Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter
One of the first sections of Waterford Township to be reported on was Section 17. I started with Section 16 and moved on to Section 17 because this is where the Waterford Civic Center and the Oakland County International Airport are located and I wondered about the family farms that are now lost.
Section 17 presented a problem with the farm marked on the 1872 plat map as G. Young, 70 acres, located on Highland Road (M59). The 1870 census did not have a G. Young recorded with the other families from Section 17. Instead, the census indicated that Alexander Yale was the property owner. I speculated that perhaps the G. Young was George Young, son of Milo Young, resident of Section 16, and maybe the land had been acquired by G. Young in between the 1870 census and the publication of the 1872 plat map.
Recent discoveries in Oakland County deeds proved both speculations were correct. At the time the research
was done for Section 17 not all deed records for Oakland County were available for viewing on FamilySearch.
Now all deeds from Oakland County can be seen and researched at home.
On 20 October 1868, Alexander Yale of Perry Township, Lake County, Ohio, purchased “the west half of the South East quarter of section seventeen” from Aaron D. and Evalina S. Dunbar of the town of Hamilton, Madison County, New York (1). Alexander and Hattie A. Yale sold the property to Julia A. Young on 12 March 1872. (2) Julia Ann Young was the wife of Milo Young, residing in Section 16, just a short distance east on Highland Road, at the corner of Highland Road and Airport Road. The last deed is dated 14 April 1873 when Julia A. Young is selling the property to her son, George M. Young. (3)
This example shows the 1872 plat map is very accurate, even though it seems to be foretelling the future sale of the Section 17 property which took place in 1873.
Sources
- Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 95-96, 1868-1871; Volume 95,
1868-1869, page 400, Image 209, #0975452, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 105-106, 1871-1873; Volume 105,
1871-1872, page 542, Image 285, #0975457, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volume 107-108, 1872-1873;