Mrs. Olive Byrne Biography 1849 Contributed by Jan Cortez

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.