Lulu Marketplace

Part One covers the surnames: Anderson through Gross. The Old Settlers of Mecosta, Montcalm, and Isabella Counties in the State of Michigan, started settling the area in 1860. They came in covered wagons and oxen. Doraville Whitney was the first Black settler in Isabella County in 1860. The first documentation of an African-American settler 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 1861. The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed each settler 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. "Old Settlers" came from Canada via "The Underground Railroad." Other "Old Settlers" came from Hocking and Athens Counties in the State of Ohio.