Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 17 Number 1

The 1872 plat map of Waterford Township shows a small property owned by F.W. Fifield on the northern boundary of Section 31. Francis Webster Fifield was a resident of Waterford Village and he was included in the biographies of the village. In the southeastern corner of the section, at the intersection of Hospital and Cooley Lake Roads is a small square marked O. Dewey. Orville Dewey and his wife, Ann Herrington, will be reported with their parents, John K. Dewey, and Judah Herrington, both of whom resided in Section 32.

Henry T. Owen, Olive L. Young

Waterford Township’s 1872 plat map shows the property of H.T. Owen located in the northeastern quarter of Section 31, with the residence on Hospital Road. The 1870 census reports that residing in the household is Henry T. Owen, age 76, farmer, born in Connecticut, his wife Olive E., age 68, born in Connecticut, and farm laborer, Oscar Olmsted, age 21, born in Michigan.

Henry Talbut Owen was born in 1793, Hebron, Connecticut, the son of Talbut and Mary (Youngs) Owen. (1) He married Olive L. Young, date and place unknown. (1) Henry and Olive were possibly married in Monroe County, New York since that is where their eldest child, Harriett Louisa Owen, was born in 1819. (2) The Owen family is in Oakland County as early as 1835. (6) On 1 April 1837, Henry T. Owen, of Monroe County, New York, received a land patent for the northeast quarter of Section 31 in Waterford Township. (3) Henry resided on his farm in Waterford Township until his death on 18 June 1874. (4) He is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery, Waterford Township. (5) The Owen family has been traced back to a John Owen who settled in Windsor, Connecticut in the mid 1600’s. (1)

Olive L. Young was born in March 1802, Hartford, Connecticut. (1)(6) According to Olive’s entry on Find A Grave, she died 2 January 1891. (5) However, there is no headstone picture or any other proof offered to support that date. The publication of the Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society says that Olive died in January (6) Olive is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery, Waterford Township. (5)

The parents of Olive L. (Young) Owen could not be confirmed with online sources. Many family trees said she was the daughter of William Clark Young and Nancy Crane who resided in Lapeer County, Michigan. This may well be true, but no family tree had any sources to prove their claim.

Sources:

1. Descendants of John Owen of Windsor, Connecticut, 1622-1699), Ralph D. Owen,Philadelphia, PA, 1941, pages 19, 151, and 245-246, Hathitrust Digital Library, www.hathitrust.org
2. Obituary, H. Louisa Hiller, Pontiac Gazette, Pontiac, Michigan, Friday, 10 January 1890, page 1, Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal, Central Michigan University, www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/Pages/Michigan-Digital-Newspapers-Portal.aspx
3. Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records,www.glorecords.blm.gov
4. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952; Macomb-Wexford, 1874, Alcona-Lenawee,1875, Oakland County, page 11, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
5. Four Towns Cemetery, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com
6. Historical Collections, Michigan Pioneer and Historical Society, Lansing, Michigan,Volume XVIII, 1892, 1911 Reprint, page 281, Hathitrust Digital Library,www.hathitrust.org