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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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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 Tate |
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| John & Sara
Guy-Tate |
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Theo
Cross, Charles Tate, Myrtle Tate,
Herschel Cross, Thelma Cross |
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Myrtle Tate |
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Theo & Hershel Cross, Kitty Tate
Thelma Cross & Merze Tate |
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Lovejoy Tate - Husband of Rebecca
Squires
and father of
Irma Guy & Velma Norman-Tate |
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Lovejoy Tate and
Wife Rebecca Squires-Tate |
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Charles Tate - Son of
John Tate
& Sarah Ann Guy |
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Sitting: Rebecca Squires-Tate, Lovejoy
Tate,
Back: Velma Tate-Norman, Smyth
Guy
Irma Tate-Guy |
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William Ellsworth & Sylvania (Vanie) Tate-Lett
Frank,
Valma, Alma |
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Irma Tate-Guy |
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Charles Tate Family? |
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Merze
Tate |
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Betty Jean (Tate) Lett |
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 migrated 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 hewn log house in
Rolland Township of Isabella County. He owned 80 acres and farmed
the land located northeast of Blanchard on 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.
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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