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Archiver > INMONROE > 2004-01 > 1073666362


From: Mary Lou Olson <>
Subject: Re: [INMONROE] The Wives of Samuel Bennett
Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2004 10:39:22 -0600
In-Reply-To: <018f01c3d6bd$44107c80$f047f442@PreferredCustomer>


I have seen references to a marriage between Samuel Bennett and Rachel
Moore (presumably Rachel Lemonds, the widow of John H. Moore and
mother-in-law of Elizabeth Bennett). The record is said to be on Book
5 Page 513 of the Monroe County Marriage Records. I have not
personally checked this record, so cannot totally vouch for it.
Rachel, who is my gg grandmother died in 1877 and is buried in Mount
Zion Cemetery. It appears that given these dates and the dates for the
other marriages, Rachel could have been Samuel's second wife and Mary
Jane May his third wife. I would be interested in any corroboration.


Mary Lou Olson
St. Louis, Missouri

My Monroe/Lawrence County Names (mostly Lawrence):
ZIKE, VAN TUYLE, MOORE, LEMONDS, OWENS, MARSEY/MASSEY/MARCEY, MCDOWELL


On Friday, January 9, 2004, at 07:37 AM, Randi Richardson wrote:

> The copyrighted article noted below was written by me for inclusion in
> the February 2004 newsletter to be published by the Monroe County
> Historical Society. If anyone can add to information, I hope they
> will do so.
>
> -------------------------------------------------
>
> Samuel Bennett first appeared in the Monroe County census in 1840. In
> 1850 his household included an adult female named Mary A. In 1860 and
> 1870 the name was noted simply as Mary. Her age in the census records
> suggests a date of birth sometime between 1800 and 1804. In 1850 and
> 1860, the place of Mary's birth was noted as Maryland; in 1870
> Kentucky was identified as the place of birth.
>
> There is no record of a marriage between a Samuel Bennett and a female
> named Mary or Ann in Indiana prior to 1850. However, it appears that
> Mary/Mary A. was the spouse of Samuel based upon their similar ages
> and their appearance in a single household over at least three
> decades. This assumption was borne out by an 1866 land record in
> Monroe County in which Samuel Bennett and "Mary Ann his wife" sold
> property. Further evidence of their spousal relationship is derived
> from their burial in the same cemetery, Farley, and the inscription on
> Mary A.'s tombstone that notes she was the wife of Samuel.
>
> Mary Ann (__?__) Bennett died on October 9, 1873. After her death,
> Samuel married Mary Jane May in Monroe County on April 4, 1878. They
> were enumerated together in the 1880 census where it was noted that
> Mary J., age 52, was substantially younger than her 80-year-old
> husband. Census and civil court records indicate that Mary Jane was
> the spinster daughter of Peter and Rachel May.
>
> Samuel died in 1885 as noted above. There was no death record, and
> his brief obit did not mention the names of his children. Three sons
> were, however, mentioned in Samuel's will dated shortly before his
> death: Jahu, William and Samuel Bennett, Jr. William and Samuel were
> named as executors of the will.
>
> In the Orange County, Indiana, Circuit Court, on January 10, 1887,
> Jahu Bennett and others sued William Bennett, Samuel Bennett, Jr., and
> Mary J. Bennett to set the will aside. The judge ruled in favor of
> the plaintiffs and declared the will invalid. The defendants,
> William, Samuel and Mary J., requested an opportunity to appeal their
> case to the Supreme Court, and the judge granted their request. (The
> Supreme Court record, if one exists, has not been reviewed.)
>
> In February 1888, in Monroe County court, William J. Lowe, appointed
> by the court as administrator of Samuel Bennett's estate, provided the
> names of Samuel's only heirs: Mary J. Bennett (widow); Jahue Bennett;
> Rebecca Smith; Mary E. Taylor; Sarah A. Johnson; Lewie Bennett; Mary
> C. Beard, Samuel Bennett, Jr.; Eliza Beard, Will N. Bennett; Mary J.
> McLoughlin, Louisa Buchanan; Elsworth Moore, Comodore Moore; and
> Newton Moore. Four individuals (Jahue, Rebecca, Mary and Sarah)
> received a full share. Two shares were divided into one/fifth
> portions and distributed to the remaining heirs with the exception of
> the widow. This suggests that Will N. (?William), Samuel, Jr., and
> others were more distantly related to Samuel, Sr. than those who
> received a full share. In fact, Mary J. McLoughlin, Louisa Buchanan;
> Elsworth Moore, Comodore Moore and Newton Moore have been identified
> as the children of Samuel's daughter, Elizabeth, who was likely
> deceased, and her husband, Pinkney Moore.!
> The parents of the remaining five individuals have not been
> identified.
>
> A review of obituaries for Samuel's heirs in Monroe County did not
> reveal anything of significance. A death record was available for
> only one of those heirs, William, who received a one-fifth share of
> Samuel estate. The death record indicates that William was the son of
> Samuel and Anna (Douglas) Bennett who were both born in Kentucky. The
> marriage of Samuel and Ann is noted in Spencer County, Kentucky, on
> January 13, 1825.
>
> As the Samuel who died in 1885 was not old enough in 1825 to have a to
> have a son eligible to marry, the names on the death record probably
> refer to the Samuel who died in Monroe County. Whether or not
> Ann/Anna (Douglas) Bennett is one and the same as Mary Ann cannot be
> ascertained from the information at hand. Furthermore, there is no
> evidence that the parents as identified on William's death record are
> birth parents or, more simply, the parents who raised him. If Samuel
> was, in fact, William's birthfather, why did William, among others
> named in Samuel's will, inherit only a one-fifth portion from Samuel's
> estate. This question looms large!
>
> In conclusion, it appears that Samuel had at least two wives:
> Ann/Anna Douglas and Mary Jane May. More research is needed to fully
> explore additional relationships..
>
> The documentation on which the above findings are based, will be
> placed in a Bennett Family File available at the Monroe County Public
> Library, Bloomington, Indiana, after February 1.
>
>
>
> ==============================
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>
>
Mary Lou Olson


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