This photo of Elijah belongs to descendents
of his son Darius in Minnesota.

Elijah Benjamin was born in New York State in 1807.  It is believed he moved with his
family to Kingston, Ontario in the late 1810s.  There he met and married Cynthia Lane
in the late 1820s.

On December 4, 1828, Elijah Benjamin is age 21 and listed as serving with the 2nd Frontenac County Militia.

Also in 1828, Elijah and Cynthia Benjamin became owners of the east half of CL 4/27 Ernestown Township, having purchased the land from Cynthia's father, Benjamin Lane for 50 pounds [Deed registered on December 9, 1828].

In 1845, Elijah deeded the west quarter of CL 4/28, Ernestown Township back to Ezra Lockwood. This property had originally been deeded by Ezra to Elijah in 1842. The latter sale was registered on July 18, 1849, with Elijah signing.

In 1851 and 1852, the Elijah Benjamin family was living in a 1 and 1/2 story wood frame house (24x41) in Ernestown Twp (CL 4/27).  Also on the property was a wood workshop.  According to Fenwick Connoly's FAMILY HISTORY, Elijah, "once married, lived on the Lane farm 1 mile west of Odessa, where all their family were born."

Most records indicate that Elijah and Cynthia had 14 children -- 13 boys, and 1 girl.  Different sources disagree on the names and birth dates of the boys; proof-genealogy.com is confident that we have accurately identified all of the siblings.

In the 1850s, Elijah moved his family to rural Papineau, Illinois, where they took up farming.  This is believed to have occurred in 1856.  On October 13, 1856, Elijah and Cynthia deeded CL 4/27 to Henry Benjamin of Kingston Township, excluding one acre whish was deeded to Elijah's eldest son Jacob in 1851.  (Some sources believe that Henry and Elijah Benjamin are brothers.  In 1872 Henry Benjamin sold this land to Elijah's son, William Henry Benjamin, and in 1882 William Henry acquired a mortgage of $700.00 on the whole of CL 4/27 (200 acres) from his brother, Elijah Wesley Benjamin.)

Two sons are known to have died in Canada before the family moved:  Marshall in 1842, Anson in 1842.  Two older sons, Elijah Wesley and William Henry, continued to live in Ontario for the rest of their lives.

The children that moved to Illinois from Canada included Andrew, Sidney, Hiram, Cynthia "Eliza," and John.  These children appear on the 1860 census in Illinois.

Though they don't appear on the 1860 census, three sons -- Jacob, Stephen, and Joseph -- eventually moved to Illinois.

One son was born in Illinois:  Darius in 1858.

Daughter Cynthia "Eliza" Benjamin died in 1867.

Elijah died in Jackson County, Minnesota on February 20, 1882 at age 74.

1. Robert L Benjamin [bobpeg@bevcomm.net]

2. Barbara Winn blwinn@citenet.net