BigB, I have been learning some things about the early history of the Smiths of Northport. It seems that when the Indian Removal Act was being enforced in the Holland area in the 1840s, some of the people were given a choice to move north to continue farming up there, or go to Nebraska. Chief Waakazoo decided to take the offer of staying in Michigan and moving north to land that was not in such demand for settlement. Local pastor George Smith accompanied Waakazoo and his people to Northport. Sometime during this period, Waakazoo is said to have also taken the name Smith, so there are two lines of Smiths. My line seems to been on the Waakazoo side. I have to do some tracing to verify that information. So far, it's just a story I heard.

Another thing that history brings out is the the origin of names from the Northport area referring to the South. There are several families there with names that translate to South, or Man from the South, or similar. Shano, Shawano, Shawanaby are a few.