Written by Bette Twyman in WGS E-Newsletter, Volume 17, Issue Number 12
The Voorheis Addition Number 31 (1) is a West Pontiac subdivision located east of Telegraph Road, south of Voorheis Road. Street names include Ruth Ave, Myra Ave and Susan St. West of Telegraph, also south of Voorheis Road in east Waterford Township, are Josephine Ave, Dick Ave, and James K Blvd, the latter bordering the north shore of Sylvan Lake. Hazel Ave. spans both the Waterford and Pontiac sides of Telegraph Road.
These streets were named for members of the James K. Voorheis family. James was a farmer in east
Waterford Township (1843-1931). He and his wife, Lucinda Josephine Smith, (1852-1935) had the
following children:
- Nellie Voorheis Bell (1874-1949);
- Susan B. Voorheis Davidson (1877-1864);
- Lucy Esther Voorheis Beattie (1878-1953);
- Myra Zilpha Voorheis Goss (1880-1964);
- Ruth Voorheis Coultis (1891-1978);
- Hazel Kate Voorheis Rogers (1892-1968)
All six daughters were members of the Daughters of the American Revolution (2)
My father, Donald Sherman Beutler, (1927-2021), lived at 55 Ruth Avenue, Pontiac, Michigan from a boy in 1939 (3) until his marriage in 1954. My grandmother, Hazel Fay Hamand Beutler, resided at 55 Ruth Ave. until the early 1990’s, when she was admitted to a nursing home. She lived to be over 100 years old, passing in 1996.
From childhood memories, I recall that the streets in Grandma Beutler’s subdivision were unpaved until the early 1960’s. Ruth Avenue abuts the north shore of the Dawson Mill Pond. I am uncertain of precisely what year that the subdivision was platted, however, on the 1920 Pontiac City Directory – Roy S. Hardenbrugh, a machinist, resided at 55 Ruth Avenue (4) The streets, therefore, must have been developed and named prior to 1920.
Dad related to me that he and his brother Gerald (1924-2009) included among their group of friends Richard “Dick” Rogers (1923-2008), son of Hazel K. Voorheis and Russell Rogers. The boys rode bikes, swam in Sylvan Lake or the Dawson Mill Pond, and went fishing.
From 1950 until 1954 (5) , Mom worked as a secretary at Ford Tractor in Birmingham. Mom provided administrative support to the Ford Tractor Field Salesmen, one of whom was Richard “Dick” Rogers! She also shared an anecdote about Hazel Rogers: Mrs. Rogers and Mom’s Aunt Ella Long were members of the same bridge club in the 1940’s and 50’s. Bridge parties were held on a rotating basis at members’ homes. Light refreshments were served and an small gift awarded to the evening’s winner.
Family stories about friends and associates elaborate the lives of inhabitants a given community at an earlier time. City Directories complement census to expand social context. These stories told to me by my parents are priceless. As the Russian Proverb states, “You live as long as you are remembered.”
1 Zillow reference to residences for sale in Voorheis Road area.
2 Daughters of the American Revolution Membership Index at www.dar.members.org
3 1940 US Census, Pontiac, Oakland Co, MI, ED 63-103, page 61, Ancestry.com
4 1920 Polk Directory, City of Pontiac, Michigan, reference Roy S. Hardenburgh, page 358, Ancestry.com
5 1950 Polk Directory, City of Pontiac, Michigan, reference Jane Long, page 293, Ancestry.com
Bette Twyman is a member of WGS and the Oakland County Genealogical Society
Lifetime resident of Waterford and Michigan First Family lineage through Joseph Long
Member of DAR, Colonial Dames 17th Century, Daughters of 1812