HomeNorman/Cummings Cemetery

Norman/Cummings Cemetery

Newly Restored

Pictures Courtesy of: Carol Norman & Diana Green

Section 35 - 6 Mile Rd., Wheatland Township - Remus, MI

Norman and Cummings Cemetery is being kept up by Mr. & Mrs. Wayne Storey. Their home sits below the hill where they can see the cemetery. Mr. Storey made the cross that is carved in the stump inside the fence. At one time it was a beautiful tree. Mrs. Storey keeps the grass mowed inside and around the fence. We (the Old Settlers) would like to thank Bob Garner for the work he has done at the Norman and Wheatland Cemetery. Also thanks to the Storey family for caring for the Norman Cemetery. The new memorial plaque was installed May 16, 2014, and made possible by the Friends of Wheatland/Morgan and Norman Cummings Cemeteries. This Memorial Plaque was "Jay Allen Cook's Vision and Dorothy Harris-Allen's Mission" to make sure the "forgotten burial grounds" were recognized.

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A Non-profit Organization #788994

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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More Information at: http://www.osrw.org

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.