When the late Bill Cobb asked his friend Dale Bond to research his old boss, Edwin Victor Bailey, he was interested in Bailey’s family tree.
After a year of research, Bond, whose son married Cobb’s daughter, found that and more ? Cobb was a direct descendant of Clarkston founders Jeremiah and Nelson Clark.
‘It’s so interesting to learn something like this, it’s just forgotten history,? said Bond. ‘People know so little about their town.?
Cobb’s great, great, grandfather Elnathan (Eli) Cobb married Jeremiah and Nelson Clark’s sister, Julia.
Myron Cobb, son of Julia Clark, provided a 40-acre parcel of land west of Holcomb Road, March 23, 1854, to be included in the Village of Clarkston. The boundary was called ‘Cobb’s Addition.? Clarkston was established in 1842.
Bond shared his research with Cobb before he passed away, Jan. 11.
‘I think he liked it,? he said. ‘Bill didn’t necessarily express it so much; he’s modest in a way.?
Bailey developed the subdivision east of Sashabaw Road on Whipple Lake. Cobb, who worked in construction for Bailey, bought the lot off Evee Road for $175 and built his house on it.
The street name ‘Evee? was derived from Bailey’s initials. The cross road, Sally, was named after Bailey’s wife.
Cobb’s access to Whipple Lake provided many hours of fishing, his favorite pastime, Bond said.
Through his research, he also found Bailey’s father, Edwin J. Bailey, was born in New York on Oct 18, 1834, and came to Independence Township in 1860. He lived with Wilson Bailey, who Bond said must have been an uncle or brother.
Bond said his research uncovered ‘an amazing story of a very sad experience? for the Bailey family.
‘In the Seymour Lake Cemetery in block 2, lot 77, there is a tall obelisk stone inscribed with six names,? he said. ‘In the plot there are six graves with small stones without names.?
In 1878, Edwin J. and his wife Mary lost six children, Geo, 13, Jonathan, 11, Fred, 9, Mary, 7, Arthur, 5, and Fininda, 3, to diphtheria, all between May 6-29.
‘The only two that survived was the oldest son Herschel, age 16, and 4-month-old infant Edwin V.,? said Bond.
In 1900, Edwin J. was a hardware merchant in Orion Village, and Herschel worked there as a clerk. Edwin J. died Sept. 30, 1914, and Herschel moved to Detroit to work as a stationary engineer for the Electric Rail Road Company. In 1909, prior to Edwin J.’s death, he gave his land to Edwin V.
Edwin V. and his wife, Sally, gave 109 acres to their daughter Bernadine and son-in-law Clark Cook for a dollar, on Aug. 23, 1939.
Edwin V., who died July 20, 1957, and Sally, who died Oct. 10, 1961, are buried in the Oxford Cemetery mausoleum, Bond said.