Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 16 Number 2
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 20
- 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.
William Lotimer
Susannah Flockhart
The 1872 plat map of Waterford Township shows the properties of W. Lattimer in Sections 20 and 29. An eighty acre property is located on the northwestern corner of Elizabeth Lake Road and Lockhaven. The northern boundary of the larger property is in Section 20, on Pontiac Lake Road and extends south across Elizabeth Lake Road into Section 29. Lattimer is not the correct surname spelling. The 1870 census, pages 590-591, Waterford Township, reports that William Lotimer, is the correct spelling. The Lotimer household has William, age 63, born in Scotland; his wife Susanna, age 49, born in England; and children, Margaret D., age 28, born in Scotland, Mary F., 22, born in England, Martha G., age 20, Susanna R, age 18, and Hester (Esther), age 14, all born in New York; Bethea L., age 12 and Annie I., age 10, born in Canada, and James A., age 6, born in Michigan. Residing with the family are two farm laborers, Robert Stead, age 17, born in England, and Benjamin McIntosh, age 22, born in Canada.
William Lotimer’s entry on Find A Grave, Mount Avon Cemetery, Rochester, Michigan, has a very clear picture of his headstone. (1) The headstone says that William was born 3 June 1807, in Dumfresshire, Scotland, and died 23 June 1892. (1) Not included on the tombstone are all the places William Lotimer resided in before he finally settled permanently in Mount Avon Cemetery.
The parents of William could not be determined. He married first Bethea, probably in Scotland. (1) The headstone of eldest daughter Margaret, who died 17 June 1907, buried in Mount Avon Cemetery, says she was the daughter of Wm and Bethea Lotimer. (1). Bethea died before 1845, for William married secondly, Susannah Flockhart, 14 April 1845, in St. Mark, Liverpool, England. (2)
In the 1870 census, some of William’s older daughters were born in New York. The clue to the family’s location comes from the death certificate of daughter, Esther (Lotimer) Coffin where it says she was born in Brooklyn, New York. (3) The 1850 census shows the Lotimer family on page 29, 1st Ward, Brooklyn City, Kings County, New York. (4) Daughter Martha is age two, so she was born about 1848, in New York. (4) The family would have immigrated between 1845 and 1848.
In the 1870 census, Lotimer daughters, Bethea and Annie, were both born in Canada. The death records for Bethea R. (Lotimer) Tucker and Anna I. (Lotimer) LeRoy, report that both were born in Brantford, Ontario. (5) Bethea was the elder sister, born on 28 March 1858, so the Lotimer family were residents of Brantford before that date. (5)
The first record of William Lotimer and family in Waterford Township is a deed dated 31 October 1861. William Lotimer of Pontiac, Michigan, is purchasing from William and Agnes Ure the tract of land that is located in Sections 20 and 29, Waterford Township. (6) The deed was not registered until 1867. (6) The Lotimer family will not remain long in Waterford Township. The 1880 census finds the family on page 16C, Township of Avon, Oakland County, Michigan. (7) William died in Avon Township in 1892. (1)
Susannah Lotimer shares a headstone in the Mount Avon Cemetery with her husband William. The information for Susannah is clearly visible in the headstone picture found on Find A Grave. (1) Susannah was born 18 February 1821, in Liverpool, England and died 3 June 1903, Avon Township, Oakland County, Michigan. (1)(10) (1) She was baptized 1 April 1821, at St. Peter, Liverpool, England. (8) Susannah was the daughter of John Flockhart and Martha Crabtree (8), who were married 13 April 1820, at St. Nicholas, Liverpool, England. (9)
Sources
- Mount Avon Cemetery, Rochester, Michigan, Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com
- Marriage Intention, William Lotimer and Susannah Flockhart, England, Cheshire,
Marriage Bonds and Allegations, 1706-1900, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - Death Certificate, Esther W. Coffin, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952,
Oakland (Pontiac), 1941-1942, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - 1850 Census, page 29, 1st Ward, Brooklyn City, Kings County, New York
- Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952; Bethea R. Tucker and Anna I LeRoy,
Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 89-90, 1867; Volume 90,
page 406, Image 549, FHL #0975449, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - 1880, page 16C, Township of Avon, Oakland County, Michigan
- England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
- Marriages at Our Lady and St. Nicholas with St. Anne, in the City of Liverpool,
Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project, www.lan-opc.org.uk - Death Certificate, Susannah Lotimer, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952,
Ancestry, www.ancestry.com