John Ellicott (December 28, 1739 – December 28, 1794) was one of three

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

brothers from

Bucks County, Pennsylvania 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 Englis ...

who chose the picturesque 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, An ...

) to establish a flour mill. John and

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 (Pete ...

moved to

Baltimore County, Maryland Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

in May 1771 purchasing 50 acres of Baltimore County land from Emanuel Teal and 35 acres from William Williams. John, 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 Cou ...

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 the ...

, was an early influential convert from tobacco to wheat. Cassandra Ellicott remarried in 1800 at the opening of the Quaker Meeting House. John Ellicott was the uncle of surveyors

and

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellicott, John People from Bucks County, Pennsylvania 1739 births 1794 deaths People of colonial Pennsylvania American Quakers