Just kidding, thankfully, but it had crossed my mind that I might die of a broken heart because there is just not enough time to research, write, and post about ancestors. Genealogy is so all-consuming for me. My mind is about to explode with all there is to get out to the world from my research, but other things unfortunately must take a higher priority. Life is particularly busy right now, but I have to remember the above quote by my favorite artist, scholar, author, craftsman, anarchist, renaissance man, and … (William Morris was really incredible). I have to remind myself that I am living the future we are making, so it is all part of the journey, and will maybe be a part of the stories that are told about me in the future.

I hope to be back posting some short pieces this week, then on to bigger posts. A family history blog is tough though, because every time I post, I check references to see if I may know more that might prove the previous information false, or there may be another nagging question I need to answer and research to make the post more understandable or complete. Genealogical research is like potato chips- one bit leads to another tidbit, and another and another. And since there are 2 parents for each generation, the possibilities double with each new find! I do have a lot of drafts but they all need some work before publishing. So please bear with me- there will be more blog posts because I so want to share more family history!

Most people have at least one beloved ancestor that they feel close to even once that person is gone. I have a stoic grandmother proud of her family history, who always said that we come “from strong pioneer stock, and can do anything we set our minds to do;” a sweet grandmother and grandfather that let me ride with them in their convertible on a trip to the lake; a smart aunt who inspired me to attend college and always keep educating myself; and a great-grandmother who always insisted we eat some of her potato salad that, as a picky eater, I loathed, but I did anyway, because she was my dear great-grandmother and it was a privilege to know her. Genealogists usually have even more of those beloved relatives, but they are often ones who passed away long before the family historian was born, even many, many years before.

Edward Byron Payne is one of my beloved ancestors that I never got to meet. He died the year before his great-grandson, my father, was born, so the connection seems ever more distant. My dad’s parents and grandparents knew him well, and shared some of their stories, though it was never enough for me. I have been researching this man since I was about 15, and it just seems that the more I learn about him, the more questions I have about him.

Edward B. Payne, fondly known as EB or EBP in my household, was the third (known) child of Joseph Hitchcock (“J.H.”) Payne and Nancy S. Deming. J.H. Payne was an ordained Congregational minister, living and serving in Ohio when their daughters were born- Cornelia in 1837, and Ruby D., in 1839. There was a long break before another known child was born- perhaps there were others who did not survive, a sad reality in those days. The Rev. Payne was farming and preaching in Middletown, Vermont, in 1846-47, when Edward was born, although I have been unable to find any record of EBP’s birth in the town vital records.

Interestingly, Edward was born 25 Jul 1847, just 19 days after his maternal grandfather, Harvey Deming, died in Middlebury, VT. (The circle of life…) “Edward” has been a family name now used for at least four generations, starting with (Dr.) E.A. McMurray, in honor of Edward B. Payne. (Dr. McMurray was EBP’s grandson.)  I can only find one earlier Edward: Stephen Edward Payne (1821-1883), the brother of EBP’s father. The “Byron” part of EB’s name probably was in honor of his mother’s brother, Byron Deming (1826-1920), as well as the poet in this educated, literate, family.

In 1850 EBP was just 3 years old and living in Fremont, Lake County, Illinois, along with his sisters Cornelia and Ruby D., their parents, and Nancy’s mother, Ruby (Sturtevant) Deming. His father is listed as a farmer, with $1000. in real estate value; he also was serving as a minister per other records. The 1850 US Federal Census was taken on 7 Dec 1850. Little Ruby, named after her maternal grandmother and just 10 years old as listed in that census, died sometime later that month. (Her death record has not yet been found, nor her grave.) Although the holidays were not celebrated in a grand way back then as they are now, it must have been a somber Christmas, instead of what would normally be one of the most joyous times of year for a minister.

Finding the family ten years later in the 1860 census has been a challenge, with no success as yet. They were in Salem (or Liberty) and Wilmot, Wisconsin 1858-1865 per Rev. Payne’s Necrology. Apparently they were just one step ahead of the census taker…

More to come about Edward B. Payne.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Photo of a photo of Edward B. Payne that hung in my grandparent’s home.

2) 1850 US Federal Census, Joseph H. Payne, head of household: Source Citation: Year: 1850; Census Place: Fremont, Lake, Illinois; Roll: M432_114; Page: 79A; Image: 163. Ancestry.com, accessed 3/31/14. JH Payne was listed as a farmer with $1000 in real estate value, and born in New York. His wife was born in Vermont, and mother-in-law Ruby (Sturtevant) Deming born in Massachusetts.

3) Joseph Hitchcock Payne- Necrology, Congregational Yearbook, 1886, Congregational Churches in the United States National Council, Volume 1886. Published by Congregational publishing society, 1886. Page 30.

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

I first read about this challenge in a new blog that I found through GeneaBloggers, called GenealogyRules. I had not heard about this challenge, so of course Googled it, like any addicted genealogist would do. Turns out it was a challenge from Ancestry.com’s Amy Johnson Crow on one of her Ancestry.com blog posts. Of course, I am late to the party, since it is March, not Jan. 1- always seem to be running late to everything- but liked the idea. I think I have posted every week since I got the technical part of the blog going, but often multiple posts about the same ancestor; this will up my game to introduce at least one new ancestor per week.

Of course, I had to follow the link in Amy’s post to No Story Too Small, where her Mar 29 2014 post ends with, “Any story you capture — however you capture it — is more than what you had before.” Oh my, how profound! That really fits well with our short-attention-span-theater younger folks, plus us busy older folks who just have so much going on in life. Telling a person’s life story in only a paragraph or two is painful to me, as it seems they should have so much more. Sometimes, though, all you may know about the person fits into a paragraph or two and that is it. So I will try to write more often about those folks. I like how some bloggers also include what they plan to research next- I do have to remind myself that I will NEVER know it all about a person who is long gone, but I should get that information down somewhere for others to see.

Check back tomorrow for who we are going to introduce you to this week- he has been an obsession of mine to research for many, many years!

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Yggdrasil, the World Ash, from old Norse mythology, is “a central cosmic tree whose roots and branches extend to various worlds. Various creatures live on it.” per Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree. Image public domain. Thank you, dear son, for being interested as a young teen in the Vikings and their mythology- it is something I may not have read about otherwise.

2) Click above links to access the blogs discussed.

Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Websites like Find a Grave (FAG) have been incredible resources for genealogists- we have found cousins and long lost living relatives, information is available to help as ‘clues’ to be verified for one’s own research, locations within plots can help determine family relationships, as can inscriptions on tombstones or cemetery records, and it is comforting to know where family is “quietly resting.” Writing memorials for FAG has also been a wonderful exercise to analyze and reassess what I think are known facts, and to tell a person’s story. It is also a way to tug at one’s heartstrings, as one learns of the love and heartbreak of a family.

Today my work on Wittemburg Cemetery memorials on FAG tugged at my heartstrings.

If you are a descendant of Dr. E. A. McMurray, Jonathan Felix Benjamin would be a some-number-of-greats Uncle. He was the g-g-uncle of Dr. McMurray, so you can figure your relationship from there.

Jonathan Felix Benjamin was the fifth child of seven known children born to Jonathan N. Benjamin and Hannah E. Ford Benjamin. He lived the first part of his life in Burlington, Licking Co., Ohio, until he moved west with other family members at age 29, in 1867 when they all migrated to Jasper County, Iowa.

In 1870, Jonathan F. and his wife were living with his father and mother on a farm in Malaka Twp, Jasper Co., Iowa. The parents had just $150 in personal estate, but Jonathan F. and his wife had $6500 in real estate and $1000 in personal value.

Jonathan F. and Hannah E. Marple had married in 1863 (probably in Licking Co., Ohio where their first child was probably born) and had six? children: Edson Benjamin (b. 1864), Roland “Rollie” E. Benjamin (b. 1867), William Benjamin (b. 1867), possibly another William (b. 1870), Emma Benjamin (FAG #44708133, b. 1872, married Herman B. Lufkin), and Orlin Dell Benjamin (b. 1878). An “Infant Benjamin, son of J.F. and H. E.” is buried in the same cemetery as his parents, and died in 1873- this may be one of the Williams? though dates do not align.

By 1885, the Iowa State Census shows the family living in Twin Lakes, Calhoun, Iowa. They may have returned to Jasper Co though in 1895, where there is an Iowa State census record that has Jonathan’s age a few years off.

In 1900, Jonathan F. was listed as head of household in the census for Newton (City), living at 748 Main St. at age 60 with his son Orlin, daughter Emma, her husband Herman Lufkin, and their 4 y/o son Percy. Jonathan was listed as a house painter who had been out of work for 2 months, but he did own their home. 

The part that tugged my heartstrings, after seeing they had an infant buried in Wittemberg Cemetery, was Jonathan’s listing as to marital status in the 1900 US Federal Census. He was listed as married for 37 years, but his wife was not listed on the page- she had died on 27 March 1900, and the census had been taken on 08 Jun 1900. How hard that must have been to face life without one’s partner of 37 years! Just that simple little “M” in the marital status column, with a “37” alongside for the years married, but no wife listed after his name, tells a story. He just couldn’t be a widower yet- in his heart, he was still married.

(OK, the cynical and fact-based folks will say that it could have been the census taker’s error, or that of the person giving the information. But maybe not…)

Jonathan was living alone in 1910, when he may be found in the Federal Census renting on Third St. in Newton, still working as a house painter but not out of work. He was listed as a widower in this census.

Jonathan F. Benjamin passed away in March of 1913, age 74. He is buried in Wittemburg Cemetery alongside his wife Hannah E. (Marple) Benjamin.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) From “Notes on the Life and Family of JONATHAN BENJAMIN, 1738-1841, Frontiersman and Revolutionary War Veteran,” Hannah (Ford) Benjamin Family Bible Transcription. (Bible owned by Orletta Hatch Foreman at the time of these “Notes.”) Type-written copy given to me back in the 1960s, when I was too young to know much about documentation. I believe it was written by the Benjamin family historians, and reading it and later finding information about these Benjamin ancestors in a book got me totally hooked on genealogy.

2) 1870 US Federal census, Jonathan Benjamin head of household: Source Citation: Year: 1870; Census Place: Malaka, Jasper, Iowa; Roll: M593_398; Page: 342A; Image: 324; Family History Library Film: 545897.

3) 1880 US Federal census, John F. Benjamin, head of household: Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Twin Lakes, Calhoun, Iowa; Roll: 330; Family History Film: 1254330; Page: 285B; Enumeration District: 025; Image: 0313.

4) 1885 Iowa State Census, Jonathan F. Benjamin: Quigg, Gary, comp.. Iowa, State Census 1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.

5) 1895 Iowa State Census, Jonathan F. Benjamin: Ancestry.com. Iowa, State Census, 1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003. Original data: Iowa. 1895 Iowa State Census. Des Moines, Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa.

6) 1900 US Federal Census for Jonathan F. Benjamin, head of household: Source Citation: Year: 1900; Census Place: Newton, Jasper, Iowa; Roll: 439; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0030; FHL microfilm: 1240439.

7) 1910 US Federal Census for Jonathan Benjamin: Source Citation: Year: 1910; Census Place: Newton Ward 1, Jasper, Iowa; Roll: T624_407; Page: 14A; Enumeration District: 0032; FHL microfilm: 1374420.

8) My Find A Grave memorial #57139950 for Jonathan Felix Benjamin: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57139950.

9) My Find A Grave memorial #57139890 for Hannah E. (Marple) Benjamin: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57139890

10) My Find A Grave memorial #28129737 for Infant Benjamin: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28129737.

11) US GenWeb- Iowa listings for Wittemburg Cemetery, Jasper Co: http://iagenweb.org/jasper/cemeteries/wittemberg/burials.htm

12) [Edited 04/06/2015 to add] See also posts for Edson Benjamin and his wife, Martha “Jennie” Slade Benjamin:

Tombstone Tuesday: Edson Benjamin and Martha Jennie Slade

http://heritageramblings.net/2014/05/13/tombstone-tuesday-edson-benjamin-and-martha-jennie-slade/

Series of posts beginning with Tombstone Tuesday: Edson Benjamin- “A Cowardly Murder,” Part 1: http://heritageramblings.net/2014/11/04/tombstone-tuesday-edson-benjamin-a-cowardly-murder-part-1/

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Copyright 2013-2014 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.

Siblings often depend on each other throughout their lifetime, especially in previous eras. They would migrate together, work together, pray together, play together, and even raise children together.

Fredericktown, Madison County, Missouri 1904

The story goes that Sophie nee/Whitener Whitener (Yes, her maiden name was Whitener and she was a cousin to her husband.) delivered her last baby in September of 1904.

The child John Newton Whitener was very tiny. There is no recorded birth weight but it is apparent that he was premature. It is said that a small teacup would easily fit over his head.

Sophie was ill and had the premonition that she would not survive. She had also lost three other children that had deceased early in their lives. (This was in addition to five other children that grew to adulthood. It was a total of nine recorded children after her marriage in September 11, 1881.)

It is said that she called for her sister in law, Mary Whitener Sitzes, and gave the baby to her. “Mary, I want you to raise Johnnie. I don’t think you will.” (This was because of the baby’s tiny size- his survival was unlikely.)

John and Mary Whitener Sitzes accepted that challenge. They lived about three miles outside of Marquand, Madison County, Missouri.

On a cold November day in 1904 with heated stones to provide warmth for the child in an open buggie/wagon, John and Mary carried John Whitener from Fredricktown, Missouri, to Marquand, Missouri (15 miles) and then to their home (3 miles further). There they raised John.

Sophie Whitener died 14 Nov 1904, two months after John’s birth.

John called Mary and John Sitzes “Mom” and “Dad,” but he knew that Newton Whitener was his biological father.

Newton Frederick Whitener (widower of Sophie) raised his other children but never questioned Sophie’s wish.

I believe that my brothers and I owe our very existence to the love the Aunt Mary Sitzes poured out on my dad, John Whitener.

By James Richard Whitener

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) John Newton Whitener was born on 15 Sep 1904, and lived to be 67 years old.

2) Family oral tradition per Ethel Underwood Whitener.