OLIVE BYRNE BIOGRAPHY, OCEANA COUNTY, MICHIGAN

Copyright (c) 2004 by Jan Cortez (cristian@netonecom.net).

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Olive Byrne was born at Middlebury, Addison Co., VT., in 1828. She is entitled to the 
honor of having been the first white woman that came to what is now Oceana Co. She was 
married in 1845 to Chauncey Clements, and came with him to this county about the 
middle of April, 1849. At that time there were no "neighbors" nearer than White River 
excepting the Indians. About six weeks after she came the families of Dr. Thos. 
Phillips and his father came, settling about two miles away, being her then nearest 
neighbors. She lived first upon the R.E. Cater place now owned by Mr. Joseph Lee. It 
was a lonesome time for all at that time, the great lake upon one side with the 
wilderness upon the other. The Indians were generally friendly and not difficult to 
get along with except when intoxicated. They would occasionally get possession of some 
firewater and then pandemonium was let loose. There were no roads through the woods 
excepting Indian trails. What provisions were needed that could not be raised were 
procured by boat, often from traders who made it a business to trade along the shore. 
One of the first of these traders was W. Chapin, afterwards for a number of years a 
resident of Pentwater. In the fall it was necessary to lay in enough provision to last 
until navigation of the lake was practicable in the spring. The long winters were 
especially lonesome times to these early pioneers, with the lake covered with floating 
ice; and often with the snow piled in mountain drifts around the cabin. Mrs. Byrne 
endured all these inconveniences as did many others who settled soon after she came, 
but she has braved them all and continued to reside to the present time near her first 
home. On June 15, 1850, she was married to Thomas Byrne. They live within site of the 
lake in the township of Claybanks, being comfortably situated. The subject of this 
sketch has had two children, a son and a daughter. Mr. Byrne is also an early settler 
of the county, and as interesting a dinner hour as has ever been passed was one passed 
by the writer in the company of A. Brady, Mr. and Mrs. Byrne, listening to their 
reminders to each other of incidents of those early days when they first came to 
Oceana Co.