While on GenealogyBank, I found my brickwall ancestor Oren Briggs inside a document entitled ‘Petition of citizens of the United States residing in the valley of the northwestern lakes, praying the adoption of measures to procure the free navigation of the St. Lawrence. April 11, 1850. Referred to the Committee on Commerce. June 4, 1850. Ordered to be printed.’ Publication: Serial Set Vol. No. 563, Session Vol. No.1; Report: S.Misc.Doc. 111;
Is the “valley of the northwestern lakes” the area around Lake Michigan and other Great Lakes? Can anyone confirm? Several of these men lived in Belvidere, Boone County, Illinois in 1850.
Oren Briggs first appears in Boone County, Illinois records in 1839 but I have no idea where he lived between his birth circa 1797 and when he arrived in Boone County. I am convinced that I will need to research everybody he had associations with, including neighbors found in the census, people he bought and sold land with (of which there were many) and little genealogical gems such as this one.
If any of you genealogy whizzes can spare a few minutes, would you mind trying to identify the one or more of the men in this list below? I would love to discover:
- Where they were living (township or county) when they signed this petition in 1850
- Where each of these men were born
- Parents names
- Migration pattern to Illinois
Put your findings in the comments, and I’ll update this master list to avoid duplication with comments in brackets [ ]. I have started by including some information on a handful of the men.
Signers of the petition:
- Milo Smith [Born 25 Jan 1819 in Shoreham, Addison County, Vermont to James Smith and Sally Coffran. Residing Belvidere in 1850. Resided in Chicago in 1840]
- Nelson Derthick
- Gamailel Loomis
- L. Walker [Probably Lucius Walker, born abt 1823 in Peacham, Caledonia, Vermont to Joel Walker of Massachusetts and Alice Houghton. Residing Belvidere in 1850. Married Emeline, daughter of Cephas Gardner]
- L. Whitney
- Joseph C. Smith
- Richard S. Maloney
- Joseph Keith
- W. A. Thayer
- William Smith
- H. W. Pier
- E. E. Moss
- H. H. Tinker
- R. L. Merrick
- M. G. Sconan
- Mason Smith
- Allen C. Fuller
- Martin Brown
- H. R. Mead
- Asahel Straum
- Geore Powell [could be George?]
- Sidney Avery
- E. F. Rairdin
- Seth Tickner
- Charles E. Drake
- S. S. Whitman [This is Prof. Seth S. Whitman born 5 Feb 1802 in Shaftsbury, Bennington County, Vermont to Jacob Whitman and Sarah Spencer. Lived in Madison County, New York pre 1839. Traveled from Portland, Maine to Kentucky in 1835. Residing Belvidere in 1850.]
- Adam Wheeler
- William G. Norton
- Henry A. Neely
- D. Leonard
- J. Wood
- William H. Gilman
- C. C. Leach
- Edwin Y. Royce
- Samuel Jenks
- H. C. Walker [Probably Houghton Walker, born in Vermont to Joel Walker of Massachusetts and Alice Houghton. Residing Belvidere in 1850.]
- B. Smith
- W. T. Burgess
- Orin Briggs [my ancestor!]
- Joel Walker [Born 10 Mar 1780 in Massachusetts, father of above Lucius and Houghton]
- Willard Barnes
- H. C. Miller
- H. B. Cole
- Z. H. Maquen
- William Stewart
- Seth Smalley
- Samuel Cates
- C. F. Brett
- A. D. Colron
- David Page
- Ezra Hubbell
- Lyman Wheeler
- M. Y. Gilbert
- L. N. Tongue
- S. Fuller
- S. Shermon
- E. Spencer
- Samuel Sparks
- Phillip Morris
- Isaac G. Freeman
- James Peebles
- Hezekiah Ripley
- N. C. Amsden
- John K. Towner
- Lewis Kinson
- H. D. May
- Cephas Gardner [Middle name probably Charles. Born 9 Nov 1800 in Grafton County, New Hampshire to John Gardner and Dolly Willard. Residing Belvidere in 1850.]
- J. Brown
- Arthur Young
- George Burnett
I really appreciate the help!
