Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 13 Number 1
The biography of Solomon C. Elwood starts the biographies from Section 18, Waterford Township. The route of the original northern section of Williams Lake Road was right up the center of the section, connecting Gale Road to Highland Road. Those of us who reside in the area are aware of the quirkiness of our Lake roads and where these roads may zigzag in their route. Such was the case with Williams Lake Road. A few years ago, Williams Lake Road between Gale and Highland Roads was moved further west in order to eliminate one of the more confusing zigzags in the area and to make a smoother flowing intersection with the southern part of Williams Lake Road.
At the same time the Oakland County International Airport extended its runways to the west. The farms that used to be on the western side of Section 18 are now bisected by the new Williams Lake Road. The western side of the road is part of the Pontiac Lake Recreation Area and the eastern side is part of the airport.
Solomon Clark Elwood
Cordelia Morris
S. Clark Elwood owned two farms, in Section 18, on the 1872 plat map of Waterford Township. One eighty acre farm was located in the northwestern corner of the section, bordered by Gale Road on the north and on the east by the original Williams Lake Road. Williams Lake Road was moved to the west and its path now crosses this farm to meet Gale Road. The second farm was a little further south down the original Williams Lake Road. This fifty acre farm is now part of Oakland County International Airport and is crossed by the new Williams Lake Road. The 1870 census, page 595, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, reports Clark S. Elwood, age 28, born in Michigan, wife Cordelia, age 28, born in Michigan, children Joseph M, age 4 and Ida May, age 2, both born in Michigan, and Eve Morris, age 72, born in New York.
Solomon Clark Elwood was born 19 February 1842, in Royal Oak Township, Oakland County, Michigan, (1)(2) the son of Daniel Elwood and Fanny Clark. (1)(2) He married Cordelia Morris, 18 January 1864. (1) Solomon died 9 December 1925, Waterford Township, (2) and is buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery, Waterford, Michigan. (4) Cordelia was the daughter of Lewis Morris and Eve Vosburgh, (1)(3) born 7 June 1841, in White Lake Township, Oakland County, Michigan. (1)(3) She died 26 November 1922, in Waterford Township. (3) Cordelia is also buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery. (4)
Daniel Elwood, father of Solomon, came to Michigan, in 1830, with his father, Benjamin Elwood. (1) The Elwoods settled in Royal Oak Township where Daniel acquired land in 1835. (5) Daniel Elwood was born 24 September 1811 in New York, the son of Benjamin Elwood and Rachel Saunders. (6) The birth date of September 24th is recorded in an Elwood genealogy (6) and also on Daniel’s Find A Grave entry. (7) But the biography for Solomon Elwood, found in the 1903 Oakland County history, has a birth date of 16 August 1811 for Daniel. (1) Daniel married Fanny Clark about 1836. (1)(6) He died 6 January 1845, in Royal Oak Township, and is buried in the Royal Oak Cemetery. (1)(6)(7) After Daniel’s death, Fanny married secondly, Calvin Rose, 28 March 1847, in Oakland County. (8) By the time the 1850 census was taken, Calvin and Fanny Rose, along with the Elwood children, were residents of Waterford Township. (9)
Fanny Clark was born 18 May 1815 in New York (9)(10). Fanny’s parents could not be confirmed with on line research, but she is very probably the daughter of Ethan Allen Clark and Lovina Lockwood. Ethan A. Clark is found in the 1840 census, page 17, Highland Township, Oakland County. In the 1850 census, Calvin and Fanny Rose are recorded with Persis and Edwin Leonard residing in the household. (9) William E. Leonard’s death certificate says his mother was Hannah Clark, another daughter of Ethan A. Clark. (11) Calvin Rose died 27 August 1872 and Fanny died 15 September 1890, both in Oakland County, and both are buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan. (10)
Benjamin Elwood was born 3 December 1775 (6), in New York (12), the son of Benjamin and Elizabeth Ellwood. (6) He died 1 February 1859, in Royal Oak Township, Oakland County, and is buried in the Royal Oak Cemetery. (7) Benjamin was a veteran of the War of 1812, serving in the 19th Regiment of the New York Militia. (13) The Ellwood family has been traced back to Richard Ellwood who settled, in 1750, near the Town of St. Johnsville, now part of Montgomery County, New York. (6) Rachel (Saunders) Elwood, wife of Benjamin, was born 5 February 1772 (7), in New York (12) and died 25 April 1859, in Royal Oak Township. (7) She is buried with Benjamin in the Royal Oak Cemetery. (7) Nothing further is known about Rachel (Saunders) Elwood.
Cordelia Morris, wife of Solomon C. Elwood, was the daughter of Lewis L. Morris and Eve Vosburgh. (1) Lewis L. Morris and family first appear in Michigan in the 1840 census, page 41, White Lake Township, Oakland County. Lewis died 28 August 1841 and is buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery. (4) At his death he was 47 years, 7 months, and 24 days of age. If that is correct then Lewis was born 4 January 1794.
Eve, daughter of Jacob Vosburgh and Eva Van Valkenburgh, was born 21 February 1798, and baptized 25 March 1798, in Schodack, Rensselaer County, New York. (15) The Find A Grave entry for Eve Morris says she is buried in the Waterford Center Cemetery. There is a picture of the headstone which says Eve died on 6 May . 1876 (4) But the Oakland County Death Records have a death date of 13 May 1876. (14) Her age at death is
recorded as 78 years, 2 months, and 15 days.
Sources
- Biographical Records, Oakland County, Michigan, Biographical Publishing Company,
Chicago, Illinois, 1903, pages 207-208, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Death Certificate, Soloman Clark Elwood, Death Records, 1921-1947, Seeking
Michigan, www.seekingmichigan.org - Death Certificate, Cordelia M. Elwood, Death Records, 1921-1947, Seeking Michigan,
www.seekingmichigan.org - Waterford Center Cemetery, Waterford, Michigan, Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com
- Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records, www.glorecords.blm.gov
- The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume 53, January 1922,
“Ellwood Genealogy”, Edith (Van Heusen) Decker, pages 2-10 and 367-374
New England Historic and Genealogical Society, American Ancestors,
www.americanancestors.org - Royal Oak Cemetery, Royal Oak, Michigan, Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com
- Michigan Marriages, 1822-1995, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
- 1850 Census, page 119, Waterford, Oakland County, Michigan, Ancestry,
www.ancestry.com - Oak Hill Cemetery, Pontiac, Oakland County, Michigan, Find A Grave,
www.findagrave.com - Death Certificate, William Edward Leonard, Death Records, 1897-1920,
Seeking Michigan, www.seekingmichigan.org - 1850, page 245, The Township of Royal Oak, Oakland County, Michigan, recorded
as Benjamin Edwards, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Benjamin Ellwood Jr., War of 1813, Image #307540886, fold3, www.fold3.com
- Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1950, Registers, 1867-1897, Oakland County,
page 247, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Baptismal Record, New York, Rensselaer County, Town of Schodack,
Schodack Book 46, page 57, Dutch Reformed Church Records in Selected States,
1639-1989, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com