A history of Pickford Area Pioneer Families Daniel Morrison

DUNBAR

McGowan Dunbar was born on November 4, 1863, at Bellgrave, Ontario, son of Joseph Dunbar who emigrated from Scotland and on March 9, 1848, had mariied Susan Blackstock in Norval Church in Halton County. They came to Huron County in 1856 and in 1858 settled on Lot 41, Concession 6 (East) Wawanosh Township. Joseph was named tax collector, after the first council was elected in East Wawanosh in 1867. They had four sons and three daughters: Joseph, David, Sarah, Margaret, Annie, John, and McGowan.

McGowan Dunbar came to this area in the 1880's at the time the McDonalds and Mcl)owells came over. McGowan homesteaded two miles north and six miles west of Pickfotd, where Roy Reich now lives. McGowan married Margaret Mitchell in Sault Ste. Marie and the ceremony was performed by Rev. Easterday in 1890. Their family consisted of three daughters: Myrtle, born May, 1891; Irene, born Sept., 1893; and Edna, born Jan., 1896. McCowan and his wife, Margaret, homesteaded on the farm until their deaths. Margaret died in 1937 and McGowan Dunbar died in October, 1947.

MYRTLE married Wilford Harrison and lived three miles west of Pickford. Their children were Edna, Opal, Everett, and Mac. Edna married Dick Sweeney and had a family of six children: Connie (Mrs. Dale McConkey), Sharon, Mike, John, and James (twins), and Patricia who is at home. Connie has four children: Beth, Bobby, Brian, and Carol*. Sharon has two children, Billy and Susie*.

Mike has one son, David*. Jack and his wife, Kathy (Newell), have one daughter. Opal married Rudy Sherlund and has five children: Rosemary, Beverly, Russell, Lyle, and Gloria. Rosemary is married to Mark McPherson. Everett married Beatrice Lamoreaux and has four children: Ronald, Sheila, Cindy, and Joe. Sheila is married to John Williams, Jr., and Ronald married Donne Sterling. Mac married Loreen Rye and has four children: Charles, Steven, Gary, and Brenda. MYRTLE Harrison died in December, 1947 and Wilford died in July, 1953.

IRENE married Everett York and moved to Lakewood, California, and has two children, Jim, and Margaret.

EDNA married Roy Reich in 1929 and they lived on her father's homestead. They had no children and Edna died in 1959.

John Dunbar, McGowan's brother, came from Canada five years after McGowan. John married Emma Brundson and they lived on the P Line, one-half mile south of McGowan. They had four girls and one boy: FERNE (Mrs. Roe), LAURA (Mrs. Ford Moore), ROSELLA (Mrs. BillWelket), HAZEL, and ERNEST. The Walkers had two girls and two boys: Emma, Phyllis, Bob, and Bill. HAZEL married Stuart Howsen and has no children. ERNEST married Mildren Sterns and has four girls and five boys. ERNEST lives in Escanaba where he operates the Livestock Auction Ram.

EVELEIGH

In the year 1878, Joseph Eveleigh and his wife, Mary Ann (Cross), and seven children came to this vicinity from Chesley, Ontario. Mr. Eveleigh homesteaded 160 acres of land in the Stirlingville area. They had a family of twelve, five children being born in the United States.

Their oldest son, ROBERT, bought a farm next to theirs. JOHN had the homestead deed to his father's property which was signed by President Grover Cleveland on June 20, 1885.

Joseph Eveleigh was a millwright by trade. Their first home was of logs hewn from timber off this homestead and was hauled from the woods by a team of oxen owned by Mr. Campbell, The roof of this cabin was made of hollow basswood logs overlapping each other.

Shortly after settling here, the Eveleighs operated a store on the farm. They had to travel to Sault Ste. Marie by sailboat for suppiies, often being delayed waiting for a favorable wind. The boat would then be tied up on the Munuscong River at what was known as Eveleigh's Landing. Then the supplies were transported by a horse hitched to a jumper and unloaded at the store.

Eight of their children lived to adulthood. Five of them died of diphtheria - - two younger ones dying the same night. DANIEL moved to the Sault and lived thete until his death. JOHN stayed on the farm for 81 years before selling it in 1959. He moved to Pickford and lived there until his death in March, 1961. DANIEL lived on a farm at Stirlingville and had three children. Wesley married Grace Walker and he worked for the State Highway Department.They lived in St. Ignace and had no children. DANIEL died in 1971. Hazel married Kenneth Weston and they live at Stirlingville. He works for the Department of Natural Resources. They have three children. Jimmy is in the Navy and has two children. Willis married Terry Kelly and they live in Fairview. He works at the Cedarville Quarry and they have one son. Marion married Ronald Edgerly and they live near Sault Ste. Marie and have three children.

ROBERT Eveleigh married Rose Kelly and they had one son, Vern, and four daughters: Beatrice (Mrs. Clarence Creen), Margaret (Mrs. Harvey Campbell), Doris (Mrs. Ray Hoornstra), and Erma (Mrs. Stanley McKee). ROBERT died in 1946 and Rose in July, 1972. Vern lives in Pickford with his wife, Virge (Crawford). He worked for the Chippewa County Road Commission for 38 years before retiring. They had three children: Robert, Kathleen and Donna. Robert married Edna Williams from Iron River, who taught in Pickford. They live in Lansing where he works as manager of the service department of International Harvest Trucks. They have six children: Fred, who graduated from Alma College in June, 1971; David who graduated from high school in June, 1971; Randy, who graduated from high school in 1972; Jerry; Patricia; and Steven*. Kathleen married Norris Poirrier from Rudyard in Dec., 1947, and they lived in Lansing for a then came back to Rudyard and lived there untilÄ May, 1970. They now live in Bridgman and have two children: Mike at college in Benton Harbor and Sheri in high school*. Donna married James W. Stevenson of Pickford in Dec., 1950, and they lived in Sault Ste. Marie until 1956 when he became Assistant Manager of Gambels in Owosso. They now live in Bluffton, Indiana, where he is the Gambles dealer. They have five children. Jimmy* is married and lives in Bluffton. Danny* lives at home and works at the Corning Plant. Sheila, Marty, and Jill* are still in school.Beatrice Eveleigh Green lived on a farm east of Pickford until 1966 when they retited and moved to Pickford. Beatrice died in June, 1968, They had three children. Pauline martied Richard Wentz and they live in Chesaning. They had two girls, Ronita and Patricia*. Jean married Larry Reed and they live in Holt. They have two children, Paggy and Steven*. Raymond married Sandy Brown from Grand Rapids where they live. They have one daughter.

Margaret married Harvey Campbell (deceased in 1967). They had five children. Edith married Eugene Bushey and they live in Mt. Pleasant with their three children, Richard, Rodney, and Margo*. Olive married Morgan Wickman and they live in Southgate. They have four children: Norma, Sharon, Berniece, and Marjorie*. Audrey married Merle Terolli and they live in Owosso. Their daughters, Dorothy, Nora, and Doris Kay*, are all at home. Dorothy married Richard Jase of Shelby, Ohio. They had two children, Paula and Craig*. Dorothy died1962 and the childrenlive with their father in Shelby, Ohio. Robert married Ella Bohman from Shelby, Ohio. They live in Taylor, Michigan, where he works for the Corps of Engineers. They have two children, Valerie and Bruce Roger".

Doris Eveleigh married Raymond Hoornstra of Brimley, He works for the County Road Commission and they have no children.

Erma Eveleigh married Stanley McKee. He works for the State Highway Department. They have one son, James. He married Marge Horvath of Chicago where they live and have one daughter, Laura Jean*.