The Fellows Families of Michigan: The Descendants of Joel M. Fellows
In about 1851, Joel M. Fellows and his wife, Maria C. (Eastway) Fellows sold their home in Onondaga County, New York, packed their family into a wagon, and traveled hundreds of miles to settle in what is now Olive Township, Michigan. Joel and Maria, along with the other pioneer settlers of Olive Township helped establish the community that would serve as the foundation for many future generations. And that foundation has been very successful; more than 150 years after Joel and Maria settled in West Michigan, their descendants continue to prosper, in Michigan and around the world. This site is dedicated to preserving the memory and history of those early members of the Fellows family who made it possible for future generations to succeed.
The Fellows Family in About 1896
Back Row (left to right): Sylvester Chapel, Phillip Chapel, unknown boy, Chester Fellows, Eugene L. Fellows, James Madison Fellows.
Middle Row (left to right): Levi Fellows, Edwin Fellows, unknown young man, Hiram B. Knowlton, Frank Chapel, Eugene D. Fellows, James Nichols, George Leggett.
Front Row (left to right): Nora (Pratt) Fellows (Levi's wife)*, Ethel G. Fellows, Mary (Blackford) Fellows (Edwin's wife)*, unknown woman, Emma (Fellows) Knowlton, the two girls in front of Emma and the unknown woman are not known, Maria C. (Eastway) Fellows, unknown baby--possibly Grace Nichols*, Joel M. Fellows, the little girl on Joel's lap is unknown, but may be Bessie Fellows*, Lillie (Fellows) Chapel, unknown woman, Sarah (Van Gasbeck) Fellows (Eugene D. Fellows' wife), Laura Fellows (in front of Sarah), Ina Belle (Fellows) Nichols, Esther (Fellows) Leggett, Maria Fellows.
*-Denotes an unconfirmed identification. All other identifications were verified by comparison to known photos or by a grandchild of the person identified. My thanks to Shirley (Dennis) Orcutt for providing the photo and identifying her grand parents (Ina and James Nichols) and to Gary Leggett, whose extensive research and photo collection helped to verify the identities of many of the persons in the photo, including his grand parents Esther Fellows and George Leggett.
The persons in the photo are arranged at the back of Joel and Maria's home in Olive Township. The home still exists, but an addition to the home now covers the back porch. The date of the photo is uncertain. However, the photo depicts Laura Fellows, who died at age 5 in February 1897, and Ina Belle (Fellows) Nichols, who died in childbirth in April 1898. Further, Esther Fellows and George Leggett are depicted together and they did not marry until New Years Day 1896. Based on the dates of these events, the picture likely was taken between January 1896 and February 1897.
Help and Navigation
This site is organized into pages that list the information for individual families. The first family is Joel and his wife Maria. To visit Joel's family page, click on the link for Joel and his family in the left margin. Click on the small triangle next to that link to reveal the pages for Joel's children. Use the same method to navigate to the pages for Joel's grandchildren.
If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site you may contact me at the following e-mail: