Law and Elizabeth in Detroit, Michigan
Law and Elizabeth and family moved to Detroit, Michigan. The Lands
appear to have entered the United States in late February or early March 1892.
Unfortunately, no records were kept for crossings beween Canada and the
United States at that time.
Detroit is about 250 miles
south/west of Toronto.
Law and family moved to Detroit
to be part of a religious commune called the House of Israel located on
Hamlin Ave., Detroit.
The Lands listed their religion in the 1891 census in Toronto as "House of Israel".
On March 8, 1892 "L. Land of Dupont street, with his wife and family of small children" were listed among the Toronto
families who moved to Detroit to join the commune run by Michael Mills (AKA Prince Michael) the leader of the
New and Latter House of Israel.
The House of Israel was involved in a major scandal in March 1892 and the leader,
Michael Mills (AKA Prince Michael) was sentenced to five years in prison in Jackson, Michigan.
See House of Israel
The Lands later gave conflicting information regarding the year of their immigration to the US.
According to the US census returns in 1900, 1910, and 1920 the date of immigration
varies from 1880 to 1896. According to replies to the 1900 census, Mary Edna and
Ruth were born in New York State. However, according to: family tradition, the birth record of
Ruth, and the
replies to the 1910 census, they Mary Edna and Ruth Land were born in Detroit Michigan in March 1892
and March 1894 respectively.
On his Statement of Intention to become a US citizen, dated January 10, 1899 in
Hudson County Common Pleas Court, Law Land says he immigrated to the United
States on February 17, 1892. I believe that February 1892 is an accurate date.
Naturalization information tends to be more accurate than census information
for several reasons: - The naturalization forms were considered more important
documents than the census questionnaire.
- The census questions could have been
answered someone not familiar with the right information.
Immigrants entering the United States from Canada around this time
did not go through the same process as immigrants entering from Europe. No records
were kept on immigration from Canada to the United States until 1895. This may
have been more pleasant for the Lands, but it means there is no way to confirm their
date of immigration.
Elizabeth Sykes Land went to Canada to visit her brother at least twice, once in 1914
and again in 1922. I do not know if she went alone or with Law in 1914.
In 1922, Law, Elizabeth, Percy, Meta, Arnold, Helen, Allen and Buddy all went to Toronto.
Records were kept for aliens returning form Canada to the United States from 1895 but
by the time Elizabeth went to Canada they were US citizens. I checked the border
crossing indexes and did not find any listings for Land.
The records that they may have left in Detroit are few:
- Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain the birth record for Mary Edna.
- There was no address listed on the birth certificate of Ruth.
- There were no censuses in Detroit during the period the Lands have lived there.
- I have not found any church records through LDS that list the Lands.
Law was listed three times in the Detroit city directories.
- 1892-93 - Law Land - 226 Milwaukee Ave, Detroit
226 E Milwaukee street is one block south of the Grand Boulevard and a few houses in from John R. Street. It is a few blocks from 49 and 107 Hamlin street.
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1893 - Law Land 1893 h 107 Hamlin Ave., Detroit
Hamil Avenue ran east from Woodward for 3 plus blocks to Oakland Avenue. It was three blocks north of the Grand Boulevard.
Hamlin Ave was listed in Ward 5 in 1890. In 1891 when Hamilin Ave was paved it was described as between Woodward and Oakland.
Hamlin Avenue is now called E Bethune Avenue. The 1 to 200 block of Hamlin was between Woodward and John R Street - so the
first block off Woodward. There is nothing in the block today.
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1894-95 carpt, h 34 Guilloz, Detroit
Guilloz St. was a one block street that runs north south between Whitaker Ave and Pallister Ave east of Russell street. It is a few blocks from 49 and 107 Hamlin street. Highway 75 now runs where Guilloz street once was.
Note: Law must have submitted the addresses several months, if not a year, before the directory was printed.
RECORDS CHECKED IN DETROITLDS microfilm #0955794 contains records for the Memorial Presbyterian Church (Detroit, Michigan).
There were no records for Law and Elizabeth Land.
LDS microfilm 0959144 contains records for the First Presbyterian Church (Detroit, Michigan)
Although the listing said the records were from 1825 to 1899, the records only went to
the 1840s. There were no Lands listed in the parish.
LDS film #1311752 contains the records of several congregational churches in Detroit
from 1866 to 1900s there were two listings for Land, relationship unknown:
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Scott E Land and Mrs Scott E Land, were listed as non-members, dropped by vote of
Church March 16, 1888, "have joined church in the West"
- Dr C H Land, May 4, 1873 received by letter November 25, 1886, "by vote of the
church C H Land's name dropped from roll at his request"
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Cadillac Square looking West
Detroit, Mich.
No postmark
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Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck |
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Law and Elizabeth in Hoboken, New Jersey
Sometime after the birth of Ruth in March 1894 and before the birth of Joseph in
January 1897, the Lands moved to Hoboken, New Jersey. I have no idea why
they made this move. They were living on 14th Street when Joseph was born in
January 1897. I can't read the address on Joseph's birth certificate because the ink
is faded in places. I can't be sure how long the Land family was in New Jersey.
It could be as long as 6 years, if they moved there right after the birth of Ruth, and as
little as two years, if the did not move there until just before the birth of Joseph.
Most people moved west of their point of entry into the US. The Lands moved east.
Hoboken in the late 1890's had a very big German population.
Why did they move to Hoboken? Bud Land always said they moved to Hoboken to rebuild the piers which
burned. However, the piers did not burn until June 1900.
There was a big fire in Hoboken on May 29th, 1897 on the east side of Washington Street,
between 12th and 13th streets, which wrecked 19 buildings.
Hoboken is only twelve short blocks wide at this point. If the Lands were still living on
14th Street in Hoboken they would have been only a few blocks from the fire.
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St Michael's Monastary West Hoboken, N.J.
No year on postmark.
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Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck |
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Law and Elizabeth in Jersey City, New Jersey
Sometime between the birth of Joseph in January 1896 and the death of Fredrick in
February 1898 the family moved to 12 Floyd Street, Jersey City, New Jersey.
The move to Jersey City is not as unusual as the move from Detroit to Hoboken.
Hoboken and Jersey City are next to one another and there was a pretty high mobility between the two cities.
The Lands were at two different addresses in Jersey City.
They were living at 12 Floyd Street in Jersey City when Fred Land died on February 21, 1898,
age 8 years and 1 month, of Malignant Scarlet Fever. The Lands were living at
72 Griffiths Street in Jersey City when Norman was born on January 13, 1899.
Record for Land in Hoboken and Jersey City
There were no Lands listed in the 1894-95 Directory for Hoboken and Jersey City.
There were no Lands listed in the 1895-96 Directory for Hoboken and Jersey City.
There were no Lands listed in the 1896-97 Directory for Hoboken and Jersey City.
In the 1897-98 Directory there were four Lands listed:
- George, cook, 822 Garden Street, Hoboken
- James, butcher, 258 R R Ave., Jersey City
- Law, carp, 205 14th Street, Hoboken
- Thomas, steamfitter, 610 Garden, Hoboken
Note:
- Joseph Land was born on 14th Street Hoboken in 1896
In 1898-99 there were two Lands listed in the directory:
- Law, carp, 100 Clinton, Hoboken
- Thomas F, steamfitter, h. 167 7th, Hoboken
Notes: - "h" means "house"
- This listing for Law Land in Hoboken in 1898-99 may be due to:
- A delay from the time the informations was
taken to the time the directory was printed. The Lands were not living in Hoboken from at least
February 1898 to January 1899.
Fred Land died in Jersey City in February 1898 and Norman Land was born in Jersey City
in January 1899
- 100 Clinton could have been a business address while the family was living in Jersey City
There were two Lands listed in the 1899-1900 Directory: -
Joseph H, driver, 23 Oak, Jersey City
- Thomas, steamfitter, 106 7th, Hoboken
There were two Lands listed in the 1900-1901 Directory:-
Joseph H, driver, 23 Oak, Jersey City
- Thomas, steamfitter, 106 7th, Hoboken
There were two Lands listed in the 1901-1902 Directory:-
John, driver, 36 Ege Ave., Jersey City
- Thomas, steamfitter, 106 7th, Hoboken
There was one Land listed in the 1902-1903 Directory:-
Henry, driver, 36 Ege Ave., Jersey City
There were no Lands listed in 1903-04
There was one Land listed in the 1904-1905 Directory: -
Frank, saloon, 637 Henderson, Jersey City
There were no Lands listed from 1905-1908.
Law Land filed his Statement of Intention to become a US citizen in Jersey City in 1899.
The Lands moved to Hauppauge where they were listed in the 1900 US ensus.
Law applied for citizenship in Jersey City in 1901
and gave his address as 213 14th Street, Hoboken
Law became a citizen in Jersey City in 1902.
The Jersey City Room of the Jersey City Library has a lot of old school records. Unfortunately,
the records for the school closest to where the Lands lived in Jersey City do not go back far enough.
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Pennslyvania Ferry and Depot, Jersey City, N.J
Post marked 1905
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Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck |
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The Move to Long Island
Sometime after the birth of Norman in January 1899 and before the 1900 Federal census,
which is dated June 11, 1900, the Lands moved to Hauppague, Long Island.
They were listed in Hauppague in the 1900 census.
I am sure the Lands moved to
Long Island because Law's mother, Lydia, bought property
there in September of 1899.
According to the 1900 census the Lands were renting a 50-acre farm in Smithtown.
I believe that Law and his family lived on the property owned by Lydia.
Law bought the property from her in July 1902.
The move to Long Island must have been a very different one
for the Lands.
Batley, Toronto, Detroit, Hoboken and Jersey City were all urban locations.
Hauppague in 1900 was very rural.
There are a number of indications that the Lands (at least Law and his son, Percy) travelled
back and forth between Hoboken and Hauppague.
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The Lands were listed in Hauppague in the 1900 census
- Law Land was naturalized in Jersey City on January 17, 1902.
- When Law Land bought the property in Hauppauge (Smithtown) from his mother,
Lydia Land, in July 1902 he was listed on the deed as living in Hauppague.
- Law listed Hoboken, New Jersey as his residence when
he bought additional land in Hauppague in September of 1903.
- Percy was living in Hoboken in 1906 when his mother sent him a postcard.
- Percy met his wife, Meta Petermann in Hoboken. They were married in 1908.
There were ferries that ran from Hoboken to Brooklyn. From Brooklyn the trains ran out to
Long Island.
The Lands probably went back and forth from Hoboken to Smithtown (Hauppague) on the Ronkonkoma line.
The Central Islip train station is just a few miles from their known address in 1900.
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The Old Mill
Smithtown, Long Island, N. Y.
No postmark
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Postcard collection of Maggie Land Blanck |
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The Land's Migration Route
The migration route for Law and family from their point of entry in Canada was not unusual.
Most immigrants from Europe came through a major port city on the east coast
(New York, Philadelphia, or Baltimore), a major port cities of the south
(New Orleans or Galveston) or in the case of many people from the British Isles through
the major port cities in Canada (Halifax or Quebec). Those who did not settle
near their port of entry moved westward or in some cases north or south of their port of entry.
In keeping with this pattern, the family of Law Land entered the American continent
through Canada. The port of entry is not known.
The Lands most likely entered the United States through Detroit.
The next move from Detroit to Hoboken was outside the normal migration patterns.
While most immigrants were moving westward, they moved eastward.
Bud Land always said that Law moved
where there were big building jobs. There was certainly a lot of construction going
on in the New York area. However, there was a lot of construction going on in a
lot of other places.
The story that Bud Land always told was that Law moved to Hoboken to work on the rebuilding of
the piers after a huge fire destroyed them. The problem is that the piers did not burn until
June 1900. By the time the piers burned on June 30 1900 the Lands were living in Hauppauge.
There must have been some other impetus behind
the move to Hoboken.
The next move for Law and family is even more unusual in some respects.
They moved even further east to Long Island. Law and his family had lived until this point in
cities. Moving to Hauppauge was a radical change.
Bud Land says Law moved to Long Island to be a construction supervisor
when the Central Islip Mental Hospital was built. There is, however, the other wrinkle
in the move to Long Island, the property that Lydia owned in Smithtown.
Lydia's purchase is obviously part of the property Bud Land always referred to as
Law Land's farm.
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©Maggie Land Blanck - Page created 2004 -
Latest update,
September 2016
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