old fields.
Several interesting archeological sites were within a mile
or two of the largest Andrews’ purchase and certainly
within the windfall area (Figure 16).^
Although Hinsdale shows most of the archeological
finds to be in the northwestern part of the county, the
northeastern part also had some old fields, only generally
located in the literature.

In the History of Macomb

County is this comment:
The Indian corn field on the north bank of
Salt River was easily found so late as 1827. Here the
savages had a thousand little hills, the pinnacle of

5?

DISTRIBUTION OF INDIANS

20
Miles

r~ _ _ j

Population Distribution
and the Comparative
Frequency of Sites in
Southeastern Michigan
are represented by dots

Lake
St. Clair

• e

e•

Lake Erie

Figure 15. Distribution of Indian
population before and during the first white
occupancy. Although numbers cannot be approximated,
one can conclude that the study area (outlined by a
solid line) included a relatively large concentration
of Indians.

58

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

R 13 E

R 14 E
Miles
Mounds
Nuaber of mounds in group
Number of mounds undetermined
Circular enclosure
Rectangular enclosure

Detroit

Village
Burial ground
Trail
Trail, location not
accurately determined

Figure 16.
County, Michigan.

MTD/GP

Archaeological sites, northern Macomb

each was annually cultivated, leaving the bases and
sides untouched by the rude instruments of agriculture
which the cultivators used.15
The Salt River runs through eastern Lenox Township and
into Lake St. Clair.
This proposal that the windfall was related to
Indian cultivation of the area is just speculation on my
part.

Whatever the cause, the brush land existed and,

though used by the Indians at some time in the past, seems
to have been avoided by settlers buying land until 18301831*
there.

Elisha was one of the earliest to purchase land
He chose a site that was on a stream, but most of

the farm was elevated enough for good drainage.

The soils

were classified by the surveyor as good second-rate soils.
The farm was a couple of miles away from a developed trail
and five miles from Romeo, the only budding village in the
vicinity.

All in all, except for the deficiency of good

timber, this seems to have been a good choice.

Subsequent

purchases by Elisha in the next few years were in the same
general area, having much the same characteristics, so he
must have been satisfied with his first investment.

CHAPTER IV
A FARM FROM THE FOREST— INITIAL DEVELOPMENT
Looking at the farmland around Armada now, it is
difficult to picture it as wilderness or to imagine what
it must have been like converting that wilderness into
productive farmland.

Certainly the hardships must have

been great, but how long did the settlers have to endure
them?

How quickly could they develop some of the ad­

vantages and comforts of a more established community?
What sort of farm did they establish?

Just what was in­

volved in achieving such a profound change in the land­
scape?
Tenancy Arrangements
Initially Elisha and his family did not tackle the
job personally.

Having decided to remain in New York for

a time, Elisha contracted for the development of his land
in Michigan.

In February 1832, shortly after he made his

main purchase, Elisha wrote to friends:
I expect some settlers to go on my Michigan
land in the spring, as I have several offers, but I
may be disappointed. I agree to build them houses and
pay them 75 dollars when they have cleared 20 acres
and they are to clear 20 acres a year and have all
they can raise for five years. I have hired 30 acres
cleared at 2.50 cts. /12.507 per acre.l

60

61
Tenancy was not common in the settlement of this
part of the country according to reports of those times.
Blois, in his book published in 1838, says about the state
of Michigan that there were "very few, who do not own or
possess the means of owning a farm.

They are generally

freeholders.

Tenants are rarely to be found, and indi2
gence and pauperism, comparatively, but little known."

But in the early stages of development of Elisha's Michi­
gan property tenancy was of considerable importance.
Through various arrangements he had a number of acres
cleared and developed and some buildings completed before
he moved his family west.
From our point of view this is fortunate, because
much of the information on the early development of the
farm is found in letters written by the tenants.

The

first to establish operations (in late 1832 or early 1833)
was Henry TenEyck, a man whose home had been, I assume, in
the vicinity of the Andrews home in New York; in his busi­
ness letters to Elisha he sends greetings to his family and
friends.

Those letters are the most numerous during a

three-year period from 1833 through 1835 •

Several later

letters were from Betsey's brothers and nephews who moved
there in 1837* and there are a few from other tenants or
employees whose exact time of occupance and range of
responsibility are less clear.
I have not found a statement of the terms of
TenEyck's tenancy agreement, but they must have been

62
similar to those suggested above.

He cleared land and

planted crops, some of which he referred to as "my own
planting" and some as "planted on shares."^

He built a

house (or had it built) and supervised the building of a
barn, but Elisha supplied the money for materials that had
to be purchased.

In fact, when TenEyck made trips to

Detroit on business, Elisha paid his expenses.
TenEyck and the Lathrops also seem to have held
more responsible positions than that outlined by Elisha in
the general program, and this may be why they had expenses
paid.

They managed the contracts for a number of local

men who were clearing land.

Often those men were to re­

ceive board in addition to wages, and the tenant provided
this.
Original Structures
Naturally one of the first things to be considered
after arriving on the farm plot had to be a house and
other necessary structures.

Elisha had agreed to finance

a log cabin, so TenEyck set out to get one built.

Nothing

is said specifically about where or how he lived until the
cabin was finished.

He may have lived at Taylor's near

Romeo; at least his first letter was from Romeo, and he
mentioned Mr. Taylor frequently.
That first letter to Elisha in New York reported
the progress in house building.

Reading Henry's letters

is sometimes confusing because he used very few punctuation

63

marks and has a peculiar system of using capital letters
(Figure 17)•
I have bought my Lumber and Stuff for my house
and Got it on The Ground . . . with The assistance of
Mr. Taylor we have picked_uppon a building Spot near
The Spring you spoke of ,/Figure 187 and Come To Get The
Lumber and Stuff Together it Cost more Than we Cal­
culated uppon Lumber and Team work is high, . . . The
article of brick are verry high and verry poor and I
have Thought That if you would pay Twords a Stove what
a Chimney would Cost I would Try and Get one.^
In August he hired a carpenter to put in floors and "peti­
tions."

The lower floor was to be planed and matched, the

upper floor (loft?) merely jointed and laid down; parti­
tions were to be matched and "put up rough."

He said that

he had "made Conciderable Enquiry and This appears To be
The Custom of The Country."^

Later, after the Andrews had

moved into the log house, Charles wrote:
We are living in a very comfortable log house
and I am seated in the upper story vulgarly called the
garret; a large hole in either end admits the light &
also a very fresh breeze which annoys me very much by
blowing my paper about. But you have seen a log house
so I shall not attempt to describe ours.6
Both a house and a cook house were mentioned,
though no details are given, except for the stove.

Ap­

parently Elisha agreed to substitute a stove for the fire­
place and chimney.

Henry went to Detroit and bought a

stove and pipe, plus a boiler with a copper bottom and tin
top.

The total cost of that equipment, including the

transportation charges from Detroit, was "not . . . mutch
Short of Twenty five Dollars."^

64

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Fart of a letter written by

65

THE ANDREWS FARM
Center

Armada

Road

7777777^
'
A A9
7

wwMMMJwmwmim
4.
9

JJF7

Frame house ■ 7 ' m

School^

9
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7777777,4.----^V777777777
9m

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Charles'
house

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Til

T//////////Z
o
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Mile

!
Location within the six townships

MTD/GP

Figure 18.
The Andrews farm, showing those
developments completed between 1832 and 1851 which can be
located with reasonable accuracy.

66
They also began thinking about a barn during the
summer of 1833*

It was decided to build a thirty by forty

foot barn, a relatively small one.

Henry wrote that he

would much rather have two small barns than one big one.
Plans were made to build it into the south side of the
"swail" so that they could have a stable underground and
retain the entire main structure for storage of hay and
Q
grain.
A man from the neighborhood was hired to put up
the barn and was paid the going rate for that size barn—
$60 and board— plus an extra $10 for doing the basement
story.

Henry commented later that this was a bargain,

because it probably should have cost nearer $20 for the
q
lower floor.
The price for building the barn did not include
acquisition of materials; that was Henry's responsibility.
Despite the general lack of good timber on the farm, he
managed to find enough large oak and ash for the main
timbers "west of the creek."

In one letter early in the

planning stages Henry suggested getting such timber from
"Some distance off of Publick Land."^

Whether Elisha

disapproved of the suggestion or whether it proved un­
necessary, I'm not sure.

At any rate, Henry gathered

their own logs and worked during the winter to hew them
for framing t i m b e r s . H e also drew the lumber needed
from the mill.

Pine lumber was bought for siding, roof­

ing, and for the stable and threshing floors.

TenEyck

reported going sixteen miles for it, though he doesn't say

67
where the mill was.

Elisha's accounts listed payment for

lumber to two persons who bought land from the government
about seven or eight miles west of the farm and along a
stream which was used for water power, so perhaps the six­
teen miles was for a round trip rather than one way.

The

hauling was done by "slay" during the winter as much as
possible, since it "Could be Done with a Great Eal less
IP
Expense Than it Could by Wheeling."
For nails and iron
for hangings he had to go thirty-five miles to Detroit.
He had the shingles made in the neighborhood.1^
In mid-April TenEyck wrote that they had raised
the basement story of the barn early that month and that
the upright part was almost ready to raise.

I can't tell

just when that event took place, but between February and
July Elisha's accounts show an expenditure of $3*50 for
refreshments for the barn raising!

In July TenEyck wrote

of getting additional materials so that the barn could be
14
completed soon "as harvest is approaching fast."
But
the roof was not completed for nearly a year.

Elisha made

the mistake of paying the carpenter before the work was
finished!

Even so, at the end of two or two and a half

years, TenEyck had at least a house, a cook house, and a
barn.
Clearing the Land
Clearing and breaking the land were also a major
concern at the start and continued to be important for a

68
number of years.

In his book on pioneer agriculture,

Bidwell stated that a "typical settler would clear, per­
haps, on the average from 1 to 3 acres a year.

Those who

were exceptionally energetic or who had exceptionally large
families would do considerably b e t t e r . M o s t of Elisha's
contracts called for a man to clear twenty or more acres
per season, so clearing must have been much easier here
than in typically forested areas.
Several contracts for Jobs were mentioned in the
letters and in some cases the terms were summarized.
There was, however, one complete contract among the papers:
Armada June 15th 1838
Orrin Tibbits and Wm Fessenden engage and bind
themselves to Elisha D. Andrews to clear and fence for
him the Said Andrews on his land in Armada twenty five
acres in a good and workmanlike manner, beginning on
the west side of the flats of Coon Creek extending west
about fifty rods and north far enough to make twenty
five acres. The fence to be made of oak, ash or pop­
lar, and always of the most durable timber growing on
the land, and the clearing is to be divided into two
lots of from ten to fifteen acres each, and the Job to
be completed before the 1st of June A D 1839.
Said Andrews engages to pay to the said
Tibbits & Fessenden six dollars and twenty five cents
per acre for the chopping, clearing & fencing. Said
Andrews is to find half the team for clearing and
fencing.
Said Tibbits & Fessenden also engage to chop
twenty five acres, lying on the north side of the
first mentioned Job, the brush which are cut while the
leaves are on to be put into good compact windrows,
and what is cut when the leaves are off to be piled in
compact heaps for burning, for which they are to recieved three dollars per acre and are to complete the
Job on or before the 1st day of June 1839*
In the presence of
/s/ E D Andrews
/s/ Charles A. Lathrop
/s/ Orrin Tibbits
/s/ Seth Lathrop
/s/ Wm. 0. Fessenden

69
A number of steps were necessary to prepare the
land for crops, and the work was usually divided up.
First, the brush had to be chopped and any standing timber
cut.

After chopping, the usable poles were hauled out by

team and the brush was piled and burned.

The burning

sounds like a simple enough task but was not always.
Charles Lathrop wrote:
This chopping of Mr Finch we have tried to
burn two or three times but have not madeout any
thing it does not burn it is not piled close enoughto
burn well if it was let alone till another spring it
might be cleared with less expense than it can be done
now.16
In another letter written in 184-1 he
chopped lot:

reported onburning

a

"it was not a very good time and we had to

fire most every heap."^
Often the men who cleared the land were to fence
it also.

An eight rail fence was required, and, although

they don't specify it, I assume the fences were the "worm"
type which was still along some of the fields when we were
young.

The older pictures of the area show these and no

other kind that I can recall (Figure 19)•

Fencing was

usually done while the weather was cold and the ground
frozen so that the timber could be hauled more easily.
When possible, logs from the field being cleared were used
for fencing it, but in one letter TenEyck reported that
IQ
timber for fencing had to be drawn half a mile or more.
TenEyck did some chopping and clearing himself,
but some of the men who took on contracts for clearing

Figure 19.
Farmland showing worm fences.
This
picture was taken (date unknown) by Grandpa George True from
the roof of our house looking toward Armada.

71
land were neighbors who had bought land in the vicinity
and needed money for development.

In other cases they were

squatters attempting to raise the
fore the time it was

money for their land be­

put up for sale. Charles Lathrop

wrote in March 1840:
money is hard to be got hold of in thiscountry. The
half township as it is called is to be offered for sale
the 11th day of May the sale to continue two weeks and
most of the Squatters will lose their land if it should
be ■sold. . . .
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

+

«

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

«

•

•

•

•

There has been some men here today that want
to go on to your land here and clear up another farm
and work it. they have been on the half township one
summer they said that they had one yoke of oxen and a
cow or two. they are three brothers by the name of
Dodge I told them that we did not know whether you
wanted any more tenants or not but would write to you
about it They will want the money for clearing their
object is to get money to pay for their land on the
half township.19
Still others planned to work for awhile to get money ahead
rather than squatting and making improvements they might
lose later when the sale was made.

A letter to Elisha

from another minister introduced and recommended highly
"H. Jackson who wants to work out a year in Michigan before buying land."

20

It is difficult to tell just how much land was
cleared and developed at any particular time.

Various

jobs were let, then abandoned and reassigned.

Also,

Elisha made at least one trip to Michigan every year to
check up on his affairs, so some of the information in the
letters is just to bring him up to date rather than giving
him all the facts.

Apparently the first year the plan was

72
to hire thirty acres cleared and ready for planting.

By

March twenty acres were done and the other ten were to be
finished early in the spring. Fencing was to he completed
by the middle of May. 21 At least twenty more acres were
cleared during that summer (1833) and perhaps more.

22

In

some plots the trees and brush were chopped down but the
debris was not cleared away.
It must have been a very busy place that first
summer.

Henry complained about the problem of boarding

the men who were working; individual men worked varying
lengths of time, their labor totaling 119 man-days in
all. 23
^ In July he wrote, "you will readaly perceive That
it makes our family Large and Shall of course Destroy a
Great Deal of provision pork in a particular manner a
Barrel of pork amidst four or five hard working men Does
not Go a Great Ways." 24 After the first year I presume
that more labor went into cropping and less into clearing
new land, but the work progressed, and by 1838 Elisha re­
ported that he "should have a hundred acres cleared this
year.
Breaking the Land for Crops
As the land was cleared, TenEyck had to break up
the ground and prepare it for planting.

The breaking

proved to be a problem, at least in some of the area.
They had bought two yoke of oxen, but TenEyck still had to
hire a third yoke some of the time.

"Two yoke is not

73
Sufficient for it."

26

I suspect that the root systems of

the brush might have been more difficult to deal with than
those of full grown trees.

When there was time, TenEyck

plowed in one direction, then cross-plowed before planting.
27
Occasionally he went ahead to plant "with once plowing."
The plow he used, at least at first, was one they
had fixed up themselves, and TenEyck finally decided that
was a mistake.

On July 12, 1833? he wrote Elisha, "I had

a Good Eal of Trouble with my plough before I Got it fixed
it Does Tolerably well not as well as I wished it Did."
But by August 26 he remarked, "it would have been money in
yours and my pocket To have Bought a plow in Detroit all
ready for Breaking up."

Such a plow cost fifteen to
po
eighteen dollars at that time.
In later years when the farm was well enough
established that they could do the job properly, new land

was plowed three times, harrowed after each plowing,
picked clear of rocks and debris between plowings, and
finally the seed was harrowed into the ground.

When the

job was done that way, Elisha estimated the cost per acre
29
at $6.65 for cultivating and sowing the first crop.

J

Crops and Livestock
The first year of cropping (1833) TenEyck planted
corn, oats, potatoes, and a garden, but there is no indi­
cation of acreage in each category.
the corn.

He had trouble with

In July he reported that it had been hit by

74-

frost three times that spring, so there was little left
of it.

In October he reported that his potato crop grew

well at first but suffered from late summer drought,
yielding only seventy bushels from a planting that should
have produced two hundred bushels.

The oat crop was very

good, much better than expected, but it must have been
limited in acreage.

He still had to buy oat straw for

fodder before the next winter was over.
That first year he had not arrived and cleared
land early enough to plant winter wheat, but in the fall
of 1833 he did put in a crop.

It was not too successful;

he had trouble, as did the area generally, with insects
and also smut (a parasitic fungus).

That second year he

decided not to try corn again, a judgment he supported
later by reporting that his neighbors' crops of corn were
"rather backward."

(This is interesting inasmuch as the

Indians had found this to be a good area for growing
corn.)

TenEyck also tried a "piece of buckwheat," but

does not mention anything about its success or failure
nor does he mention planting any in later years.

His

initial success with oats was repeated the second year; he
had six to eight acres of the "largest oats I ever saw
grow out of the ground. 30 Again his potatoes (three
acres) had a good start but yielded "not More Than one
Third of a Crop," because of "Dry weather Coming on so
severly after The Wet."^

75
One of the questions was, what can we raise suc­
cessfully for which there will be a market?

At the end of

the second year TenEyck discussed in one of his letters
the relative merits of various products and the possi­
bility of changing activities:
as it Respects a Change ofpollicy, IThot Will be
Better for us Both. I never Made Much Calculation on
raising Corn hear at presant on account of The Late
and Early frosts but have put full Confidence in Wheat
but That also appears To be a verry uncertain Crop and
The price verry Low There does not appear To be Mutch
To be Made Butter and Cheese and Wool and Cloth is in
Good Demand and Therfore I think a Change Would be ad­
visable for us Both I Think There Will be but Little
To be feared from The attact of Wolves amongts a Lot
of Sheep in oppen Day and at night They will of Course
be yarded.32
He investigated the possibility of getting sheep, inquiring
within the Territory first, then writing to Ohio and
Canada.

He reported them unavailable"for

any reasonable

price . . . Short of Ohio."^
Meanwhile he continued to suggest and perhaps try
other crops— turnips, rye, and even corn again on a small
scale.

His most complete reports are given at the end of

the third crop year (1835)•

The wheat had done fairly

well that year; he obtained a "good crop" from the part
that was planted early (thirteen acres) despite its being
shrunk from rust and being badly down by the time it was
harvested.^

That which had been planted later was hardly

worth harvesting.

The weather must have been wet after

harvesting; TenEyck complained that he could not burn the
stubble and that the straw was so long he could not plow

76
without first burning.

The wet conditions were good for

the potatoes, however, and he reported that they were ex­
tremely good as were the oats.

He assured Elisha that

there were enough oats to winter a hundred to two hundred
sheep, though sheep were still not available.

The corn

was the least successful, five acres being "tolerable" and
the remainder "a Mere Nothing.
The livestock situation during this three year
period is a bit hazy.

TenEyck had two and sometimes three

yoke of oxen and some milk cows as well.

I can't tell how

many.

The first summer he mentioned only that the cows
36
had all calved and were doing well.
During the winter
of 1833-1834- he had to buy considerable fodder for the
cattle, but they wintered extremely well.

There was no

barn as yet, and he admits he had to scant them in their
feed. The cows, though thin, remained strong. 37' Sometime
early in 1835 they bought three hogs and by October had
six shoats (young hogs, less than a year old), plus having
butchered 790 pounds of pork. 38 Perhaps because of his
lack of success with corn, he suggested growing rye that
3q
year because it would be "the best of feed for hogs."^'
Interim Period
The tenants' operation of the farm is not as well
documented after Henry TenEyck gave up his tenancy.

In

1835 his wife and one child died, and he was unwilling to
4-0
handle the operation as he formerly had.
Several other

77
tenants worked on different parts of the farm and ap­
parently they did not get along well; there were complaints
about quality of work, use of equipment, division of crops
grown on shares, and conflicting rights and responsibili­
ties.

Some of the arguments even had to be settled in

court.
Until Elisha took over personally, no great change
occurred in the farm procedures except for enlargement of
operations.

At least one more house and barn were built,

and additional acres were cleared and put into crops.
Elisha also occasionally bought a small piece of land.
Two hundred acres were bought in 1835 (that's where our
part of the farm comes in) and incorporated into the
family farm.

Altogether, when the Andrews moved to Michi­

gan in 1841, Elisha owned 1,520 acres in two townships
(Figure 10, page 4-2).

The tenants continued to operate

many of the parcels, but Elisha took over the operation of
the main units in Armada Township.

CHAPTER V
THE ESTABLISHED FARM
Elisha moved the family to Michigan in the spring
of 184-1.

Most of the family probably came by steamboat.

At least George, commenting about steamboats in a letter
to Joseph many years later, mentioned "the old thing we
came up the lake in a good many years ago."'1' Charles,
however, came across Canada.

After getting settled in

Michigan, he wrote Mr. True about the journey and his
first impressions of Michigan.
My journey with the exception of about thirty miles
was very pleasant and I enjoyed it finely, sometimes
however I was rather lonely and thought I should be
willing to give considerable if I could have Mr. True,
or some other good friend for a companion. You would
have enjoyed the journey I am sure, for it would have
afforded you a fine opportunity to indulge your taste
for the study of botany. My route many times lay
through uncleard opening land and flowers were very
abundant, some of them were beautiful and many of them
were new to me. I had no book and conscequently was
unable to study at all, but I thought "how True would
enjoy this and how much he would hinder me too, by
jumping out to pick every flower that he saw." Canada
is certainly a delightful country much more so than I
had supposed. The farms appear to be in a high state
of cultivation, buildings good, many that are elegant,
and the country generally is much older than I expected
to see it. The roads which are supported by government
are very fine with the exception of the last thirty
miles where the country is very new.
Now for the "first impressions" on my arrival
in Mich. My first impression was that the people in
Mich were rascals, for I got "shaved" before I had
been in the state twenty minutes. My second impression

78

79
confirmed the first, and I retain them both to this
day. Every man seems to have a peculiar regard for
himself, and for his own interests and he exercises it
at the expense of his own reputation and not unfrequently his neighbours. But to this general state of
things there is an occasional exception, and we do
find here and there a man, who is really a man, and
those who have lived here several years think they can
see a decided improvement in the state of society.
The country must sometime be a beautiful one. To one
accustomed the hills and vallies of Monroe Co. a
country as level as this is at first rather unpleasant,
but this soon is removed and he sees that a very few
years will make this a country far superior to Western
N. York. Crops can be raised with much less labour
and the soil is very rich. Distance from market is
the greatest objection to this as a farming country.
The crops in this country look better than any that I
saw in N.Y. or anywhere on my journey. But the re­
ligious privileges that we enjoyed in Pittsford we
cannot have here for a long time. I must confess I
am a little homesick when Sunday comes. 2
The farm to which the Andrews came was certainly
larger than the typical family farm of that period, but
Elisha did not intend to operate it all by himself.

His

plan was to provide each of his children with a farm near
his own if and when they were ready to use it.
Some of the land was turned over to children with­
in a few years.

Charles was married in 184-5* and a

quarter section with considerable improvement was turned
over to him.

Anne was married in 184-7 and also received a

farm— 24-0 acres, but with less improvement.

Anne and

Eleazer were involved in teaching rather than farming at
first and so had less immediate need for an operational
farm.

In fact, Elisha continued to include some of Anne's

farm in his operations for a while.

None of the other

80
children chose farming as an occupation, so the rest of
the land was Elisha's until his death.
Crops and Livestock
Although information on the farm is sketchy for
the decade of the 1840s, it seems likely that by 1843, ten
years after the first land was cleared, Elisha had estab­
lished farming very similar to that which he had done in
the east.

He took over the direct management of the farm

in 1841 and from then on based his operation on wool.
This is not surprising.

He had raised sheep in Vermont

and in Hew York and continued to do so in Michigan.
Raising sheep had become fairly common in the area by the
time Elisha arrived, but the size of his establishment and
its emphasis on sheep were not.
The size of the flock during the early forties is
not clear, though its presence is noted.

In Anne's diary

for early May 1843 she wrote, "The sheep suffer from the
exposure and some lambs have died."

And toward the end of

the same month, "Father has been preparing a place for
washing sheep by ploughing a channel and conducting the
water into a reservoir a few rods east of the bridge.

It

will be rather a deformity in the prospect but a very great
advantage in washing the sheep."
Much more detailed information on the sheep and on
farming in general is available for 1850 and 1851.
records include a relatively complete description of

The

81
Elisha's program and provide a basis for comparing his
activities with those of other farmers in the township.
Published census figures for 1850 provide information for
the township as a whole.

In addition, statistics on indi­

vidual farms are available from the enumerators' books
which are on file in the Michigan Historical Association
Archives.

And Elisha's own account book provides detailed

information on his farm for 1851 •
By 1850 the area had progressed beyond the raw
frontier stage.

Three-quarters of the area in Armada

Township was included within occupied farms, and 4$ percent
of the land in occupied farms had been cleared— classed as
"improved" in census records.

x

Using the published census figures, I've figured
the "average" farm for Armada Township in 1850 (Table 1).
From the enumerator's book, data for Elisha's farm are
also included for comparison.
Elisha was operating two hundred acres of improved
land and had five hundred acres unimproved, though nota­
tions in his account book show he paid taxes on only 620
Zl
acres.
His was the largest farm in the township. Eight
farmers managed a half section or more, but Elisha was the
only one who handled a full section or more.

Looking at

improved acreage only, Elisha and two others shared the
leadership honors, each cultivating two hundred acres.
Three others in the township had improved acreages between

82
TABLE 1
AGRICULTURAL CENSUS RECORDS FOR ARMADA TOWNSHIP , 1850

Occupied farms
Whole number . . . .
Acres improved . . .
Acres unimproved . .
Cash value of . . .
Value of farming im­
plements & mach. . .
Live Stock, June 1,
1850
Horses ............
Asses and mules . .
Milch cows ........
Working oxen . . . .
Other cattle . . . .
Sheep ............
Swine . . . . . . .
Value of live stock
Produce, during year
ending June 1, 1850
Wheat, bushels of .
Rye, bushels of . .
Indian corn, bu. . •
Oats, bushels of . .
Barley, bushels of .
Buckwheat, bushels .
Potatoes, bushels
Wool, pounds of . .
Value of orchard
products ........
Butter, pounds of
Cheese, pounds of
Hay, tons of . . . .
Clover seed, bu. . .
Maple sugar, lbs. .

Totals for
Armada Tsp.a

Average Farm
Armada Tsp.

E. D. -u
Andrews

135
7,600
9,711
$222,880

1
56
72
$1,651.00

1
200
500
$6,000

$12,406

$91.90

$150

230
1
486
215
657
5,191
1,112
$34,820

1.7
0.0
3.6
1.6
4.9
38.0
8.2
$258.00

3
0
6
6
4
420
25
$1,000

64.0
0.8
148.7
186.6
0.8
19.3
42.2
86.2

130
0
0
300
0
0
100
1,100

8,615
110

20,070
25,186
110
2,607
5,696
11,632
$729
23,916
7,410
2,029
19
11,440

$5.40
177.1
54.9

15.0
0.1
84.8

0
400
200
60
0
0

Statistics of the State of Michigan Compiled from
the Census of 1850 (Lansing:: R. W. IngalsV State Printer,
1851,), p p . 104-7. ~
y.

United States Census of State of Michigan's
Products of Agriculture, 1850» Original enumerators' books
on file at The Archives, Michigan Historical Commission,
Lansing, Michigan.

83
150 and 170 acres, one of those being Betsey's brother,
Edward Lathrop*
Although production was on a larger scale in most
things, Elisha's farming seems to have been much the same
as the others*

In comparing the number of cows with the

production of butter and cheese, it would seem that he was
a better than average dairyman.

Otherwise, the major dif­

ferences were the presence of a large number of sheep and
the absence of Indian corn, orchard products, and maple
sugar.

The absence of corn and fruit was not typical.

In

1851 he produced 350 bushels of corn, and on November 26,
1848, he wrote Seth:
Crops were good and fruit abundant, such as
plumbs, peaches and apples. Apples were from 12-1/2
cts a bushel, the latter price only for the best of
grafted fruit. We had on our orchard between 30 &
forty bushels.
As for maple sugar, there is no indication that they made
5
any. Rather, for sweetening they kept bees^ and even made
0
some sales of beeswax and honey.
The most noteworthy dif­
ference, then, would seem to be the sheep.
sheep put him in a class by himself.

Elisha's 420

Although 85 percent

of the farmers raised sheep, the vast majority of them had
less than a hundred head.

Only seven had more than a

hundred and only Elisha and one other farmer had more than

150.
The farm operation in 1851 is documented much more
thoroughly than in any other year.

Elisha kept detailed

accounts and analyzed his business for that year.

The

84

-

explanation for his doing so appears in a letter Betsey
wrote in 1855*
The july of 1850 he was wounded by the carelessness of
a laborer who was mowing. The wound injured the great
nerve of the leg and although the cut soon healed,
neuralgic pains caused the most intense suffering.
The wound was just above the ankle joint on the inside
of his limb, but had the skin been removed from his
foot it could not have been more sensible. In may or
june of '51 he began to get about a little with the
aid of a crutch, and in October was so much better
that we hoped a few months would restore his limb to
soundness. But a ride of a few miles in november
again prostrated him renewing his pain and agony he
could only be moved by drawing his easy chair from
bedroom to parlor. . . . He was never more useful in
his family, than during his Ion confinement read &
wrote when pain was not too intense, attended to his
business concerns, his mind was never more active.7
From the records he kept, Elisha wrote reports on
farming, using his own farm as the basis for analysis.
Here is the one he wrote on wool, his main commercial
product.
At the present price of grain and the cost of
labor in Michigan, wool growing is undoubtedly as
profitable as any other branch of farming, especially
with those who have large tracts of land and who have
most of their labor to hire. Still it is believed
that the profits of wool growing are but moderate, and
that those who rush into it with other expectations
will find themselves disappointed.
I have been a wool grower for near forty
years, and have endeavoured, through all the changes
of the markett to keep an accurate estimate of the
loss & profits of the business. I have for several
years past sheered about four hundred sheep, and
through the summer have kept including lambs between
five and six hundred. To summer this number untill
harves it takes over a hundred acres of land, and
after harvest nearly as much more in the wheat & oat
stuble fields, and fields that have been grazed by
other stock, equal to 150 acres for the whole growing
season

85
Use of one hundred & fifty acres of
_
land at 140 cts per a c r e .......... 164 ^error7
Interest on 400 sheep— at 1 doll
per head
28
Deterioration of flock by reason of
increasing age, ten percent
40
Deaths estimated at 5 percent . . . .
20
Expense of looking after sheep,
salting & fencing
20
Salt for the year
7
Hay for wintering 30 tons at five
dolls
150
Grain for lambs and old sheep
37
Foddering & tending
20
Expense of sheds and racks for
feeding
12
Tagging, washing, & sheering actual
expense last year
35
Taxes
£ _
528 error7

[_

By wool sold
By sheep sold
Do slaughtered
By 117 lambs at1 dol per head
-

440.75
28.00
27.00
117.00
612.75
528.00
84.758

The general farming operation was covered in the
following report.

It perhaps should be noted that these

reports are unsigned and undated, though the handwriting
is definitely Elisha's and the records referred to are
dated 1851 in his account book.
The scriptures put the stamp of folly upon the
man who undertakes to build without first counting the
cost; and common sense teaches us that no business can
be successfully pursued without accurate calculation
and a careful comparing of cost & profit— loss and
gain. The different degrees of prosperity which attend
men in life, may may be much of it owing to their at­
tention to or neglect of this subject. Some men are
very careful in their calculations or shrewd in their
conjectures, and such men usually prosper in whatever
business they undertake. Others make no calculations
at all, follow on in the beaten track of those who
have gone before them and the result is what might be
expected from such carelessness & stupidity.

86
It is believed that there is no class of men
more in fault in this thing than farmers. This may be
owing in part to the fact that careful estimates and
calculations have formed no part of the farmers educa­
tion. The habits of the fathers have descended to the
sons, who never trouble themselves, about such cal­
culations, but pursue their business according to the
best conjectures that they can make. They may know
perhaps from year to year whether they are gaining or
losing property, but may be quite unable to tell what
their prosperity or loss is owing to— whether they
have gained in this thing or lost in that.
One thing that has discouraged the farmer from
making such calculation is the difficulty and uncer­
tainty that attends it. The mechanic who had built a
wagon may easily know the exact cost of it, and when
he has built one wagon he may know what another will
cost. Not so with the farmer, a crop on one piece of
ground may cost double of the same crop on another.
On the same ground he may get twice the produce that
he does on another, and prices may from year to year
so much vary as materially to alter the results. But
admitting all these difficulties it is believed, that
a careful account of the expenses and profits of farm­
ing if pursued from year to year, would teach the
farmer the general avarge cost of every crop— what
crop was most profitable— whether he was selling his
produce above or below cost, what he could afford to
pay for labor, which was most profitable, cultivation
or grazing, and many other things pertaining to his
welfare.
The writer has never been entirely inattentive
to these suggestions, but still the blame that he
casts upon agriculturists at large falls heavily on
himself. Dissatisfied with his own course, he de­
termined on a reformation and on the 1st of April last
commenced a daily journal of the labour done on his
farm, stating how much work was done each day on the
several crops cultivated on the farm. The journal was
kept after the following form, a specimen of which is
given for a week.
June
29

S

Clear

vegetation vigorous, prospects
for grass wheat and spring crops
good

30

M

Partly
clear

2 days plowing for wheat
2 days cultivating & hoing corn

87
July
1 T

Clear

2 days plowing fallow
1-1/2 day hoing corn

2

W

Clear

2 days on fallow 2-1/2 on corn
1/2 day mending tools

3

Th

Clear

2 days on fallow
2 days hoing corn

Clear

Independence

Clear

2 days on fallow
2 days hoing corn

4- F
5

Sa

4- hands gone

_ In my ledger I entered each crop on a separate
page ,/Figure 207— as Wool Crop. Hay Crop Corn Crop.
Wheat crop, Oat crop— potatoe crop, Ruta Baga, and
from time to time posted the number of days done on the
crop, for instance corn 10 days getting out manure,
8 days plowing, 9 days planting,
days hoeing 4-6
days harvesting & cribbing corn, so with every crop, by
which I am able to ascertain the exact cost of each
crop by the acre and by the bushel.
My crops were not remarkably good and some of
them less than usual. My hay was very good about 2
tons to the acre estimated at 60 tons and cost 3 doll
by the acre and by the ton 1.50. Much of it was badly
lodge, which made an extra cost in mowing, but the use
of the revolving horse rake much reduced the cost of
gathering. The cost is only about 6 cents by the
acre, and if you need a boy to ride as you will if
your horse is not perfectly true, it may cost 10.
Every man who has ten acres of grass to gather should
have a rake.
My potatoe crop was almost a total failure by
reason of the rot. had only 33 bushels on an 1-1/4acre. Cost 36 cents by the bushel. My ruta bagas
grew well, but there was only 1/3 of a crop, as the
seed came up badly, cost by the bushel 3 cts 9 mills.
Tagging washing & sheering my sheep cost 4-1
dollars being ten percent on the sale of my wool.
I had 35 acres of oats one half of which were
so badly lodged, that I had to mow them with a naked
sythe, which added much to the cost of harvesting, and
the crop was less than if they had stood well. The
result of my grain crops I give in the table below.

88

--

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; </ < A < 4 n w f

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Figure 20
account book.

) *7

IJ^AJt-of
i) t

X > J^2?

/*.*-'-________

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nei
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■/-«' >7 y'-^_ !

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yiery

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,

-

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2.4*-

y /y

An example of crop records in Elisha's

89

wheat
oats
corn

No. of
acres
12
35
10

Yield by
the acre
18 bush.
35
35

Cost by
Cost by the
the acre
bushel
9*28
51
cts
6.38
18-1/6 cts
7.24
18-1/2
9

The report does not mention it, but the account
book contains records of clearing thirty-five acres of new
land that summer and planting it all to winter wheat.
Thus he would have had a much higher wheat acreage the
next year.

The account book also contains the following

comments about the potato crop that failed:
Potatoe vines began to Die about the last day
of July and by the 20th Day Aug the leaves were all
dead & dry altho the stalks were yet green. The
potatoes were many of them partly rotten and the skin
of more were discoloured, the rot having commenced.
The Juices of the diseased stalks showed under the
micriscope fewer globles (of starch perhaps) than
healthy vines, and these globles partially discoloured,
or of a darker colour than the globles in the healthy
vines.10
Marketing Farm Products
Even when one succeeded in producing a good crop,
marketing it was usually difficult on the frontier, and
this shows up clearly in the letters.

The early ones con­

tain many complaints about the inability to obtain good
quality materials and the difficulty of selling goods for
cash of any kind.

During that early period there was not

a large farm surplus, but some wheat and later pork were
taken to Detroit and left with an agent for sale.

Some­

times the producer waited months for his money, and he was
never sure what price his goods would bring.

There may

have been times when produce was sent east for sale, even

90
in the early period.

In 1835 TenEyck wrote about surplus

wheat: "if The Market hear dose Not Call for a dollar pr
Bushel /I am calculating/ To Send it To an Eastern Market
What do you Think of Sutch a plan."'1'^

There was more movement of goods west to the
frontier than in the other direction in the first few
years, and Elisha discovered that it was more profitable
to send goods west for barter than to send cash.

Several

times he sent large shipments of yard goods, leather, and
paper to the tenants.

Some of it was used to pay for

labor, some was bartered, and some sold at a profit.
By the time the Andrews moved to Michigan, things
had improved some, but Elisha was not satisfied with local
markets for wool.

In 1845 he shipped his wool to an old

friend in Putney for sale there, taking it to Detroit for
shipment late in September.

I presume it went as far as

Troy, New York, by lake and canal.

At Troy it was picked

up by freight wagon and then delivered in Brattleboro,
Vermont, on the 25th of October.

Costs for the shipment

were as follows:
Freight to Troy
Storage at Troy
Freight to Brattleboro
Freight, Brattleboro to Putney

$ 8.09
.88
4.32
1.03
$14.3212

This wool was not sold until the middle of January.

The

net weight of the shipment was 854-3/4 pounds, and it sold
at $0.29 pei* pound.

Sale price then was $247.88, or a

return of $233*36 after deducting the costs of shipment

91
and twenty cents interest.

Mr. Crawford reported further

on the shipment:
I hesitated about selling at that price,
fearing you would be disappointed. A Mr. Converse
from Boston, interested in a factory in Windsor called
to buy my wool.
(Yours was stored down in the Vil­
lage). After examining mine & some bartering he
offered 36 which concluded to take. I then told him I
had another lot from Michigan which wished to sell
him. We went down to see it. He opened 3 or 4 bags &
took out perhaps 50 fleeces & after bartering a long
time he came up to 29# & said he would not give an­
other mill, got into his sleigh &. started off. After
going a few rods he came back & said he would give no
more but I might have a week in which to take the
offer or not— (he had engaged a team to carry mine &
yours if bought to the factory) During that time I
got Mr. James Keyes to look at and advise me. He is
called our best Judge & buys about 50,000 pounds a
year, but has a full supply on hand & does not wish to
buy. Mr. K. thought I had sold mine high, that there
was 6 cents difference, but said yours was "smutty”
and "would not sell so well as mine at its true
value." . . . The baging & transporting the wool in­
jured the looks & sale of the wool. It was very dusty
& some fleeces looked as tho1 the sheep went among
black logs after washing.13
The situation must have been much better in 1847.
Elisha took the wool east himself that year, leaving
14
Armada on June 15.
He wrote home to the family from
Massachusetts:
I left my wool with Steel Anderson & Standish
No. 8 & 10 Pearl St to be sold & I took an advance of
near 400 dollars upon it. Purchased a lot of goods of
about 120 dollars to be forwarded to Mr. Hallock &
Co— a clothing merchant in Detroit.15
The commercial facilities in Michigan must have
been improving during this period.
sold his wool locally from 1849 on.

At any rate, Elisha
A Romeo firm with

which he did some general trading bought the wool and
credited it to his account.

And though there is no way

92
of knowing the relative quality of the wool, there was not
a great difference in price between Michigan and eastern
markets.

In 1851 Elisha sold most of his wool at 41.50
17
per pound m Romeo
and David Crawford wrote of selling

1

his for 450 in New England.1®
Although the Andrews did not raise a great many
cattle, at least one attempt was made to drive cattle east
to market.

Charles Andrews was in charge, though the ac­

counts were recorded in Elisha's book, so it may have been
under his financing.

In January 1848 a thousand dollars

was borrowed from the Michigan State Bank for a ninety day
period, the interest amounting to $17«50.1^

With the

money, a drove of cattle was purchased from the surround­
ing area, only a few head from each individual.

Judging

from the records in the account book, it took them a
little over a month to collect the drove.

I can't tell

how far away they came from; many of the persons listed
are farmers from the neighborhood, but there are unfamiliar
n i 20
names as well.

Elisha wrote Anne, who had just recently married,
about the trip:
Tues.
Charles started yesterday morning with 64 head
of cattle for N. York. James Lathrop, Charles Hyde &
a Mr Day go with him. Charles Hyde drives 10 for him­
self & with James assists Charles A. Mr. Day has 16
head. All assembled together made noise enough. It
seems to me a fatigueing jaunt, but C A does not
shrink from it.
Sat.
Mr. Spencer went with Charles to Port Huron
and saw him safe across the river Wednesday three

93

oclock. They would start next morning on their way &
were in good spirits.21
And on March 4:
We had this week a letter from Charles Dated
Feb 14 at Lewistown at Noon. Had just got their drove
all over the river & started on the Ridge Road for
Lakeport. He says they were all well & in good
spirits, and that their cattle which at first fell
away some, were then doing well. He could not tell
what the prospect of selling would be, we shall look
for him home in two or three w e e k s . 22
They paid anywhere from $7 to $35 per head for the
cattle in gathering the drove. ^

There is no record of

the sale price nor of exactly where they were sold, but
Charles did write to Anne after his return: "I had an un­
pleasant job in driving my cattle and selling them, and
did not make any money, but I learned a good deal, and had
a glorious good visit in Pittsford." 24 Since there is no
further mention of drives, he may have decided once was
enough.
Occasionally they sold a hog, but they did not
enter the pork business on a large scale.

I take that

back!

The sale of even one hog was large scale in those

days.

Since they were interested in getting a quantity of

lard in addition to pork, they raised fat animals.

The

one whose weight was reported specifically tipped the
25
scales at 344 pounds (Figure 21). ^
Structures
By 1850, along with established farming and im­
proved local market facilities, there had been additional

I
94-

Figure 21. A typically fat hog of the 1800s. From
the orchard and woods in the background, this one must have
been a True hog rather than an Andrews hog, but it illus­
trates the type of hog grown then.

95
construction.

New buildings had been added, and in gen­

eral their quality was better.
When the Andrews arrived in Michigan, they lived
at first in the log house.
ever, for a frame house.

They began making plans, how­
That same house is still stand­

ing, although it has been completely remodeled both inside
and out.

There aren't very many comments about the house

in the letters, except to note that the cellar had been
dug and stoned and the building "in a good state of
forwardness" by May 19, 184-3.

Later, on June 8, 184-3,

Anne wrote in her diary that the frame was raised.

Build­

ing had been delayed because they could not get lumber
from the mill.

Charles also built a house in 184-4-, just

prior to his marriage, although there is no description of
it.
The obvious increases in comfort that must have
come with a move from the log house to the frame one are
not particularly noted except for one interesting differ­
ence that Anne mentioned in her diary.

While still in the

log house she wrote:
May 23, 184-3. Finished Josephus' "Wars of the
Jews." It is more than a year since I commenced the
"Antiquities." Though subject to fewer interruptions
from company, visiting, and meetings than at Pittsford, the condition of our house is such as to present
an obstacle to reading perhaps quite as great. The
walls are so open and so thin that sound is very
readily transmitted and it is impossible to get beyond
the sound of ordinary conversation. . . . In addition
. . . I have lacked the stimulus afforded by intelli­
gent society and which is much more powerful than I
once supposed.

96
And after the move to the new house:
Nov. 23, 1844. Yesterday we had a stove put
up in our front room and after three years deprivation
it is truly delightful to gather around the table free
from the labors and noise of the kitchen. I have felt
less incommoded by the loss of this comfort than I ex­
pected to do but never had a sense of comfort more
entire than when it was restored. I have always
realized the inconvenience in regard to reading and
have read very little.
Barns were needed too.

In 1851 Elisha reported

having three barns on the farm.^
first one built by TenEyck.

This may include the

One had also been built on

the portion of the farm that became Charles', but I doubt
that Elisha included that in the three.

There is an in­

teresting summary of expenses in building one of the barns
in 1847-1848.^®

I quote it in full in Table 2.

The job of converting the wilderness into farms
was enormous and an immense amount of work must have gone
into the development.
whelming.

At times it must have been over­

Solomon Lathrop wrote his mother in 1839 in

answer to her complaint that he had not written often:
Mother, Michigan is not like Massachusetts. Here we
are on a new farm and there is not a moment to be
thrown away. We feel the want of a larger improvement
and when our growing crops yield us a moment of time,
the bushes & trees stare us in the face & forceably
convince us that there is no time to be lost. And
that whatever is done we must do ourselves, and we are
not the most robust of all who have emigrated here.29
Charles Andrews also commented on the first years
in Michigan:
Business occupies almost every moment of my time so
that I barely have time to eat and sleep. We have
more business on hand this summer than three farmers
ought to have. Five yoke of oxen and two pair of

97
TABLE 2
COST OF BUILDING A 46' X 32' BARN IN 1847
Nov. 1847 Commenced building a barn 46 by 32 feet and the
following is the record of expence in Labor and cash.
scraping out cellar 32 feet square a
boy & man 3-1/2 day each
3-50
Team 3-1/2 days at 40 cts per day
1.40
Nov. 24th To
10 days drawing stone (team work and
board thrown in on account of im­
provement to the land by clearing
off about 10 acres
5*00
1848
To
10 days previous to Jan 7th cutting
timber & drawing
6.25
4
days
do.
2.50
Jan 8 & 9
March 11 To
13 days drawing up timber to House
with team at 1 doll per day
13.00
scoring 15 days 10 days at 5/0
5 do. at 4/0
8.75
2 days cutting & drawing sleepers
1.00
The chips will pay for board of
hands
scoring rafters and joue
2-1/2 days
1.25
Apl 5
By boys 2 days to Draw stone
.75
6
By 1 day digging out corners of
cellar
.50
By two days Laying wall
1.25
one & 1/4 day .94
1-1/2 days
10 & 11
drawing stone
boys 63
1*57
To 4 days laying wall
2.50
13 to 15
t!
5 drawing stone & scaping up bank
2.50
To 1-1/2 days underpinning and
23
Laying sills
.75
Board of hands in
?
24-1/2 days
3.50
2 days fixing stable & underping
1.00
26
Hinges for 2 sets of Great Doors
and 5 small
4.00
Nails for siding and Roof— about
110 lb
6.60
♦Boards for siding & Roof 5*500 at
6 dolls
27.00
12-1/2 thousand of shingles
21.50
Board of hands to cover Barn
10-1/2 days
1.75
117.82
Paid Carpenter Alfred Aldrich for
building Barn fifty dollars
50.00

167.82

TABLE 2— Continued
Cellar under-pinning banking up and
fixing stable with earth floor
cost
Leaving the expence of barn above
the cellar

20.72
147.10

I have not allowed anything for provision furnished
raisers, running on errands to get nails &c, nor
anything for my own superintendence of the work. If
these were added I call the whole expence of the
barn and cellar two hundred dollars.
*Error in carrying out the price of siding above
to dolls
whole expence of barn & cellar and underpinning

6.00

173•10

horses must be kept moving in order to accomplish the
work which we have laid out so you see even in this
land of promise I am a mere slave. My health is very
good and I endure hard work much better than I used
to. I continue to like Mich, as well as at first.30
But by late 1848 Elisha evidently felt that the
area in which they lived was "over the hump" on its way to
becoming a settled and developed community.

He wrote his

oldest son:
The social & moral state of the people is im­
proving. The people are better dressed and in a
majority of the cases are getting up framed Houses.
We hope soon to have all the advantages and privileges
of the older settlements at the east. Many of our
poorer inhabitants are moving farther west and gen­
erally better families come in their place.51

CHAPTER VI
TOWARD AN "OLDER SOCIETY"
In both Vermont and New York the Andrews had en­
joyed the interests and activities of what they referred
to as "society."

They studied such things as natural

science, religion, music, languages, and literature.

They

spent a lot of time attending meetings, some dedicated to
the improvement of the community and some strictly social,
and in visiting friends and entertaining them in return.
The early years in Michigan allowed little time for such
activities, and there were only a few people in the neigh­
borhood who shared their interests.

On September 2, 1844-,

a day when friends had come to "dine," Anne wrote in her
diary: "I do not wish to return to Pittsford but if we
could enjoy some of the advantages which an older society
can command it would be very gratifying."

As might be

expected, it took a while for the area to be settled and
for various services to be made available.
Township Population
When TenEyck moved out to Michigan, he was one of
the first in the immediate neighborhood.

After two years

(in February 1834) he reported "no Material Alteration in

100
our place as it Respects Settling."

Most of the earliest

land purchases had been on the southern edge of the town­
ship, but TenEyck mentioned in that same letter that
"There has During the past Season Two families Settled
north of us," though in general there was "verry Little
public Spirit in our place."
Actual numbers of people in the area are a little
harder to find.

In 1835 Henry TenEyck wrote that "ac­

cording To The Late Sesment" the population of Armada
Township was between 450 and 500.^

Fifteen years later

the official census figures showed the population to be
more than double that.

In 1850 there were 201 families
2
living in 200 houses and totaling 1,146 persons.
At that
same time there were only 135 operating farm units, and it

would be interesting to know how many of the "extra"
families lived in second houses on farms and how many
lived in the small settlement developing "over east" at
Burke's Corners (later called Honeyoye and finally the
village of Armada).
Roads
One of the early necessities to the settlers would
have been roads.

In the beginning the Indian trail was

used, but new roads were soon opened.

The letter John

Taylor wrote in 1832 reported that there were no taxes ex­
cept highway, indicating the importance of road development
in this early period.

The highway taxes were usually paid

101
by a specified number of days of work on the roads.

Be­

fore Elisha moved to Michigan, he required that his
tenants "pay" his highway taxes.

And when he was planning

his move, he must have inquired about equipment for road
work.

His nephew Charles Lathrop wrote him on May 19,

184-1: "There is no scraper in this district it would be a
good thing for the district and will pay your taxes
cheaper than you can any other way."
The only roads that were mentioned in the letters,
either early or late, were two which adjoined or crossed
Elisha's property.

Mr. Taylor mentioned the "road that

is laid from my land to y o u r s , b u t fourteen months later
(February 1834-) TenEyck announced that the road west—
probably the same one— was cut through and was passable
but very rough.
Coon Creek Road must have been developed very
early.

December 17, 1834-, TenEyck asked for advice on how

to handle a petition which was being circulated asking to
have the location of the road changed from east of Coon
Creek to west of it.

This would run it through the land

TenEyck had already cleared.

He acknowledged that the west

side was a better place for the road if that route had been
selected originally, but he felt that it would be imprac­
tical to abandon a road that had been worked on for two
years just to start all over again in a new location.
Evidently the petition failed, for the road is east of
the creek today.

102
Postal Service
Postal service was also extremely important to the
early arrivals.

Henry TenEyck reported on business and

received both instructions and money by mail.
course the mail brought news of the family.

And of
Letters

handled in the usual way took anywhere from three to four
weeks to go from Pittsford, New York, to Armada.

If money

was being sent, the letter was usually held until some
trusted individual made the trip and delivered it per­
sonally.

Sometimes those came through in five days.
The location of the post office used varied.

In

the beginning letters were mailed at Romeo; then TenEyck
began to use a post office in Ray, about four miles to the
southwest of the farm (Figure 22).

In June 1834- he sim­

plified things considerably by becoming the postmaster for
5
Armada and maintaining the post office in the log house.
(Figure 23 shows the back of a letter with the postmaster's
signature in the upper right corner.

For anyone else the

cost of mailing the letter would appear there.)

This

arrangement lasted only as long as TenEyck stayed at that
house; after 1836 the letters were most frequently post­
marked at Ray, but there were also Romeo, Armada, and even
Mt. Clemens postmarks.
Elisha was probably most appreciative of mail
service during 1850 and 1851*

While he was confined to the

house, he wrote a number of old friends, some of whom he
had seen only occasionally since they were classmates at

103

SERVICES UTILIZED

in

T~ 1~1

Miles

H__

T"

Religious services
School

i
__
Post office

-—

X

y i

— i-,
i—

•

D

Doctor
Saw mill

Detroit

X

G

“ 1

Grist mill
Stop on stage line

$

Commercial activities
Land owned or supervised
by Hlisha D. Andrews

MTD/GP

Figure 22. Location of services utilized byresidents of the Andrews farm between 1831 and 1850.

y
L

11

/'}’*

HM,

*

S t if

t

,*•

/

y*
■

,n,

..

i

.

V \

—

Figure 23. The back of one of Henry TenEyck's
letters, including address and postmark. Note that he
has signed it as postmaster instead of marking a price
for mailing in the space where a stamp now would be used.

105
Yale.

From the tone of those letters they must have been

a source of considerable pleasure to Elisha.

Some of the

correspondents seem to have been very interesting person­
alities— one was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of
the State of Connecticut,^ another was Nathan Sargent,
Sergeant at Arms of the United States Congress and Recorder
of the General Land Office in Washington, D.C., who wrote
letters containing political commentary for newspapers
under the pseudonym of Oliver Oldschool.

7

Religion
Religion was absolutely basic to the Andrews'
lives.

In Vermont and for part of the time in New York,

Elisha had served a church as its regular minister.

When

they arrived in Michigan, no church large enough to sup­
port a minister had been organized in their immediate
neighborhood.

During the earlier period Henry TenEyck had

conducted services in the log house, and Elisha also per­
formed that function after he moved to the territory.

Both

morning and evening services were conducted in summer, but
the evening one was dropped in winter.

A Sabbath School
o
met at noon, and here too the family led the way.
Betsey,
q
Charles, and Anne were the teachers.
The numbers attend­
ing were small— just a few families— and, if the weather
was bad, sometimes only one family joined the Andrews.
The area served by any of the early church organi­
zations must have been very small.

If people returned

106
home between services, I can see that they wouldn't want
to go far.

Another group met at Burke's Corners (Armada),

and the Lathrops attended there.

One other group is men­

tioned, but there is no indication of where it met.

When

one of the groups had a visiting clergyman, all three met
together "over east," or if Elisha was not well enough to
preach, some of the family attended services there at
Burke's Corners.^
Anne was also interested in building a Sabbath
School library and considered providing it herself.

But

she indicated her concern for the long-term good of the
group when she philosophized in her diary:
I am trying to devise some method to obtain a
S. S. Library. If the old maxim "where there's a will
there's a way is strictly true I think I shall succeed.
I should prefer to own the books myself as this would
give me the entire control of them: but people should
provide themselves with such things as are needful for
the mind as well as for the body and I do not know as
it would be right to give a library where they might
by a suitable effort obtain one for themselves.
People need to be trained to benevolent effort and a
habit of providing such things as will be useful to
the community may be a means of establishing this
habit. If preaching is gratuitous, the house of wor­
ship gratuitous, the S. S. Library gratuitous, I fear
they will be considered things to which they have a
right, so long as those who give them have ability to
furnish them; even if those for whose benefit they are
designed, are able to provide them for themselves.H
The family also supported foreign missionary work,
and Seth believed in it strongly enough to spend twelve
years (1836 to 1848) as a medical missionary in the Sand­
wich Islands.
poor health.

He returned to the mainland only because of
The Andrews and whatever church they were

107
associated with, in New York at first and later in Michi­
gan, sent barrels of supplies to Hawaii to support the
efforts there.

There is one lovely twist to this— Seth

taught his native parishioners the virtue of supporting
churches in distant places, and the Hawaiian group made a
donation to support the developing church in Armada
Township!1^
The family had been active in both Congregation
and Presbyterian churches, but various family members
indicated prejudices against some other religious groups.
At one time Ned wrote about some mission schools in
Chicago, stating that most of the pupils were "children of
IB
Catholics, infidels, Universalists, & other trash."
And
in another letter he reported:
We had a storm here a few days ago, which blew
down four brick buildings (not yet completed) and blew
down the steeple of the Hniversalist chuch, which
grazed the corner of the Catholic hospital as it
fell— indeed it came near falling directly into it:
this shows the tendency of one form of error to pitch
into another.1^
Even Elisha reveals his attitudes in a letter he wrote
eight years or so after they had arrived in Michigan:
As it respects the moral and religous state of
Michigan we are doubtless behind New England and the
older settled countries at the east. There is nothing
in our cities & vilages to distinguish them from the
cities & vilages at the east. Here the presbyterians
& congregationalists predominate, have good & in many
cases elegant, houses of worship, and respectable con­
gregations, and pastors. . . . In our new settled
towns & bye places, the methodists predominate inter­
mixed with Baptists, Christians, & almost everything
else, but a large proportion are nothingarions, uni­
versalists & infidels.15

108
In that same letter Elisha complained of an
’’asthmatic cough in the winter" which made it difficult to
continue in the ministry.

"Now we have a young man, a

home missionary within 3 miles of me on whose ministry I
and my family attend, and under existing circumstances I
shall not resume my labors."
Education
Elisha was a college graduate and believed in a
good education for his children.

Seth attended Dartmouth

and Anne the Female Seminary at Canandaigua, New York;
both also taught school for short periods of time in the
east.
The younger children probably spent less time in
formal classrooms.

In later years Seth wrote about

George: "I don't think he ever attended a district school,
unless possibly in Mendon.

At P. /ittsford7 your Mother

7,Anne7 taught all the three boys & they all owe much to
her."

In Michigan they worked at home during the first

years, having books sent by friends in the east when
needed.

A letter from Charles, written June 3, 184-2, to

thank Mr. True for a botany text, included the following:
"Edmund and George study all the time they can get.
have not attended very much to the subject yet.
occupies almost every moment of my time . . . "

I

Business
Later

Edmund and George attended a boarding school in Romeo, the
Macomb Academy.

On August 23, 184-3, Anne wrote in her

109
diary: "Edmund returned to Romeo.

He is to assist Prof.

Nutting by teaching Algebra and Geometry and receives
board and tuition for compensation."

In the fall of 1846

Edmund entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor;
although George originally planned to become a farmer, he
eventually went on to study law in the office of a promi­
nent judge in Detroit.
Anne not only taught her younger brothers, but she
also took on some responsibility for the neighborhood
children.

She refused to take on a full-time teaching

position, but on December 2, 1844, she wrote in her diary:
I have today proposed to meet a class of young
persons one evening in the week for the purpose of at­
tending to some branch of study. As there is, and for
a year has been, no school it seems very important
that some measures should be taken to encourage exer­
tion and awaken interest. I hope the attempt will not
prove a useless one.
And on December 21 she reported that the class had met
with ten attending to recite geography.
There apparently had been some sort of school
earlier, but I'm not sure of its exact location.

In 1841

the Lathrops wrote that the teacher, a very pretty young
lady, was making her home with them so it probably was
nearby. 17 Also, Anne commented in her diary about the

'

dilapidated condition of the schoolhouse in 1843.

1 P\

The Andrews were active in building a new school­
house in 1845 on a corner of their property (District
No. 4).

Elisha and George worked on the project several

days and hired two other men from the neighborhood to help

110
some.

The total cost of the school, including labor, ma­

terials, and $12.00 for the site, was recorded in the
account book as $52.38.^

Anne wrote in her diary on

December 14, 1845: "Our new schoolhouse was so far com­
pleted as to be in a state to be used last evening.

The

house is plastered and part of the benches are made so
that the school will commence tomorrow."
Later, after Anne and E. W. True were married,
they opened an academy or high school in Burke's
Corners. 20 A term of study was twenty-two weeks, and the
charges varied with the course of study.

Rates for an

eleven week quarter varied from $2.75 for common English
studies to $4.50 for Latin, Greek, and French languages.

21

The family members were all able to use French and
the classical languages.

Phrases or sentences in French

appeared occasionally in letters, and Edmund sometimes
wrote his father in Greek or Latin.

22

Music
Music also was an important part of their lives,
especially to the three youngest boys.

They loved to

sing, and the three each taught singing and conducted
choirs at one time or another.

Charles taught singing

schools in the home area during the winter of 1842-1843,
07

for which he collected fees. >

Edmund and George earned

money for their college and law studies in the same way in
the Ann Arbor area and in Detroit.

Ill
j

George was interested enough and ingenious enough
to build himself a pipe organ.

Elisha wrote to Seth on

i

November 26, 1848:
George is building a House organ & Designs to
have it so far finished before Edmunds return as to
have his assistance in putting it up and tuning it.
The 3 boys are all great proficients in music, and
George is withall a very good mechanic & I doubt not
will produce a good instrument, altho he never saw
one.
Seth also wrote about the project many years later:
You know how he built the organ having never
seen one, or certainly not the internal structure.
When he was at a loss about any part he wrote to
Edmund who as leader of the Choir in church at A.
Arbor had access to the organ, & from him learned the
structure of any part.24
The job was completed successfully, and, as often happens
when one makes improvements, the family taxes went up as a
result!

The valuation of the organ was set at $100 in

1853.25
George's interest in organs was also indicated by
an experience he had after he started studying law in
Detroit.

There was a traveling circus in the vicinity

with a number of animals, but George's main interest was
in an organ grinder.

He paid the man a shilling to show

him the internal workings, which he described in quite
some detail in one letter.

Pfi

Health
Health is always important, but it must have been
a particular concern then.

On a frontier farm doctors

were not readily available and hospitals were non-existent.

§L

112
Most of the time families had to tend to their own in­
juries or illnesses with the help of friends and neighbors.
Doctors were available for extreme cases even dur­
ing the early stages of settlement.

Henry TenEyck called

a doctor from Romeo to take care of his wife when she was
dying, and two other medical men were called in for con27
sultation.

'

As in most newly settled areas, people suffered
frequently from ague (malaria).

Those who arrived after

clearing had been done and the mosquito population reduced
had less of a problem.
her diary.

Anne mentioned the mosquitoes in

On May 22, 1843, when they were still living

in the log house, she wrote:
We have been exceedingly annoyed for some days
by those insignificant but exceedingly troublesome
insects Musquitoes. We can do nothing in peace unless
enveloped in a cloud of smoke which we should consider
in itself a great trouble did it not to some extent
free us from a greater.
And on May 28, 1844, after moving to the frame house, she
reported:
Muschetoes are numerous and often troublesome
but not as much so as at the log house. We have not
been obliged to resort to a smoke this year as we did
last year and the year before and as the occupants of
the log house still do. We are a little farther re­
moved from the woods and the cattle from the woods do
not bring them to the door as they do there.
Most of the personal letters contained a short
review of the family's health, and for the most part those
portions of the letters were repetitious and not too in­
teresting.

One paragraph caught my fancy, however, not so

113
much for the facts as for the way it was written— ob­
viously by Henry TenEyck:
Mr Taylors people Send Their Love To you all
and feel verry gratefull for The fruit you Sent Them
They have been verry mutch afflictted indeed The old
Lady fell from The Chamber and hurt her John was
Thrown from a hoarse and hurt The old Gentleman mashed
his Thumb Their hired man has been Laid up Johns Wife
has been Laid up with The Rheumatism And To add To it
all They have Lost an ox but are now better.28
The Andrews' letters mention injuries and ill­
nesses, but they contain no comments about consulting
local doctors except members of the family.

The family

had a number of medical books, and some letters described
symptoms and treatments in detail.

They probably were far

better informed in medical matters than the average family.
When Charles' first wife was seriously ill, however, he
decided to send her to stay with her family in Ypsilanti
where competent medical help would be more readily avail­
able.

After Seth returned from Hawaii and established a

practice in Romeo, he handled the family medical problems.
Public Service
Family members also held minor public offices.
Solomon Lathrop was elected Supervisor and Justice of the
Peace in 1840,^ and in 1844 Elisha was Director of the
Poor for the township of Armada. 30 The account book shows
that he collected expense money occasionally for trips in­
volving people who for one reason or another required care
by the government.
In 1846 Anne reported in her diary:

114
The 24th of Jan'y Mr Albert Aldrich came here
with a little boy (Thomas Proctor) who had by the ad­
vice of neighbours run away from the place where he
lived and was homeless. Father consented that he
should remain here and having since learned that the
man with whom he formerly lived does not intend to
call for him he intends to keep him. He is an active
obliging little fellow 14 years of age. 31
I'm not sure whether Tom was brought to the Andrews be­
cause of Elisha's position or because Elisha usually hired
extra help.

Tom stayed with the Andrews until he was able

to manage a farm of his own.

Some time after Elisha's

death, Tom bought the portion of the farm containing the
log house.

His descendants still own that land, and Mr.

and Mrs. Charles Proctor were able to show me where the
spring is and where the log cabin stood (Figure 18, page
65).

In their back yard is a rose bush that grew by the

corner of the log house.

It may have been one of the

many plants that Anne sent from New York just before the
family moved to Michigan. ^
Financial Matters
Money was scarce on the frontier, and the transfer
of funds was often a major problem.

Many different kinds

of bank drafts were available, and both British and United
States currency must have circulated.
given in shillings, some in dollars.

Some prices were
When possible, many

business transactions were carried on by barter.

When

banks had to be used, those in Detroit or even in New
England were consulted.

115
From the beginning of his period of tenancy, Henry
TenEyck had problems in paying Elisha’s bills.

On April

16, 1834-, he wrote:
Yours of The 7 of March was Received Four
Weeks from Date I was a Good Eal Disapoind In not
finding a bank note inclosed but When I come To Read
it I Could account for it finding you all Broke Down
in That Countrybut That Doesnot help us hear at
all
We are as needy
as Ever I find my Self a Good Eal put
To it To Get a Long Without Money I have made a number
of Contracts and The money is now due and Some of Them
must be paid Soon or There will be Cost Made and I Do
not want To be Sent for by an officer if it Can be
avoided . . . I have Delayed Sending This hoping To
hear from you The next mail and yesterday I Received
yours of The 11
of April with 15 Dollars Enclosed I
Do not hardly Know What To Do with it as There is So
many places for it To go. There is Reports in Cir­
culation That it is a contrived plan Between you and
myself To Get in Debt as mutch as We can and Then
brake Down This report however Comes from The Whiskey
folks.
Elisha operated much of the time on borrowed money,
and was sued at various times for late payment of bills.
Frequently he had assets which he was unable to convert
into cash.

Somehow he always managed to squeak through.

He was able to keep and develop his farm only because his
major creditor was a friend who did not foreclose, even
when Elisha was unable to make payments as expected.
Other people in similar straits but with less understand­
ing creditors no doubt lost their land.
The End of the Rainbow?
Although Elisha accomplished great improvements in
agriculture and community development, he did not realize
all his dreams in Michigan.

His hope was to provide a

116
farm for each of his sons and have them close around him.
Charles did stay on the farm provided him until he retired
to town.

Elisha had not allowed land for Anne in his

original plans but bought land later and provided her with
a farm when she married.

(It's ironic that hers is the

only land that is still owned by the family.)
George worked with his father for several years
and tried to take over when his father died in 1852.

He

did not like farming, however, and in the mid-1850s moved
to Detroit to study law.

From Detroit he wrote his

mother: "I feel miserably about leaving you in your weak­
ness— but I believe it was best.

I think I should have

been as crazy as Joseph in another year."^

And m

an­

other letter dated only "Mon. eve.," he explained: "Farm­
ing left my mind too much at liberty— it was always on
some track that made me uncomfortable."

His legal career

was quite successful, and when he died, he was a Supreme
Court Judge in the State of Tennessee.
On Seth's return from Hawaii, Elisha bought a
small piece of land at Burke's Corners (Armada) so Seth
could set up practice there.

Seth decided, however, to

practice in Romeo and wrote his father suggesting that
Elisha use the land "in some way for your own comfort &
mothers.

I don't believe in your laying up all your earn-

ings for your children." ■55
Edmund, after finishing medical school, decided to
move to Chicago and wrote his mother:

117
I hate to get so far from you, but I cant help
it. The fact is, mother, if you had had a set of
stupid blockhead boys without mind or enterprize, they
might have all staid together in a snug little knot,
but as you produced a lot of go ahead fellows they
must scatter or smother, four rousing chaps cannot be
contained in one township. . . . I am satisfied of
this one thing, viz that he who proposes at all
hazards to keep four active young fellows in the same
coop, virtually proposes to destroy the prospects of
three of them, so far as being men of mark and power
is concerned.3°
Despite these later developments, Elisha had ap­
parently been well satisfied with his life in general and
the progress the family had made.

He summed up his feel­

ings about the move west in a letter written about 184-9 to
an old classmate in New England:
When I was about to remove to Michigan a
friend in N. York said to me that a man who had a
comfortable situation there, & who should sell it & go
to M. ought to be sent to the Insane Assylum. But I
have not regretted my removal. It is true we have not
all the privileges of an old country but we have some
to counterbalance them. While my children have suf­
fered nothing in a religous point of view I have been
able to give each of them a good farm, and they are
exerting an influence in the sabbath school & other
institutions, so that I think their usefulness will be
rather increased than diminished. Our comforts & even
luxuries not much less abundant than in N. E.37
Would that every man could look back on his life and his
decisions with as much satisfaction!

GENEALOGICAL APPENDIX

GENEALOGICAL APPENDIX
The Older Generation
Jonathan Andrews (who was a Minute Man in the Revolution)
, b. May 28, 1756
d. December 27, 1806
m. May 16, 1782, to
Ruth Deming
b. November 26, 1756
d. October 11, 1850
Their children were: Elisha Deming Andrews
b. February 18, 1783*
Southington, Conn.
d. January 12, 1852, Armada, Mich,
Mary Andrews
b. November 22, 1784-,
Southington, Conn.
d. December 5, 1822, West
Springfield, Mass.
Emma Andrews
b. August 7, 1795* Southington,
Conn.
d. March 21, 1871, Richmond, Mich,
Dr. Seth Lathrop
b. April 11, 1762
d. February 26, 1831
m. August 29, 1787, to
Anna Abbott
b.
d. September 13, 1846
Their children were: Betsey Lathrop
b. July 28, 1788, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. June 5, 1859, Armada, Mich.
Solomon Lathrop
b.
d.
Edward Lathrop
b. April 18, 1792, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. September 11, 1863, Armada,
Mich.

118

119
The Next Generation
Elisha Deming Andrews
m. September 13, 1808, to
Betsey Lathrop
Their children were: Seth Lathrop Andrews
b. June 24, 1809, Putney, Yt.
d. February 17, 1893, Romeo, Mich,
m. November 11, 1836, to Parnelly
Pierce
2m.
?
to Amelia Jamison Dike
Anne Amelia Andrews
b. January 8, 1812, Putney, Yt.
d. July, 1898, Armada, Mich,
m. December 29, 1847, to Eleazer
Wells True
Joseph Lathrop Andrews
b. April 14, 1814, Putney, Yt.
d.
Female, stillborn, September 30,
1816
Charles Andrews I
b. August 31, 1817, Putney, Vt.
d. July 9, 1818, Putney, Vt.
Charles Andrews II
b. August 28, 1820, Putney, Vt.
d.
m. January 29, 1845, to Charlotte
Hewitt
2m. October 23, 1849,to Mary
Myrick Elliot
Edmund Andrews
b. April 22, 1824, Putney, Vt.
d.
m. April 13, 1853, to Sarah Eliza
Taylor
2m.
?
to Frances Taylor
Barret
George Andrews
b. December 28, 1826, Putney,
Vt.
d. August 22, 1889, in
Tennessee
m. January 1, 1856, to Mary
Lathrop

120
Edward Lathrop
m. October 3, 1815, to
Emma Andrews
Their children were: Charles Abbott Lathrop
b. October 25, 1816, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. November 28, 1904, Armada,
Mich.
Seth Lathrop
b. July 1, 1818, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. March 10, 1902, Richmond, Mich.
George Andrews Lathrop
b. April 4, 1820, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. September 9, 1821, West
Springfield, Mass.
Jane Mary Lathrop
b. March 18, 1822, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. February 18, 1890, St. Paul,
Minn.
Horace Andrews Lathrop
b. March 6, 1824, West
Springfield, Mass.
d.
James Edward Lathrop
b. October 18, 1827, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. June 16, 1856, Pine Run, Mich.
Samuel Lathrop
b. December 7, 1829, West
Springfield, Mass.
d. August 21, 1885* Clio, Mich.
Elizabeth Lathrop
b. July 29, 1832, Pittsford, N.Y.
d. April 19, 1884, Pontiac, Mich.
Dwight Lathrop
b. August 17, 1834, West
Bloomfield, N.Y.
d. October 10, 1904, Garden City
Anne Abbott Lathrop
b. April 27, 1837, Pittsford,
N.Y.
d. March 3, 1921, Armada, Mich.
Elisha Deming Lathrop
b. December 25, 1839, Armada,
Mich.
d. March 3, 1905, Armada, Mich.

121
Daniel True
b. September 17, 1773» Durham, Me.
d. September 18, 1824, Pittsford, N.Y.
married
Letty York
b.
d. September 5, 1812
Their children were:

Enoch True
b. April 29, 1798, Durham,
Me.
d. October 10, 1803, Durham,
Me.
Daniel True
b. January 12, 1800, Durham,
Me •
d. June 3, 1870, Lima, N.Y.
Hannah True
b. April 21, 1802, Durham,
Me.
d. October 7, 1807, Durham,
Me.
Elliot True
b. March 1, 1804, Durham,
Me.
d. September 1, 1806, Durham,
Me.
Eleazer Wells True
b. October 4, 1806, Durham,
Me.
d. January 18, 1874, Armada,
Mich.
Joseph True
b. November 10, 1808, Durham,
Me •
d. August 24, 1879, Pittsford,
N.Y.
Letty Elizabeth True (Betsey)
b. January 10, 1812
d.
, Armada, Mich.

Second marriage t o :
Sarah Williams Ingersoll
b.
d. November 1839

122

The Line of Descent
Great great grandparents: Elisha Deming Andrews
Betsey lathrop Andrews

Great grandparents: Eleazer Wells True
Anne Amelia Andrews

Grandparents: George Andrews True
Ida Ardella Smith

Parents: Frank Lathrop True
Edith Blanche Mills

The current clan: Martha Smith True Field
Mary Marjorie True Dooley
John Andrews True
Janet Elizabeth True Robertson
Elizabeth Anne True Stevens

NOTES

NOTES

Chapter II
Elisha Deming Andrews, letter to Hon. Samuel Church,
September 21, 1851.
2
Edmund Andrews, letter to Charles Andrews, August 24,
1886.
*
^Jeremiah Ryan, deed to Elisha D. Andrews, February 20,
1815.
^Elisha D. Andrews, draft of letter to Mr. Isham, 1851.
^Edmund Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews True, February 6
1888.
^Elisha Deming Andrews, letter to Hon. Samuel Church,
September 21, 1851.
^Elisha Deming Andrews, notes for a report to the church
Mendon, New York, April 19* 1850.
Q
Commission of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America, 27th day
of December 1850.
^Elisha Deming Andrews, draft of a report on the church,
Mendon, New York, December 12, 1851*
■^Solomon Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, December
27, 1850.
11

1p

Seth Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews, June 26, 1851.
Seth Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews, August 16, 1851.

"^Elisha Deming Andrews, copy of a letter to P. White and
E. H. Mason, February 17, 1852.
^ S e t h Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews, February 29, 1852
"^Eleazer Wells True, letter to Pomeroy Buel, October 25,

1850.
125

124
^Solomon Lathrop, letter to Edward Lathrop, March 4,
1831.
17
‘Samuel Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February 27,
1837.
"^Samuel Lathrop, letter to Edward Lathrop, May 13, 1834;
Seth Lathrop, will, June 26, 1830.
Chapter III
1
Betsey True, letter to Eleazer Wells True, July 26,

1836.

2

Joseph True, letter to Eleazer Wells True, November 11,
1836

.

5
^Rev. Chandler Bates, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, March
24, 1836.
4
David Crawford, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February 26,
1837.

5

^Elisha Deming Andrews, letter to David Crawford, July 4,
1838 .
kjohn E. Day, "Sketches and Incidents Concerning the
Settlement of Macomb County," Michigan Pioneer
Collections, 4 (1881):314.
^"Gallery of Local Celebrities: No. XXXII, Dr. Edmund A.
Andrews," The Chicago Tribune, September 2, 1900,
p. 34.
O
M.A. Leeson, History of Macomb County, Michigan
(Chicago: M. A. Leeson & Co., 1882), p. 245.
q
-'Bela Hubbard, "Geological Survey of Cos. of Shiawassee,
Clinton, Barry, Macomb, St. Clair & Lapeer, May 21
to Sept. 22, 1840" (unpublished field notes,
University of Michigan Historical Collections).
^Edmund Andrews, letter to Charles Andrews, June 20,

1902.

"^Robert F. Eldredge, Past and Present of Macomb County,
Michigan (Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing
Co., 1905), p. 671.
12
Leeson, History of Macomb County, p. 130.

IX
^Wilbert B. Hinsdale, Distribution of the Aboriginal
Population of Michigan (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1932), folded map in back.
14Wilbert B. Hinsdale, Archaeological Atlas of Michigan
(Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1931)»
Map 6.
15
^Leeson, History of Macomb County, p. 152.
Chapter 17
"^Elisha Deming Andrews, copy of a letter to P. White and
E. H. Mason, February 17, 1852.
2John T. Blois, Gazetteer of the State of Michigan
(Detroit: Sydney L. Rood & Co., 1858), p7 158.
X

•'Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, September 19,
1835.

h.Henry

TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February 27,
1833.

^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 26,
1833.
Charles Andrews», letter to Eleazer W. True, July 30,
184-1.
7

'Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 26,
1833.

^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, October 11,
1833.
Q

'Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, April 16,
1834-.

10Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 26,
1833.
■^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February
1834.
12Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, October 11,
1833.
13
•'Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, June 10,
1834.

126
34
Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, July 16,

1834.

"^Percy Wells Bidwell, History of Agriculture in the
Northern United States, 1620-1860 (New York: P.
Smith, 1941), p. 81.
16
Charles A. Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, May 2,
1839.
■^Charles A. Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, May 19,
1841.
1®Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February 27,
1833.
19
'Charles A. Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, March
16, 1840.
20
21
22

Rev. Chandler Bates, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, March
24, 1836.
Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February 27,
1833.
Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 26,
1833.

2^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, October 11,
1833.
24Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, July 12,
1833.
^Elisha D. Andrews, letter to David Crawford, July 4,
1838.
?6

Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 26,
1833.

27Ibid.
pQ

Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, November 11,
1833.
2^Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 536.
^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, July 16,
1834.
^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, October 18,
1834.

127
52Ibid.
33
"^Henry
TenEyck,
1834.
34
^ Henry TenEyck,
1835.
35
"^Henry TenEyck,
1835.
36Henry TenEyck,
^

letter to Elisha D. Andrews, December 17,
letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 18,
letter to Elisha D. Andrews, September 19,
letter to Elisha D. Andrews, July 12,

1833.
37Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, April 16,
1834.
38Elisha D. Andrews, miscellaneous papers.
^
^He nr y TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, October 18,
1834.
40
Henry TenEyck, letters; tci Elisha D., Andrews , March 24
and June 25, 1855•
Chapter V
1George Andrews, letter to Joseph Andrews, June 16, 1856.
2

Charles Andrews, letter to Eleazer W. True, July 30,
1841.

^Statistics of the State of Michigan Compiled from the
Census of 1850 (Lansing: R. W. Ingals, State
Printer, 1851), p. 105.
^Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 196.
^Anne Andrews, diary, August 20, 1844.
^C. B. Newbury Co., bill of credit, Elisha D. Andrews'
miscellaneous papers.
"^Betsey Andrews, letter to Nathan Sargent, June 16, 1855*
Q
Elisha D. Andrews, draft of letter to Mr. Isham, 1851.
^Elisha D. Andrews, miscellaneous papers.
^Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 542.

128
11

Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 18,
1835.
12 David Crawford, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, January 23?
1846.
13Ibid.
14
Anne Andrews, diary, June 15* 1847.
■^Elisha D. Andrews, letter to Betsey Andrews, July 30,
1847.
16
Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 535*
17Ibid.
1ft
David Crawford, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, August 9*
1851.
■^Elisha D. Andrews, account book, pp. 168-69.
20Ibid.
PI

Elisha D. Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews True, January
24, 1848.

22

Elisha D. Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews True, March 4,
1848.

23Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 169.
24 Charles Andrews, letter to Anne Andrews True, May 11,
1848.
23Edward Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, January 26,
1840.
P6

Elisha D. Andrews, copy of letter to David Crawford,
May 19t 1843.

^Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 548.
28Ibid., p. 551.
29
-'Solomon Lathrop, letter to Anne Lathrop, October 1839*
■50Charless Andrews,
v
And:
letter to Eleazer W. True, June 3*
1842.
31
-'Elisha
D. A
Andrews, letter to Seth L. Andrews, November
26, 1848.

129
Chapter VI
^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, March 24,

1835.

2
Statistics of the State of Michigan Compiled from the
Census of 1850 (Lansing: R. V. Ingals, State
Printer, 1851), p." 104.
3
^John Taylor, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, December 17,
1832 .
4
Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February
1834.
^Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, June 10,
1834.
^Samuel Church, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, October 18,
1851.
^N. ^athan/ Sargent, letter to Elisha D. Andrews,
January 25, 1850.
D
Anne Andrews, diary, May 28, 1843.
9Ibid., May 13, 1843.
10Ibid., June 14, 1843; June 28, 1843.
11Ibid., May 27, 1844.
12
Mother can remember seeing this in the church records
somewhere, but I haven't been able to locate it.
13
^Edmund Andrews, letter to Betsey Andrews, March 17 (no
year given, but probably 1856 or 1857).
14
Edmund Andrews, letter to Betsey Andrews, November 23,

1856.

15
^Elisha D. Andrews, copy of a letter to Eev. Noah Porter,

1850.

1

fcs.

Seth L. Andrews, letter to George True, August 26, 1889.
17
rJane Lathrop, letter to Anne Andrews, May 19, 1841.
"^Anne Andrews, diary, May 28, 1843.
19
yElisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 146.

20Elisha D. Andrews, letter to Seth L. Andrews, November
26, 1848.
21
22

Advertising poster for Armada Academy, dated 1852.
Edmund Andrews, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, Sexto
Idus Decembris, Anno Domini Nostri, MDCCCXLIX.

23
'Anne Andrews, diary, May 10, 1843.
24

Seth L. Andrews, letter to George True, August 26, 1889

25

'Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 196.
George Andrews, letter to Betsey Andrews, June 2, 1856.

27

'Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, March 24,
1835-

OO

Henry TenEyck, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, February
1834.
29

'Edward Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, April 15,
1840.

30
31
32

Elisha D. Andrews, account book, p. 119.
Anne Andrews, diary, February 19, 1846.
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Proctor, personal interview,
July 9, 1972.

33

"Charles Lathrop, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, May 15,
1841.
34

George Andrews, letter to Betsey Andrews, December 17,
1855-

35

" S e t h L. Andrews, letter to Elisha D. Andrews, January 9
1851.
36
'
Edmund Andrews, letter to Betsey Andrews, November 25,
1855.
37

"Elisha D. Andrews, copy of a letter to Rev. Noah Porter

1850.

LIST OF SOURCES FOR FIGURES

LIST OF SOURCES FOR FIGURES

Frontispiece.
"The primary study area; northern Macomb
County, Michigan." Glacial features from Helen M.
Martin, Map of the Surface Formations of the
Southern Peninsula of Michigan (Michigan Department of Conservation, Geological Survey Division,
Publication 49, 1955)» and Michigan Water Resources
Commission, Report on the Water Resources of the
Clinton River Basin (Lansing: Water Resources Com­
mission ,""1^5377 Map No. 1, Surface Geology; loca­
tion of Andrews purchase from "Macomb County Tract
Book," Register of Deeds Office, Macomb County
Court House, Mt. Clemens, Michigan.
Figure 1. "Westward migration of the Andrews family."
Compiled from letters and other records in the
manuscript collection of the Frank True family,
Armada, Michigan.
Figure 2. "Reference map of New England." Both loca­
tions and style mainly from T. G. Bradford, Atlas
Designed to Illustrate the Abridgement of Universal
Geography (Boston: Gould, Kendall, and Lincoln,
1835).
Figure 3» "Ned's sketch map of Putney, Vermont." Repro­
duced from the original in the manuscript collec­
tion of the Frank True family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 4. "View of the village of Putney from the family
garden." Reproduced from a photograph in the
collection of the Frank True family, Armada,
Michigan.
Figure 5« "The brook where the Andrews children used to
play." Reproduced from a photograph in the collec­
tion of the Frank True family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 6. "Ned's map of the Town of Putney and the sur­
rounding area." Reproduced from the original in
the manuscript collection of the Frank True family,
Armada, Michigan.

131

132
Figure

7. "Grist mill and dam in Putney, Vermont."
Reproduced from a photograph in the collection of
the Frank True family, Armada, Michigan.

Figure

8. "View of meadows and Bare Hill from the village
of Putney." Reproduced from a photograph in the
collection of the Frank True family, Armada,
Michigan.

Figure

9. "Reference map of New York State." Locations
determined from letters written hy Elisha D.
Andrews during June of 1828 and from J. H. Colton
and Company, Colton's General Atlas (New York:
Johnson and Browning, I860), Plates 15 and 16.

Figure 10. "Land purchased by Elisha D. Andrews for him­
self and members of his family." From the "Macomb
County Tract Book," Register of Deeds Office,
Macomb County Court House, Mt. Clemens, Michigan,
and from letters in the collection of the Frank
True family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 11. "Topographic map of northern Macomb County,
Michigan." Contours from individual township maps
provided by the Macomb County Drain Commissioner,
Mt. Clemens, Michigan; trails from Wilbert B.
Hinsdale, Archaeological Atlas of Michigan (Ann
Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1931), Map 6.
Figure 12. "Land sold in 1851 and before, northern Macomb
County, Michigan." Base map from Macomb County
Planning Commission, Mt. Clemens, Michigan; trails
from Wilbert B. Hinsdale, Archaeological Atlas of
Michigan (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1931)7 Map 6; land purchase data from "Macomb
County Tract Book," Register of Deeds Office,
Macomb County Court House, Mt. Clemens, Michigan.
Figure 13« "Condition of vegetation in 1817-1818, northern
Macomb County, Michigan." Base map from Macomb
County Planning Commission, Mt. Clemens, Michigan;
condition of vegetation from the "United States
Survey Field Notes," Lands Division Office,
Michigan Department of Conservation, Lansing,
Michigan.
Figure 14. "Effectiveness of drainage in 1817 and 1818,
northern Macomb County, Michigan." Base map from
Macomb County Planning Commission, Mt. Clemens,
Michigan; effectiveness of drainage from "United
States Survey Field Notes," Lands Division Office,
Michigan Department of Conservation, Lansing,
Michigan.

133
Figure 15• "Distribution of Indian population before and
during the first white occupancy." From Wilbert
B. Hinsdale, Distribution of the Aboriginal Popula­
tion of Michigan (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press, 1932.), fold-out map in back.
Figure 16. "Archaeological sites, northern Macomb County,
Michigan." Base map from Macomb County Planning
Commission, Mt. Clemens, Michigan; archaeological
sites from Wilbert B. Hinsdale, Archaeological
Atlas of Michigan (Ann Arbor: University of
Michigan Press, 1931)? Map 6.
Figure 17« "Part of a letter written by Henry TenEyck."
Letter from the manuscript collection of the Frank
True family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 18. "The Andrews farm, showing those developments
completed between 1832 and 1851 which can be lo­
cated with reasonable accuracy." From letters in
the manuscript collection of the Frank True family,
Armada, Michigan, and a personal interview with
Mr. and Mrs. Charles Proctor, Armada, Michigan, on
July 9, 1972.
Figure 19. "Farmland showing worm fences." Printed from a
glass negative in the collection of the Frank True
family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 20. "An example of crop records in Elisha's account
book." From the manuscript collection of the Frank
True family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 21. "A typically fat hog of the 1800s." Printed
from a glass negative in the collection of the Frank
True family, Armada, Michigan.
Figure 22. "Location of services utilized by residents of
the Andrews farm between 1831 and 1850." Compiled
from letters and accounts in the collection of the
Frank True family, Armada, Michigan, and from Geil
and Jones, Map of the Counties of Macomb and
St. Clair, Michigan, from Special Surveys and
County Records (Philadelphia: Geil, Harley &
Silverd, 1859).
Figure 23. "The back of one of Henry TenEyck's letters,
including address and postmark." From the manu­
script collection of the Frank True family, Armada,
Michigan.

EPILOGUE

EPILOGUE
After approximately twenty years, and one genera­
tion's work, the area was wilderness no more.

In review­

ing those years through the reports of the Andrews and
their associates, an appreciation of their situation and
some understanding of their experiences are gained.

But,

more important for purpose of this dissertation, the study
reveals what the area was like before they arrived and
what changes they were able to effect.

It also answers

many of the questions I had raised.
The Area and Its Development
What attracted people to the lake plain, even
though it had been bypassed by others?

Analysis of land

purchase records indicates that settlement progressed
along established trails and along waterways which could
provide a dependable supply of water and, in selected
spots, a source of power for grist or saw mills.

Where

good soil could be found near these other necessities,
settlement developed rapidly.
The Andrews' letters provided some additional
information.

Although Elisha tended to prefer the hillier

land of the interior (Charles also found the lake plain
unattractive in comparison with the hills of New England
134

135
and New York), the deciding factor in choosing lake plain
was distance from the shore, the lakes which were the
transportation link with eastern markets and friends hack
"home.'1

It was more important to stay close to the shore,

taking what was to them less attractive land, than to go
too far into the interior to find more attractive land.
Later they justified their choice by commenting that a few
years* effort made it better than New York, that the soil
was rich, and that crops could be grown with much less
effort.

Perhaps there is an implication that such a

choice had to be justified to people not familiar with the
area.
Was the agricultural operation they established
representative of the area?

It seems not very different

from that developed in other parts of Michigan at that
time.

Wheat was produced as a cash crop, just as it was

during the development stages of agriculture in New York
and again in Wisconsin and Minnesota as settlement pro­
gressed across the country.

Wool also was produced for

shipment back east, both on the lake plain and in the in­
terior hill lands.

The perception of the hillier lands as

wheat land and the lake plain as grazing land recorded by
one of the pioneers does not seem to be borne out in the
statistics.

Elisha explained his dependence on wool pro­

duction not by the fact that he was on lake plain but
because he had a very large farm and was dependent on
hired labor.

Only a few of the farmers in Armada Township

136
really concentrated heavily on sheep, and there were not
unusually large numbers of other types of livestock.
In fact, the problems that the Andrews faced seem
to be typical of the frontier in general— the tremendous
amount of work involved in developing a farm from the
wilderness, distance to markets and to sources of supplies,
the problem of doing business without cash or developed
financial services, in general the lack of social advan­
tages found in established communities.

There is no indi­

cation that they faced greater difficulties by virtue of
being on the lake plain.
But was the Armada area typical of the lake plain
in general?

Not completely.

Drainage on the upper levels

or older lake beds was not the best, but it was far better
than that on the lower, younger lake beds bordering the
St. Clair and Detroit Rivers and Lake St. Clair.

Perhaps

the distinction in difficulty of development needs to be
made within the lake plain rather than between lake plain
and the morainic land of the interior.

)■' • • *

Were the Andrews typical of the settlers in the
area?

In many ways, yes.

Much of Michigan was settled by

Yankees who left New England, resided for a few years in
New York State, and then moved on west to Michigan.

In

The Expansion of New England, Lois Mathews analyzed that
movement, among others.

She presented both the reasons

for leaving settlements and the aims in moving to new ones.

137
Disagreements within religious congregations were
frequently the reason for leaving for new homes.^

Such

was the case with Elisha when he decided to leave Putney.
Many people also left New England because of the lack of
good farm land there.

"Over and over again the search for

cheap and fertile land has been most potent . . . .

To ob­

tain a farm of a goodly size,— that has been the object of
2
the majority of emigrants from the beginning."
Here,
too, Elisha was typical.

He sought more and better land,

not only for himself but also for his children as they be­
came old enough to support themselves.
Mathews also pointed out that: "Again and again
did the settlers seek out the wooded lands which bore a
striking resemblance to the tree-covered hills to which
x
they were accustomed in the East."^ The Andrews fit the
mold in their move to New York State but departed from it
in the move to Michigan.

And in that departure they felt

some misgivings.
The dominant trend that Mathews identifies, how­
ever, is that New Englanders seemed to settle near others
from New England.

"The tendency to settle together is

there,— just why, it is impossible to say."

The Andrews

did plan their move with relatives and friends and chose
1
Lois Kimball Mathews, The Expansion of New England
(New York: Russell & Russell, Inc., 1962)", p. 28.
^Ibid., pp. 259-60.
^Ibid., p. 228.

^Ibid., p. 257*

1$8
land near enough to each other that they could maintain
contact.

They went to Michigan and worked to develop the

community as well as their own personal interests.

Mathews

wrote that New Englanders moving to the frontier "made it
their business to see the town meeting, the church, and
5
the school established as their fathers had founded them."^
The Andrews participated in community activities whole­
heartedly.
The niche they carved for themselves— their per­
sonal bailiwick— can be noted in Figure 22, page 103.

The

focus of activity was the farm in the center of Armada
Township.

Most of their interaction with the surrounding

area was to the south and west— a part of the territory
that had been settled longer and that offered more serv­
ices.

Later the family would develop greater ties with

the closer village "over east."

Were it not for Elisha's

land management activities for other people, the eastern
two townships could have been excluded from the study area.
Most of those activities were in lands settled and de­
veloped at a later date, so additional parcels of land
could be picked up there at lower prices.
That was their sphere of activity at one stage in
the development of the area.

Earlier in the settlement

period, people had to go farther for supplies— to Detroit,
Ohio, or even New York.

Much later, with improved trans­

portation facilities, people again traveled greater
^Ibid., p. 73*

139
distances to satisfy their needs.

But for 1850, approx­

imately twenty years after settlement, this was the
bailiwick of one family.

And, except for the special land

management activities, it probably was fairly typical of
the spheres of activities of most families in that area at
that time.
The Source Materials
Was the decision to base the study on the Andrews
collection a sound one?
of observations.

Truly it is an uncommon collection

Their education and interest in natural

history and their involvement in the community led them to
comment on many things of particular interest to the
geographer-— the physical environment, the economy that de­
veloped, and the cultural advances that were made on the
frontier.

Their willingness to comment and ability to ex­

press themselves permit a clearer perception of their
ideas and beliefs than is possible with many records from
the past.

The collection makes it quite clear that this

frontier was being developed by very human people.
succeed they had to be industrious, but also lucky.

To
They

were sentimental and fun-loving; they enjoyed books and
music, things not readily available on the frontier; they
were also prejudiced.

If this dissertation is a success,

that success is largely theirs; my contribution as a re­
searcher in historical geography is largely that of
distilling the material.

140
The Style of Presentation
What of the style of presentation?

Wilbur Zelinsky

would call it one of those "cunning ad hoc tricks for
6
manipulating . . . unique bodies of data."
I will grant
that.

But H. C. Prince has stated:

"Perhaps the greatest

advance in historical geography in recent years has been
achieved by viewing the past through the eyes of contempo­
rary observers and by rediscovering the evaluations they
7

made of the objects they o b s e r v e d . A s the gap in time
widens between the past being studied and the present,
that problem of rediscovery becomes greater.

The Andrews

collection enabled me to make such a rediscovery.

You,

the reader, are the best Judge of whether my presentation
communicates that discovery.
Wilbur Zelinsky, ibid., p. 2.
7
'H. C. Prince, "Progress in Historical Geography,"
in Trends in Geography, ed. Ronald U. Cooke and James H.
Johnson (New York: Pergamon Press, 1969), p. 114.

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