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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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Isaac Williams
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Frank Williams, Elizabeth and Isaac Williams
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Beatrice, Amelia
& Maggie Johnson
(Descendants of Isaac Williams)
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Maggie
(Johnson) Cummings |
Isaac and Elizabeth Williams were one of the first families in the
Mecosta area. The exact date was November 14, 1878. Isaac
purchased 40 acres of land southwest of Mecosta for $200. Isaac and
Elizabeth made their home there. Eliza Edwards, mother of Elizabeth made her
home with them.
Elizabeth and Isaac had nine children: Sarah, Thomas, Charlie,
William, Frank, George and three children died at birth. Sarah
Williams married George Johnson, the son of Jack Johnson and Mary Ann
Bannister (See Johnson).
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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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