Andrew Ellicott (1733 – 1809) was one of three
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
brothers from
Bucks County
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
,
Province of Pennsylvania
The Province of Pennsylvania, also known as the Pennsylvania Colony, was a British North American colony founded by William Penn after receiving a land grant from Charles II of England in 1681. The name Pennsylvania ("Penn's Woods") refers to Wi ...
who chose the wilderness up river from
Elk Ridge Landing (known today as
Elkridge, Maryland
Elkridge is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Howard County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,593 at the 2010 census. Founded early in the 18th century, Elkridge is adjacent to two other counties, A ...
) to establish a flour mill.
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, Andrew, and
Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott (November 1, 1760 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – August 19, 1826 in New York City) was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.
Life
Ellicott was born in Bucks Co ...
founded
Ellicott's Mills which became one of the largest milling and manufacturing towns in the East.
The Ellicott brothers helped revolutionize farming in the area by persuading farmers to plant
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
instead of
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
and also by introducing
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
to revitalize depleted soil.
Charles Carroll, a signer of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
, was an early influential convert from tobacco to wheat. Andrew worked principally as a financier leaving his interests to his sons. His sons Jonathan and
George Ellicott built their
home
A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. ...
by the river in
Oella, Maryland
Oella is a mill town on the Patapsco River in western Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, located between Catonsville and Ellicott City. It is a 19th-century village of millworkers' homes.
History
Oella was founded in 1808 by the Union Ma ...
.
Andrew Ellicott was the uncle of the famous surveyors
Andrew Ellicott
Andrew Ellicott (January 24, 1754 – August 28, 1820) was an American land surveyor who helped map many of the territories west of the Appalachians, surveyed the boundaries of the District of Columbia, continued and completed Pierre (Pet ...
and
Joseph Ellicott
Joseph Ellicott (November 1, 1760 in Bucks County, Pennsylvania – August 19, 1826 in New York City) was an American surveyor, city planner, land office agent, lawyer and politician of the Quaker faith.
Life
Ellicott was born in Bucks Co ...
.
Notes
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellicott, Andrew
People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
1733 births
1809 deaths
People of colonial Pennsylvania
People from Ellicott City, Maryland
American city founders