52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 33: CALEB BENSON OF ROCHESTER MA. PT2

I found the probate file for my my 5x great grandfather Caleb Benson over on the AmericanAncestors.org website in the Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881. There's fifteen images in it, including those of the two page will. Here's my transcription:

Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881tion Case 1873Page 3

In the name of God Amen .....
I Caleb Benson of Middleborough in the County of
Plymouth and Common Wealth of Massachusetts in America
being weak of body but of sound mind and memory blessed be
God therefor and knowing it is appointed unto all men once to die
Do make and ordain this my last will and Testament .....

In the first place I commit my spirit into the hand
of the Lord god of truth, believing and hoping he hath
redeemed me; and that at my death my soulshall im-
mediatly pass into glory: and my body to the dust, to be buried
in a decent Christian manner hoping and believing that tho'
after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh I shall
see god; and that I shall with them that rise firsst have a
resurrection to life my vile being changed and fashion-
ed like to the gloriousbody of Christ--

And as touching the portion of worldy estate which God
in his providence has been pleased to bless me with, I dispose
of in the following manner....

imprimus, I give and bequeath unto my beloved wife the one
third of my whole Estate both real and personal to be
improvedby her during her Natural life, and over and above
the one third two milch Cows, ten Sheep, and all my house-
hould furniture forever. ...

Item I give and bequeath unto my two daughters, Ruth Landers ,
and Hannah Tinkham three pounds Each, to be paid out of
my personal Estate, besides what I gave them at the time of their
begining to keep house.-

Item I give and bequeath unto my other three daughters viz.-
Priscilla Combs, Deborah Canady, and Content Barrows
all the rst of my personal Estate consisting of money at
Interest, Live stock on my farm etc.excepting whay is dis-
posed of above, to be equally divided between them as soon
as it can be collected by my Executor and paid to them.

Plymouth County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1686-1881 case 1833 page4

Item I give and bequeath unto my two grand-children
Priscilla Washburn and ManasehWashburn six
shillings a peice to be paid by my beloved wife. ...

Item I give and bequeath unto my only son Caleb
Benson all the rest of my Interest consisting of
Lands and meadow Lying in Middleborough, Plymton
and Wareham being all real Estate. ...

Finely my will is that my well beloved wife and my son
Caleb Benson be the joint Executors of this my
Last Will and Testament, .....

and furhermore I do hereby revoke and
renounce all & Every other and former
Testaments by me any way made; and ratify and
Confirm this to be my Last Will and Testament.

Caleb Benson

Signed Sealed pronounced and
Declared this 27th day of November 1782
in Presence of

Asa Hunt
Elisha Benson
Stephen Washburn

The estate was valued at over 670 pounds, most of that in real estate.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2018 WEEK 33: CALEB BENSON OF ROCHESTER MA.

My 5x great grandfather  Caleb Benson was born in Rochester, Ma. on 29 Jan 1704, the tenth child of John Benson the 3rd and Elizabeth Briggs. He was only 7 years old when his father died, so he probably grew up in the custody of a legal guardian. Caleb married Deborah Barrows on 11 Jan 1732 in Rochester and they had a family of six daughters and one son:

Ruth Benson b.25 Mar 1733 Plymouth
Hannah Benson b 20 May 1736 Middleborough
Mary Benson b 20 Feb 1738 Middleborugh
Deborah Benson b 1749 Middleborough
Priscilla B 1751 Plymouth
Caleb b 22 Nov 1755 Middleborough
Content  b 1761 Plymouth, Ma

I know he was a farmer and judging from the value of his estate a successful one. But he was also a Deacon of a Baptist church in Middleboro, Ma. and at some point was involved in some controversy within the congregation. I've found a reference to a letter that he and six others sent to church authorities but haven't found a copy of it as yet, so I don't jnow what it was about.

I've found some land transactionslisted on FamilySearch that I haven't explored yet, as well as a copy of his will and estate inventory, which I will discuss in the next post.

SEEKING CALEB BENSON

((I'm about to start on some posts about my Benson ancestors, so I am preceding those with these
two posts from 2011 about my search for the grave of my 5x great grandfather Caleb Benson.))

 
After my success finding relatives in the cemeteries along Rte 58 in
Carer and Plympton, Ma., I decided next to search in the nearby towns
of Middleboro and Rochester. I was especially hoping to find the grave
of my 5x great parents Caleb Benson and Deborah (Barrows) Benson.
The day I set out to search, though, I left my list of cemeteries in the towns
at home. When I realized it, I decided it was a nice day for a ride and I'd
just wing it.  I took the roundabout route, driving down Rte 58 and then
across to drive up Rte 105 in Middleboro and watching for cemeteries
along the way until I spotted the South Middleboro Cemetery  by the
South Middleboro United Methodist Church.

My third cousin 4x removed.

I'm not sure how I'm related to these folks yet.

Benson Burial Plot

The gate to the plot.

The moment I got out of the car and walked through the entrance
into the cemetery I spotted a number of Benson headstones. Since
the Benson branch of my family tree has a lot of blanks I didn't recognize
most of the family members buried there so I made sure I took pictures
of every Benson grave. 

Grave of Consider Benton, brother of my ancestor Caleb Benton

The church was founded in 1748, which was the same period that my
ancestor Caleb Benson had lived. Yet I hadn't found his headstone there.
So where was Caleb Benson's grave?

MARTHA & THE NAMELESS NOBLEMAN

Two weeks ago while I was visiting the South Middleboro Cemetery in Middleboro
Ma. looking for graves of my Benson relatives I came across a set of headstones
that caught my attention even though I thought they were not for any of my relations.
Living in Massachusetts I've visited many old cemeteries and seen various methods
of preservation for deteriorating headstones such as the framing on these. But
there were two things about these that I had never seen before. One was the
concrete base. None of the other headstones in the cemetery had it and whoever
had made it was probably trying to both prop the stones up in a secure position and
prevent them from sinking into the ground:

The other item were the metal plates fastened to the backs of the stones. They
had more information added to the text of the original inscriptions(I've boldfaced
the parts I believe were added):

"Grandson Of The Nameless
Nobleman Of Plymouth
In Memory Of Mr John
LeBarron.       He Died
Aug 1 1801
Aged 79 Years  & 4 Months."

"In Memory Of Mrs
Mary -Raymond- Wife
Of Mr John LeBarron
She Died March 25 1791
Aged 60 Years & 8 Months


Repaired 1974 By R M LeBarron R D 1
Greenwood PA"

Next to these there was another repaired gravestone. The metal plate
was fastened to the front of this one:

"In Memory Of Martha-Benson- Widow Of 
William Parker-Who Died Oct 13 1777
In The 76th Year Of Her Life -Martha
Was Married First To James LeBarron-Son
Of The Nameless Nobleman Of Plymouth-
James Died May 10 1744 & Martha Married
William May15 1745-James Is Probably
Buried Here Beside Martha -As Is Her
Son LeBaron           Robert M LeBarron
                      R D 2                   1974 "
 

"The Nameless Nobleman of Plymouth" was a Frenchman, Dr. Francis LeBaron
who arrived in Plymouth in the late 1600's and made a place for himself in the
community. There's a great site here run by David Blanchette where you can learn
all about Dr. LeBaron's story. But then when I saw the second headstone with
the name "Martha Benson" I realized I must have a family connection with her.

 From what I've found so far online, it appears that it's a close connection: Martha
is the daughter of my 6x great grandparents John Benson and Elizabeth Briggs..

It's been 38 years since Robert Lebarron repaired those gravestones and fastened
the metal plates to them. I wonder if he is still alive. Thanks to him, I found the
grave of my 5x great grandaunt  Martha Benson

SEEKING CALEB BENSON 2

Before I go on one of cemetery tours I usually check Find A Grave to see if
there are any relatives listed as being buried in towns I planned to visit. I
don't care if someone has already taken pictures; I want to take my own,
and if there isn't a picture, then I plan to post the one I've taken.(although
I'm woefully behind that at the moment).  I usually just look at the list of
interments, print out the list of photo requests, and then  write the names of
relatives to look for at the bottom of the list. But I'd left the list at home when I'd
set out for Middleboro.

When I got back here to my apartment and sure enough, I'd written Caleb
Benson on the South Middleboro Cemetery.  I hadn't spotted it on my own so
now I cheated and looked at the Find A Grave photo. No wonder I hadn't
spotted it: it wasn't a headstone, but one of those small ground level markers.
The next day I went back, found the stone and took my own picture.

That night when I shared the picture with Ellingwood cousin Mary Ennis, she
commented on the title "Rev."  Neither one of us had know he was a clergyman,
nor was there any indication of it in cousin Florence O' Connor's book on the
Ellingwoods. A Google search turned up a reference in Michael J. Maddigan's
South Middleborough: A History to a dispute in the Third Baptist Church between
Deacon Caleb Benson and a new minister. I also discovered other facts about Caleb
One was that he had a twin brother named Joshua.

The second and more fascinating was that several of Caleb's children were Loyalists
and were among the New Englanders who fled to Canada during the American
Revolution. Meanwhile, his daughter Content Benson was married to my 4x great
grandfather Asa Barrows who was a Minuteman and supporter of the Revolution.
As to Caleb's own sentiments, I have no clue as yet.Since he stayed in Massachusetts
I would think he was not a Loyalist but I could be wrong.

It's another thing to add to my list Family history questions to be answered! 

SEEKING CALEB BENSON

After my success finding relatives in the cemeteries along Rte 58 in
Carer and Plympton, Ma., I decided next to search in the nearby towns
of Middleboro and Rochester. I was especially hoping to find the grave
of my 5x great parents Caleb Benson and Deborah (Barrows) Benson.
The day I set out to search, though, I left my list of cemeteries in the towns
at home. When I realized it, I decided it was a nice day for a ride and I'd
just wing it.  I took the roundabout route, driving down Rte 58 and then
across to drive up Rte 105 in Middleboro and watching for cemeteries
along the way until I spotted the South Middleboro Cemetery by the
South Middleboro United Methodist Church.

My third cousin 4x removed.

I'm not sure how I'm related to these folks yet.

Benson Burial Plot

The gate to the plot.

The moment I got out of the car and walked through the entrance
into the cemetery I spotted a number of Benson headstones. Since
the Benson branch of my family tree has a lot of blanks I didn't recognize
most of the family members buried there so I made sure I took pictures
of every Benson grave. 

Grave of Consider Benton, brother of my ancestor Caleb Benton

The church was founded in 1748, which was the same period that my
ancestor Caleb Benson had lived. Yet I hadn't found his headstone there.
So where was Caleb Benson's grave?