Births, continued:

Margaret Brown [born] 1-25-1742. [Daughter of Daniel Brown and ?, born in Orange, New York. Married Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841). Mother of Mary Benjamin and thus maternal grandmother of Hannah E. Ford, bible owner. Died 17 Jan 1837 in Granville, Licking, Ohio.]

Benjamin Ford [born] 7-19-1809 [in Licking Co., Ohio. Son of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), brother to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Died 2 Apr 1891  in Licking Co., Ohio.]

Cynthia [Ann] Ford [born] 10-20-1806. [in Licking Co., Ohio. Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), sister to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Died 4 Oct 1892 in Barry, Pike, Illinois.]

Drusilla Ford [born] 4-11-1817 [in Licking Co., Ohio. Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), sister to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Died in 1850.]

Florilla Ford [born] 9-20-1804 [Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), sister to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Married Allen Griffin and died 1872 in Superior, Nebraska.]

Hannah Ford [born] 12-22-1798 [Original owner of this bible. Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863). Married Jonathan N. Benjamin. Died 15 Jan 1891.]

Jane Ford [born] 10-19-1811 [in Licking Co., OH. Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), sister to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Died 28 Apr 18887 in Union Twp, Licking, OH.]

Margaret Ford [born] 5-17-1800 [in Marietta, OH. Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), sister to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Married Benona/Benoni Ingraham and had 3 children: Ruben, Thomas, Mary Ann. Died in Fairview, Fulton, Illinois; lived in Fulton Co. for many years.]

Mary Ford [born] 1-15-1814. [in Licking Co., OH. Daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), sister to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Died 20 May 1895 in Page, Licking, Ohio.]

Phineas Ford  [born] 11-1-1772 [in Farmington, Connecticut to Thomas Ford and Hannah Rowlandson. Father of Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner, husband of Mary Benjamin. Died 7 Apr 1839 in Licking Co., Ohio.]

Thomas Ford [born] 8-1-1802 [in Licking Co., OH. Son of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), brother to Hannah Ford Benjamin, bible owner. Married Catharine __ and had six children: Benjamin, Lorenzo, Wesley J., Cinthia/Cyntha. Died 2 Jan 1883 in Brimfield, Peoria, Illinois.]

More to follow next Monday!

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) “Notes on the Life and Family of JONATHAN BENJAMIN, 1738-1841,

Frontiersman and Revolutionary War Veteran” edited by Robert Benjamin Kilduff, Chicago, Illinois, 1943, typewritten copy owned by author.

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

There is a sadness in my heart today because on Father’s Day,  I have no dad here to visit or call, none to cook dinner for, to hug, to tell him I love him. There is no father-in-law, nor grandfathers, or great-grandfathers left in my family either. I am thinking of them so much today though, so it is a Sentimental Sunday, and I appreciate all that they gave to me of themselves over the years to make me who I am today. I feel that one truly and fully understands the sacrifice of a father for his descendants once one has their own family. Even after being a parent for so many years, I still think of the events, wisdom, love, genetics, even quirks imparted by these paternal ancestors, and the light bulb goes on and I say, “Wow. They cared so much that they would even ___.”

This care and love extends to their participation in the military, too. Most were not fathers when they enlisted, but they already had that ‘take-care-of-the-future” thought strongly in their minds- enough to risk their very lives for it. Thankfully, none of my paternal ancestors gave their life in a battle to protect our freedoms, although some were wounded, either physically or mentally. All were changed by the horrors of war, but still went on to become fathers, hoping that future generations would be able to live more peacefully.

How can “Thank you, I love you.” ever be enough to say on this day, or ANY day???

A father is… PROUD.

A father is… a TEACHER.

A father is… LOVING.

A father is… FUN.

A father is… a HELPING HAND.

A father is… PROTECTIVE.

A father is… a PROVIDER.

A father is… A BUDDY.

A father is… SURPRISING.

A father is… LOVE.

Thank you, Dads.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family photos in possession of author.

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images, or to post images on other websites.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Sorry I have been MIA, but there has actually been a lot of action around here! Family things, of course, but I have also been working on an article to be published this month. I will share more once it is in print, and am really excited since it has to do with my great-great grandfather, Edward B. Payne, that I have been so obsessed with researching.

I thought I could get back to the blog once the article was submitted and image permissions secured, but then remembered- on Friday- that Fri-Sun was the Southern California Genealogical Society’s famous “Jamboree.” Thankfully they are on Pacific time, so I had not missed any of the sessions as I quickly registered. “Jamboree” is a fabulous conference, but even MORE fabulous is that they offer free live-streaming (partially underwritten by Ancestry.com) of one session for each block of time during the three days. (This year they also offered a for-pay streaming event of their DNA Day on Thursday. Recordings may also be available to SCGS members, which is worth it for the access to databases and archived webinars for members. Webinars are free at the time of broadcast.) I try to work in as many sessions as I can, and today, while listening to D. Josh Taylor talking about the excellent resources at the DAR Library, my mind circuits were hoppin’. He mentioned that the resources of the library were behind database walls, so Google and other search engines cannot pick them up. The light bulb went on- among other items posted, the above image of the bible page of Hannah Ford Benjamin, already posted in Sentimental Sunday:Jonathan Felix Benjamin, will probably only have her name picked up, because it is in the caption.

I already type out full names, and if there are initials or nicknames, try to make sure my post includes that name alongside the surname, so Google can find all those variations. (I know it seems redundant, but it is important to be smarter than the search engines.) The above transcription, being typed, may not be picked up, at least until image recognition is  improved. So I thought I would list all the information as search engine bait, and add a few details about the people listed, so that other researchers in the future can find their ancestors. It will need to be broken up into multiple posts since I am adding information. I am also including marriages and deaths with the names as listed, for clarity. All my notes are in brackets: [  ].

An ‘Amanuensis’ is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

Please note that this page has been transcribed, so error may have occurred in transcription, plus the bible was printed in 1837 so some of these records were recorded long after the fact.

This is just one page from a typewritten copy given to me by family back in the 1960s entitled:

“Notes on

the Life and Family of

JONATHAN BENJAMIN, 1738-1841,

Frontiersman and Revolutionary War Veteran,

________

Compiled from Local Histories

and Family Records,

with a List of Some

of His Descendants.”

This information was collected and edited by Robert Benjamin Kilduff, with the mimeographing sponsored by Bert R. Benjamin. It was printed in Chicago, Illinois in 1943, and passed on to my McMurray family in Iowa.

BIRTHS, MARRIAGES, and DEATHS as RECORDED in the BIBLE of HANNAH FORD BENJAMIN

(Bible printed by H. & E. Phinney, Cooperstown, (N.Y.), in 1837, and now [1943] owned by Orletta Hatch Foreman.)

Births:

Arestine P. Benjamin [born] 4-13-1843 [Daughter of Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford. She married James Polk Hatch, and their daughter, Orletta, had the bible in her possession when the history was written in 1943. Arestine died 12-3-1914 in Newton, Jasper, Iowa.]

Cordelia A. Benjamin [born] 9-12-1830 [Daughter of Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford, married William Dixon and died in Oregon City, Clackamas, Oregon on 18 June 1905.]

Dorinza E. Benjamin [born] 12-18-1823 [Daughter of Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford, name also spelled Derinza; middle name was Emaline. Born in Licking Co., Ohio. She married __Ryan, child Mabelle b. 1862. Dorinza died in Peoria County, Illinois, on 17 Feb 1903.]

Edson V. Benjamin [born] 1-29-1863. [Son of Jonathan Felix Benjamin  and Hannah E. Marple, b. in Ohio. Married Martha Jennie Munger, and died on 23 Mar 1901 in Washington state.]

Emma A. Benjamin [born] 8-5-1872 [in Iowa to Jonathan Felix Benjamin  and Hannah E. Marple. Married Herman B. Lufkin and had a son, Percy Lufkin, about 1895 in Iowa. She died 18 May 1953 and is buried in Newton, Iowa.]

Jonathan Benjamin [born] 10-14-1739 [per bible, but 14 Oct 1738 in Goshen, Orange, New York per other research. Revolutionary War soldier, married Margaret Brown. Maternal grandfather of Hannah E. Ford, bible owner. Died 26 Aug 1841 in Licking Co., Ohio.]

Jonathan Benjamin [born] 10-11-1797 [per bible, but 10-12-1799 per other research. Middle initial probably N. Son of David Benjamin and Elizabeth__ -maiden name unknown. Married Hannah E. Ford, who owned this bible and recorded some of this information.]

J(onathan) F(elix) Benjamin [born] 10-3-1838. [Son of Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford; born in Licking Co., Ohio. Married Hannah E. Marple, six children: Edson, Roland E., William -2 of them?- Emma, and Orlin Dell Benjamin. Died Mar 1913 in Jasper Co., Iowa.]

Mary Benjamin [born] 3-22-1777 [Lycoming Co., Pennsylvania, to Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841) and Margaret Brown. Married Phineas Rowlandson Ford and was the mother of Hannah E. Ford, the owner of the bible.]

Roland E. Benjamin [born] 10-16-1868 [in Iowa to Jonathan Felix Benjamin and Hannah E. Marple. Married Sarah __ and had three children: Evert Benjamin, Viola Benjamin, and Don Benjamin. Lived also in Minnesota and Wisconsin.]

S(ylvanus)R(ufus) Benjamin [born] 2-20-1819 [other research states birth year as 1821, in Licking Co., Ohio to Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford. Married Sarah Ann Palmer and had four children: Cynthia Adeline Benjamin, Frances “Fannie” Drucilla Benjamin, Jonathan Elliott Benjamin, and Hannah Melissa Benjamin. Died 30 July 1892 in Newton, Jasper, Iowa.]

Syntha A Benjamin [born] 3-2-1828 [Daughter of Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford. Has old headstone with name as Syntha, newer stone with Cynthia. She was only 16 months old when she died.]

William R. Benjamin [born] 10-4-1866 [son of Jonathan Felix Benjamin and Hannah E. Marple. Probably married Elizabeth __ and lived in Newton, Jasper, Iowa, at 1900 US Federal census.]

More to follow next Monday!

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) “Notes on the Life and Family of JONATHAN BENJAMIN, 1738-1841,

Frontiersman and Revolutionary War Veteran” edited by Robert Benjamin Kilduff, typewritten copy owned by author.

2) Edited slightly for clarity 6/13/14.

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Sorting your research is a daunting project but necessary to tell the stories. I have been deep into sorting and compiling- all to culminate in an exciting event, which is why the blog has been so quiet lately. But I digress… and will share soon.

A good review and sort will help one to see patterns, aid in putting two and two together now that you know more, and help you to find where there is conflicting information. One tip that I find really helpful is to title my files in a standard way. (See my previous posts Tuesday’s Tip- Let your computer create a timeline! and Tuesday’s Tip-Organizing Computer Files.)

Looking through my files lately has helped me realized that some dates were inconsistent, or just couldn’t be correct- very easy to see when they are side by side. It also made me realize as I sorted through that some things that needed to be together weren’t, and others that should have been were not, so I corrected that. More lightbulbs went on as I saw these new files ‘automagically’ sorted together.

While working on my exciting project and trying to identify people in a wedding party picture, I realized that I had never seen a picture of Harley R. Wiley, though I had a hunch he might be in the photo. Harley was a professor of pharmaceutical (sometimes called ‘pharmacal’ in those days) jurisprudence at the University of California. He lectured at both the Berkeley and San Francisco campuses, and had an office in San Francisco while residing in Berkeley.

He wrote a book called, “A Treatise on Pharmacal Jurisprudence with a thesis on the law in general,” The Hicks-Judd Company, San Francisco, 1904. The book was self-published, as he was a pioneer in the field and there were, at that time, no textbooks on pharmacy and the law.

Harley also wrote numerous poems, many published in the literary magazines of the day, or as fillers in other publications. He wrote with the idea of nature as spirit. Some of his poems include, “The Soul of a City,” “Star of Bethlehem,” “The Desert,” and “Dust and Flame.” Harley’s California Biographical Index card lists Appleton’s Booklovers Magazine, The Overland Monthly and Out West magazine, and The Raven-Western Field as periodicals for which he had written.

Harley spoke to many groups, with the historian James Redpath commenting, after an address by Wiley, that he had “eloquence and good sense in rare combination.”

In early California, land speculation was popular. At one time, Harley owned 2,000 acres.

Although one would think that being a published poet, lecturer, professor, land speculator, and lawyer would be enough, Harley had another claim to fame- he was the brother of Ninetta (Wiley) Eames Payne (Springer), who raised Charmian Kittredge; Charmian would later marry Jack London, the author. Ninetta worked with Jack London closely, managing many of his business affairs. Ninetta, like Harley, traveled in California literary circles as she too was a writer and host of many summer camps for (adult) intellectuals. Edward B. Payne, a writer, minister, lecturer, and philosopher, was Ninetta’s second husband, and he was very close to his in-laws Harley and Villa. Harley participated in many of these same gatherings, whether they were just family or for the intellectuals of the Bay Area or Sonoma County; many of the events included Jack London.

Learning more about Harley corroborated a story that Ninetta told of the family’s 1865 migration to Utah and then California, in which their wagon train was attacked. The party was split and the other  group was massacred by the Indians, with the Wiley family barely escaping. Ninetta was sometimes ‘flowery’ in her descriptions, so some researchers had wondered how much of the story was true. Reading about it in Harley’s biography- collateral kin research- makes us realize that the horrors of the story were real, not imagined nor exaggerated.

A bit of the Harlen Rupert Wiley vitals-

– He was born 5 Apr 1855 in on a farm 14 miles outside Oshkosh, Wisconsin to Jacob Scott Wiley and Catherine Growall, the youngest of seven children.

– Harley lived in Santa Barbara, Monticello, Redding, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Francisco, California. There are censuses and city directories that seem to have conflicting information for a certain date, but that is because he had offices in other cites at times.

– Graduating from Christian College at Santa Rosa, California, in 1877 with an A.B. degree after just three years of study, he had also taught bookkeeping, arithmetic, and algebra while himself a student.

– Harley also graduated from the University of California, Class of 1897, L.L.B. Hastings College of the Law, San Francisco.

– Becoming a Christian while at Christian College, Harley was ordained a minister around 1877 when he graduated.

– Harley married first Sarah Prudence Seawall about 1878. They had two children together: Lucille, one year old in the 2 Jun 1880 census (although 1900 census states she was born Sep 1878), and a son born in Dec 1879, who was 6/12 months per same census, but name not recorded. In 1900 Sarah was listed as Prudy Wiley in the census, listed as a widow and living with her daughter. Her son was still alive, and their daughter Lucille was a bookkeeper, a skill that Harley probably taught her. Harley remarried and is found in the 1900 census, so apparently the couple had actually divorced.

– His second marriage was to Villa Chappell 26 Dec 1885 in Redding, California. They had two children- Villa Elizabeth Wiley, born Nov 1888, and Esmond F. Wiley (or Don Esmond Wiley), born 1890.

– An excellent description of Harley’s early life may be found in the  “Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,” pages 535-6, 1891- see below for links.

– Harley died 17 Sep 1921 in Alta Bates Sanitorium in Berkeley after a protracted illness, at the age of 65. We have been unable to find where he was buried. (Many of those in this social group were cremated, so that may be the case with Harley as well.)

The ‘Wiley House’ and cottages that were owned by Harley and Villa Wiley at 2545 Benvenue Avenue until 1921 are listed as Historic Landmark #199 in Berkeley, California.

PS- I really can’t tell if it is Harley Wiley in the wedding photo that started all this. But it was great to learn more about him and have an opportunity to tell his story.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) “A Treatise on Pharmacal Jurisprudence with a thesis on the law in general”  may be read online at   https://archive.org/details/treatiseonpharma00wile. Accessed 05/31/2014.

2) Harley R. Wiley biography in “Memorial and Biographical History of Northern California,” page 535-6,  Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1891. See http://books.google.com/books/about/A_Memorial_and_Biographical_History_of_N.html?id=m8FQAQAAIAAJ. Accessed 05/31/2014.

3) 7) California Biographical Index Card for Harley R. Wiley, 1906, through California State Library, now on Ancestry.com. Accessed 5/31/14.

4) “The Graduate” yearbook of the University of California Medical Center, 1914: http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.31378008244504;view=1up;seq=1. Accessed 05/30/2014.

5) Berkeley Landmarks by Susan Dinkelspiel Cerny, Berkeley [California] Architectural Heritage Association, 2001. Accessed on 5/31/14: http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/citycouncil/2002citycouncil/packet/121002/2002-12-10%20Item%2025%20Staff%20Report%20Backup%2010.pdf

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Edson Benjamin was the son of Jonathan Felix Benjamin(1838-1913) and Hannah E. Marple (1842-1900). He was a first cousin to our Hannah Melissa Benjamin (1854-1932), who married Frederick Asbury “F. A.” McMurray.

If you are a Malissa Benjamin-F. A. McMurray descendant, Edson is a distant cousin. How distant? Edson’s father, Jonathan Felix, was the brother of Hannah’s father, Sylvanus Rufus Benjamin (1821-1892). He was Dr. E. A. McMurray’s First Cousin Twice Removed, because E. A. was the direct descendant of a first cousin, but two generations distant.

To calculate your own relationship to Edson, count the number of generations you are from Dr. McMurray, add that to 2, and that will show how many times removed you are from a first cousin to Edson. For example, if you are a grandchild of Dr. McMurray, you are 2 generations from The Doctor, thus a first cousin 2+2= 4 times removed.

Why research distant relatives?  The ‘FAN Club’, or “Friends, Associates, Neighbors” can help us find information about our own relatives when they are mentioned in other obituaries, biographies, newspaper articles, etc. We all share some of the same DNA too, so learning more about distant rellies can tell us a bit more about ourselves, in addition to more about the family members who came before.

Edson and Jennie’s tombstone is in the Odd Fellow’s Cemetery in The Dalles, Wasco County, Oregon, USA.

More of Edson’s sad story in another post.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Using a chart is an easy way to determine relationships. You will need to know your common ancestor, which in this case is Jonathan N. Benjamin (1799-1876), the father of Jonathan Felix and Sylvanus Rufus Benjamin. Just Google “Genealogy Relationship Charts” for dozens of examples, or use the About.com Genealogy Relationship Chart. If you have an Ancestry.com membership, under the person’s name will be “View relationship to me.” If you are the home person in the tree, clicking here will give you the relationship without having to use a chart.

2) “Rellies” is an affectionate term used by family historians to describe their relatives.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

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