Benson Family Bible

Isaac Benson's family Bible.

Inside is stamped "Hull & Tipton Booksellers & Stationers Harrison Ark."


As you can see it is pretty bad shape. The below pages have come out completely.

Isaac Benson

My great grandfather, Isaac Benson was born 1853 in Tennessee to William Rodman Benson and Jane ______. When he was about 3 years old, he, his parents and at least one sister, Margaret, moved to Arkansas. Over the next six years, Jane had three more boys; Jackson, Hardy and William.

In 1871, Isaac's Mother died. Jane is buried at Zion Hill Cemetery near Green Forest, Arkansas. In 1872 William Benson (Isaac's Dad) married Nancy Johnson. They had three kids, Rosa, Milfred and Lottie. William died in 1876 and is also buried in Zion Hill.

In 1876, Isaac married Sabrina Florence Arney. Between 1877 and 1888 they had six children. In 1890, Isaac bought 40 acres of land in Carroll County. http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/

Around 1892, Isaac and Sabrina move to Rowlett, Texas. The story is that all the kids walked except the one boy who had a very dark complexion because Sabrina thought the Indians would believe they had stolen him.

Either Isaac's brother Hardy and his family come with them or shortly thereafter. At some point, Sabrina's Father, Henry and step-mother, Minerva Baker, also come to Texas. In 1894, Isaac and Sabrina have one more baby.

Isaac, Sabrina and their kids, probably taken around 1895.

Isaac standing in front of what I believe is his house in Rowlett. No idea who the lady is standing on the porch.

I cannot figure out where in Tennessee Isaac was born. I have not been able to find anything else out about William Rodman and his wife Jane.

Veterans Day

Veterans Day started as Armistice Day after World War I. This is my grandfather's letter home written the next day.

In 1954, November 11 became the day to honor all veterans. Here are my veterans:

Vietnam my cousin

Korea my Dad

World War II my Dad and Uncle, my Father-in-law and his brother. A cousin who was taken prisoner and received Combat Infantry Badge

World War I my grandfather, and my grandmother's brother (who possibly served his tour in Africa)

Civil War
Benjamin Griffith 140 Reg’t Indiana Infantry enlisted September 15, 1864
John Leachman 54th Kentucky
Charles Brooks 155 Illinois Infantry enlisted February 15, 1865
John H. Cate 3rd Tennessee Infantry enlisted February 1862, captured London, Kentucky August 1862
Elijah Cate (John’s son) 3rd Tennessee Infantry enlisted January 1863 died May 1863
Andrew DeShields 2 Reg’t Missouri Infantry enlisted August 7, 1862

Revolutionary War

Richard Lewis
Joseph Spangler

Seems like William Rodman Benson and Henry Arney should have served in the Civil War based on their ages and locations. They were both in Arkansas, although Henry went to Illinois and then came back after the war. There are also lots of Shamblin from Tennesse that served in the Civil War so probably some of those are related somehow.

Carmel, Mack and Rosson Arney

When I find these old pictures, I tend to go off on a tangent. I wonder what their lives were like and what ever happened to them. This is Annew Carmel (born 1871), John Mack (born 1875) and Rosson M. (born 1870) Arney, my great grandmothers, half brothers. (Although does anyone still use the term half brother or sister, seems like now they are called step brother or sister. Didn't it used to imply whether you had the same Mother or the same Father?) So I guess they are my step, great, great Uncles?????

I don't know if they were red headed but their eyes look so light. I also wondered about their names I have never heard Annew, Carmel or Rosson as first names.

Rosson married Martha Johnson in 1895. Seemingly he lived his whole life in Barry County, Missouri and farmed near her parents. He and Martha had three children and at least three grandchildren. He died in 1957.

In 1893, Annew married Flora Taylor in Barry County, Missouri. They moved a few times but stayed in the general area. They had eight children and he died in 1956.

John seemed to move with his parents a few times. He married Martha Sepsy in Dallas County, Texas in 1901. They had nine children. John died in 1927; his youngest child would have only been three years old. According to his obit which I found in the Mesquite, Texas newspaper he is buried at Mills Cemetery in Garland. However I could not find a headstone for him. His brother, Archer Milton is buried at Mills Cemetery as well. Near Archer's headstone is a rock or a piece of a headstone. I wonder if that is John's.

Told you I went off on a tangent, but at least now I know something about them.

James Henry Arney

Finding my great grandmother, Sabrina Florence Arney was really no problem. I remembered my Mother talking about her and I knew her name. Sabrina's father was another story. Sabrina was born in 1862 she married in 1876 (yes, I know she was 14 !!!). So that meant the only census she would be on with her parents was 1870. But there was no Sabrina, no Florence, no Flo ... nothing. I found two of my grandmothers photo albums with most of the pictures labeled. So then I at least had names of some of Sabrina's step brothers and sisters.

At the library one day I checked the Soundex for 1880 for Arkansas. They were hard to read but one looked like maybe it had some of her step siblings names. And then the fire alarm went off ... I'm like I can't leave now I may have found something!!!!! Henry Arney and his wife, Manna. OK that can't be right, Manna like from heaven.

I then began looking for Henry Arney and did he get around. They say we live in a transient society which implies that in the past people did not. However, I have tracked James Henry Arney through 8 states.

He was born in Tennessee, possibly Overton County. He marries Elizabeth Ware June 1861 in Greene County, Indiana. They have Sabrina Florence April 1862. We believe Elizabeth dies but I cannot find any other record of her. In 1863 Henry marries Minerva Jane Baker, daughter of Andrew and Mary Ann Baker (btw in 1843 Mary Ann gave birth to triplet boys, how often did that happen????) For the 1870 Census the Bakers and Arneys are all back in Carroll County, Arkansas except Sabrina. I heard a State of Arkansas archivist speak one time and he said if your relatives left Arkansas, went north and came back after the Civil War, they were Union sympathizers getting out of the way of the fighting. If they went south and came back they were Confederate sympathizers getting out of the way of the fighting.

Between 1890 and 1894, Sabrina, her husband Isaac Benson and kids, and at least one of her brother-in-laws, leave Arkansas for Dallas, Texas. On the 1900 Census, Henry and Minerva are in Dallas County. On the 1910 Census, they live in Ninnekah, Oklahoma with their son John and his family. Their daughter, Jennie Marvin also lives there.

I have a Bible of Isaac Benson's; it seems that the last correspondence received from anyone was kept in the Bible. I have a letter Henry wrote to his granddaughter postmarked 1909 from Ninnekah, Oklahoma. I assumed Henry and Minerva died in Oklahoma. I couldn't find anything but Oklahoma is tight with their records. They have very little online and very little released to the library for research.

So I was pretty surprised when I was at the library looking for Henry and Minerva's grandkids and I found the listings of Barbee Cemetery in Erath County, Texas. (This is near Dublin, http://www.dublindrpepper.com/. ) There they were, JH Arney born Nov 1835 no death date and Minerva J. Arney born August 12, 1843 and died August 13, 1913.

Later, I was looking up some of their other kids and found James Henry Arney Nov 18, 1837 to August 1, 1917 buried in Mt Vernon, Missouri. He his buried near his son, Annew. I believe Henry is buried in Missouri and not Texas. But I think the birth date on the stone in Texas would be more likely correct because he would have ordered it.

Later I found this picture, on the back it says it was taken in Comanche, Texas. I assume the woman to be Minerva and Henry one of the men on either side of her.

So that is my story of Henry Arney ... Tennessee to Indiana to Illinois to Arkansas to Texas to Oklahoma to Texas to Missouri.





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And so it begins

I began researching my Family Tree around 2003. I heard the best way to start was by getting your grandparents birth, death and marriage records. So, I did that and that got me started. I then found I could get a login from my local library and go on Heritage Quest and look at the Census records. So far, I have found a few cousins through Rootsweb.com that were also researching.

I also come from pretty descent line of pack rats so I have my Great Aunt's scrapbook full of mostly Leachman obits and a few news stories. My Aunt had a trunk with two old albums of pictures labeled mostly Bensons and Arneys. And then several boxes of unlabeled pictures. I have an album my Great Grandfather had. Most of the pictures are unlabeled but have the photographer's city state. I believe most of these are Leachmans and Griffiths maybe a few Lewis' and Huckleberrys thrown in for good measure.

After I started finding a few things, I had too much paper floating around so I put everything in notebooks. Then I decided I needed a "title" for my genealogy. I have red hair and green eyes and am very fair. ( I take offense to the term pale; that implies you are sick and I am not.) So I settled on "But ... you look Irish." Trust me, I get that alot. So far I have come back to Switzerland on a few lines so maybe I am predominately Swiss. Or maybe I am just Heinz 57 with red hair and green eyes. The Barbie pictured is Princess of Ireland that I bought a Target for $20.00 (Don't you just love Target?) She is the first Barbie I ever saw with green eyes and red hair, and not red like a crayon.

I will try to post a few of the more interesting ( well, to me anyway) finds. Thanks for dropping by. And as my great aunt used to say, "Don't wait til I'm dead to come see me again!"

Amy