HomePatrick Miles, Jr. US Attorney

US Attorney - Patrick Miles, Jr.

The Detroit Free Press Newspaper Published the following article:

MICHIGAN

GRAND RAPIDS

MILES TAKES OATH AS US ATTORNEY

Pat Miles and Barack

Patrick Miles, Jr. took the oath of office July 9, 2012, as the US Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, which consists of 49 counties, including the Upper Peninsula.

The 44-year-old Grand Rapids lawyer was nominated by President Barack Obama and recently confirmed by the US Senate.

A White House Appointee has not led the US Attorney's Office in Western Michigan for more than five years. Obama first nominated Michigan Attorney Chief M. Scott Brown for US Attorney, but the Senate never acted and Bowen remains in state government. The office has been in the hands of Don Davis since fall 2008.

Patrick Miles, Jr. is the great-nephew to Pastor Arthur and Fern (Johnson) Cross. Pastor Arthur Cross was one of the three founders of the Old Settlers Picnic. Patrick is the son of Patrick Sr. and Shirley (Cross) Miles of Grand Rapids, MI. His sister Angela Miles resides in Chicago.

We are very proud of this "OUTSTANDING US ATTORNEY" who is also an "Old Settler!" Our roots run DEEP!

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.

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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.