Home Old Settler Family Pages UncategorisedJames Bannister

James Bannister

JAMES BANNISTER

James Bannister Family

Front: James, Edward, John, Sarah (Sadie) Bracy James (Jim) Bannister

Back: Gertrude with son, Esta, Jenny, John & Faye Bracy

Florence Green Bannister

Florence Green-Bannister

James Bannister was born on April 15, 1888. His family immigrated to Michigan from Canada. His mother was May Ann Perry Bannister. Jim's parents died when Jim was a small child. A relative, John Bracy raised him. James had a sister (name unknown) and two brothers: Walter and Albert.

James and Flossie Bannister moved back to the Barryton area in 1910 and later to Remus, MI. In 1928 they moved to Lansing and in later years to Flint until their death. Both are buried in Wheatland Cemetery. Jim and Flossie Bannister had four children: Vera, Lyle, Helen, and Howard. (SEE GREEN)

Florence is the daughter of Gabriel Green. Gabriel came to Michigan when he was a small child from Ohio. He was raised by Daniel Pointer. Gabriel married Anna Cook on September 20, 1874, in Wheatland Township. Gabriel was 25 years old and Anna was 15. Both were born in Ohio. Joseph Cummings and Aaron Morgan witnessed the marriage. The Justice of the Peace was Peter B. Gingrich who officiated the ceremony.

Gabriel and Anna Cook Green had eight children: Elmer, Clyde, William, Cal, Effie, Mabel, Florence, and Margaret. Anna died when Florence was very small. Florence (Flossie) Green was born in Millbrook on May 30, 1893. Florence Green married Jim Bannister in 1910, in Boyne City, MI.

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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.