HomeOld Settlers Reunion History

History of the Old Settlers Reunion

Old Settlers Reunion - History

School Section Lake, Mecosta, MI 49332

August 21, 2017

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Front: L-R: Tyrone Fleming, Rene Read, Marcus Todd, Right Side: Sharon Cook-Peters, Carol Norman, Second Row: L-R Darlene Johnson-Manning-Logan, Diana Todd-Green, Benny Pointer, Patricia Guy-Burns, Janice Cook-Fleming, Ken Todd, Arlo Guy, Back: Marvin Lett, Jeffrey Berry, Alvin Fleming - Up-North Group in charge of the Reunion in 2017. Eight people have WALKED ON in the picture.

Arthur Cross, Emmett Porter, and Leslie Guy got together and started the first Old Settlers Reunion held in 1934. Some highlights of past years that have continued to our day: Recognition and a gift for those 70 years and older, A baseball game between country and city cousins, crowning of the king and queen (Oldest man and woman), People coming to the farthest distance, the youngest baby, races for all ages, and a memorial for those who have passed on the previous year.

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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.