The town of Elsie is located in Duplain township in Clinton County, Michigan. The town was named for Elsie Amelia Tillotson, sister of my great-grandfather James Francis Tillotson. My great-great-grandparents Franklin James Tillotson and Jane Ann Sexton helped found the town of Elsie. They moved from Elsie to Crete, Will County, Illinois in November 1865, but they left behind many relatives descendants of whom still live in or around Elsie today. See Lloyd Craven's Early History of Elsie, Michigan and Sara Show's Early History of Elsie, Michigan for more information about the early history of Elsie.
Elsie is still a small town -- only about 1,000 people live there. The photo at the top of this page was shot by Louis Pesha and shows the main street in Elsie around 1910. I've collected over one hundred vintage photographs of Elsie. I present most of them here, along with a few modern shots for comparison.
There isn't a lot of information about Elsie available on the Internet. Here are a few links you might enjoy.
Back to Franklin James Tillotson.
Back to Jane Ann Sexton Tillotson.
Back to index of my personal genealogy pages.
Last modified by pib on April 20, 2010.