Among early arrivals to the area were both Aaron A. and Hiram S. Newman.  By 1859 Aaron owned 200 acres in Section 5, 6 & 7 of Brighton Township.  The 1875 Atlas records 80 acres in Sec. 9 in Hiram’s name.  Hiram was a commissioner in the Howell Lansing Railroad Company, which brought the railroad to Brighton  July, 1871.  He and wife Rachael had two sons, John Calvin, who married neighbor Margaret McClements in 1880 and Charles A., who married neighbor Ella Thurber in 1878.

Born in Bennington County, Vermont, June 10, 1805, Aaron H. Kelley (or Kelly) headed west to Michigan in 1830.  At the time Chief Black Hawk’s threatening activities were causing serious concerns to area settlers.  That and the spread of the cholera epidemic (brought by the soldiers under orders to bring Black Hawk under control) sent Aaron and other early settlers back east.