Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 15 Number 1
The center of Waterford Township is the intersection of Highland Road (M-59) and Crescent Lake Road. Section 21 is the southwest corner of this intersection. The business corridor, along Highland Road, is the northern boundary of the section. South of that lies the residential part of Section 21, with Elizabeth Lake Road marking the southern boundary of the section. Running through the center of the section is Pontiac Lake Road, which is where the 1872 plat map shows most of the residences were located. The Clinton River runs diagonally across the township on its way to Pontiac.
Matching residents’ names on the 1872 plat map to names in the 1870 census was a little difficult in Section 21. Sometimes, as in the case of J. Utley, the name appears on the plat map, but cannot be found in the 1870 census, or in any census. J. Utley is still unknown. Also unknown is the F. Sutton, found in the southeast corner of the section, with 49 acres along Elizabeth Lake Road and the intersection of Crescent Lake Road. No F. Sutton was found in the 1870 census or agricultural census.
Elisha Sheldon
Mercy Coon
On the 1872 Waterford Township plat map, M. Sheldon owns a farm of 75 acres located in the northeast corner of Section 21. This is the corner of Highland Road (M-59) and Crescent Lake Road, where currently there is a Kroger store. M. Sheldon was not found in the 1870 census for Waterford Township. The 1860 census, page 389, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, reports a Mercee (sic) Sheldon, age 57, born in New York and her son Edward W., age 21, born in Michigan. The death certificate for Edward W. Sheldon, who died 4 November 1916, Shiawassee County, Michigan, says that his parents were Elisha Sheldon and Mercy Coon. (1)
There is a census entry for E. Sheldon, 1840 census, page 134, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan. No further information was found for Elisha Sheldon. He had died before 1850 for his widow, Mercy Sheldon, is found in the 1850 census on page 120, Waterford Township. Recorded with Mercy are her children, Edwin, age 24, Nancy, age 22, Franklin, age 19, all born in New York; and youngest son, Edward, age 12, born in Michigan. Also with the Sheldon family is Hezekiah Coon, age 83, born in Rhode Island. No further information was found for Mercy Sheldon after the 1860 census. In the 1870 census, Edward W. Sheldon is residing with his sister and brother-in-law, Hudson and Nancy Covert, page 589, Waterford Township, so perhaps Mercy was deceased before 1870.
The General Land Office website has a record of Charles Sheldon, of Oakland County, Michigan Territory, purchasing the “East half of the North West Quarter of Section Twenty-one, in Township three North of Range Nine East”, 15 October 1835 (2). This is the same property owned by M. Sheldon on the 1872 Waterford Township plat map. Charles Sheldon may be the father of Elisha Sheldon, but research revealed nothing further.
The Hezekiah Coon who resides with Mercy Sheldon in the 1850 census is very likely her father, but, as seemed to be the case with this family, further research could not confirm this. The Oakland County, Michigan Deed Index has a record where Mercy Sheldon, in 1836, is purchasing property from Hezekiah Coon, Deed Book 11, page 252. (3) Unfortunately, Volume 11 has not yet been digitized by the Family History Library. In October 1835, Hezekiah Coon of Orleans County, New York is purchasing two pieces of land located in Sections 17 and 20 of Waterford Township. (2) No further information could be found about Hezekiah Coon.
Sources:
- Death Certificate, Edward W. Sheldon, Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
- Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, www.glorecords.blm.gov
- Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Index, Volumes 1-1B, 1821-1842, Volume 1,
no page numbers, Image 229, Film #0975556, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org