Heritage Ramblings

Tombstone Tuesday: Edson Benjamin- “A Cowardly Murder,” Part 1

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series Edson Benjamin: "A Cowardly Murder"

Benjamin-Slade Headstone in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, The Dalles, Oregon. Reprinted with kind permission of photographer.

A murder in the family? So heartbreaking, but true. (Thankfully not a murderER.) Distant, in relationship as well as time, it is still a sad tale that should be told, especially since Edson V. Benjamin had no descendants to pass on his story due to his untimely death.

It was 1863, on a cold day after two years of turmoil in our nation with two more years of civil war to follow, that Edson Benjamin was the first child born to Jonathan Felix Benjamin (1838-1913) and Hannah E. Marple Benjamin (1842-1900). Ohio on 29 Jan 1863 was a state with mixed sympathies over slavery and the war, and in July of that year the inhabitants would be terrorized by the Confederate bands of Morgan’s Raiders. The Benjamins probably lived in some of the areas where the raiders pillaged businesses, houses, and farms, “procuring” supplies like food and horses as well as other spoils of war, leaving the area inhabitants hungry and without supplies, and soldiers and citizens dead. This turmoil was nothing new for the Benjamins, however: Edson was the grandson of Jonathan N. Benjamin (1799-1876) and Hannah E. Ford (1798-1891), themselves frontiers people and descendants of Indian fighters, Indian captives, Revolutionary War veterans, as well as veterans of the War of 1812.

After the war, Edson’s family and his grandparents migrated to Jasper County, Iowa, in covered wagons, probably about 1867. By the 1870 US Federal Census, seven-year old Edson was found with his family living in the same household as his paternal grandparents, Jonathan N. and Hannah E. (Ford) Benjamin in Malaka Township Jasper County, Iowa.

At age 17 Edson was listed on the US Federal Census as a farmer, living with his parents and siblings on a farm in Twin Lakes, Calhoun, Iowa, about 150 miles northwest of Jasper County, on June 9th. In 1885, the Iowa State Census lists him as a single man living in Rockwell, Twin Lakes, Calhoun County, Iowa. He was entitled to vote but also subject to military duty.

Edson married Martha “Jennie” Munger, daughter of Irish immigrants, about 1888 per the 1900 US Federal Census when they had Jennie’s mother living with them; they had no children. They had moved to Hood River, Wasco, Oregon, and purchased a place there about 1899. Previously, they had lived in The Dalles, Oregon, to which they had migrated about 1897. (No information yet found on the time between 1885-1897.)

Edson was working as a logger and then the foreman of a logging camp in 1901. The camps traveled around Oregon and Washington state as they cleared the forest. Edson was well-liked and much respected by his coworkers and neighbors… except for one.

The newspapers tell the story best, but that will need to be in my next posts…

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) My Find A Grave Memorial # with help from research done by ColumbiaGypsy and shared with all.

2) Morgan’s Raid: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan%27s_Raid

3) 1880 US Federel Census- Source Citation: Year: 1880; Census Place: Twin Lakes, Calhoun, Iowa; Roll: 330; Family History Film: 1254330; Page: 285B; Enumeration District: 025; Image: 0313.

4) 1880 non-population schedule for Columbia, Washington: Source Citation: Census Year: 1880; Census Place: District 3, Columbia, Washington; Archive Collection Number: A1154; Roll: 6; Page: 4; Line: 01; Schedule Type: Agriculture. (Interestingly, an “E. Benjamin” was also listed on 7 June 1880 on the US Federal Non-Population Schedule – more research is needed to clarify these entries, which include a William Benjamin- Edson had a brother named William, but that is a common name- on the same page in Columbia, Washington, where Edson later lived.)

5) 1885 Iowa State census- Source Information: Quigg, Gary, comp.. Iowa, State Census 1885 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2003.

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Sentimental Sunday: Roberts Genealogy in an Address Book

Page from an address book of Edith Roberts (McMurray) Luck, with genealogical information of family and friends. — Page from an address book of Edith (Roberts) (McMurray) Luck, with genealogical information of family and friends.

Sometimes the small ephemera left by a person can be so personal that it makes me sentimental about them and the sweet times we had together. Seeing the handwriting, seeing who is important in her life, and just noting that this was information that she thought was important enough to pass on, touches my heart. Edith (Roberts) (McMurray) Luck is a big part of why I love family history so much, so this find made me very sentimental about the times she talked about her family, and drove us all over the county to visit her cousins and elderly relatives. There was only one of the new-fangled copiers in town, and family members would not allow us to take their treasures, so my sister and I copied obituaries, letters, etc., by hand, using a purple Flair pen (the coolest thing to come out of the 60s). There are precious documents that were shared that hot Iowa summer, items that would have been lost forever had we not transcribed them in the 1960s.

Here is a transcription and some details about the persons she listed:

Grandpa Daniels [Robert Woodson Daniels- Edith’s maternal grandfather] March 21-1862

enlisted Rocklimogen W. Vir

5’8″

Light complexion- Light hair Grey eyes

discharged fm USA [United States Army] March 25-1865

was 23 years

Born May 26-1843

Died June 20-1922 79 years

Grandma Daniels [Margaret Ann Hemphill Daniels- Edith’s maternal grandmother]

Marg A.

Born Sept 25- 1839

died Dec 19- 1915 76 years

George Roberts [George Anthony Roberts, Edith’s father]

Born Nov 18 -1861 78 years

died April 18 -1939 5 months

0 days

Ella V. Daniels [Ella Viola (Daniels) Roberts, Edith’s beloved mother]

Born Oct 29 1866 55 yrs- 3 mo- 18 days

Died Jan 17 1922 56 yrs.

Georgie Roberts [Edith’s brother, George Anthony Roberts, Jr.] June 30 1965 [death date] 76 [years] -1889 [birth year]

Ethel Robison [Edith’s sister, Ethel Gay Roberts, married to Bert Robison] Jan 28 1969 [death date] 78 [years] 1891 [birth year]

Winnie Carson [Edith’s first cousin- Winnie Viola Walker was the daughter of Lily G. (Daniels) Walker, Edith’s mother’s sister, and married Archibald Carson (1892-1982)] June 1997 [June 1897 was when Winnie was born- an error in Edith’s notes]

Hilma Stines [Edith’s first cousin and sister of Winnie Viola Walker, both daughters of Lily G. (Daniels) Walker, Edith’s mother’s sister; married Ruben M. Stines.] Ap. 1900 [birth date either April 1900 or approximately 1900; census calculation indicates about 1902 for birth.]

Mrs. Annie Hunniball [Eliza Ann Fletcher, a close friend and neighbor of Edith as an adult. Annie was born 18 Dec 1880 in Timworth, Suffolk, England, and married Albert John Hunniball (1877-1965); they never had children. As a young woman, Annie worked in one of the palaces of the British Queen.] Died 7.45 PM.

1971 Tues Jan 26- Buried

Thurs Jan 28

As I was typing out these names and dates, I thought it somewhat ironic that Edith would have used a page from her address book that had a place for a phone number, since telephones were unknown when some of these persons were born. But then, maybe it was not so ironic, since the lifetimes of these folks spanned a simpler time, leading up to the use of the telephone and even the automobile in the early 1900s. By 1914, the US had the most telephones per capita of any country, so even Margaret Ann (Hemphill) Daniels may have seen or used a telephone before her death in 1915, depending on when it was introduced to their rural area. What an amazing time period to have lived, from the late 1830s until the nineteen-teens and twenties. The changes in technology were just astounding during that time span.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family treasure chest.

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Jack London: Two Unpublished Letters ‘Found’- Transcriptions

Jack London letter to Dan [Murphy?] concerning the "Kempton-Wace Letters." Published with permission of the Edwin Markham Archive, Horrmann Library, Wagner College. — Jack London letter to Dan [Murphy?] concerning the “*Kempton-Wace Letters*.” Published with permission of the Edwin Markham Archive, Horrmann Library, Wagner College. (*Click to enlarge*.)

Yesterday’s post introduced two letters from Jack London to his sometimes literary agent Dan Murphy. (See Jack London: Two Unpublished Letters ‘Found’.) I am adding transcriptions in this post for better search capabilities for other researchers.

October 4, 1901, Jack London to Dan [Murphy?] letter, transcription:

Jack London

56 Bayo Vista Avenue

Oakland, Calif.

[stamped]

Oct. 4/01 [typewritten]

[typewritten; additional spaces left between quotes and words per original]

Dear Dan:-

Yes, The Book is progressing. Anna and

I now have thirty thousand and more words done on it,

and we do not expect to add more than twenty thousand

more. So then you’ll have a double task on your hands–

—-a sketch of Anna as well as the one of me.

Anna reviewed the ” God of His Fathers ” in

current ” Impressions. ” Of course you will have seen

it ere this. But if you haven’t, write me and I’ll get

you a copy. I haven’t one in the house just now. It

is by far the best review the book has received. It hah

has sympathy and understanding, which is something few

reviews possess and then in only infintesiml(spl?)

quantities.

Please thank Mr. and Mrs. Markham for me

for their kind invitation, which in itself gives me

great happiness, though the signs for an Eastern trip

are not auspicious.

Mrs. London and Joan send regards,

Jack London [signature]

December 28, 1901, Jack London to Dan [Murphy?] letter, transcription:

Jack London

56 Bayo Vista Avenue

Oakland, Calif.

[stamped]

Dec. 28/01 [typewritten]

[typewritten]

Dear Dan:-

Do you know if the ATLANTIC permits

the stuff it buys to be published in England? They

are, I believe, on the eve of closing with a certain

story of mine, which is a pretty fair sort of a

story. Let me know whether McClure’s forward

duplicate copies to you mentioned in last letter.

Yes, I presume a fake publication was

made of the SON OF THE WOLFin England in 1899 in

order to obtain British copyright. Itwas only

curiosity prompted me to ask, anyway, for Ward,

Lock & Co., bought the copyright outright. Perhaps

they are withholding publication for twenty years

on the chance of my becoming famous.

I have started the Success story, which

I shall submit through your hands.

Could you give me a line on what prices

December 28, 1901 letter from Jack London to Dan [Murphy?], page 2. Published with permission of the Edwin Markham Archive, Horrmann Library, Wagner College. (Click to enlarge.) — December 28, 1901 letter from Jack London to Dan [Murphy?], page 2. Published with permission of the Edwin Markham Archive, Horrmann Library, Wagner College. (*Click to enlarge.*)

[page 2, cut short]

LIPPINCOTT’S and SMART SET usually offer for

novelettes of ?? [two letters typed over to mark out] 25,000 to 35,000 words. And

Are LIPPINCOTT’S open to adventure novelettes with

a love thread woven in?

The novel written long ago was accepted

by McClure, Phillips & Co., [sic] They said they would

first seek serial publication for it, and later

bring it out themselves in book form. I haven’t

much interest in the novel. It was my first.

[Remainder of page appears to have been cut off.]

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Again, we greatly appreciate the kind assistance of Lisa Holland, Archivist, at the Horrmann Library, Wagner College, Staten Island, New York to locate these letters and other requested information. A thank you also goes out to the Dean of the college for allowing us to publish these letters in our blog and to share them at the Jack London Society 12th Biennial Symposium held on October 30-November 1, 2014, in Berkeley, California.

2) Please contact the Horrmann Library at Wagner College, Staten Island, New York, for permission to publish the letters.

3) Transcriptions by the author.

4) London, Jack. Letter, 04 Oct 1901, to Dan [Murphy?]. Edwin Markham Archives, Horrmann Library, Wagner College.

5) London, Jack. Letter, 28 Dec 1901, to Dan [Murphy?]. Edwin Markham Archives, Horrmann Library, Wagner College.

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Jack London: Two Unpublished Letters ‘Found’

Two letters previously unknown to Jack London researchers and unpublished have been located in the Horrmann Library at Wagner College in New York City during my recent research. The letters were not catalogued in any MARC records that I have found, and they are not available in the three volumes of The Letters of Jack London. The first letter reports on the progress of “The Book” published anonymously by Jack London and Anna Strunsky two years later as The Kempton-Wace Letters. The second note mentions the fake publication of Son of the Wolf in England, requests information concerning prices paid for various lengths of novelettes, and promises that “the Success story” London has just started will be submitted through Dan [Murphy?] as London’s literary agent.

With the expert assistance of the Wagner College Archivist, Lisa Holland, the Edwin Markham Collection was searched to find any correspondence between Edwin Markham and Edward Biron Payne, my primary research focus. Both were west coast Christian Socialists, and I was trying to learn if they corresponded, or if Markham was involved in Payne’s Utopian colony of “Altruria” in 1894-1896. Additionally, Payne had published an article in The Arena, a liberal magazine that advocated social reform, in July, 1899, entitled “The “Hoe man” on trial.” Payne addressed the controversy engendered by Edwin Markham’s poem, “The Man with the Hoe,” so there was a possibility they had corresponded or met each other. (Payne’s library was burned in the 1923 Berkeley fire and only a small portion of his letters have survived.) Additionally, I requested copies of any letters from Jack or Charmian London, as the Londons were friends with Markham (as well as with Payne, who married Ninetta Wiley Eames, the aunt who raised Charmian), and they traveled in some of the same social and literary circles. Charmian’s scrapbooks at the Huntington Museum contain images of Markham. Ms. Holland was not able to find any letters to/from Edward B. Payne, but did locate five letters each from Jack and Charmian, with two of the letters from Jack being previously unpublished.

The letters are written to “Dear Dan,” who is most likely Daniel Murphy, a literary agent who promoted manuscripts abroad as well in the United States. There is a London letter addressed to “Dear Dan:-” dated December 17, 1901 published in The Letters of Jack London: Vol. 1: 1896-1905. The Russ Kingman notes indicate it is to Dan Murphy who was acting as London’s British agent. Dan Murphy was also possibly Edwin Markham’s brother-in-law, as Markham married Anna Catharine Murphy as his third wife in San Francisco, California in 1898.

Catharine was born in 1859 to Patrick Murphy (1827-?) and Mary __ (maiden name unknown) (1832-?), and was the mother of Edwin Markham’s only son, Virgil. (1899-1973). Catharine is found in the 1860 US Federal Census in her father’s household as the only child, age 1; in 1870, she is listed at age 10 with Margaret, age 9, Mary E., age 7, and John Murphy, age 6 in the household. As Catharine’s full name was Anna Catharine Murphy, and it appears she was called by her middle name as a child, the John Murphy in the family may possibly be Daniel John, and the addressee of London’s note many years later. More research is needed into the life of Dan Murphy, but I have not yet located the family in the 1880 US Federal Census; with the name a common one, more detailed research will be required to confirm the hypothesis that he was Edwin Markham’s brother-in-law. The fact that letters to him are found in the Markham Archive lend credence to this hypothesis.

Tomorrow: transcriptions of these letters.

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) We greatly appreciate the kind assistance of Lisa Holland, Archivist, at the Horrmann Library, Wagner College, Staten Island, New York to locate these letters and other requested information. A thank you also goes out to the Dean of the college for allowing us to publish these letters in our blog and to share them at the Jack London Society 12th Biennial Symposium held on October 30-November 1, 2014, in Berkeley, California.

2) London, Jack, The Letters of Jack London: Vol. 1: 1896-1905; Vol. 2: 1906-1912; Vol. 3:1913-1916. Edited by Earle Labor, Robert Leitz III, and I. Shepherd. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988.

3) Markham, Edwin. ”To the Man with the Hoe” in The Arena, July 1899. The Arena 22, no. 1 (1899): 15-16.

4) Payne, Edward B. “The ‘Hoe Man’ on Trial” in The Arena, July 1899. The Arena 22, no. 1 (1899): 17-24.

5) 1860 U.S. Census, Alameda County, California, population schedule, Eden Township, page no. 112 (written), dwelling 923, family 934, Catharine Murphy; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 28 Oct 2014) citing National Archives microfilm publication Roll: M653_55; Page: 114; Image: 114; Family History Library Film: 803055.

6) 1870 U.S. Census, Sonoma County, California, population schedule, Vallejo Township, Petaluma Post Office, page no. 8 (written), dwelling 48, family 47, Catharine Murphy; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 28 Oct 2014) citing National Archives microfilm publication Roll: M593_91; Page: 453B; Image: 474; Family History Library Film: 545590.

7) Other Edwin Markham papers may be viewed in the Markham Archive at Horrmann College and online at http://cdm16694.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/search/collection/p15052coll4/searchterm/%22Edw%20B%20Payne%22/field/all/mode/any/conn/and/order/nosort/ad/asc

8) “To Dan Murphy” letter dated December 17, 1901 published in London, Jack, The Letters of Jack London: Vol. 1: 1896-1905. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), 260.

9) London, Jack. Letter, 4 Oct 1901, to Dan [Murphy?]. Edwin Markham Archives, Horrmann Library, Wagner College.

10) London, Jack. Letter, 28 Dec 1901, to Dan [Murphy?]. Edwin Markham Archives, Horrmann Library, Wagner College.

11) Thank you, Thomas Harakal, for your input and support.

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Mystery Monday: Roberts, Daniel, or ? in Early 1920s?

Possible Roberts, Daniel, or ? Family Picture. Woman on front right is probably Edith Roberts. In with images from the early 1920s, possibly taken in Iowa. — Possible Roberts, Daniel, or ? Family Picture. Woman on front right is probably Edith Roberts, man to her right with bow tie is probably George A. Roberts, Jr., Edith’s brother. (See below.) In with images from the early 1920s, possibly taken in Iowa.

This image is in the photo album of Edith Roberts (later McMurray and then Luck), in with images taken in the early 1920s. The woman in the front on the right appears to be Edith, but it is unknown who the other persons are. Since she is by herself and we do not recognize any of the men in the picture, she may not yet have been married nor had her son, Edward A. McMurray. (He was born in 1924.)

We would be very interested in learning more about any of the people in this picture! Please contact us if you know them.

REVISED later in the day after looking at more family photos: The man with the bow tie to the right of Edith is probably her brother, George Anthony Roberts, Jr. The woman two persons to the left of Edith, holding a little girl with a barrette in her hair, may be Edith’s sister, Ethel Gay (Roberts) Robinson (1891-1969). The child may be Ruby Robinson, born 1915, or Helen Viola Robinson, born 1921. Ethel’s husband Bert Robinson (1890-1977) may be the man in the back, just to the left of “Georgie” Roberts. These assumptions/guesses are just from knowing these people in later life and looking at the few pictures we have of them. The man in the center with a tie (in front) may be George A. Roberts, Sr. OR Robert Woodson Daniel. There is a picture of RW Daniel somewhere in the family archives, as I remember Ed McMurray talking about it as we viewed an image. It is on a little cassette video somewhere, just begging to be digitized. Even better would be finding the original, which has not turned up in boxes of family pictures. I am now leaning toward this being a group photo of the Daniel family, as George Roberts, Sr., was not happy with his daughter Ethel’s choice of husband, and he disowned her when she married Bert Robinson; thus, a picture of them all together was unlikely as Geo. Sr. was a strong-minded man (per his daughter Edith). George Sr.’s wife and the mother of Edith, George, and Ethel’s was Ella V. Daniel, but she had passed away 17 Jan 1922; I don’t believe she is in this picture, which may help date it after 1922 or so. R.W. Daniel’s wife, Margaret Ann Hemphill, died in 1915, so that may also date the photo. Again, any help would be appreciated with identifying the people in this image.

Edited 05/12/15: The man that might be RW Daniel might be correct, but his wife is not in this picture. A story by Edith Roberts said Margaret Ann Hemphill was very thin, and always dressed in dark colors. She was ill for many years before her death, so it is very likely that she is not in this image. RW was bald, per Edith’s story, so that may not be him in the image either. 🙁

Still searching for information…

Notes, Sources, and References:

1) Family treasure chest of photo albums.

Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images.

Heritage Ramblings

Tombstone Tuesday: Edson Benjamin- “A Cowardly Murder,” Part 1

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Sentimental Sunday: Roberts Genealogy in an Address Book

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Jack London: Two Unpublished Letters ‘Found’- Transcriptions

October 4, 1901, Jack London to Dan [Murphy?] letter, transcription:

December 28, 1901, Jack London to Dan [Murphy?] letter, transcription:

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Jack London: Two Unpublished Letters ‘Found’

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Mystery Monday: Roberts, Daniel, or ? in Early 1920s?

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October 4, 1901, Jack London to Dan [Murphy?] letter, transcription:

December 28, 1901, Jack London to Dan [Murphy?] letter, transcription:

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