Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 15 Number 12
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.
John E. Spies
Mary A. Roll
The 1870 census records the John Spies family on page 592, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan. The 1870 household was John Spies, age 42, born in Switzerland; his wife, Mary A, age 42, born in France; and children, Emma, age 17, Mary, age 15, Charley, age 13, John, age 11, Anna, age 9, Jule, age 7 (female in 1870, Julius, male, age 16 in 1880), Lucy, age 5, and Albert age 1, all born in Michigan. The Spies property was the largest farm in Section 29, located on the southern boundary of the section, across both sides of Lockhaven
Road.
John Spies was born 9 January 1827 in Switzerland, the son of Michael Spies. (1) He married Mary Ann Roll in Switzerland and their first two children were born there. (1)(3) According to the 1900 census, the Spies family immigrated to the United States in 1845. (2) They were not found in the 1850 census. In 1853 John Spies is purchasing land in Independence Township, Oakland County, (4) and the family is residing there for the 1860 census. (3) By the time of the 1870 census John Spies and family are residents of Waterford Township.
The death certificate of Mary Ann Spies says she was born in 1828 and died 19 May 1901, age 73, in Pontiac, Michigan. (1) Her entry found on the website, Find A Grave, says she died 19 May 1909, aged 81. (5) However, the headstone picture clearly says 1828-1901 and the death certificate says age 73. John died 21 October 1917, in Pontiac, Michigan. (1) Both John and Mary Ann Spies are buried in the Mount Hope Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan. (5)
Sources
- Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950; Death Certificate, John Spies, Muskegon-
Ottawa, 1916-1917; Death Record, Emma (Spies) Maumee, Oakland County;
Death Certificate, Mary A. Spies, Midland-Presque Isle, 1872-1901,
Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - 1900 Census, page 139A, 2nd Ward, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan
- 1860 Census, page 305, Independence Township, Oakland County, Michigan
- Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 48-49, 1852-1853,
Volume 48, pages 267-268, Images 155-156, FHL #0975582,
FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - Mount Hope Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan, Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com