Where did all these early pioneers and settlers come from? When? Why did they leave countries known for commerce and beauty? What trades did they bring with them here to Northern Michigan?  And Yes, why Northern Michigan — so cold, so different from their homeland? How did they build a new life in this new land?

There are so many stories to tell,  each immigrant family had a story as unique as the key to their family home. Guided by the values they held dear, each followed a unique path in pursuit of dreams and aspirations, taking chances and experiencing success and failure along the way.

If you lived in a village perched at the top of a hill, typical of those found in Scotland, Wales & Ireland in the 1850s, your return home from the woods and fields would take you through winding forest paths and along the many shorelines - The route would have set the pace - it would be impossible to hurry. But that would have given them plenty of time to meet people and engage in conversation,  greet their relatives, chat with their friends or just watch their children at play.

The journey home would have mirrored their lives throughout the year, when economic activities would be interrupted by religious celebrations, or work-related events, at harvest or threshing time, or when a pig was slaughtered.

With the fast pace of today, people no longer have as much time to just slow down and enjoy the families, or no time to listen to the stories from older members of the family - thus, this website is dedicated to those pioneer & early settler families who have left descendants still residing in our Northern Michigan Area. 

What We Need From You .........................

• If you have an ancestor who was an early pioneer or early settler arriving in the three township area arriving between 1846 - 1900, and we don't have their name or family name listed on this site - we want to know about it!
   

• If you have family history you would like to share on our Elk Rapids Area Pioneer & Settler Families - by all means send it to us.  BUT, we will not do any typing so the data must be by email or on a CD.  Please indicate what year your ancestor arrived in the Elk Rapids Area so we can put them into the correct category.
   

• If you are a direct descendant from one of our listed early pioneer or early settler families (1846-1900) - AND you reside in one of the three townships listed - we want to know about it so we can add your name and any of your family members (who are also residing in this area) to our Acorn Project List)!
   

• And, remember to be proud of your heritage - share it whenever you can and again, we want to hear about it!

"The Acorn Doesn't Fall Far From The Tree"