Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 17 Number 7
Hospital Road makes up the western boundary of Section 32, Waterford Township. The southern boundary is partly defined by Cooley Lake Road, which angles northward through the old Four Towns Post Office on it’s way toward Elizabeth Lake. The rest of the boundary is shared with West Bloomfield Township. North is Section 29 and east is Section 33. Lockhaven Road wiggles it’s way north from Four Towns to it’s conclusion at Elizabeth Lake Road. Today the Section is mostly residential with single family homes and some apartments. There are a few
businesses along Cooley Lake Road.
On the eastern side of the section is a 166 acre farm identified by surname of Colvin. This was the farm of Nathan R. Colvin. Across the section on the western side is a 20 acre property marked R. Colvin. This property also belongs to Nathan R. Colvin. To the north and east of this property are two parcels marked 20 acres. There are no owners given for these two properties. South of R. Colvin is property just identified by the name Hoxie. The Hoxie family will be reported on in Section 33.
Lyman C. Hiller
Harriet Louisa Owen
Recorded in the 1870 census, page 592, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, is the family of Lyman Hiller, age 56, farmer, born in New York; wife, Harriet L., age 51, born in New York, and Ellen, age 25, teacher, born in Michigan. The 1872 Waterford plat map shows the 120 acre farm of L.C. Hiller on both sides of Lockhaven Road, a little to the north of the Four Towns Post Office.
Lyman C. Hiller was born 26 February 1814, Parma, Monroe County, New York. (1) He moved to Waterford Township in 1840. (1)(2) In the 1840 census for Waterford Township, Lyman is a single man residing next door to his future father-in-law, Henry T. Owen. (3) Lyman Hiller married Harriet Louisa Owen, 20 June 1844, in Oakland County, Michigan. (4) The Hiller’s will live the rest of their lives in Waterford Township. Lyman died 29 March 1892, in Waterford Township. (1) He is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery.(5) Lyman’s entry on the Find A Grave website says his name is Lyman G. Hiller, but the picture of Lyman and Harriet’s shared, very unusual headstone, clearly says he is Lyman C. Hiller and this is the name used on his obituary.
The name of Lyman’s parents could not be proven with online sources, but it is highly probable that he is the son of Peter and Catherine Hiller. In May 1837, Peter Hiller of Monroe County, New York is acquiring two land patents in Waterford Township, one in Section 32 and the other in Section 33. (6) On 1 October 1839, Peter Hiller, and wife Catherine, are selling these same two pieces of land to Lyman C. Hiller of Monroe County, New York. (2) In the 1840 census, Peter Hiller is a single man, age 70-80, residing in Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan, indicating that his wife had died between October 1839, the date of the deed, and the day the census was taken. (7) In the 1850 census, Peter Hiller, age 83, born in New Jersey, is residing with Lyman Hiller and family. (8) Peter Hiller died 22 July 1853, and is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery. (5)
Harriet Louisa Owen was born in 1819, in New York, (5)(8)(9) the daughter of Henry T. Owen and Olive Young (9) She died 27 November 1889, in Waterford Township, (10) and is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery. (5) The parents of Harriet Louisa Owen are reported on in Section 31 biographies.
Sources
- Obituary, Lyman C. Hiller, Pontiac Gazette, Pontiac, Michigan, Friday, 8 April 1892, page 4,
Digital Michigan Newspapers, Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University,
www.cmich.edu/library/clarke/Pages/Michigan-Digital-Newspaper-Portal.aspx - Deed Records, Oakland County, Michigan, Volumes 16-18, 1838-1840; Volume 18,
1839-1840, pages 6-7, Image 568, FHL #0975567, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org - 1840 Census, page 131, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan
- Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1822-1940, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
- Four Towns Cemetery, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan
Find A Grave, www.findagrave.com - Certificates #17649 and #17650, Peter Hiller, Bureau of Land Management, General
Land Office Records, www.glorecords.blm.gov - 1840 Census, page 18, Highland Township, Oakland County, Michigan
- 1850 Census, page 118, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan
- Descendants of John Owen of Windsor, Connecticut, 1622-1699, Ralph Dornfield Owen,
1941, pages 245-246, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com - Oakland County, Michigan, Record of Deaths, Volumes 1-2, 1867-1902, Volume 2,
1887-1897, page 37, Image 427, FHL #0973983, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org