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THE BARNUM FAMILY
John B. Barnum and his wife Urania came from Dutchess county, N.Y. in
1836 to Burns township. The family consisted of 3 children. He settled
on the same acreage later bought by C.S. Wiltse, on June 22, 1836. He
built a log house on this farm and after a year and one half, he traded
it for part of the southeast quarter of Section 26. Here he built a
house and barn. He also had 2 half-brothers who lived here, Amos and
Thomas. The children were Abijah, Jane and Isaac. Both Abijah who
married Deborah Lovejoy and Issac went to California to the gold fields.
Abijah died during the voyage and was buried at sea leaving a family of
4 children. Isaac spent 2 years in California and when he returned he
married Amelia Crawford, daughter of pioneer Robert Crawford who had
settled here in March of 1836 on Section 15. Three children were born to
Isaac and Amelia. Ella, who married Leonzo Barnes, May who married J.
Fred Smith, son of another pioneer family, William and Rebecca Smith and
Osman who died at the age of two. After Isaac died, Amelia married
Addison Lewis. Isaac’s sister Jane married Nelson Smith, a well known
farmer. The Robert Crawford family consisted of several children
including little Sally, who was the second person to be buried in the
Byron burying ground in May, 1837 and Riley Crawford who was a minister
and mentioned frequently in articles of the area. A daughter, Adelaide,
was the first white child born in the Township. The 1880 History of
Shiawassee and Clinton Counties says that Wallace Goodwin, who with F.J.
Prevost was striving to make a city of the village of Byron, deeded this
child, in commemoration of the event, two lots in the village.
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