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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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Gross Family
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James Gross |
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James Gross and Elizabeth:
Sons: Early
& Pearly |
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Louis and Emily Gross
Daughters Belle & Elizabeth |
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Noah Gross
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Lillian Lett-Gross
(Wife of Noah) |
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Pearly Gross -
Mecosta 1909 |
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Lillian Gross-Lett
Child of Elizabeth Gross |
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"Cot" Lett and Clara (Gross) Lett
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| Mary Ann Gross-Lett
- (Mrs. Gabriel Lett) |
Two Gross
families, James and Abraham came to the Mecosta area in 1869. They
came with the Tom Cross family. James and his wife Mary, purchased
land near the Morgan farm in Mecosta, Michigan, while Abraham and his wife
Elizabeth settled near Millbrook.
Abraham and
Elizabeth had four children named Louis, Mary Ann, Martha and Ben.
Louis married Emily Anderson of Little River. Louis served in the
Civil War and often shared these stories with others in the community.
Louis and Emily's children were: Noah, Belle, and Elizabeth.
Back to Top
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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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