Charles Christopher Trowbridge (December 29, 1800 – April 3, 1883)James V. Cambell
"Biographical Sketch of Charles C. Trowbridge," read June 3, 1883, published in ''Pioneer Collections: Report of the Pioneer Society of the State of Michigan,'' 1907, pp. 478 - 491 was an

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

, politician, businessman, and

ethnographer Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

of Native American cultures who lived in Detroit during the 19th century.Charles Trowbridge House
from the city of Detroit He was one of the first businessmen who emigrated to what was then the

Michigan Territory The Territory of Michigan was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 30, 1805, until January 26, 1837, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Michigan. Detroit ...

Early life

Charles Trowbridge was born on December 29, 1800, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

; the youngest of six children born to Luther Trowbridge and Elizabeth Tillman Trowbridge. His father was a Revolutionary War veteran who had fought at the battles of Lexington and Saratoga, among others. Luther Trowbridge died in 1802, and Charles grew up with his mother. In 1813, Charles apprenticed to the businessman Horatio Ross of

Owego, New York Owego is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Tioga County, New York, Tioga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 18,728 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from the Iroquoian languages, Iro ...

, who trained him as a merchant. In 1818, economic troubles bankrupted Ross, and Trowbridge, then not quite eighteen, was charged with closing up the business. Trowbridge continued independently in the merchant trade, but quickly decided to move west. In 1819, he secured a position with Major Thomas Rowland of Detroit as Deputy United States Marshal and deputy Clerk of the Court.

Early career in Detroit

Rowland encouraged Trowbridge to study law, and the young man quickly picked up a great deal of legal knowledge, and assisted in recording the 1820 census in Michigan Territory. In 1820, Trowbridge served on the Lewis Cass expedition, led by

Lewis Cass Lewis Cass (October 9, 1782June 17, 1866) was a United States Army officer and politician. He represented Michigan in the United States Senate and served in the Cabinets of two U.S. Presidents, Andrew Jackson and James Buchanan. He was also the 1 ...

, that officially explored the section of

between the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and the headwaters of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Cass was impressed by Trowbridge, and made him his private secretary. In 1821, Trowbridge helped negotiate a treaty between the

US government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, execut ...

and the

Winnebago Winnebago can refer to: * The exonym of the Ho-Chunk tribe of Native North Americans with reservations in Nebraska, Iowa, and Wisconsin ** Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a federally recognized tribe group in the state ** The Winnebago language of the ...

and

Menominee The Menominee ( ; meaning ''"Menominee People"'', also spelled Menomini, derived from the Ojibwe language word for "Wild Rice People"; known as ''Mamaceqtaw'', "the people", in the Menominee language) are a federally recognized tribe of Na ...

peoples. With this experience, and his knowledge of the

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

, Trowbridge was appointed assistant secretary in the local government department for Native American affairs, and soon after was also made interpreter. Around this time, Trowbridge was made secretary of the

Board of Regents In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...

of the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. In 1823, Trowbridge was tasked with determining the relationships among the languages and customs of the indigenous tribes in

. He worked at this, as well as his interpreter duties, through 1825, when he resigned his post in favor of becoming cashier of the newly established Bank of Michigan. In 1826, Trowbridge married Catherine Whipple Sibley, oldest daughter of

Solomon Sibley Solomon Sibley (October 7, 1769 – April 4, 1846) was an American politician and jurist in the Michigan Territory who became the first mayor of Detroit. Early life: 1769–1815 Sibley was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth and Reube ...

. That same year, he built a home, the

Charles Trowbridge House The Charles C. Trowbridge House is located at 1380 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest documented building in the city of Detroit; on what was then farmland about a mile from the heart of the city. At the time, it was considered to be the finest frame house in Michigan territory. Trowbridge lived in this house for over 50 years, and it currently still stands and is likely the oldest existing home in the city of Detroit. Trowbridge lived in the house until his death in 1883.

Later career

In 1831, Lewis Cass was appointed

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, and invited Trowbridge to accompany him to Washington, D.C.. After much soul-searching, Trowbridge declined, preferring to stay in the private sector. He engaged in other enterprises over the next few years, including extensive land purchases. He was one of the original platters of the village of

Allegan, Michigan Allegan ( ) is a city and the county seat of Allegan County, Michigan Its population was 5,222 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located southwest of Grand Rapids and northwest of Kalamazoo, both via US 131. It lies within All ...

. In 1833, Trowbridge became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

of the city of Detroit, and briefly served as Mayor during the

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic of 1834, resigning his position soon after. In 1837, he ran as the Whig candidate for governor of Michigan, and was defeated by

Stevens T. Mason Stevens Thomson Mason (October 27, 1811 – January 4, 1843) was an American politician who served as the first governor of Michigan from 1835 to 1840. Coming to political prominence at an early age, Mason was appointed his territory's a ...

. This was the last time he ran for public office. In 1844, he became president of the Michigan State Bank, leading that institution until its dissolution in 1853. He became secretary-treasurer, and later president, of the Detroit and Milwaukee Railway Company and was one of the directors of the Detroit and St. Joseph Railway Company. Trowbridge also served on the boards of several charitable institutions, including as president of the Board of Public Charities, various bible and missionary societies, and the Historical and Algic Societies. He died in Detroit on April 3, 1883.

Early life

Early career in Detroit

Later career

See also