Home Old Settler Family Pages UncategorisedWilliam Hill

William Hill

Pictures Courtesy of Robert (Hill) Williams

William & Marinda Hill & Family - Seated: William Josiah, Family Pet, Marinda Ann Cummins Standing: Maude Ethel & Emery Milton

Mary Elidia, the oldest child of Joseph and Ester Lett-Cummings, was born in Ohio, 1863. She married William A. Weaver. Their children were: Mae, Minnie, and William, Jr. (SEE WEAVER) Marinda Ann married William Josiah Hill, son of William John and Laura Fifield Hill. To this union, three children were born: Emery Milton, Maude Ethel, and Mildred Doris.

Emery, the first child of William and Marinda Hill was born June 30, 1891, in Remus, married Edna May Mitchell and had five children. Maude Ethel, the second child of Wiliam and Marinda Hill was born August 18, 1893, in Remus, married Andrew J. Williams. They had two children. Mildred Doris, the third child of William and Marinda Hill was born October 19, 1902, in Remus and married Emmett Bolden. Mildred Doris married Wendall Watts. They had three children.

Blackburns

MaudeHill

MildredHill

Mildredhillpics

WilliamHillFamily

Williamandmirandahill

babyemeryhill

emerybrothersister

maudeethel

maudeethelhill

mildreddorrishill

OSRW - 501(c)(3) Non-profit Organization

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.

$10 + $3 (Shipping/Handling)

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.