Many years ago, settlers began making their journey to Michigan’s frontier. One of those settlers happened to be Willian Nowlin and he recorded his experiences for historians to look back upon in his autobiography, The Bark Covered House. Nowlin’s first-hand account gives historians great insight into how settlers began their life on Michigan’s unsettled frontier; however, his account also has some biases and disadvantages that combat the advantages of his personal experience. To begin, Nowlin’s story allows historians to glance at the reality of settlement onto Michigan’s frontier. Nowlin was the eldest of five children at ten years old to a farmer from New York City when he made the journey to Michigan. Nowlin’s family was forced to move