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James Powell

Pictures Courtesy of Lillian Mumford and Terri Lynn Cassidy

James Powell

Louisa Powell (Andrew Flower's Mother)

Andrew Flowers

John Sherman & Nellie Powell

The James Powell Family came from the Fenwick area. It is recorded in the Montcalm County Records of 1880 that James Powell married Miranda. The known children of this family are: Pharaoh, Alfred, Grant, Sarah, Sherman, Mary, Adam, Louisa, Rosetta--(nicknamed Lade married a Van Camp), Lottie, Bub, and Jack.

Louisa married Andrew T. Flowers II. (SEE FLOWERS). Lade married Jerry Van Camp. They lived in Boyne City. Their children were: Jay, Frank, Monroe, Toots, Sylvia, Emma and Clara. Tuberculosis took several in this family. Andrew and Louisa's first home was about 3.5 miles south of Remus, and 1/4 mile east. Later moved about 3.5 miles north of Remus. (This property was later owned by their grandson, Andrew Forest.) They had 12 children.

There is no known information available for Lottie, Bub, and Jack.

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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.