It is fitting to add this post today, on the anniversary of Edward B. Payne’s birthday, July 25, 1847.

Sorry that I haven’t been posting much due to real life, which sometimes interferes with genealogy. 😉

I have also recently had an article about Edward B. Payne (fondly known as EBP in our house) published in The Russian River Recorder, Spring 2014, Issue 124, which is the journal of the Healdsburg Museum & Historical Society, Sonoma County, California. The article took a lot of time to write, mostly because I was supposed to distill this complex man and his long life into 1200 words. I just couldn’t do it. I was so happy that they expanded the issue and I was able to use 1500 words. I will be posting the article soon.

The Healdsburg Museum and Historical Society  currently has a wonderful exhibit called “Visionaries, Believers, Seekers, and Schemers: 19th Century Utopian Communities of Sonoma County.” The community founded by Edward B. Payne, “Altruria,” although short-lived, was “… a glorious failure” according to some writers.  The Russian River Recorder has four articles about Altruria, plus numerous articles about the other three Utopian communities founded in Sonoma in the late 1800s. They are a very interesting read.

There were no known images of Altruria, as far as my research or that of others, until I contacted the Huntington Museum a couple of years ago. In some of Charmian London’s scrapbooks, the archivist found two images of Altruria. I requested a copy of the whole page, to get the images in context, and was surprised to see that there was also one image torn from the page- I would love to know more about that missing image! (I would be matching up the torn back of any loose photos with the remains in the scrapbook, but alas, the archivist states there are no loose photos.) These images too will get posted here on the blog, but I do need to get permission from the Huntington first; they did give their kind permission to publish in the journal above. It has been exciting to email back and forth with curators, archivists, and librarians for this research. They are all unsung heroes in my mind.

When Edward B. Payne could no longer preach due to his ‘pulmonary affliction’ (he acquired tuberculosis when he lived in New England), he earned a little income from lectures he provided throughout the Bay Area of California.

Lots more to come on EBP.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) The Healdsburg Museum has a wonderful exhibit of the four Sonoma County Utopian communities through Aug. 3, 2014, plus their June 2014 The Russian River Recorder details these communities. See http://www.healdsburgmuseum.org for more information. They are planning an online video tour of the exhibit, so watch for that soon.

2) Images from family photo archives.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

It was July 2, 1776 in hot Philadelphia, and a group of delegates to the Second Continental Congress had just committed a treasonous act- they had declared their thirteen American colonies as sovereign states, independent of Great Britain. That treasonous act included a unanimous vote for independence, using a document that had been drafted by a group of five, including Thomas Jefferson, the primary author.

Most of the delegates to the Continental Congress signed the document that same day, but it was not until July 4th that the remaining delegates approved the document that we now know as the Declaration of Independence. (Some historians believe it was not signed by all until August 2, 1776.)

The Declaration was read to the public on July 8th, 1776, accompanied by a parade of the battalions participating in the Revolutionary War, which had already been going on for over a year. Gun salutes were punctuated by cheers from the crowds who believed in the revolution. (I assume Loyalists were not in attendance… at least, not for long.)

John Adams, one of the instigators of revolution, wanted us to celebrate our independence on July 2nd. In a letter to his wife Abigail Adams, on July 3, 1776, he wrote:

“The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.”

A large celebration did not occur until the first anniversary of the signing. In Philadelphia on July 4, 1777, fireworks, bonfires, 13-gun salutes from harbor ships, patriotic music, candles in the windows of houses, and church bells sang of our new country,  and its promise that:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.“

There are many Revolutionary War heroes in our family, and probably many more than we know. Wartime is particularly difficult when it takes place in ALL the areas that people live, as it did during the Revolution- few areas were spared from battles or troop movements. It was a brother vs. brother war as well, because so many of the colonists, including many of our ancestors, were native to England. Following are brief bits of info about three of our Revolutionary War heroes. More details about their lives will be found in upcoming posts.

Daniel-Hemphill (George A. Roberts) Family:

Capt. Audley Paul (1728-1802)- Born in Ireland, he served from 1754 in the French-Indian War through the close of the American Revolution. He was an Ensign in the Virginia Colonial Militia in 1758.

McMurray-Benjamin-Horn Family:

Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841)- Private, received pension for his service from Licking County, Ohio.

Heinrich Horn (1758-1845)- Born in Germany, Heinrich has a very interesting story that will take a bit to tell in a future post. He did receive a Revolutionary War pension.

I do not know of any portraits of our own Revolutionary War ancestors- any who survived into the 1840s may have had their picture taken.

Time Magazine has a wonderful webpage, Faces of the American Revolution,  that includes some portraits of Revolutionary War soldiers. Additionally, Maureen Taylor, “The Photo Detective,” has written two books that include similar portraits and the stories of these heroes: “The Last Muster: Images of the Revolutionary War Generation” (Vol. 1) and “The Last Muster. Vol. 2  Faces of the American Revolution.” Her article “Ghosts of the Revolution”  about these 80+ year old soldiers was published in the DAR’s American Spirit magazine. She also had a Kickstarter campaign that raised money to make these books into a film, “Revolutionary Voices”: A Last Muster Film.

It is really amazing to see the faces of those who fought and endured so that the United States of America could be a free and democratic country. Two hundred and thirty-eight years later, today is a good day to celebrate, and remember that freedom is never free.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Declaration_of_Independence. Accessed 7/4/14.

2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States). Accessed 7/4/14.

3) See details of the painting “Pulling Down the Statue of King George” at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johannes_Adam_Simon_Oertel_Pulling_Down_the_Statue_of_King_George_III,_N.Y.C._ca._1859.jpg. There is a fair amount of ‘artistic license’ in this painting. Accessed 7/4/14.

4) Time Magazine: Faces of the American Revolution at http://lightbox.time.com/2013/07/03/faces-of-the-american-revolution/#1. Accessed 7/4/14.

5) Maureen Taylor’s website: http://www.maureentaylor.com. Her books are available in bookstores as well.

6) “Ghosts of the Revolution”: http://www.maureentaylor.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/ghosts_of_the_revolution.pdf

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Some of this post is repetitious, but it is important to make sure that it is clear as to which Jonathan, etc.

Please see previous posts in this series for greater detail.

From analyzing the bible records, it seems that the bible originally belonged to Hannah E. Ford, who recorded births, marriages, and deaths of her parents, siblings, and grandparents long after the events; she was not present at many of them. The bible may have then been passed on to her daughter Arestine Pricilla Benjamin. Arestine’s daughter Orletta M. Hatch probably inherited the bible from her mother, and that is who had the bible when this record was transcribed and published.

Marriages:

Jonathan Benjamin (1738/9-1841) married Margaret Brown (1742-1837) on 3-10-1760.

Mary Benjamin (1777-1863) married Phineas [Rowlandson] Ford (1772-1839) on 4-5-1797.

Deaths:

Arestine [Pricilla] Benjamin [died] 12-3-1914 [in Newton, Jasper, Iowa. [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.]

Cynthia A. Benjamin [died] ?-20-1829 [month is July. 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.]

Jonathan Benjamin [died] 8-26-1841 [Revolutionary War soldier, married Margaret Brown. Died in Licking Co., Ohio.]

Jonathan Benjamin [died] 9-3-1876 [Jonathan N. Benjamin. Son of David Benjamin and Elizabeth__ -maiden name unknown. Married Hannah E. Ford, whose bible records this information.]

Mary Benjamin [died] 10-15-1863 [Daughter of Jonathan Benjamin (1738-1841) and Margaret Brown. Married Phineas Rowlandson Ford and was the mother of Hannah E. Ford, the owner of the bible.]

Margaret Brown [died] 1-12-1836 [Wife of Jonathan Benjamin, maternal grandmother of Hannah E. Ford, bible owner.]

Hannah [E.] Ford [died] 1-15-1891 [Bible’s original owner. Married Jonathan N. Benjamin.]

Phineas [Rowlandson] Ford [died] 4-7-1839 [Husband of Mary Benjamin and father of Hannah E. Ford, bible owner.]

Charles [E.] Hatch [died] 3-23-1937 [Child of Arestine Pricilla Benjamin and James P. Hatch.]

James P. Hatch [died] 11-8-1932 [Son of Alvah Hatch (1817-1884) and Eleanor Eliza McCumsey (1820-1893). Husband of Arestine Pricilla Benjamin and father of Orletta Hatch who owned bible in 1943.]

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.

Please contact us if you would like a higher resolution image, or wish to post this information on any other website.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Benton L. Hatch [born] 6-4-1869 [Son of James P. Hatch and Arestine P. Benjamin; brother of possible third owner of bible, Orletta M. Hatch Foreman. Died 06 Dec 1953, buried in Newton, IA.]

Charles E. Hatch [born] 4-2-1867 [Son of James P. Hatch and Arestine P. Benjamin; brother of possible second owner of bible, Arestine P. Benjamin, and Orletta M. Hatch Foreman (third owner). Never married. Died 23 Mar 1937, buried in Newton, IA.]

James P. Hatch [born] 1-6-1845 [Son of Alva Hatch and Eleanor Eliza McCumsey; husband of possible second owner of bible, Arestine P. Benjamin, and father of Orletta M. Hatch Foreman, possibly third owner of bible, one of his six children.  Died 08 Nov 1932, in Newton, IA.]

Jasper L[ewis] Hatch [born] 7-19-1879 [Son of James P. Hatch and Arestine P. Benjamin; brother of possible third owner of bible, Orletta M. Hatch Foreman. Married May Smith in 1901 and they had two children: Ermyne Olivia Hatch and Loris Irene Hatch. In 1925 Jasper is not listed in IA census and May was living with her 2 daughters; she was listed as married. She died in 1926. Jasper married second Minnie Gertrude __ . Jasper died 03 Oct 1969, buried in Newton, IA.]

Orletta M. Hatch [born] 5-17-1887 [Daughter of James P. Hatch and Arestine P. Benjamin; possibly third owner of bible. Married Ernest A. Foreman and they had at least one child, Helen, or she was from a previous marriage of Ernest since they did not marry until sometime between 1930-1940. Letta died 15 Oct 1972.]

Roenia L. Hatch [born] 4-14-1882 [Daughter of James Polk Hatch and Arestine Pricilla Benjamin, sister of Orletta Hatch. Married Charles Chollett (1878-1912). Their children were Bernice Irene Chollett, Beulah May Chollett, Imogene Pricilla Chollett, and Maurice James Chollett. Roenia died 02 Mar 1984.]

William A. Hatch [born] 1-10-1881 [in Iowa, son of James Polk Hatch and Arestine Pricilla Benjamin. Married Grace Ethelyn Duvall (1889-1951). Brother of Orletta Hatch Foreman, who was probably third owner of bible after their mother Arestine passed it on to her. Lived in Pleasant Valley and Greeley, in Weld Co., Colorado, where he died 06 Sep 1961.]

George Hopkins [born] 2-8-1845. [Took a bit of research to determine who George was- he was the son of Mary Benjamin (1814-1895) and Leonard Hopkins (1813-?). Mary was the daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863), thus the sister of Hannah E. Ford, the original bible owner. George served in the Union Army and married Susan L. __; they had nine children. George died 18 Apr 1906.]

Hannah E. Marple  [born] 12-3-1842 [in Ohio. Wife of Jonathan Felix Benjamin (1838-1913), mother of Edson V. Benjamin, William R. Benjamin, Roland E. Benjamin, William Benjamin, Emma Benjamin, and Orlin Dell Benjamin. She died 27 Mar 1900 in Jasper County, Iowa.]

 Elias Scuman [born] 4-8-1842 [Unable to find any information on a person related to the family with this name/spelling, or even spellings that are close. Would be very interested in more information if anyone has it.)

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.

2) Ancestry.com and Find A Grave to verify and add information for most of these ancestors, especially those not closely related to me. Some of the information, such as children, should be verified.

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

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Columbus, Ohio is the county seat of Franklin County, the capital of Ohio, and currently the largest city in the state. It was once in what was called, “Ohio Country,” controlled by the French. Controversy over control of the territory was one of the causes of The Seven Years’ War in Europe and the French and Indian War in the Americas. George Washington was sent to survey the territory in the 1750s, and it officially became a part of the British Empire with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The British tried to prohibit migration west of the Appalachians to prevent further conflict with the native populations, but colonists continued to seek new lands.

The Ohio Territory became a part of the Virginia Military District after the American Revolution. The Northwest Territory was established in 1787 as resolution of various colony claims to the territory. Settlers from the east coast moved to the territory, but that caused many years of conflict with the native peoples and European traders. Our ancestors were some of the folks who moved west and settled in this area while it was still a frontier.

Ohio achieved statehood in 1803. The location of the state capital was challenged, and moved back and forth. The state legislature determined a compromise was necessary: a new capital city would be built with excellent transportation access (mostly rivers then) and in the center of the state. Named for Christopher Columbus, Columbus, Ohio was designed from the ground up as a capital. The dense forestland on the “High Banks opposite Franklinton at the Forks of the Scioto most known as Wolf’s Ridge” was cleared to become the new town in 1812.

In 1845, George Maxwell Hopkins was born to Leonard Hopkins (1813-?) and Mary Ford (1814-1895) in Union Station, Licking County, Ohio, the county just to the east of Columbus and Franklin County. Mary Ford was the daughter of Phineas Rowlandson Ford (1772-1839) and Mary Benjamin (1777-1863). The Ford and Benjamin families were frontier people, had been neighbors in various places, and there had been many marriages between the families. Mary’s father Phineas and other family members, such her maternal grandfather, Jonathan Benjamin, had served in the Revolutionary War.

George was a person I had not known about until I began transcribing the Hannah E. Ford bible- I had never heard of a George Hopkins, born 2-8-1845, in the Ford-Benjamin family. (See previous and future posts- start here for the 4 part series:  Amanuensis Monday: The Bible Record of Hannah Ford Benjamin.) The fact that his birth was recorded in the bible suggests that he was close to one of the bible owners. Since he was the only Hopkins listed, I assumed he would be a married in person, but not close enough to have all his children recorded in the bible. His birth year helped me zero in on the generation- he was two years younger than  Arestine Benjamin, who was probably the second bible owner. So I started looking at the daughters in that generation, but no success in finding George. I then realized that I needed to look one generation back, at Mary (Benjamin) Ford’s daughters, as maybe one of them had married George. I did not have much on their husband’s and families- when to stop researching the next and next and next collateral ancestor???

Research on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch helped to fill in a bit about this collateral relative. Although this research is not adding much to my direct line, it has helped me to know a bit more about one of my distant aunts, George’s mother, Mary (Ford) Hopkins. Just knowing and telling the stories is important too.

I have as yet been unable to find George and his parents in the 1850 census. The next information found was his enlistment in the Union Army on 30 Sep 1861. He was enlisted by Lt. Stevenson at Newark (Ohio), for a three year enlistment. His enlistment states he was 18 years old, but his birth record in the bible indicates he was just 16- another young soldier, going off to a glorified war. He had blue eyes, auburn hair, and a fair complexion, per his enlistment record. He joined the  18th Ohio Infantry, Company F and would have served in Nashville, Tennessee, Chattanooga, and the Chickamauga campaign. When his enlistment expired, he was discharged 30 Sep 1864.

George M. Hopkins married Susan L. ___ in 1865. I wonder if they had been sweethearts, and her letters kept him going through the horrors of war?

George was working as a railroad employee at the 1870 US Federal Census. One of the Ohio 18th’s duties was guarding the rails of the south, so he may have learned his trade during the war. He and Susan were living in Union, Licking County, Ohio, with their two young children.

By 1878 George and Susan had moved the family to Columbus, Ohio. He is found in city directories from 1878-1905. In 1900 he was listed as a Supervisor of the B & O (Baltimore and Ohio) Rail Road.

On 18 Jun 1890 (? hard to read), George applied for an Invalid Pension. He may have moved to Morgan, Ohio, by 1902. He died 18 Apr 1906 at the age of 61, and is buried in Green Lawn Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio. His widow applied for a pension on 2 May 19(??).

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Hannah E. Ford Bible Transcription, in possession of author.

2) Enlistment: Ancestry.com. U.S. Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M233, 81 rolls); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C. Accessed 6/17/14 on Ancestry.com.

3) 1870 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Union, Licking, Ohio; Roll: M593_1233; Page: 435B; Image: 431; Family History Library Film: 552732. Accessed 6/17/14 on Ancestry.com.

4) 1880 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Columbus, Franklin, Ohio; Roll: 1017; Family History Film: 1255017; Page: 424A; Enumeration District: 039; Image: 0189. Accessed 6/17/14 on Ancestry.com.

5) 1900 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Marion, Franklin, Ohio; Roll: 1266; Page: 26A; Enumeration District: 0038; FHL microfilm: 1241266. Accessed 6/17/14 on Ancestry.com.

6) Pension Index: National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000.Original data: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T288, 546 rolls. Accessed 6/17/14 on Ancestry.com.

7)  Cemetery: Source Information: Ancestry.com. Web: Columbus, Ohio, Green Lawn Cemetery Index, 1780-2010[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Accessed 6/17/14. Original data: Green Lawn Cemetery Burials. Columbus, Ohio. Joe and Dick Fleshman. http://greenlawn.delaohio.com/greenlawn/Greenlawn/index.htm: accessed 09 February 2012.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.