Section 33 – Hoxie

Written by Sandy Kinter, from Waterford Genealogical Society E-Newsletter Volume 17 Number 9

Much of Section 33 is owned by only three families. The Hoxie family, Charles England, and Almeron Whitehead are the largest land owners. A small 20 acre plot in the northwestern corner of the section is owned by David Leland who was reported on in Section 28. Amassa Chapman has an 80 acre farm, located on the south shore of Elizabeth Lake, at the intersection of Cooley Lake and Cass Elizabeth Roads. Amassa was included in the report on his son, Joseph W. Chapman, Section 20.

The Hoxie Family

In the 1870 census the Hoxie family presents the genealogist with a puzzling household. Recorded on page 593, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan is John Hoxie, age 27, farmer; Phebe, age 62; Addison, age 29; and Celia, age 17. All of these family members were born in Michigan. They are followed by Richard Kelly, age 26, born in Scotland, Phebe Kelly, age 25, born in Michigan; Frank Dibean, age 17, farm laborer, born in Michigan; Frederick Kelly, age 4, born in Michigan; and, finally, Carrie R. Hoxie, age 19, born in Canada.

There are three family groups contained in the 1870 census report, but they are all jumbled up. One family group is Richard Kelly/Kelley, his wife Phebe (Hoxie) Kelly, and their son, Frederick Kelly. Although a marriage has not been found for Richard Kelly and Phebe Hoxie, the relationship to Phebe’s mother, Phebe Hoxie, is confirmed by the mother’s 1893 will. (1) The 1870 census page 593 was recorded on 4 June 1870. Phebe Kelly was very recently deceased on June 4th. She died 31 May 1870 and is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery, Waterford Township under the name of Phebe Kelley. (2)

The second family group is John Hoxie and his wife, Carrie. In the 1870 census, John Hoxie is reported to be the property owner with $7,000 worth of real estate. There are no deed records for John and this must be a mistake on the part of the census taker. Phebe Hoxie was the property owner. John Hoxie married Caroline (aka Carrie) Nickerson, 22 February 1870, in Dryden, Lapeer County, Michigan. (3) John Hoxie died before 18 December 1871, when an Oakland County judge appointed Joseph E. Sawyer administrator of John Hoxie’s estate. (4) Online research did not reveal the relationship of John Hoxie to the Waterford Township family. He was not a son of Phebe Hoxie. The Hoxie genealogy says that Phebe and her deceased husband, Benjamin, had a son, John, who was killed by Indians while on his way to the California gold fields. (7) With such an unusual surname John has to be related, but how is unknown.

The third family is Phebe Hoxie, widow of Benjamin Hoxie, and her children, Addison and Celia. Not shown on page 593, is Phebe’s son, Frederick Hoxie and his wife Lucinda Colvin. Frederick and family were residents of Section 32 with Lucinda’s parents, but they will be included with the Section 33 family. It is this third family group who will be the subjects of this report.

The 1872 plat map shows the Hoxie family farms on both sides of Cooley Lake Road. A. Hoxie, or Addison Hoxie, has two pieces of property shown. The larger piece is on both sides of Cooley Lake Road. The second piece is a little further north. The larger property shows a residence on the north side of Cooley Lake Road. This home is still standing and is marked as a Michigan Centennial Farm. The property has been held by the name family for more than 100 years

F. Hoxie has 120 acres. Phebe Hoxie purchased her first piece of property in Section 33 on 15 January 1846.(5) She continued to purchase property located in Section 33, in Phebe’s own name, until the 1860’s, long after she had been widowed. Son Frederick did not own the land shown on the 1872 plat map until Phebe sold it to him on 7 March 1876. (6) Perhaps the F. Hoxie should read Phebe Hoxie?

Benjamin Hoxie was born 3 August 1803 in Alburgh, Grand Isle County, Vermont, the son of Frederick Hoxie.(2)(7) Online family trees say that Sarah Babcock was the wife of Frederick Hoxie, but none offer any sources to back up this claim. Benjamin married Phebe Mott, in Vermont, probably about 1826 since their eldest child, Frederick Hoxie, was born in 1827, in Vermont. (8) The Hoxie family were residents of Michigan before 8 May 1837 when son Addison was born. (2) It must be noted that on Addison Hoxie’s death record his place of birth is recorded as New York (9), but on the 1850-1880 census records he is always born in Michigan. The family of Benjamin Hoxie is recorded in the 1840 census as residents of Troy Township, Oakland County, Michigan. (10)

The first record of Benjamin Hoxie in Waterford Township is a deed dated 4 February 1845. (11) In this deed Benjamin is purchasing 130 acres in Section 19. On 15 January 1846, Phebe Hoxie is purchasing her first property in Section 33. (5) Subsequent land purchases in Section 33 were done in Phebe’s name, not Benjamin’s. Benjamin Hoxie died 30 September 1855, in Waterford Township. (2) He is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery. (2)

Phebe Mott was the daughter of Timothy Mott and Mary Milles/Miller, born 23 March 1805 in Alburgh, Grand Isle County, Vermont, not in Michigan as reported in the 1870 census. (2)(9) After Benjamin’s death in 1855, Phebe bought and sold pieces of property in Section 33. Her name appears on several Waterford Township deeds. Phebe died 12 November 1893 in Waterford Township and she is buried with Benjamin in the Four Towns Cemetery. (2)(9) Phebe left a will where she directs the executor of her estate, son Frederick, to purchase “suitable tombstones” for “myself, my son Addison and my daughter Phebe Kelly”. (1) These headstones are still part of the landscape of the Four Towns Cemetery

The eldest son of Benjamin and Phebe was Frederick Hoxie, born 18 July 1827, in Vermont. (8) He came to Oakland County, Michigan with his parents. Frederick married Lucinda Colvin, 9 February 1865, in Oakland County, Michigan. (12) Michigan marriage records found on the website, Ancestry, says that Frederick and Lucinda were married in 1863. (3) However, a look at the actual marriage record book found on FamilySearch, reveals that the marriage took place in 1865. The marriage records before and after that of Frederick and Lucinda are all recorded in 1865. (13) Lucinda was born 2 February 1828, the daughter of Nathan R. Colvin and Margaret Batcheldor. (13)(14) Frederick and Lucinda resided with her parents in Section 32 and the Colvin family is reported on under that section. Lucinda Hoxie died 18 Jun 1898, in Waterford Township (14) and Frederick died 5 May 1901, also in Waterford Township. (8) Both are buried in the Four Towns Cemetery, Waterford. (2)

The second Hoxie land owner in Section 33 was Addison Hoxie, son of Benjamin and Phebe. He was born 8 May 1837, and, as reported above, most likely born in Michigan, not New York as stated in his death record.(2)(9) Addison Hoxie never married. He died 29 May 1893, in Waterford Township and is buried in the Four Towns Cemetery. (2)(9)

Sources

1. Oakland County, Michigan, Probate Records, Volumes 79-80, 1893-1895; Volume 80,
   1894-1895, pages 107-110, Images 402-404, #0956869, FamilySearch,
   www.familysearch.org
2. Four Town Cemetery, Waterford Township, Oakland County, Michigan, Find A Grave,
   www.findagrave.com
3. Michigan, County Marriage Records, 1822-1940, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
4. Oakland County, Michigan, Probate Records, Volumes 42-43, 1870-1873; Volume 43,
   1871-1873, page 360, Image 524, #0973920, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
5. Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 30-31, 1845-1846; Volume 30,
   pages 32-32, Images 23-24, #0975573, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
6. Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 139-140, 1882-1884; Volume 139,
   1882, page 307, Image 164, #0975473, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
7. The Hoxie Family Three Generations in America, Leslie R. Hoxie, 1950,
   pages 51-52, and 102, Internet Archive, www.archive.org
8. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952; Midland-Presque Isle, 1901, Frederick Hoxie,
   Death Certificate #538, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
9. Oakland County, Michigan, Record of Deaths, Volumes 1-2, 1867-1902; Volume 2,
   1887-1897, page 131, Image 523, #0973983, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
10. 1840 Census, page 98, Troy Township, Oakland County, Michigan
11. Oakland County, Michigan, Deed Records, Volumes 28-29, 1844-1845; Volume 28,
    1844-1845, pages 20-21, Image 16, #0975572, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
12. Oakland County, Michigan, Record of Marriages, Volumes D-G, 1849-1876; Volume F,
    1859-1866, page 440, Image 740, #0973980, FamilySearch, www.familysearch.org
13. Batchelder, Batcheller Genealogy, Frederick Clifton Pierce, 1898, page 217,
    Ancestry, www.ancestry.com
14. Michigan, Death Records, 1867-1952; Muskegon-Saginaw, 1899, Lucinda Hoxie,
    Death Certificate #1060, indexed as Lucinda Halsie, Ancestry, www.ancestry.com