You can call me "Josephine Friday" because I am just stating the facts ma'am. I am taking one liberty here and that is to state that Benjamin's middle name is Franklin, this is not a fact as I have only seen Benjamin F. in records. Other than that, I have records to back up all other matters stated.
Any way you look at it Benjamin was a character. I am sure his parents, Hillias & Sophronia Lindsey Hutsenpiller, had hopes for their 2nd child and oldest son of 9 children. He was born in Highland County, Ohio around 1839 since the 1840 U.S. Census only states that he is under 5 years old. On the 1850 U.S. Census it shows been as being 10 or 11 and that he attended school that year. I can not find him on the 1860 census but he enlisted in the Union Army, 22nd Infantry Ohio Regiment, Company B as a private on September 2, 1861 (age 23) and served from November 1, 1861 (age 21) through November 18, 1864 when he mustered out. (See Sources 1 & 2) How he had grown 2 years younger in 2 months is incredible. His regiment was in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War and I have no doubt this changed his life forever.
After the war, Benjamin married Hester A. Evans on May 7, 1865. She was the daughter of John G. & Rebecca Storer Evans.
Together they had three children:
- John William "Willie" (1867-1935); married Rose Etta Turner
- Charles E. (1870-1920); married Catherine Sherman
- Lulu (1876-1891) died before marriage
Benjamin was by trade a blacksmith. In the 1870 U.S. Census he is shown to have $400 in real estate and $150 in personal estate. I would have to say that he was doing alright by the standards of the day. He owned $250 in iron and 250 pounds of coal valued at $25, He did not own a machine as he performed his work by hand. (See Source 3)
All was not well between Benjamin and Hester. I do not know the circumstances surrounding what lead to this event but by February, 1879 Hester was filing for divorce. She accuses him of running off and living with Ellen McKinney, as per The Portsmouth Times.
Apparently she was granted the divorce since she and Ben went on to marry others. Ben did not marry Ellen, but did wed another lady of whom I believe was named Mary Ann Carr. I really can't say much more about Bad Ben because records from after 1870 are scarce or non-indexed. I show that he died February 27, 1898 and is buried in Oliver, Adams County, Ohio. But here my facts have turned into faith from other records.
UPDATE: Cousin Cora has come through again! Benjamin and his family were living in Scioto County, Ohio during the 1860 Census. It appears that the census taker really botched the Hutsenpiller name. Cora and Betty spent an entire day looking through all of the Scioto Co. Census records at the Clayton Library and this was how he was found. Many Thanks!
Sources:
1. "U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865" by The National Parks Service; Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.Original data - National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/>, acquired 2007.Original data: National Park Service, Civil War
2. http://www.civilwarindex.com/armyoh/rosters/22nd_oh_infantry_3years_roster.pdf
3. Selected U.S. Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880; Census Year: 1870; Census Place: Nile, Scioto, Ohio; Ancestry.com
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