Home Old Settler Family Pages UncategorisedJohn Tate

John Tate

Pictures Courtesy of Marguerite Berry-Jackson, Arlo Guy, Marvin Lett Peggy Sawyer-Williams Deonna Todd-Green, & Fern Johnson-Cross

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John & Sara Guy-Tate

In 1867, John and Sarah Tate and their children left Ohio in a covered wagon and came to Rolland Township, MI, Section 9. John Tate was born in Pennsylvania. He was married to Sarah A. Guy, daughter of James A. Guy, Sr., and Deborah Ridgley-Guy. They lived in Hocking County, Ohio, before they immigrated north to the wilderness of Central Michigan. The Tates along with several other Black families came to this area in covered wagons. John built the first hewed log house in Rolland Township of Isabella County. He owned 80 acres and farmed the land located northeast of Blanchard which is now known as Walton Road. John and Sarah had six children: Deborah, Frances, Russell, Charles, Lovejoy, and Rebecca.

Deborah, the first child, married William Scott. (SEE GEORGE SCOTT). Frances, the second child, married John Segee. Children born to Frances were: George, Tate, Etta, Elva, and Leona Segee. (SEE JOHN SEGEE). Elva married Delbert Guy. (SEE THE ISABELLA GUYS). Leona had a son named Chester Segee. There is no information for George and Etta. Russell, the oldest son of John and Sarah Guy-Tate, married Emma Pointer. They lived on 80 acres northeast of Blanchard in Rolland Township.

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OSRW - 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization

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.