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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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Abner Byrd
Pictures Courtesy of Marguerite (Berry) Jackson's
Photo Album
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Abner Byrd
(Great Grandpa Byrd)
referred to by Marguerite (Berry) Jackson
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Isabella Byrd
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Donald Lett Son of
Walter & Myrtle Byrd-Lett
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According to
The Old Settlers: A Nation Within Itself (1988), Crawford Byrd
moved from Logan County, Ohio, to Cass County, Michigan around 1845-1846 and
homesteaded property. By 1850, Crawford's land was worth $310. A
man named Turner Byrd owned land also, and it was worth $250. By 1850
he owned 125 acres and had two cows, 20 sheep, 17 hogs. That made him
a very prosperous farmer. In Battle Creek, a Reverend Spattford T.
Byrd settled in the early 1900's. The Byrds settled throughout various
Michigan counties, especially those with Black communities pre-dating the
Civil War. There may have been a connection between the Crawford Byrd
and the Abner Byrd families because the Abner Byrd family came to Mecosta
County from Cass County.
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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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