The Benedict Family History News
Formerly The Benedict Family News
Volume 5, No. 3 Winter 1998, pp. 29-42
Editor: Mary Alice Benedict Grindol
Table of Contents This Issue
Benedict/ Hunloke/ Hunlocke Connection
Benedicts in Oneida Co. NY 1850
Queries: BENEDICT/ BAXTER/ MESSENGER/ MANNING/ SEELY/ JONES
Benedict/
Hunloke/Hunlocke Connection
By Roberta B. Pierson, 104
Hemingway Ct., Roseville CA 95747, e-mail rbpierson@prodigy.com
This is a follow up to my previous article "There is No Ann Hunloke" in The Benedict Family News (Vol. 1, No. 5, Spring 1994). Earlier data which states Ann Hunloke, daughter of Henry Hunloke Sr. married William Benedict remains in the Ancestral File of the Family History Library and in the Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. II, (by Elwyn E. Benedict, 1969) pg. 1. In these publications, Ann (Hunloke) Benedicke is stated to be the mother of Thomas Benedicke/Benedict who emigrated to America in 1638. This article and the accompanying chart attempts to clarify and update the matter.
Noted genealogist John Insley Coddington conducted extensive research on the English Benedicts around 1956. We have not located a repository for Coddington’s genealogical research materials since his 1991 death. However, we are fortunate that Coddington's letters to L. H. Hydon Whitehead Esq. in England who was hired to do research by Coddington, have been preserved in the Whitehead Collection at the Society of Genealogists, 14 Charterhouse Bldg., Goswell Road, London, England.
It was through a study of Coddington’s letters and other material from Elwyn E. Benedict that I decided that there was no Ann Hunloke. The former misunderstanding came from two items, one mentioned in Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I, (by Henry Marvin Benedict, 1870), pp. 2-3 and the second, a discussion of the Hunloke/Hunkocke family of Derbyshire in "An Ancestress of the Benedict Family in America" on the first page of the introduction in Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. II, (by Elwyn E. Benedict, 1969).
The first item was discussed in this newsletter (Vol. IV, No. 1, Summer 1996) regarding the Nottingham vs. Norfolk origins of the Benedicts. In that account by Deacon John Benedict which mentioned Nottingham origins, also came the assertion that Thomas Benedict’s father was William. Deacon Benedict’s account also named Thomas’s grandfather and great-grandfather William. It turns out that only the first ascendant generation seems correct; Thomas’s grandfather and great-grandfather were apparently both named George.
The second item refers to the items found in the will of Henry Hunlock[e] of Wingerworth, Derbyshire. Therein is named William Benedicke and Anne Benedicke. The words, at least in the printed version, makes it appear that Anne is William’s wife:
Henry Hunlocke's will dated 13 July 1610 - proved
1 February 1612 includes "...buried near my 1st wife Margaret"; "...Edith my nowe wife"; "...Son Henry"; and also leaves items "to cousins & nephews". Then "To my loving son Mr. William Benedicke forty shillings to buy him a ring for a remembrance. To my daughter Anne Benedicke twenty pounds, at one and twenty years of age. To my son Henry Felles (probably refers to the Latin "filus" - son) twenty pounds at one and twenty ...Rosamond, Elizabeth and Anne Markeham, three of my wife's daughters. Bedding my wife brought from Eaton."1
Henry Hunloke's first wife Margaret Walker 2 was the widow of Nicholas Marsh/Marshe who she had married 27 September 1559. 3 Their daughter Judith Marshe was christened 8 December 1560. 4 Nich'as M'she, Inholder, was buried 25 September 1563. 5
Henry Hunlocke and Margaret (Walker) Marsh were married the first day of February 1564. 6 With this marriage, Henry Hunloke became the stepfather of Judith. Following is the Benedict connection to Henry Hunloke.
Judith Marsh married William Benedict, son of George Benedict Sr. of Tasborough, Norfolk, England. 7 Judith died between 27 June 1598 and 13 July 1610 (Henry Hunloke's will). Judith and William Benedict's daughter Anne was apparently born after 1589 since Ann was not yet 21 years of age on 13 July 1610 (Hunloke will).
The above William Benedicke was the loving son (actually a step-son-in-law) to whom was given forty shillings to buy a ring. Anne Benedicke, called Henry’s daughter, was actually a step-granddaughter.
Anne Benedict, daughter of William and Judith (Marsh) Benedict, married Robert Hagar about 1612. Anne and Robert lived in Bourne, County Cambridge. Bourne is where Anne's father William Benedict died, his will dated 1 September 1614. Anne and her husband Robert were executors of her father's will. William Benedict was buried 4 October 1614 in Bourne and his will was proved 19 October 1614 (P.C.C., 103 Lawe). Robert Hagar's will dated 19 June 1652, was proved July 1652 at Bourne, County Cambridge. Anne (Benedict) Hagar was buried 10 September 1657 in Bourne, County Cambridge. 9
George Benedick Sr.'s will 10 was proved in Norwich, Norfolk, England, 27 January 1576/77. He named wife Jane; children: George, William, Jane Limes, grand daughter Jane Limes; grandchildren Anne Spence, Dauniell Spence, Thomas Spence, and Alice Spence; and daughter Elizabeth Benedicke.
His widow Jane Benedick’s will 11 was proved Norwich, June 18, 1578. Her residence was Hapton. It named children: George Benedick, grandchildren Jane and Johan (?Joan) Benedick; William Benedick; Anne Spence, grandchildren, Thomas Spence, Anne Spence, Alice Spence, Robert Spence and Dauniell Spence; daughter Elizabeth Lullman, grandchild, Jane Lullman; John Hales; Jane Jepcian; daughter Johan Lynd, grandchildren, Thomas Lynde, Raphe Lynd and Jane Lynd. (John Hales and Jane Jepcian have not been identified certainly but may have been children of Jane by a previous marriage.)
Genealogical Summary:
First Generation
1. George Benedict Sr. born in Tasborough, Norfolk, England, died about 1575/1576 in Norfolk, England. He married Jane (___) [?Hales] who died before 18 June 1578 in Hapton, Norfolk. Jane's will dated 11 June 1578 proved 18 June 1578 at court stated she resided in Norwich at 59 Woodstock. George and Jane had the following children:
3 ii. William Benedict
4 iii. Joan Benedict
5 iv. Anne Benedict
6 v. Elizabeth Benedict
Second Generation
2. George Benedict Jr. born about 1542/1545 in Saxlingham, Nethergate, Norfolk, England, died before 16 September 1584 in Saxlingham. His will dated 20 December 1583 was proved
16 September 1584 (Archives Norfolk, book 28 folio 275.) He was a husbandman. He married Thomazine Goche, 7 August 1575 in Tasborough, Norfolk, England. She died after 1 September 1614 when she was named in her brother-in-law William Benedict’s will. George and Thomazine had the following children:
ii. Joan Benedict; born after 1565 in Norfolk. She was underage in her father's will 1583.
iii. Judith Benedict; born in Norfolk, England. named in father's 1583 will & not named in grandmother's will of 1578 so probably born after.
7 iv. William Benedict
3. William Benedict, born about 1545/1550 in Norfolk, England and died October 1614 in Bourne, Cambridgeshire, England. He was a scrivener (scribe or clerk) in London at the time he made his will. He is buried in Bourne, Cambridge, England. He married Judith Marsh, daughter of Nicholas Marsh and Margaret Walker who was christened 8 December 1560 in St. Vedast, Foster Lane, London, England. Judith's mother married Henry Hunloke of Wingerworth Hall, Derbyshire, England after the death of Nicholas Marsh in 1563. Judith was probably raised by Henry and Margaret since Judith was about three when her father died. Judith probably died prior to 1610 since she was not named in Henry Hunloke's will and her husband and daughter were. William and Judith had the following child:
4. Joan Benedict. Born in Norfolk, England. (her marriage information in the Addenda to " Boyd's Marriage Index of Norfolk," says "of Bedingham." She married Robert Lynde\Lind. They had the following children, named in their grandparents’ Benedict wills:
ii. Thomas Lynde;
iii. Ralph Lynde;
iv. Jane Lynde;
5. Anne Benedict. Born in Norfolk, England. Her marriage in the Addenda to "Boyd's Marriage Index of Norfolk", says "of Bedingham." She married James Spence. They had the following children, named in will of Grandmother Jane Benedick 1578.
ii. Dauniell Spence;
iii. Thomas Spence;
iv. Alice Spence;
v. Robert Spence;
6. Elizabeth Benedict. Born in Norfolk, England. She married Ralph Lullman. They had the following child named in will of Jane Benedick as "Bechild" (grandchild) 1578. Elizabeth’s brother William Benedicke's will 1614 says "to each of sister Lullman's children" so there were probably more:
Third Generation
7. William Benedict, born about 1579/1580 in Norfolk, England and died before September 1629 in Norfolk. William was not named by grandfather in will of 1575; but was named by grandmother in 1578 will and by his father in 1583 will.12 He married Elizabeth ____ who after his death remarried at Woolpit Suffolk, England, John Bridgham. Woolpit is on the road directly south from Tasborough in Norfolk. William and Elizabeth had the following child:
8. Anne Benedict, born About 1585/1590 in England, died 1657 in Bourne, Cambridge, England. Anne is named in the will of Henry Hunloke "To my daughter Anne Benedicke twenty pounds, at one and twenty years of age." Anne was the granddaughter of Henry Hunloke's first wife Margaret (Walker) Marsh/Hunloke. She married Robert Hagar. Anne and her husband Robert were executors of her father's will dated 1 September 1614, probated 19 October 1614, Borne, County of Cambridge (Prerogative Court of Canterbury.) She is buried at Bourne, Cambridge, England. Ann and Robert had the following child:
Fourth Generation
9. Thomas Benedict, born about 1617, died 1690 in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut. Thomas was probably born in Norfolk, England as his mother Elizabeth was from Norfolk when she married second, John Bridgum. Thomas came to New England about 1638 along with his step-sister Mary Bridgum whom he later married about 1638/1639 in Boston, Massachusetts Bay. Mary was born about 1621 in England and died about 1721 in Connecticut. She was the stepsister of Thomas. Thomas and Mary had the following children:
ii. John Benedict; (1643-1729) who married Phoebe Gregory.
iii. Samuel Benedict; (1645-1719) who married (1) _____ and (2) Rebecca Andrews.
iv. James Benedict; (1649/50 - after 1717) who married Sarah Gregory.
v. Daniel Benedict; (1651-1723) who married Mary Marvin.
vi. Elizabeth Benedict; (1653 - ) who married John Slauson.
vii. Sarah Benedict; (1657 - ) who married James Beebe.
viii. Rebecca Benedict; (ca 1657 - ) who married Dr. Samuel Wood.
ix. Mary Benedict; (1666-1693/5) who married John Olmstead.
Note: In the above account we have used the various spellings of Benedict and Hunloke interchangeably for clarity. For many more details about Thomas Benedict and his progeny see the Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I (1870 by Henry Marvin Benedict) and Vol. II (1969 by Elwyn E. Benedict). See also, History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield (1930 by Donald Lines Jacobus).
To view a drop chart overview of these relationships, click here.
References:
1. Waters, Henry F., Genealogical Gleanings in England, Vol. 1 (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1969) p. 1047.
2. Edwards, David G., The Hunlokes of Wingerworth Hall, Corrections and additions to pp. ii-vii, Wingerworth Bulletin, 1985-86 (typescript: Sept. 1986), p. 1
3. Littledale, Willoughby A., The Registers of St. Vedast, Foster Lane, & St. Michael le Quern, London, (London, 1903), Vol II, Marriages and Burials, p.1
4. Ibid, Vol. I , Christenings, p. 2.
5. Ibid, Vol. II, Marriages and Burials, p. 123.
6. Ibid, Vol. II, Marriages and Burials, p. 2.
7. Coddington, John I., Benedict, Pedigree, (1956) Society of Genealogists, Whitehead Collection, 14 Charterhouse Bldg. Goswell Road, London, England.
8. Ibid.
9. Benedict, Elwyn E., Ancestry of Thomas Benedict Sr., Aug. 4, 1991 notes sent in correspondence with Roberta Pierson.
10. Ibid.
11. Note 9, above.
12. Coddington, John I., Letters to L. H. Haydon Whitehead, Esq., (1956,) Society of Genealogists, Whitehead Collection, 14 Charterhouse Bldg. Goswell Road, London, England. Coddington believed that William was the father of Thomas of New England, though certain documentation was apparently never found.
Niagara County New
York Benedicts
Contributed by Donna Bennet Barnes,
7548 Tonawanda Ck Rd, Lockport NY 14094-9350, Niagara County
Deputy Historian
I hope the following excerpts from the Niagara County Historian’s files will be of use to my fellow readers:
Amos Benedict listed in 1840 Town of Cambria as a pensioner age 82 or 84. Amos also attended the 4 July 1838 celebration in Lockport. (Lockport Daily News article)
Amos Benedict pension # W23568, wife Mary, former res CT & MA. Born 11-30-1756 Died 1-14-1848. Married 1. Tabitha Ferry 2. Mary Munn.
George R. Benedict died Town of Royalton 31 Dec 1872, born St. Albans VT 8 Jul 1802 resided Genesee Co. NY 16, Town of Royalton 1824. Member of United M.E. Church (Methodist Episcopal Church Records Niagara County Historian’s Office)
Reuben Benedict was murdered 1826 on Slayton Settlement Rd. Town of Royalton. (Card File Niag. Co. Historian -done by Clarence Lewis-former Historian who extracted from newspapers-print so faint paper notation not legible.)
Hiram Benedict was Niagara County Treasurer 1869-1872, residence 10 Olcott St. Lockport. Died 1 June 1898 at home 454 Willow St. Lockport. Buried Glenwood Cemetery Lockport, born 20 April 1837 Town of Cambria. (Glenwood Cemetery Records) Other occupations: Boat builder and saw mill owner in Lockport, oil refining Business in Buffalo, Erie Co. NY. (Family story was that Hiram invented Vaseline but was cheated out of his discovery by the Oil Company.)
George Rice Benedict son of the late George R. Benedict of Royalton, died in Marysville KS 22 Dec 1875 of Typhoid fever age 45. (Lockport Daily Journal 10 Jan 1876)
Hiram Benedict will box 3, petition filed 20 April 1837 Lockport, Niagara Co. NY Jane Benedict appointed adm. 1 May 1837. (Will Index) note: Hiram & Jane had son Noble who died 16 March 1826 age 3y 9m 12d, buried Dead Man's Curve (cemetery).
Hiram Benedict Jr -was reported missing in Buffalo after a grease fire at the Richmond Hotel 18 Mar 1887. (Lockport Daily Journal 3/19/1887) Body Found - Lockport Daily Journal 3/21/1887.
Charity, wife of Daniel F. Benedict died in Lockport 25 May 1836. (Democrat 27 May 1836 pg. 2)
Henry H. Benedict and Luana J. Cole, both of Lockport were married 4 March 1860 by Rev. J.N. Simkins. (Niagara Democrat 3/22/1860)
George R. Benedict married Laurinda, daughter of Elias Stafford (Niagara County Historian Bio File)
Glenwood Cemetery Lockport
Christine R. Benedict buried 29 Oct 1943 Section 12 lot 88-91 grave 10
Elizabeth C. Benedict buried 1 Sep 1924 Section 12 lot 88-91 grave 12
Christiana Benedict buried 14 Jan 1911 Section 12 12 lot 88-91 grave 13
Chestnut Ridge Cemetery
Miranda Benedict died 28 Jan 1839 Green Cemetery, Town Royalton (now Mt. Ridge)
Sarah A. Benedict 64 sister of Mrs. Frederick Hoyer of Tonawanda died 10 a.m. Oct 19 1889 at home in Royalton Center. (Lockport Daily Journal 10/21/1889 pg. 3)
Dr. John H. Allen, author of "Descendants of Electa Mercy Allen and Susan Van Marter, Daughters of Enoch Benedict of Groton, New York" which was published in this newsletter Vol. 4, No. 3, Winter 1997, writes that he has now published and distributed widely his book The Treasure, The Family of James Henry Allen. He has only a few copies left which he expects to give to historical societies and libraries.
Dr. Allen has sent a copy of the pages about the grandchildren of Mercy Benedict and Elisha Allen which we will pass on to our family tree editor for inclusion in our database. Dr. Allen continues to seek further information on Elisha Allen (see query in our last issue). Write to him at 111 South 19 Street, Montevideo MN 56265 or e-mail: <docallen@maxminn.com>. His phone number is (320) 269-6211.
**********
Kenneth Struber Bloxsom has sent family group sheets for the family of Mary Benedict2 ( Thomas1) and John Olmstead (1649-1705) and for one of their daughters, Eunice Olmstead who married Joshua Lobdell. We hope that we can induce Mr. Bloxsom to write a complete article about Mary’s family of twelve children. There is no information beyond the mention of her husband’s name in the first chapter of the Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I (1870 by Henry Marvin Benedict).
Other lines of Kenneth Bloxsom’s are Northrop, Wheeler, Blakeman, Norton, Mallory, and Roberts. These were in most cases, early settlers at New Haven, Milford, Stratford, and Ridgefield, Connecticut. Their offspring spread out through Connecticut and helped settle many other towns. He would welcome correspondence on those lines as well as Benedict and Lobdell. Mr. Bloxsom’s address is 25 Ruby Lane, Stratford CT 06497.
**********
Theresa (Terry) D. Heismann has sent family group sheets for Rebecca Benedict6 (Samuel,5 Isaac,4 Nathaniel,3 Samuel,2 Thomas1) and Samuel Brown; their son Samuel Brown and his wife Clarissa Slayton; and four more generations, including herself and her husband Lawrence Michael Heismann (the Benedict descendant). Terry is particularly interested in the Hazeltine family, connected in the eighth generation. We hope also to have a future article from the Heismanns about Rebecca and Samuel’s first generation. The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I (1870 by Henry Marvin Benedict) does not give the birthplace of Rebecca nor does Terry have it. Rebecca married second, William Dean. Terry and Larry would welcome correspondence about this line at 20817 Marlin St., Orlando FL 32833-3950 or e-mail <heismann@bellsouth.net>. Their phone number is (407) 568-6222.
Symonds, Marilyn and Robb, Esther, Andrew Messenger of Jamaica, New York and His Two Brothers (no city or publisher given, 1965), typescript, 11 pp. in the library collection of The Kalamazoo [Michigan] Valley Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 405, Comstock MI 49053. Bibliography, no index.
Mary Messenger,3 (Andrew,2 Andrew,1) married Thomas Benedict,2 (Thomas1). The material in this typescript is nicely organized in record format. An extensive bibliography, primarily consisting of secondary sources, is included. Citations noted in the text but are not always connected to specific facts.
A cautionary statement on the title page warns, "Attention: Caution should be made as to the authenticity of Andrew1 Messenger and his wife, Sarah, and the dates of the birth of their three sons. These dates were taken from The Messenger Family in the Colony of Conn., by Mrs. Nettie W. Adams, published in 1964, which was first compiled by Mrs. Adams’ mother. The source of the original information is not known. This should be documented."
According to the book the following is the lineage of those of us descended from Thomas Benedict,2 (164_ - 1688/9) and his wife Mary Messenger:
1. Andrew Messenger,1 was born about 1588, probably in Yorkshire, England. According to records kept by Gov. John Winthrop of Boston, Massachusetts, Andrew arrived 26 June 1637 on the ship Hector with a group of dissenters led by John Davenport. He came with his wife Sarah and three children whose names appear below. The name of Andrew Messenger appears in Boston in the "Book of Possessions," page 41, as owner of land abutting James Brown’s half acre. This book is without date. Children all born England:
+2 i. Andrew, born 1615
3 ii. Edward, born 1617
4 iii. Henry, born 1618
2. Andrew Messenger,2 (Andrew,1) born about 1615; died about 1680, Jamaica, [Long Island] married probably at New Haven, Connecticut, Rachel (Manning or Seely) who died after 1688, Jamaica. Andrew probably also died in Jamaica - by 1680. Considerably more detail is given on this man. Children, all born in New England:
5 i. Samuel married 20 April 1669 Susannah Mills.
6 ii. Abigail married Richard Darling and Zachariah Mills.
7 iii. Mary married January 1666 Thomas Benedict and between 1689 and 1693, she married (2) Dr. John Hull of Wallingford, Connecticut. [Her second marriage is not in Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I (1870).]
8 iv. Sarah married Ephraim Palmer.
9 v. Andrew born ca. 1650, probably at New Haven.
Benedicts in Oneida
County, New York 1850 (Continued from
page 27, Fall, Vol. 5, No. 2)
Transcribed by the editor at Western Michigan University,
Archives and Regional History Collections Department, February
1997
The headings and other abbreviations:
Pg = page, Fam = Family number, Dw = Dwelling number, RE = Value
of Real Estate, BP = Birth place, HH = Household, Att. = Attended
school within the year
Pg Fam Dw Surname Given name Age Sex Occupation RE BP Comments
Microfilm Roll No. 562
Kirkland (omitted by mistake from last issue)
146 507 476 BENEDICT O. 66 M Farmer 4000 CT
BENEDICT Clarissa 64 F CT
BENEDICT Caroline 39 F NY
BENEDICT [?Alise] 33 F NY
ROBINSON Robert 17 M Laborer Ireland
161 735 720 BENEDICT Samuel 43 M Gate tender NY
BENEDICT Laura 37 F NY
BENEDICT Jane 16 F NY Att. School
BENEDICT Hariet 13 F NY Att. School
Roll No. 563
Utica, First Ward
307 246 223 BENEDICT Henry M. 40 M Merchant 3000 NY In HH of John LUNEBACHER
44, Innkeeper, b. NY
Utica, 3rd Ward
315 66 81 BENEDICT Charlotte 36 F MA In HH of Theadosh POMEROY, 56 b. MA, boarding house, [this entry repeated from last issue of this newsletter]
BENEDICT Gold 36 M NY In HH of Theadosh POMEROY 389 102 110 BENEDICT Joseph 49 M Lawyer MA
BENEDICT Electa 49 F NY
BENEDICT Joseph M. 8 M NY Att. School
LEWIS Betsy 17 F Eng
417 487 500 BENEDICKE [sic] Eliza 23 F NY In HH of Robert BAILEY, Inn Keeper
Roll No. 464
Whitestown
57 834 649 BENEDICT Cornelia 20 F Ire Appears to be Boarding house with Rachel HOAG, b. VT
59 861 673 BENEDICK [sic] Cornelia 17 F NY In HH Dorothy GARDNER 55, b. NY
61 876 685 BENEDICT Nathan D. 36 M Physician NY ASCI Index gives p. 51, two pages of persons with occupations plus many page of
BENEDICT Emma E. 31 F wife PA people called insane or paupers
BENEDICT William H. 4 M child PA Some pages marked Whitestown Asylum
BENEDICT Clara H. 3 F child PA
BENEDICT Hariet N. 2 F child PA
66 BENEDICT Sarah 40 F Milliner NY Insane, pauper - in Whitestown Asylum
BENEDICT Walton 62 M Farmer NY Insane, pauper - in Whitestown Asylum
80 BENEDICT William 34 M Farmer 3500 NY
BENEDICT Rachel 27 F NY
BENEDICT Charles G. 7 M NY Att. School
BENEDICT Delos 5 M NY Att. School
BENEDICT [?Adelaid] 2 F NY
BENEDICT George F. 6m M NY
BENEDICT Jay 21 M Farmer 6000 NY
HOWEL Howel 24 M Farmer Wales
KELLEY Bridgette 22 Ire cannot read or write
CLARK Thomas 38 M Farmer 2500 Ire
CLARK Catherine 22 F NY
CLARK John 2 M NY
DUGAN John 25 M Laborer Ire
Westmoreland
111 445 404 BENEDICT Henry 31 M Farmer 1200 NY Married within year
BENEDICT Charlotte 17 F NY Married within year
Verona (George Benedict, Assistant Marshall for this town)
123 13 12 BENEDICT Elias 44 M Farmer 4000 NY
BENEDICT Sarah 35 F CT
BENEDICT Lucy W. 17 F NY
STERLING Joseph 39 M Laborer NY
CHOPIN Sidney 15 M Laborer NY Att. School
14 13 BENEDICT Charles W. 48 M Farmer 1800 NY
BENEDICT Lucy 58 F NY
BENEDICT Eliza 17 F NY
BENEDICT S.E. 11 F NY Att. School
BAKER Henry 8 M NY Att. School
127 73 78 BENEDICT George 29 M Farmer 4000 NY in HH Charles BUTTER, 29, b. NY
BENEDICT Sarah T. 25 F NY
74 79 BENEDICT Geo. W. 2 M NY
BENEDICT Alice G. 2m F NY
[?NELCI] Adam 30 M Laborer Germ.
MATSIFF Frederick 14 M NY
146 357 349 BENEDICT J. 20 M [?Mechanical] NY in HH W.N. ABILL, 39, b. NY
[?Mechanical] with many young men in same trade
BENEDICT Nelson 25 M [?Mechanical] NY in HH of W.N. ABILL, not in index
Lee
262 114 107 BENEDICT Benjamin 31 M 1000 NY
BENEDICT Ann 30 F CT
BENEDICT Frances 7 M NY Att. School
277 343 327 BENEDICT James 18 M Farmer NY in HH of Gilbert THOMAS, 38 Farmer, b. NY
Western
307 222 213 BENEDICT John 7 M NY Att. School, in HH of Samuel CLARK, 54, tin & coppersmith, b. CT
312 296 277 BENEDICT John 8 M NY Att. School, in HH of Jasper
LAMPHERE, Inn Keeper
Roll No. 565
Rome Town
26 366 361 BENEDICT William 22 M Clerk NY in HH of [?Iathon] SCOFIELD, 30, grocer, b. NY
Boonville
188 606 606 BENEDICT Daniel 65 M Farmer 3000 CT
BENEDICT Ester 62 F CT
189 BENEDICT Ernestine 41 F NY
BENEDICT Newel 20 M Farmer NY
Vienna
192 31 32 BENEDICT Brainherd D. 14 M NY Att. School, in HH of Sarah
BUTTS, 65, b. CT with Cleopatra BUTTS, 31, b. NY
206 225 217 BENEDICT Elizabeth 43 F 1800 NY
BENEDICT Stephen 17 M Farmer NY Att. School
BENEDICT Wm. 18 M NY Att. School
BENEDICT Daton 13 M NY Att. School
BENEDICT Hariett 10 F NY Att. School
Roll No. 566
Trenton
262 491 487 BENEDICT Martha J. 1 F IL In HH of Charles IYLER, 24, Merchant b. NY
(End of Oneida County Benedicts)
[Some of these addresses may not be current]
Abbreviations in this issue: b. = born d. = died mar. = married
Two-letter zip code abbreviations are used for states
BENEDICT/ BAXTER
Need proof that Adah BENEDICT b. 24 May 1772 South Salem, Westchester Co. NY daughter of Isaac BENEDICT and Elizabeth BURCHARD was the Adah BENEDICT who m. Thomas BAXTER of South Salem.
—- Donna M. Barnes, 7540 Tonawanda Ck. Rd., Lockport NY 14094. e-mail: <Niagara@prodigy.net>.
MESSENGER/ MANNING/ SEELY/ BENEDICT
Has anyone solved the question of whether the mother-in-law of Thomas BENEDICT,2 (Thomas,1) (164- to 1688/9) was Rachel MANNING or Rachel SEELY? She d. after 1688. If so, would like to have parents and references.
—— Mary Alice Benedict Grindol, 7421 Wausau Trail, Gaylord MI 49735 <benedictnz@aol.com>
BENEDICT/ JONES
Who were the parents of Miriam JONES b. 22 Jan 1762 in either in NY or CT who m. (Rev.) Stephen BENEDICT (1755/6 - 1833)? She d. 4 Aug 1822 and is buried in Greenville, Greene Co. NY though she is mentioned on a family stone in Cicero Center Cemetery (formerly Stone Arabia Cemetery), Cicero Center, Onondaga Co. NY.
—— See previous query
Book Review - The Benedicts Abroad...
Benedict, Clare (ed.), The Benedicts Abroad - Five Generations 1785-1923 - Being Scattered Chapters from the History of the Cooper, Pomeroy, Woolson and Benedict Families - With Extracts From Their Journals, as well as Articles and Poems by Constance Fenimore Woolson (Ellis: London, 1930), 650 pp., illust., no index. Available for $16 (cost from an antique store) plus postage. Write to: Mary Alice Benedict Grindol, 718 S. 35th St., Galesburg MI 49053. Please state any relationship to the author. In case of duplicate requests, the book will go to the nearest relative.
This book, spied by a friend at a local antique shop, tells stories from an era and a social life like that experienced in the current film Titanic. Clara Woolson Benedict and her daughter Clare Rathbone Benedict made 35 voyages to Europe before Clara stopped keeping a journal. The daughter put together The Benedicts Abroad (her mother’s own title) from the journals and letters to and from various family members and friends. This book, called Part III (what were the parts I and II?) forms a connected narrative of their European experiences from 1894 until 1923, the year of Clara’s death.
Clara (Woolson) Benedict, the daughter of Charles Jarvis Woolson and Hannah Cooper (Pomeroy) Woolson was the widow of George Stone Benedict8 (George Amos,7 Amos,6 Aaron,5 Daniel,4 Daniel,3 Daniel,2 Thomas,1) born 2 May 1840 and married 31 January 1867. He died between 1870 and 1894, apparently. Although an obituary for George is published in the appendix of this book, no dates are given - his birth date is derived from The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I (Henry Marvin Benedict, 1870), page 383 (hereinafter G of BA, Vol.I). Likewise, no date of birth is given for Clara in either the genealogy or this book - not even on the memorial tablet for Clara in Rome, pictured on page facing 599. She died in Venice 2 March 1923. After a gondola voyage to the island of St. Michele for a vigil at her favorite shrine at St. Marks’s, her last church, she was buried in Rome in her sister’s grave, under the ancient wall, near the Pyramid of Cestius.
George Stone Benedict, a graduate of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio was the only son of George A. and Sarah (Rathbone) Benedict. According to G of BA, Vol.I, he studied law, and was admitted to the bar July 1861. In that year he connected himself with the Cleveland Herald as local editor, and so remained until he entered the navy, serving on the Delaware, Unadilla, and Lackawana, in blockading squadrons on the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico. He was promoted to assistant paymaster in the regular navy; served during the [Civil] war, and resigned after the peace. January 1866, he became part proprietor of the Cleveland Herald [his father was also part proprietor] and was still connected with the firm.
In this book it states that he remained in association with his father at the newspaper until "his early and tragic death."For more about George Stone Benedict's "early and tragic death" click here
His wife and daughter Clare were left a sizable fortune which enabled Clara and Clare to travel abroad and live the life of luxury described in these pages. Clara’s letters and the letters to her that supplement the narrative are laced with names of the then famous, rich, and royal. Examples follow:
"Bad Liebenstein, Thuringia, July 22nd [1894].
"I wish you could see the view from our balcony and have a sniff of this pure mountain air. ... This is the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, and Clare, who has all the ramification of Royalties at the tip of her tongue, keeps me posted as the different ones appear. Clare has always had a fancy for genealogical research among the Royalties, and she is as clear in it all - through the most remote, tangled-up Anhalt-Dessau-Schaumburg-Lippe-Schleswig-Holstein-Mecklenburg-Schwerin crowds - as I would be in naming Queen Victoria’s children! I get but little beyond that without mistakes.
"One day, when walking on one of these lovely wooded paths, at a sharp turn, we ran against the Princess Charlotte. [In a footnote: Princess Charlotte of Prussia, daughter of the Emperor Frederick, wife of the Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen.] She had no hat on, a big bunch of wild flowers in her hands and a little dog at her heels. She looks very young.... last night we went to a simple, delightful concert given under her patronage for the benefit of a hospital she wishes to establish here for poor children. After the audience were all seated, the Princess with her royal party walked through her pretty grounds adjoining the Curhaus and entered the concert room. With her were her husband, sister, and brother-in-law, Crown Prince Constantine of Greece. [In a footnote: Afterwards, King Constantine of Greece.]"
"Franzenbad, July 2nd, 1895
"How many of our friends have so many houses that they do not know what to do with them! And yet they talk ‘poor!’ The St. Levans with St. Michael’s Mount, a villa at Pau, and a house in Grosvenor Square, the von W—-s, whose superb house in Vienna is really beyond description; and yet they have country-places also. Did I tell you about the beautiful dinner there? The dining-room is truly superb, such china, silver, glass and flowers and such things to eat and to drink! And such charming, handsome people!... On our last visit, Frau von W. took us into her little breakfast-room, done in light blue and white, over-looking the exquisite garden... Think of a house having three dining-rooms!
"... The voyage on the ‘Trave’ was the most unpleasant that we have ever had - ship overcrowded, cabin hot and weather bad. So much for our first August crossing! We had Klafsky [footnote: Katharina Klafsky, Wagnerian singer] on board, and one night there was a delightful concert."
Others trips had problems, too. For example:
"Easter Monday [1903]...
"The boat trip from Cadiz to Tangiers was trying... as we are never ill, we endured it, and Tangiers was so wonderful that we were repaid a thousand times. There you see all those tribes, living as they have always done - such a strange mixture - Moors, Jews, Moslems, Berbers - following their own customs and religions, indifferent to onlookers... Tangiers is at least two thousand years behind the age, which delighted us. It is far more wild and foreign than Egypt.... We secured a good guide, and mounted on two strong mules, each of us having as escort a handsome Arab, we went everywhere, seeing everything. There was a little spice of danger - one scare which ended in great splendour for us. On one of our rather remote excursions, we came suddenly - from a high hill - upon a hundred armed Arab soldiers. Our guide looked frightened, and rapid words were exchanged - back and forth - between our Arabs and their guide, and then one Arab advanced and addressed one of the soldiers; he returned with a beaming face, reporting that these soldiers had been sent to Fez to protect some money and letters which had been dispatched there, and that they were on their way back to Tangiers. So we joined this escort, and entered Tangiers in style, drums beating; and, surrounding us, these queer soldiers in their white, blue and yellow nightgowns, and pink, green and black drawers. Everybody gathered to see us - on pavements, windows and house-tops - and I believe many thought we were captives!"
The book has interwoven European history: the death of Clara’s beloved Queen Victoria in 1901; the succession of her son Edward VII and the events surrounding his coronation, at first aborted; the impact of the Titanic’s sinking in 1912; and the news received in peaceful Franzenbad in 1914 [though the date is not given in the book] of the assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austrian throne and his wife. Clara wrote:
"...our life of peace was changed in a flash to one of mixed rejoicing and anxiety. We rejoiced in a way that our beloved Austria need fear no longer the danger the Archduke’s morganatic wife and her children would surely have brought to the land, and yet we had a perfect horror of the Serbian methods, allowing this ambitious woman to make the safe expeditions in the city with all the flags flying, cheers and homage to her of an Empress knowing she would persuade her husband to take the fatal drive, as she did...
"But this murder did not much disturb our life... and all Austria took a long breath, never dreaming of what was to follow..."
World War I followed. For a time in her journal, Clare seemed to remain oblivious to the gathering storm, but later she wrote:
"Byreuth [?Austria], July 27th, 1914
"This musical media is not an easy place for letter-writing ... Since I wrote last, our beloved Austria has been through much and is now to be plunged in war. How well we understood the dangers of Bosnia, for our three days in Sarajevo were filled - even then - with dangers; it was in the atmosphere, and I did not feel safe until entirely out of the country... It was to the very building where the Archiduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife went that we were summoned the morning after our arrival to explain who we were and why we were there to the chief of police. It was Clare’s fluent German, and the meeting with a polite Viennese officer, that convinced the chief that we were there as sightseers only and not as spies.
"The poor dear Emperor... Even this fearful war, they write us, he faces bravely, with the old courage that has never failed him.... I earnestly hope, as all nations are averse to universal war, that something will be done to prevent it. These reports of war which sweep over Europe (particularly here, where so many Royalties are gathered) like a fierce thunderstorm have nearly stopped the performances. Some of the singers and orchestra men were called back to Vienna, as they belonged to the reserve. But other fitted in and all goes on; except that the Royalties and all the Austrians left at once.
"London, August 4th, 1914
"While we were in the midst of our wild, difficult flight, we had so many things to face and do, such demands upon our brains for quick decisions, upon our feet for quick action! And it came so suddenly that all our strength was needed for action and not for tears or complaints."
Then follows an account of their flight from Byreuth to London and the difficulties encountered. Armed with letters to the stationmasters at Nuremberg and Frankfort and a little English gold, they attempted to leave by train but the trains were stopped. Their letter to the stationmaster in Frankfort saved them and they found a place on the one train leaving at 1:46 a.m. for Cologne. They were stopped all along, the whole line being guarded, also every bridge and tunnel. In Cologne, a familiar porter promised to secure their trunks for them in the hotel but insisted that they leave again on the next train [?same train] for the Belgian frontier. There a French soldier ordered all out and the passengers had to walk over the frontier, carrying their hand luggage - a walk of a half an hour. They transferred many times before getting on the boat that carried them across the English Channel. Clara called it an exciting crossing: "— searchlights thrown upon us from every direction, and the whole channel alive with gunboats." Clara and her daughter went from London to Liverpool where they sailed on the Olympic on 23 August, Their departure delayed due to the movement of British troops. By 5 September they were at 37 Madison Avenue, New York.
That Clara Woolson Benedict was a talented journalist and letter-writer is apparent, but one must also credit the editorship and skills for compilation and arrangement to her daughter Clare. Following is an account from Mrs. Benedict’s journal about how Clare came to the craft. Her mother wrote on 31 December 1905 from Locarno [Switzerland] after Clare’s first story was published in the Atlantic:
"At a big dinner we attended in America (three years ago) an elderly gentleman, an Englishman... all during dinner he talked to Clare... When the gentlemen joined the ladies in the drawing room at the end of the evening, this same Englishman made his way directly to my side saying, ‘If what that daughter of yours tells me is true - that she has never written anything - then no time is to be lost, for she can write and she doesn’t know it - and if she finds it out too late, she will be miserable!’
"[He went on to say] ‘You don’t believe me any more than she does - but I am a physiognomist and I never make a mistake, and I tell you that the best thing that could happen to Miss Benedict would be to wake up and find herself penniless - for I have read another thing in her face and that is that she is a good daughter - and in order to give you comforts, she would discover this hidden talent.’
"... All the way home, Clare and I talked the matter over, and although we both called the man "perfectly crazy," as Clare had never even written compositions and disliked letter writing, yet we could not forget his words. So I bought a pad and pencil and asked Clare to try something just to convince us that he was wrong. But when she brought me her little beginnings, I was dumb with astonishment; I felt a certain something in them that seemed to make me feel I had a new Clare, and yet, after all, it was just my Clare! She wrote an essay, a story, and a little fantasy.
"I urged her to send them to Mr. Alden, editor of Harper’s, and to tell him the whole story, asking him to read the things for her aunt’s sake and tell her the truth because he knew that her bread and butter did not depend upon it. His answer settled the matter. He heartily congratulated her on the first steps, saying that he was not sure but that one of the pieces could be sold just as it stood, and advising her to arm herself for the best places in contemporary literature!
"So - between times - Clare has tried; do not think for a moment that it has been easy; she has worked very, very hard to attain even this little, but it was a kind of hard work she has enjoyed, I tell her that if she can never do more, she has already done enough in giving me such ‘thrills.’ She shuts her door and writes, and then comes out and I read - all is new and unexpected to me and you can fancy my delight. We both felt that our life of wandering and entertaining in the dear old house and in New York, was too beautiful and rare to cease because of what might be but a dream. So we continued our usual life. In the end, we were very glad that Harper did not take her first story, for people would have a certain right to say that my sister’s old friend, Mr. Alden, had shown Clare favours. She arrived, as a stranger, at the doors of the Atlantic and Century and they - the editors - took her stories entirely upon their merits...."
According to The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Volume II (Elwyn E. Benedict, 1969), page 392, Clare Rathbone Benedict lived to be 90 years of age. She died unmarried, 31 October 1961 in Lucerne, Switzerland where she had been a resident 20 years. From G of BA, Vol. II we quote:
"She left a $2,700,000 trust fund. Ohio law controlled all legal action over the trust. She was a distant relative of the Mather and Crowell families, well known Northeastern Ohio families. Her family had lived in New York State.
"The Cleveland Trust Co. which was trustee under Miss Benedict’s trust and executor under her will, distributed the estate. During her lifetime the income from the trust went to her. Of the original eighteen friends and relatives named as beneficiaries of the trust, eight were living at her death..."
The remaining estate after these eight were paid, went to various institutions and favorite charities of the deceased. The only authorship attributed to Clare Rathbone Benedict in the genealogical account is The Benedicts Abroad.....
Since Clare died without issue and her father and grandfather had only sisters, location of near relatives may be difficult. One aunt, Mary Williams Benedict (born 1845) married William Crowell. We would like to see this book placed in the hands of any relatives who comes forward, or at least with someone who appreciates a good story about a romantic time.
Book Review - Ketcham/ Ketchum
Chance, Dorothy Jane, The Ketcham/ Ketchum Family in America 1635 - 1991 (Baltimore: Gateway Press, 1991). Hard cover, 196 pages, bibliography and index. $19.95, apparently postpaid. To order send a check or money order to: Dorothy J. Chance, 18504 Wellesley Court, Sonoma CA 95476.
Edward Ketcham,1 born about 1590 in England, came to Massachusetts in 1635, just two years before Thomas Benedict,1 the immigrant ancestor of most American Benedicts, was at Huntington, Long Island. This genealogy follows the lines of two grandsons, Nathaniel Ketcham of Huntington and Nathaniel Ketchum of Norwalk, Connecticut. Spousal ancestors are traced including Taylor, Burt, Nash, and Clark - names that, along with Ketcham/ Ketchum, frequent the indexes of Volume I (1870) and Volume II (1969) of The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America and the index to this newsletter. Because the Ketcham/ Ketchum families’ early residences so closely parallel that of the Benedicts’ it is not surprising. What is surprising (and will be disappointing for many) is that Benedict appears so little in the index of the Ketcham/ Ketchum book!
The few occurrences point to marriages within the same immediate family. Children of Thomas and Rebecca (Ketcham) Taylor,2 (Edward1) married Benedicts. Rebecca Ketcham2 was born on Long Island about 1645. There is no record of Rebecca’s death since, according to this book, Danbury records burned during the Revolutionary War. Thomas Taylor, the son of John Taylor and Rhoda [Tinker - see this newsletter Vol. IV, No. 3, p. 42] was born in Windsor, Connecticut about 1643. He died in Danbury January 1745, age 92. He was listed in the 1670 census of Danbury where he was an original patentee and the first representative to the General Court.
Thomas Taylor (Jr.), born 26 November 1668/9; died 1758 at age 90; married Phebe daughter of James Benedict,2 (Thomas,1). From the Vol. I of G of BA were learn that "Phoebe" was born 1682 and probably married Thomas Taylor.
Another son, Capt. Daniel Taylor, born 1676; died 1770 at age 94, married for his first wife Elizabeth Benedict whose parents we’ve been unable to ascertain. The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Vol. I names Samuel Taylor the probable husband of Phoebe Benedict’s sister Elizabeth. Maybe Elizabeth,3 (James,2 Thomas1) really married Capt. Daniel Taylor. If there was a Samuel Taylor, he likely had different parents (not named in this book). Daniel and Thomas Taylor Jr., and two generations previous, are named in History of Ancient Windsor, Vol. II (Stiles, Henry R., 1803) but there is no Samuel.
A third son, Nathan Taylor, born 1682; died 1782 at age 100, married Hannah Benedict,3 (Daniel,2 Thomas,1). Her parents are not stated in the Ketcham/ Ketchum book but can be found on page 365 and 366, G of BA, Vol. 1 as can the next.
Rebecca Taylor, a sister to the three previously named brothers, married Daniel Benedict,3 (Daniel,2 Thomas,1).