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Flowers

Pictures Courtesy of Ada (Lett) Todd, Fern Johnson-Cross, Duane Norman, Ken Todd Denny Mumford & Lillian Mumford

Alice Flowers
Chuck Peterson & Robert Flowers
Jim Flowers & Bill Taylor
Elsie Flowers
Ike Flowers & Arnold D. Lett
Lucinda (Lett) Flowers
Andrew Flowers
Elbridge Flowers (Blinded in The Civil War)
Jim Flowers & Bill Taylor
Alice Flowers
Caroline (Norman) Cook & Lillian (Flowers) Mumford
Alice Flowers

According to the 1850 Hocking County, Ohio Census, Nancy Flowers is listed as the head of the household, age 58, children listed are Eldridge 20, Isaac 16, Harriet 13, and Nancy 11. Two of the children are known to have come to Michigan: Harriet and Elbridge. Harriet married Will Cummings.

Elbridge fought in the Civil War and was blinded by gunpowder. He married Lucinda Lett. They owned 40 acres and lived in Millbrook Township. Their children were Andrew T., Albert, Harriet, Charles, Isaac, and Ellen. In the 1880 Census, Myrtle Lett, a niece, is also listed in the household. Elbridge and Lucinda Flowers are buried in Decker Cemetery.

Somewhere Out West – Flowers Family Song

Submitted by: (Lillian Mumford)

With the struggle and strife all through our lives,
It's a strange world after all.
I've been thinking today that we could just run away
Out where the west winds blow.
With someone like you,
A pal so good and true,
I'd like to leave it all behind and
Go and find a place that's known to God alone.
Just a spot to call our own,
We will find a perfect place where joy will never cease.
Out there beneath the kindly sky, we will build a sweet little nest
Somewhere out in the west let the rest of the world go by.

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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.