Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 18 Number 2
Williams Lake Road is the northern
boundary of Section 9, and the southern
boundary is Hatchery Road. West is
Huntoon Lake and Airport Road. The
Detroit & Milwaukee Railroad cuts across
the northeastern corner. In 1872 Section
9 would have been covered with farms.
Today it is mostly residential with
Waterford Kettering High School located
on the farm of George Richmond. The
adjoining farms of Beekman Van Zandt and
Richard King are now covered with
businesses along the railroad tracks.
In the southwestern corner of the section is part of the farm of Emily Huntoon. The Huntoon family was included with Section 8. Two parcels were owned by Oliver Hazard Perry Osmun. His residence was in Section 10, and he will be reported with that section’s biographies. George Richmond was a son-in-law of Oliver H.P. Osmun and, since he lived with his Osmun in-laws in the 1870 census, Richmond will be included with their biography. D.M. Judd, or Daniel M. Judd, owned an 80 acre property in the southwestern corner of the section. He resided in Section 15 and will be included with those biographies.
John Wesley Stevens
Sarah Lord
In the 1870 census, the Stevens household consists of John W. Stevens, age 27, farmer, born in New York; Sarah, age 25, born in Michigan; and children, William E., age 3 and Carrie B., age 10 months, born in August. Both children were born in Michigan. Also in the household is Barney Greening, age 16, farm laborer, born in Michigan. John W. Stevens does not appear on the 1872 Waterford Township plat map for he had sold his property on 7 April 1871 to Richard L. King of Dobbs Ferry, New York. (1) Richard L. King is on the 1872 plat map, under the surname of ”King”, with an 80 acre farm located on Williams Lake Road, a little west of the intersection with the Saginaw Turnpike, now known as Dixie Highway.
The Drayton Plains Cemetery is located on the southwest corner of Williams Lake Road and Dixie Highway, a short distance down Williams Lake Road from John W. Stevens’ property. John is buried in Drayton Plains Cemetery and his grave is marked with a simple headstone that bears the dates 1842-1917. (3) The death certificate of John W. Stevens says he was born 13 October 1841, in New York. (2) He was the son of James Wilder Stevens and Phebe Jane Roscoe (2) who were reported in the Waterford Village biographies. John married Sarah Lord, 13 March 1864, in Genesee County, Michigan. (4) During the Civil War John W. Stevens served in Company D, 10th Regiment, Michigan Cavalry. (3)(5) John died in Pontiac, Michigan, 5 January 1917.(2)(3)
Sarah Lord was born 22 May 1845, in Oakland County, Michigan, the daughter of Daniel Lord and Catherine Snyder. (6) A report about Daniel and Catherine (Snyder) Lord is included with the Waterford Village biographies. Sarah died 19 March 1943, Independence Township, Oakland County, Michigan. (6) She is buried with her husband John in the Drayton Plains Cemetery. (3)
Sources:
- Deed Records, Oakland County, Michigan, Volumes 101-102, 1870-1871; Volume 102,
1871, page 213, Image 439, FHL #0975455, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - Death Certificate, John W. Stevens, #263, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952;
Muskegon-Ottawa, 1917, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Drayton Plains Cemetery, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, Find A Grave,
www.findagrave.com - Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995, Historical Records Collection, FamilySearch,
www.familysearch.org - Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
- Death Certificate, Sarah Stevens, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952; Oakland, 1942-1944,
Ancestry, www.ancestry.com