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Doraville Whitney was the
first Black settler in Isabella County in 1860. The first documentation of
an African-American settler in Mecosta County Michigan was James Guy.
His deed was signed by Abraham Lincoln. He obtained 160 acres in Wheatland
Township on May 30, 1861. Lloyd & Margaret Guy were the first
Black settlers in Montcalm County in 1861. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed each
settler 160 acres in Michigan. By 1873 African-Americans owned
1,392 acres in the three counties of Isabella, Mecosta and Montcalm.
In the 1860's most of the land in Remus was owned by the Old Settlers. |
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Daniel Branson
Picture Courtesy of
Marguerite Berry-Jackson
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Daniel Branson's Cup and Plate given
to
him during slavery. Also shown is
a Civil War pistol. |
Dan Branson was a runaway slave from Georgia came to
Remus before the 1900's. The records show than he was born in 1821
and died in 1901. Daniel had acreage on the road where the Morgan's
lived. Daniel owned a horse and cart that he used to transport
himself and children of the neighborhood into the surrounding villages.
He died at John Bracey's home in Mecosta. Daniel is buried in Morgan
Cemetery.
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There are "Old Settlers"
who came from Canada via "The Underground Railroad." It was the
most dramatic nonviolent protest against slavery in the United States
that began in the Colonial Era and reached its peak between 1830 and
1865. An estimated 30,000 to 100,000 slaves
used the "railroad" to get to Canada; many others escaped to Mexico,
the Caribbean, and Europe.
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