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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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Gladys Guy-Harper
June 17, 1896 - November 30, 1991
Wheatland Cemetery!
Gladys Guy-Harper was the second child of
John Welcome and Alice (Dell) Myers. Gladys married Estel
Harper. After Estel's untimely death, Gladys raised their children by
herself. She was a lifetime member of the Wheatland Church of
Christ where she taught Sunday School, part of the Missionary Society, and played the piano for the
Sunday night church service and on other special occasions. She was
known as the best cook in Remus. She worked her adult life for Campbell's Restaurant
in Remus, MI. Her pies were coined the "best in Mecosta County." Aunt
Gladys does not have a headstone. Today she would be called a
tireless, strong African-American woman. We would like to start the
Gladys Harper Foundation to raise money for her headstone.
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OSRW DONATION NAMES |
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Janet Mayberry-Bennett |
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Betty
Cummings-Shelby |
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Diana Todd-Green |
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Gary & Vicki Green Family |
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Grant & Deonna
Green Family |
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Cynthia Knight
& Family |
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James Raymond
Lett |
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Pat & Shirley Miles |
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Denny Mumford |
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Barbara Nelson |
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Jean & Gary
Nelson |
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LeRon &
Kristina Nelson |
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Rochelle Nelson
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Carol Norman
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Gary Parker
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Max Sawyer |
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Worthy & Pat
Sawyer Family |
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John Sunami
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Ione Todd |
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Marsha
Todd-Stewart |
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Wheatland Music
Organization |
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Peggy Sawyer-Williams |
The grave is located on
the northeast side of Wheatland Cemetery. On Memorial weekend,
please visit the site to see how nice the gravestone looks.
The double
gravestone is gray granite "Gray Grass." It lays flat on the
ground and is 4 ft X 1 ft x 6 ft.
Contact Webmaster:
Marsha (Todd) Stewart
19220 Magnolia
Southfield, MI 48075-7129
The OSRW
A Non-profit Organization
#788994
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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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