Brighton Area Historical Society

One finds the Hicks name in Livingston County in the 1830s.  This writer has not been able to prove the connection between these Hicks that also came from New York, to those who settled in Brighton Township by 1859.

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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 […]

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Among the very early families’ names recorded in the Village Cemetery records and whose farms were also listed in the c. 1900 Argus, one finds the name of Prosser.  Joining the many who were streaming into Michigan and Brighton Township, in the mid 1830s, where Charles and Elmina Prosser from Genesee County, New York.  Lydia […]

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Maple Lawn Farm, on Pleasant Valley Road just north of Buno Road, in Brighton Township still has maples in the lawn.  A. c.1900 newspaper clipping lists Wm. J. Donaldson as the owner.  In ‘Early Land Owners and Settlers in Livingston County’ one finds several Andrews making land purchases in the Township.  One Abram, from Monroe […]

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Maple Lawn Farm, on Pleasant Valley Road just north of Buno Road, in Brighton Township stillhas maples in the lawn. A. c.1900 newspaper clipping lists Wm. J. Donaldson as the owner.

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The Brighton Argus, c. 1900, listed a number of farms, with a name and the name of the owner.  Research into location, type of farming and a bit of family background is undertaken.  This study is an attempt to provide an understanding of the early days of the area and its residents. 

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Eight children were born to John and Polly Curry while living in New York and Pennsylvania.  Among the very earliest names recorded in the area’s history is that of Curry.  John and Polly’s sixth child, Enoch Waldron, b. May 17, 1821, arrived in Brighton in 1841.  He bought land in Brighton Township in the Pleasant […]

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A newspaper clipping (c. 1900) contains a list of 41 farms, almost all in Brighton Township.  From that list & research on background of these farms should show what life was like at that time.  The Lamart Hicks Farm on Skeman Road is the subject of this article.

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The 80-acre Hillcrest Farm of Robert Longthorn was located on the west side of Flint Rd., south of Hilton Rd., E ½ SE section 19, Brighton Township.  Prior to his purchase, it had been owned by Henry J. Warner.  It was originally bought from the Federal Government November 16, 1836, by John Dean (Pennsylvania) and […]

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