James K. Sawyer

	Sawyer

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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.

James K. Sawyer

Family History & Photographs Courtesy of Peggy (Sawyer) Williams

Sarah Roberts-Scott-Sawyer

(1820 - 1894) (Cherokee Indian)

Armintha Lett-Sawyer (1857-1941)

Bottom-Left: Armintha Lett-Sawyer

(Jan 1, 1857-Oct 17, 1941)

Vivian (Sawyer) Cross (Jul 1899 - Sep 21, 1933)

James Sawyer (Father - Oct 20, 1859-Jun 7, 1939)

Top-Left: Myrtle (Sawyer) Worix

(Dec 30, 1890 - April 5, 1957)

Stanley K. Sawyer (Aug 25, 1886 - April 10, 1964)

Letta (Sawyer) Manning (Sep 3, 1882 - Feb 4, 1940)

Picture taken in 1903.

Letta Sawyer, James K. Sawyer

Armintha Lett-Sawyer, Stanley Sawyer

James K. Sawyer, son of William Sawyer and Sarah (Roberts-Scott) Sawyer, was born October 20, 1859, in Randolph County Indiana. James married Armintha Lett on December 22, 1878 in Van Buren County, MI. Armintha was a daughter of Aquilla Lett and Sarah Jane (Caliman) Lett born January 1, 1857, in Muskingum County, Ohio. James and Armintha and family lived in South Haven, Fenwick and Hubbardston prior to their final move to Rolland Township in 1917. James died in 1939. Armintha died in 1941, both at their home.

They are buried in Pine River Cemetery, Blanchard, MI. Their children were: Verna, Emmet, Letta, Stanley, Myrtle, Ralph, Leslie and Vivian. Verna, Emmet and Leslie died at a young age. Letta (1882 - 1940) married John Manning (1873 - 1937). Both are buried in the Baptist-Catholic Cemetery, Hubbardston, Ionia County, MI. Stanley (1886 - 1964) married Wealthy Belle Guy (1898-1997) in 1920. Both are buried in Pine River Cemetery, Blanchard, MI. Myrtle (1890 - 1967) married William Harry Worix (1886 - 1955). Both are buried in Pine River Cemetery, Blanchard, MI. Ralph (1894 - 1967) is buried in Long Island, NY. Vivian (1899 - 1933) married Bartlett Cross. Both are buried in Pine River Cemetery, Blanchard, MI.

Front: Aquilla & Sarah Jane

(Caliman) Lett

Back: Armintha Lett-Sawyer, William Elsworth,

& Stanley Lett

Sarah (Roberts-Scott) Sawyer (1820 - 1894) Wife of William Sawyer mother of James Sawyer, Grandmother of Stanley Sawyer

Sawyer Family

Letta (Sawyer) Manning, Myrtle (Sawyer) Worix, Stanley Sawyer

Myrtle Sawyer-Worix

The Sawyer Family Home, a large mansion type was built in 1874 by an Englishman, William Beckley. The home was occupied by three generations of Sawyer families for over 75 years. In 1917 James and Armintha purchased the home when they moved from Van Buren County. In 1936, Stanley and Wealthy moved into the home where they reared their family of seven children: Lyle, Worthy, Donna, Ione, Max, Peggy and Robert. The children attended nearby Oberlin Grade School and Blanchard High School.

Aquilla Lett

(Jan 12, 1829 - Feb 20, 1902)

Stanley Sawyer

WWI - 1918

Wealthy (Guy) Sawyer

Vivian (Sawyer) Cross

Daughter of James K. Sawyer

Wealthy (Guy) Sawyer

Wife of Stanley Sawyer

Front: Robert, Peggy, Ione,

Back: Max, Worothy, Lyle, Donna Sawyer

James K. & Armintha (Lett) Sawyer

shown with grandchildren:

Baby Max, James Welcome Manning,

Lyle, Worothy & Donna Sawyer,

Rowena Manning, Ione Sawyer


	Sawyer

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.