Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 16 Number 1
Section 29 is bounded on the west side by Hospital
Road and on the north by Elizabeth Lake Road. The
Clinton River flows along the east side of the section. Lockhaven Road curves its way roughly through the center of the section. Much of the section is still undeveloped with residential space found along the three main roads.
This section was a little different from the other sections previously reported on. Much of the land consisted of small twenty or forty acre plots whose owners did not reside on that property and most of them have been featured in other section biographies. They are:
- Jacob Terry of Section 19
- Joseph W. Chapman of Section 2
- Morgan R. Wormer of Section 21
- Calvin Rose of Section 21
- James Greer of West Bloomfield Township
- Erastus Herrington of Section 32
- Jacob Rowland of Section 20
Not included in Section 29’s biographies will be James Greer who had a fifteen acre piece of property and
resided in West Bloomfield Township. Erastus Herrington will be included in the biographies of Section 32.
Franklin O. Jones
Esther Henderson
The 1872 plat map of Waterford Township, shows in Section 29, in the northwest quarter, and also in Section
30, the southeastern corner, F.O. Jones. The residence is recorded in Section 29 on the east side of Hospital
Road.
However, F.O. Jones is not in the 1870 census residing in Waterford Township, and he has not been found in
any location in 1870. The 1860 census, page 369, Waterford Township reports Franklin Jones, age 46, born in New York; wife Esther, age 49, born in New York; children, Eliza, age 19, and Frances, age 16, born in New York; and children Franklin, age 12 and Eugene, age 1, born in Michigan. In the 1850 census, page 87, the Jones family is residing in Pontiac, Michigan, and adds son, Chancy (Chauncey), age 13, born in Michigan as were his sisters, Eliza and Frances. The 1870 Agriculture Schedule for Waterford Township reports that the property owner is Eugene Jones and the census says the household consists of Eugene Jones, age 17, and his sister, Eliza, age 29. Residing with the Jones brother and sister are Elizabeth Whitmore, age 30, born in Ireland, and Caleb Terry, age 26, whom Eliza will marry on 30 October 1870. (1)
The Find A Grave entry for Franklin O. Jones claims that he was born 21 September 1813, in New York, died 18 September 1882, and is buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery. But there is no headstone picture or any
sources provided to confirm these claims. An obituary was found in the newspaper, Pontiac Bill Poster, 27
September 1882, which says F.O. Jones, a former resident of Waterford, was brought back, and buried in the
Waterford Cemetery. (3) This at least confirms Franklin O. Jones died in September 1882, not in Waterford, and is very probably buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery.
The first records found, for Franklin O. Jones, are the sales of lots in the town of Pontiac, from 1849-1853, in the Oakland County deed index Volume 2. (4) The first record of the Jones family in Waterford Township is the deed between Esther Jones and William Henderson, dated 6 November 1851. (5) William Henderson of Taylor, Cortland County, New York, is selling to Esther Jones, the two plots of land found on the 1872 plat map of Waterford, in Sections 29 and 30. The 1850 census of Taylor, Cortland County shows that William Henderson is 44 years of age and could be Esther’s brother. (6) Further research in Cortland County, New York did not reveal any further information on either the Henderson or Jones families.
Like the Find A Grave Entry for Franklin O. Jones, the entry for his wife, Esther, says she was born in 1811, in
New York, died 27 August 1866, and is buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery, but offers no proof or
headstone picture, to confirm this. Esther Jones’ maiden name of Henderson comes from the death certificate
of her son, Franklin Benjamin Jones, who died 12 April 1911, in Bessemer, Gogebic County, Michigan. (7)
Sources
- Michigan, Marriage Records, 1867-1952; 1870 Monroe – 1871, Jackson;
Oakland County, page 73, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Waterford Center Cemetery, Waterford Township, Michigan
Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com - Pontiac Bill Poster, Pontiac, Michigan, Wednesday, 27 September 1882, page 8,
Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan
University,
www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/Pages/Michigan-Digital-Newspapers-Portal.aspx - Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Index, Volumes 2-4, 1846-1853;
Volume 2, 1846-1853, FHL# 0975557, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 48-49, 1852-1853;
Volume 48, pages 600-601, Image 325, FHL #0975582, FamilySearch,
www.familysearch.org - 1850 Census, page 189, Taylor, Courtland County, New York
- Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950; Clinton-Traverse City, 1910-1911,
Death Certificate of Franklin Benjamin Jones, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
UPCOMING M