On May 22, 1831, the families of both Oliver Bristol and Bezaleel Bristol arrived together from Riga, New York.
According to family history, in 1828 and/or 1929, the brothers, Oliver and Bezaleel Bristol came to the Almont area to trap and hunt. In 1830, they came to Almont and began clearing land for homesteads. In late 1830, Oliver purchased 80-acres of land on the south side of the Clinton River and east of what is now Van Dyke Highway (M-53) – in Section 27 across from Jonathan Sleeper’s cabin. Oliver initially built a log cabin across the road from Sleeper’s cabin. In 1831 he constructed the first wood frame house built in Almont Township and Lapeer County. It was constructed at the top of the hill. It was a small one and a half story house. It still stands today at 805 S. Main Street – the second house inside the village limits on the east side of Van Dyke.
Bezaleel developed a piece of property in Section 33, on the west side of Van Dyke between Bordman and Hough. Bezaleel constructed a log cabin on his property and used it for several years.
Bezaleel’s family came from Riga, New York with Oliver’s. They arrived in Almont on May 22, 1831. Both families were still living in Riga in 1830, which explains Oliver and Bezaleel being on the 1830 U. S. Census for Riga. In Riga, he and Oliver were living next to each other.
Oliver brought his second wife, Abeneth, daughter, Mary (age about 8), and a son and a daughter both under the age of 5. Oliver’s first wife, Eunice, and infant son, Henry, had died in 1820 while living in Riga, New York.
Bezaleel brought his wife, Roxana and their three young daughters and two of his sons from his first marriage came with him: Sheldon and Joseph.
