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Elijah

Benjamin
Birth Date:

August 30, 1807

Birth Location:

Canaan Township,
Columbia County, New York

Death Date:

February 20, 1882

Death Location:

Enterprise Township
Jackson County, Minnesota

Burial:

Riverside Cemetery
Jackson, Minnesota

Parents
Father
Ebenezer Benjamin
(1787-1855)
Mother
Hannah Adsit
(?-?)
Siblings (in birth order)
1
Elijah
Benjamin
1807-1882
2
Jacob
 Benjamin
?-?
3
Isaac
 Benjamin
?-?
4
Henry E.
Benjamin

1815-?
5
Stephen A.
 Benjamin

1817-1900
6
Ebenezer
Benjamin

1820-1889
       
Marriage

Elijah Benjamin married Cynthia Lane.

Children (in birth order)
1
Jacob
 Benjamin

1829-1902
2
William
 Benjamin

1831-1918
3
Elijah W.
 Benjamin

1833-1910
4
Stephen L.
 Benjamin

1835-1872
5
Joseph
 Benjamin

1836-1897
6
Marshall
 Benjamin

1839-1842
7
Anson
 Benjamin

1842-1842
        Died at age 3.

 

Died at birth.

 

8
Andrew M.
 Benjamin

1843-1919
9
Sidney
 Benjamin

1845-1927
10
Hiram
 Benjamin

1848-1910
11
Cynthia
 Benjamin

1851-1867
12
Daniel
 Benjamin

1853-?
13
John
 Benjamin

1855-1934
14
Darius
 Benjamin

1858-1953
         
Notes

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.

Elijah's brother Stephen also moved to Illinois with his family at about the same time;
Stephen's sons are often confused with Elijah's, since some of the boys were given the
same names.

1860 U.S. Federal Census -- Wygandt Township, Iroquois County, Illinois

 

Name
Elijah
Cynthia
Andrew
Sidney
Hiram
Eliza
John
Darius

Occupation
Farmer
Birthplace
New York
Canada
"
"
"
"
"
Illinois
Age
52
47

16
14
12
8
6
1
 


One son was born in Illinois:  Darius in 1858.

Daughter Cynthia "Eliza" Benjamin died in 1867.

In 1869, Elijah and Cynthia moved again, this time to Jackson County, Minnesota.  The
children they took with them included Joseph, Hiram, John, and Darius.  Some of the
older children stayed in Illinois, including Jacob, Stephen, Andrew, and Sidney.

1870 U.S. Federal Census -- Belmont Township, Jackson County, Minnesota

 

Name
Elijah
Cynthia
Hiram
John
Darius
Albert

Occupation
Farmer
Keeping House
at home
at home
at home
at home
Birthplace
New York
Canada
"
"
"
"
Age
62
57

22
17
11
9
 
           

*On the 1870 census, Albert is believed to be Elijah and Cynthia's grandson, the son of Wesley Benjamin.  Examine the census record carefully, and you will see a mark in the column indicating that his father is foreign born -- this mark would not occur if he was Elijah's son, since Elijah was born in New York.

1875 Minnesota State Census -- Enterprise Township, Jackson County

 

Name
Elijah
Cynthia
Hiram
John
Darius

Birthplace
New York
Canada
"
"
"
Age
67
62

27
22
17
 
           

1880 U.S. Federal Census -- Belmont Township, Jackson County, Minnesota

 

Name
Elijah
Cyntha
John

Occupation
Farmer
Keeping House
at home
Birthplace
New York
Canada
"
Age
72
67

26
 
           

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

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

  2. Barbara Winn blwinn@citenet.net

 

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