Matthew Elliott (c. 1739 – May 7, 1814) was an Irish-born merchant, farmer, colonial official, politician and military officer. He was active in

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English overseas possessions, English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland (island), Newfound ...

during and after the era of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

. Elliott held a key position in Anglo-Indian affairs during the time period. Elliott came to America in 1761 and settled in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. As a trader in western Pennsylvania and

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in the 1760s and 1770s, and as a captain in the British Indian Department during the Revolution, he had lived and fought among the tribes of the Northwest, particularly the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

. He was married to a Shawnee woman and spoke the language fluently, his sympathies with the Indians. With the Shawnee woman, Elliott had two sons named Alexander and Matthew. He later married Sarah Donovan and they had another two sons, Francis Gore and Robert Herriot Barclay. In 1778 Elliott, along with

Alexander McKee Alexander McKee ( – 15 January 1799) was an American-born military officer and colonial official in the British Indian Department during the French and Indian War, the American Revolutionary War, and the Northwest Indian War. He achieved the ...

and

Simon Girty Simon Girty (November 14, 1741 – February 18, 1818) was an American-born frontiersman, soldier and interpreter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who served as a liaison between the British and their Indian allies during the American Revolution. H ...

fled to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He served as a scout on Henry Hamilton's expedition to Vincennes in the autumn of 1778 but left before Hamilton was captured by the Americans in February 1779. For the remainder of the Revolution Elliott served as a British Indian agent. After the Revolution, Elliott established himself on a farm at what became

Amherstburg Amherstburg is a town near the mouth of the Detroit River in Essex County, Ontario, Canada. In 1796, Fort Malden was established here, stimulating growth in the settlement. The fort has been designated as a National Historic Site. The town is ...

, Ontario in Upper Canada. He eventually owned over 4,000 acres and numerous slaves, a number of whom he had acquired in the course of raids during the Revolution and refused to relinquish despite government pressure. Elliott is mentioned as a slave owner whose slaves were particularly fearful of. He had installed a lashing ring to a tree in front of his house to instill fear in his slaves; which instead encouraged many to try to escape. In partnership with William Caldwell, he renewed his trading activities, dealing with the Indians of

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

, bringing provisions from Pittsburgh to sell to them as well as in Detroit. Business became so difficult to maintain in such a disputed area, that his company went bankrupt in 1787. Despite this, and the fact that Elliott was illiterate, he became a justice of the peace for the new District of Hesse in 1788. He went on to become superintendent at Amherstburg in 1796, but had been dismissed two years later in 1798 after a dispute over the irregularities in the issuing of provisions. In 1790, Elliott became assistant to McKee, who was Indian superintendent at Detroit while Elliott continued to encourage the Shawnee and other native groups to oppose American advance across the Ohio River. With McKee, Elliott helped organize the different tribes to resist occupancy and land cessions. Elliott went on to become "superintendent of Indians and of Indian Affairs for the District of Detroit" in the summer of 1796, but by December 1797 he was dismissed. During the next ten years he tried significantly to gain reinstatement, travelling to England in 1804 and even gaining the support of fellow politicians. None of this worked, though from 1800 to 1804, he was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lis ...

. He was also re-elected in 1804 and 1808, though at these dates he attended meetings less frequently due to other business. When British-American relations went sour again in 1807, the great importance of Elliott's influence among the Indians was recognized and in 1808 he was reappointed superintendent in place of

Thomas McKee Thomas McKee (c. 1770 – 20 October 1814) was a Canadian soldier and political figure. Biography McKee was born in the Ohio Country around 1770. He was the son of Alexander McKee (c. 1735–1799), an important official in the British Indian ...

. By the fall of 1808 it became apparent that the Indians were preparing for war, and the British did not want to be blamed. Elliott worked closely with

Tecumseh Tecumseh ( ; October 5, 1813) was a Shawnee chief and warrior who promoted resistance to the expansion of the United States onto Native American lands. A persuasive orator, Tecumseh traveled widely, forming a Native American confederacy and ...

for an alliance. Before the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, Elliott had succeeded in gaining the Indian alliance with natives in American territory as well as British. During the last few months of his life, Elliott led Indian raids on the

Niagara Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

frontier. He died from illness in 1814 in the Burlington area of Ontario.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Matthew 1739 births 1814 deaths British Indian Department British people of Pontiac's War British people of the War of 1812 Colonial American Indian agents Canadian fur traders Canadian slave owners Irish slave owners Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from Burlington, Ontario Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Kingdom of Ireland emigrants to the Thirteen Colonies Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) Loyalists in the American Revolution from Pennsylvania Canadian people of the War of 1812