He arrived in Detroit in 1834, and was noted as probably Detroit's first educated architect. In 1835, he designed and completed the remodeling of the First Protestant Church, which was later purchased by the Irish Catholics and renamed Trinity Church. On the northwest corner of Cadillac Square and Bates, Trinity was the first English-speaking Catholic Church in the western states. In l840, Elliott was elected associate judge of the Wayne Circuit Court. He was of one of the original projectors and purchasers of land for Mt. Elliott Cemetery, which was named for him. In 1841, he died in a construction accident at St. Mary's Church, a project he was directing. He was the first interment in Mt. Elliott Cemetery. His sons were: Richard R.; Thomas R., the oldest, who died in New York in 1875; Robert T. and William R., both casualties of the Civil War; John R., who drowned in the River Rouge in 1863; James R. of the Detroit Fire Department; Walter, who became a distinguished Paulist; and Edmund, who died of cholera in 1834. He also had a daughter, Margaret.
He arrived in Detroit in 1834, and was noted as probably Detroit's first educated architect. In 1835, he designed and completed the remodeling of the First Protestant Church, which was later purchased by the Irish Catholics and renamed Trinity Church. On the northwest corner of Cadillac Square and Bates, Trinity was the first English-speaking Catholic Church in the western states. In l840, Elliott was elected associate judge of the Wayne Circuit Court. He was of one of the original projectors and purchasers of land for Mt. Elliott Cemetery, which was named for him. In 1841, he died in a construction accident at St. Mary's Church, a project he was directing. He was the first interment in Mt. Elliott Cemetery. His sons were: Richard R.; Thomas R., the oldest, who died in New York in 1875; Robert T. and William R., both casualties of the Civil War; John R., who drowned in the River Rouge in 1863; James R. of the Detroit Fire Department; Walter, who became a distinguished Paulist; and Edmund, who died of cholera in 1834. He also had a daughter, Margaret.
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