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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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Flowers
Pictures Courtesy of Ada (Lett) Todd
Fern Johnson-Cross & Ken Todd &
Denny Mumford & Lillian Mumford
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| Flowers
Clan |
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| Andrew Flowers |
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Eldridge
Flowers
Blinded in the Civil War |
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Jim Flowers and Bill Taylor |
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| Lucinda Lett-Flowers |
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| A. Flowers |
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Ike
Flowers & Arnold D. Lett
Taken -
(July 8, 1910) |
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Will and Harriet (Flowers) Cummings
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Harriet (Flowers)
Cummings |
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Jim Flowers and Bill Taylor |
According to
the 1850 Hocking County, Ohio Census, Nancy Flowers is listed as the
head-of-the house, age 58, children listed are Eldridge 20, Isaac 16,
Harriet 13 and Nancy 11. Two of the children are known to have come
to Michigan: Harriet and Eldridge. Harriet married Will Cummings.
Eldridge
fought in the Civil War and was blinded by gun powder. He married
Lucinda Lett. They owned 40 acres and lived in Millbrook Township.
Their children were Andrew T., Albert, Harriet, Charles, Isaac and
Ellen. In the 1880 Census, Myrtle Lett, a niece, is also listed in
the household. Eldridge and Lucinda Flowers are buried in Decker
Cemetery.
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Some Where Out West – Flowers Family Song
Submitted by: (Lillian Mumford)
With the
struggle and strife all through our life,
It’s a strange
world after all.
I’ve been
thinking today that we could just run-a-way
Out where the
west winds blow.
With someone
like you,
A pal so good
and true,
I’d like to
leave it all behind and
Go and find a
place that’s known to God alone.
Just a spot to
call our own,
We will find a
perfect place where joy will never cease.
Out there
beneath the kindly sky we will build a sweet little nest
Somewhere out in
the west and let the rest of the world go by. |
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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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