Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family treasure owned by one of Irving’s daughters.

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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.

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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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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.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.