Home Old Settler Family Pages UncategorisedJoseph Seaton

Joseph Seaton

Pictures Courtesy of Deonna (Todd) Green & Marguerite Berry-Jackson

Emily and Clarence, William Joseph (or Joseph Jr.) Alonzo (Lon) & Maud Seaton

Joseph & wife Emily Evans-Seaton, Children: Maud & Alonzo Seaton

Ora & Emily Seaton

George Scott Son of Bert Scott & Luverna Seaton

John Berry & Alonzo Seaton

Joseph A. Seaton married Nancy A. Conner in 1861. Four children were born to this union: William Joseph or Joseph Jr. (Nov. 11, 1865), Ora, Frank, and Emily (May 11, 1865). Nancy spent her girlhood days in Cass County, MI. In 1861, she married Joseph A. Seaton. Joseph enlisted in the army the same year. Mrs. Seaton spent the time while her husband was away in Mt. Pleasant where her son, Joseph was born. Following Joseph's return from the way they moved to Covert, MI and bought government land at North Mill.

In 1871, they went to Lawrence, KS by horse and wagon making the trip in six months and returning in the fall. There is where their daughter Ora was born. Joseph Seaton passed away in 1886. A son Frank and daughter Emma preceded him in death. Their son William Joseph migrated to Weidman, MI where he worked as a stonemason building many homes in the area. William Joseph married Barbara Evans and had 11 children. Four of the children's names were: Alonzo, Maud, Luverne, and Clarence. Later he moved to Lansing.

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Old Settlers

The "Old Settler" families arrived in Michigan from different places. They came from Canada through "The Underground Railroad," and from Payne's Crossing in Ohio as "free" people. The draw was to homestead land made available through the Homestead Act of 1862 which allotted homesteaders 160 acres. The Underground Railroad was the most dramatic nonviolent protest against slavery in the United States beginning in the Colonial Era and reaching its peak between 1830 and 1865. An estimated 30,000 to 100,000 slaves used the "railroad" to get to Canada and eventually came back to the states and Mexico. A large settlement stayed in Ontario, Canada.

Doraville Whitney was the first Black settler to Isabella County in 1860, and 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 1860. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed each settler up to 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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Old Settler Dedication

Instead of disappearing into the dust that swallowed many other Black rural areas, the old settlers of Mecosta, Isabella, and Montcalm Counties prevailed. They came there in 1860 and they're still here. Some have moved to the larger cities of Lansing, Grand Rapids, Flint, and Detroit. There is compiled data and drawn maps of Black households in nine townships in Mecosta and Isabella Counties. In 1870, the nine-township area had 41 Black households; 86 in 1975, and 106 in 1994. The website was created to remember our ancestors who were the trailblazers making us who we are. We have become enriched, enabled, and elevated because of the ample regard and gratitude for the work of our ancestors. This site is dedicated to the Old Settlers.