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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How about these HATS??!!??

The young man in the center two pictures along the sides may be Herman Green.

Bottom row, second from right is Estelle Stampfer with maybe Charlie Ledwidge? (They married in 1904.)

In the picture on the upper right, the man standing on the left is probably Sam Stampfer. The woman sitting in front of him may be Ann Green. (The woman looks a lot like Rose (Brave) Green, her mother, but this is probably the daughter because of her age in ~1901.)

Closeup of Bess Dorothy Green in a wonderful hat.

We thought the young woman on the left was Bess Dorothy Green, but because we have noticed another woman who looks very similar, this needs to be confirmed.

Rebecca Ann Lutz (1841-1916), daughter of Jeremiah Lutz and Charity Ann McConkey, married David S. Russell (1833-1897) in Medina County, Ohio on 6 Nov 1860.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family records.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Matilda Louise MacElvey (or Matilda L. McKelvey) was born possibly in Massachusetts or more probably in Missouri on 27 Jan 1823 to unknown parents. At age 16 she married Eleazer John Beerbower (or John Eleazer Beerbower- German folks used their two names interchangeably throughout their lives, and he also was known as E.J. Beerbower); he was 23. They married 07 Mar 1839, and one year later, at age 17, she became the mother of twins on 01 Apr 1840. Son Polaski only lived 10 days, but his twin Caspar, named after Eleazer’s father and grandfather, survived longer, though only to 9 months and 25 days. The twins were buried in Dovel Memorial Cemetery, Pickerington, Fairfield, Ohio, so probably were also born in the area.

In 1842 the family was still living in Ohio where son Samuel T. Beerbower was born on 10 Nov 1842. He may have been named in honor of his paternal uncle, Samuel Beerbower (1824-1890). In August of 1844, at age 21, Matilda gave birth to son George who only survived 3 days; he also is buried in Dovel Memorial Cemetery. How sad it must have been to lose three precious children so early in life!

Healthy children, thankfully, then followed every few years to join their sibling Samuel T. Beerbower: Stephen Russell Beerbower was born in 1845 in Ohio; James M. Beerbower on 02 Mar 1848 in Ohio; Edgar P. Beerbower was born 28 Jun 1849 in Pinkerington, Fairfield County, Ohio. (He is your ancestor if you are descended from Anna May Beerbower Helbling; he was sometimes called Edward P. Beerbower instead of Edgar.)

In 1849, the family moved to Delaware, Delaware County, Ohio; in 1850, they uprooted again and moved to Marion County, Ohio. Eleazer was a saddle and harness maker there, a trade he had learned as a young man.

A daughter was finally born into the family: Mary Emma Beerbower, born 10 Mar 1852 in Marion, Ohio, followed by another son, Eleazer John Beerbower, named after his father, on 10 May 1858, also in Marion County, Ohio.  Matilda had given birth to a child every 1-3 years previously, before this six year gap. Matilda was just 35 when their ninth child was born.

In 1866, John (Eleazer John Sr.) moved to Indianapolis for a new job, but Matilda and the family stayed in Marion for one year before joining him. We have been unable to find a record of the family in the 1870 US Federal Census in Indianapolis, but the indexing of the name has some pretty creative spelling; hopefully they will turn up one of these days. They were found again in the Indianapolis 1880 census, with John working in the upholstery business.

Matilda’s husband John died at age 67 in Indianapolis on 24 Oct 1882.

The biography of son Samuel T. Beerbower states his widowed mother was living in Indianapolis in 1883. The Indianapolis City Directory of 1885 lists Matilda as the widow of Eleazer J., living at 5 Vine St.

Matilda is found again in the 1900 US Federal Census taken 9 June 1900. She was the head of household and living at 605 East Pratt St. in Indianapolis with her divorced son, Edgar Peter Beerbower (our ancestor- they got back together though and remarried- a story for another day). The census also notes that Matilda was born in June 1828, had 9 children, 6 still living, and that her parents were born in Maryland.

Matilda (McKelvey) Beerbower died about 5 weeks after the census, on 18 Jul 1900, at the age of 77. She had suffered from heart trouble for a number of years. (Understandable with the loss of so many loved ones!) She was laid to rest in Crown Hill Cemetery, Section 32, Lot 202, on 21 Jul 1900. Two of her dear sons, Edgar Peter and Stephen Russell, were later buried in the same lot.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Polaski  Beerbower Memorial on Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=42557087

2) Caspar Beerbower Memorial on Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Beerbower&GSiman=1&GRid=42557101&

3) Samuel T. Beerbower on Find A Grave, which includes a bio of his parents. Have been unable to yet find the source of the FAG info. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=88047453

4) 1860 US Federal Census: Source Citation: Year: 1860; Census Place: Marion, Marion, Ohio; Roll: M653_1006; Page: 326; Image: 123; Family History Library Film: 805006.

5) 1880 US Federal census: Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 295; Family History Film: 1254295; Page: 227B; Enumeration District: 113; Image: 0156.

6) 1900 US Federal census: Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Indianapolis, Marion, Indiana; Roll: 387; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0044; FHL microfilm: 1240387.

7) US City Directory for Indianapolis, Indiana: Source Information: Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1821-1989 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

8) Matilda L. MacElvey Beerbower Memorial on Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=BEE&GSpartial=1&GSbyrel=all&GSst=17&GScntry=4&GSsr=2641&GRid=45869801&

9) “Found Dead in Bed, Mrs. Matilda Beerbower, an Old Resident of the City,” in The Indianapolis Journal, July 19, 1900, Vol 50, Number 200, Page 8, Column 1.  https://newspapers.library.in.gov/cgi-bin/indiana?a=d&d=IJ19000719.1.8&srpos=11&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN-+Beerbower—–#. Indiana newspapers may also be found on the Chronicling America website.

10) The History of Marion County, Ohio…Leggett, Conaway, & Co., Chicago, 1883, pages 531, 555-6: https://archive.org/stream/historyofmarionc00legg#page/n5/mode/2up 

11) See our Beerbower Family Tree Page by clicking this link.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

It’s Ladies Day in the Green Family Photo Album series. (OK, one cigar-chomping man too. Not sure who he is or how he got on that page.)

The woman in the white dress on the left above may be Bess Dorothy Green. The pose, seen frequently in the album, may be to show off the Gibson Girl-like very slender waist so fashionable at the time.

The woman on the left with glasses may be Bess Dorothy Green.

This is one of the pages that makes a family historian crazy- are the two women in the close-ups the same woman? We thought they were both Bess Green at different ages, but a picture on the previously-posted page 36 (Five Family Photos for Friday) is either a double exposure or there are two very similar-looking women in the family. (No story about twins in the family that we know of.) As far as one of the pictures being from an earlier date, this album seems to have photos from approximately the same time period, though we can’t know that for sure since we recognize so few of the persons. Anyone with other Green family photos, please let us know if you can help solve this mystery.

Possibly mother and daughter above? But who???

Minnie Weast per name listed in album- unknown how she might be related.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family oral history and Green Family Photo Album.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.