The progenitor of the numerous Bennett family of the Buckhannon River valley, Moses Bennett, migrated to that area in 1800, and lived the rest of his days north of what is now the town of Buckhannon. Moses left many descendants, and several publications over the years have dealt with his parentage. Upon examination of these, however, it is clear that a certain amount of confusion exists as to who the father of Moses Bennett was. It seems likely that the mother of Moses Bennett was an Elsworth, but my fellow descendants of Moses Bennett would do well to bear in mind that the father of Moses Bennett (and the first name of his mother) are presently open to question. This confusion was discussed in part in the Hackers Creek Journal in the Winter 1987 issue.
One source cites a Levi Bennett as the father of Moses. Another says that Moses' father was Joseph. The name of Isaac Bennett comes up in connection with another Bennett apparently born of an Elsworth mother, and most Bennett researchers have latched onto one of these and identified the same as Moses Bennett's father on their pedigree charts. Regardless of this, Moses Bennett's father remains unknown. It is hoped that the following notes will help "sort out" the confusion and make some suggestions about relationships and avenues for further research. It is also hoped that the following will serve to point out to the other descendants of Moses Bennett that the parentage of Moses is at this time unknown, and that the sources which attempt to identify his parents are not as solid as some believe.
What the Published Record Shows
If Moses Bennett's mother was an Elsworth, it is virtually certain that she was a daughter of Moses and Mary Elizabeth (Hinkle) Elsworth of Pendleton and later Harrison Counties, West Virginia. This Elsworth family is the one that can be clearly associated with the Bennetts over a century and in several locations, and Moses Elsworth is the only one old enough to be the father of Moses Bennett's Elsworth mother.
The earliest source that I have been able to uncover that lists the children of Moses Elsworth is a manuscript history written by Jeremiah Bodkin Elsworth (1809-1889). He was a son of Jesse Elsworth (1785-1854),and he probably knew his grandfather Moses Elsworth, Jr. who died at Jesse Elsworth's house in 1833. This manuscript is apparently preserved by one Paul Snider Chance whose manuscript materials are in he Houston Memorial Library in south Charleston, Ohio. A History of the Elsworth Family by the above named Elsworth lists the children of Moses Elsworth Sr., as remembered or known by him. It does not give a perfect account, leaving out at least one daughter and adding a granddaughter as a daughter. What is interesting in regard to the following discussion of Moses Bennett's parentage is that J. B. Elsworth does not name any daughters of Moses Elsworth Sr., who married Bennetts. The idea that Moses Bennett's mother was an Elsworth seems to begin with the family of Moses Bennett himself.
The History of Upshur County by Cutright, written in 1907, says on page 391 that "Moses Bennett's mother was an Elsworth and his father was Levi Bennett, a Revolutionary soldier." Cutright prefaces the family history section of his work by saying that he with several assistants collected materials from the "oldest of the native" citizens. The identification of Moses Bennett's parents is given in the biographical sketch of Ormsby Elsworth Bennett, and probably was collected by one of Cutright's assistants from Bennett himself, or a member of his family. Regardless of who provided the information, Cutright's account is the earliest one that I have seen of Moses Bennett's parents.
Morton's History of Pendleton County, written in 1910, deals indirectly with the family of Moses Bennett on page 350. An article contributed to that work by Judge William G. Bennett of Weston says that "in both Upshur and Lewis are other Bennetts who claim relationship (to the Pendleton County Bennetts) and who are superior citizens." The sketch goes on to identify several Upshur County Bennetts by the offices they held, and these can be further identified form other sources as offspring of the Moses Bennett line. The Bennett article in Morton should be sufficient to connect Moses Bennett to the Pendleton County family.
Although it does not deal specifically with Moses Bennett, a 1935 genealogy, "Some Descendants of Edward William Jackson" by Maletta Prickett Doughman, cites a different Bennett as the one who married an Elsworth. Mrs. Doughman, of Lebanon, Ohio, drew much from the collected data of Andrew Jackson II (1853-1923). The Doughman publication says, when dealing with the parents of Hannah Bennett Jackson, that her parents were Isaac and Hannah (Elsworth) Bennett. Could this Hannah Bennett Jackson have been the sister of Moses Bennett? Here it would seem that we have another branch of the family that believed they came from a Bennett-Elsworth coupling, although the father's name is different from that given by Cutright.
A 1940s History of the Queen Family by Stephen Post Queen, includes information on the family of Moses Bennett since Moses married a Queen girl for a second wife. Queen cites Joseph Bennett and Barbary Elsworth as the parents of Moses, and this appears to be the source of some later confusion that we are dealing with to the present day.
Elsworth Family: Ancestors and Descendants of Moses Elsworth, a manuscript history by Paul Snider Chance, was apparently written shortly after 1947. This manuscript, in the Houston Memorial Library in Ohio, as stated above, lists the children of Moses Elsworth, Sr., and says that Moses Elsworth had two daughters, Hannah and Barbara, who married Isaac and Joseph Bennett respectively.
A 1955 publication, Elsworth Genealogy, by Harriet Ellsworth Siebert and Willard Elsworth, M.D., echoes that the parents of Moses Bennett were Joseph Bennett and Barbara Elsworth. The Elsworth Genealogy adds information that this Joseph Bennett was born in 1755, moved to Ohio, and had 12 children.
This is an example of how unfortunate it is that many researchers do not cite sources for statements that they make, for the above statement that a 1755 Joseph Bennett of Ohio is the father may be of consideration importance, given that fact that a Virginia born Joseph Bennett (WEST Virginia born according to his son Jefferson's 1900 census listing in California) married Catherine, daughter of Christopher Strader in Ross County, Ohio in 1808. Christopher Strader was a 1770s warrantee of land on the Buckhannon River. Furthermore, Michael Strader married Sarah, daughter of David and ward of Jacob Bennett in Harrison County in 1821, and Moses Bennett sold land to an Anthony Strader in 1842 in Lewis (now Upshur) County. Was this Joseph Bennett, son-in-law of Christopher Strader related to Moses Bennett? We do not as yet know, but he represents and interesting avenue for speculation.
Confusion Compounded
If we genealogists and historians are nothing else, we are often good at compounding our own confusion. Many well-meaning folks have written major works of local history and contradicted each other if not themselves. Another stock-in-trade of the genealogist seems to be the ability to produce from "thin-air" family connections that "fit" what we at first believe to be the facts. An example of this can be fuond amid the "fallout" from some of the above mentioned published accounts.
The Henckel Genealogy, by Junkin and Junkin, published in 1964, says on page 207 that Moses Elsworth had two daughters who married Bennetts, Hannah and Barbara. This source goes on to say, as did Doughman, that Hannah married Isaac Bennett. The material in Junkin looks a lot like the Snider manuscript and his work may be Junkin's source.
The Junkin account seems to be an echo the Doughman, Chance and Queen publications. The Henckel Family Record, published in 1935, does not give the children of Moses Elsworth, and Elsworth's will does not name his daughters. The Junkin' give the Bennett account without citation of the source.
One Joseph Bennett, Jr. died in Pendleton County in 1810. He left a wife named Hannah and a large family of children. Nedra Brill in The Henkel Genealogical Bulletin, Spring 1992, cites family sources dating well into the 1800's, which say that this Joseph Bennett Jr. of Pendleton County actually married Hannah STARNES. Ms. Brill goes on to show that when it became apparent from this Joseph Jr.'s will (probated in Pendleton in 1810) that his wife was named HANNAH and not BARBARA, some researchers "switched" Doughman's Elsworth wife to this Joseph, and this is the apparent reason that a number of family group sheets circulate showing this Joseph Bennett with two marriages, on to Hannah Elsworth and one to Hannah Starnes.. Attaching a Hannah Elsworth wife to the Joseph Bennett Jr. who died in Pendleton County in 1810 is not valid. It is not founded on any evidences and amounts to an attempt to "force fit" several pieces of information together when they in fact should not be associated.
Morton's History of Pendleton County calls the wife of this Joseph Bennett Jr. Hannah SLEASON, and in 1872 family record prepared by one Meg Bennett shows the wife of Joseph Bennett as Hannah STERNS, and gives a list of their children. Moses Bennett is not among them. The Brill article cites the 1830s ledger book of Jonathan M. Bennett to show that Joseph Bennett married Hannah STARNES. While the ledger book is a secondary source, and does not conclusively prove the maiden name of Mrs. Joseph Bennett, Jr., it should be remembered that no matter who she was there is NO reason to assign the maiden name of Elsworth to her.
Since the Junkin publication, some researchers have identified Buckhannon Moses Bennett as a child of the Joseph and Hannah Bennett. Indeed at first glance this may be a tempting connection to make, as similarities in names in the two families would tend to make one wonder if there was not some connection between them. For instance, Joseph and Hannah Bennett named a son William and he in turn named a son David. Moses Bennett named sons David and William C. But a closer look would indicate that Moses probably got HIS names of David and William from the CASTO family, the family of his first wife. The name of Sarah also is common to both Bennett families, but Moses seems to have also taken this name for the Casto family.
The Joseph and Hannah Bennett family were associates of the McCally family, and at least one member of their Bennett family had "McCally" for a middle name. This too may have tempted some researchers to associate this family with Moses Bennett, as two of Moses' sons in turn gave their sons unknown middle names that began in "Mc". But the Moses Bennett family may have take this custom also after the Casto family, as Moses Bennett's first wife Phebe Casto had an aunt married to a "McClelland" in Pennsylvania. So the similarity of names between the Joseph and Hannah and the Moses Bennett families may not be as significant as some have thought, although Moses DID in fact name a daughter Phebe HANNAH Bennett, and the name HANNAH seems to figure into many of the intrigues in the Moses Bennett mystery.
To understand the confusion concerning the parents of Moses Bennett, we must first "disconnect" him from this Joseph Bennett Jr. who died in Pendleton in 1810, and this Joseph Bennett from the Elsworths, which connections were never valid in the first place. We must also realize that NO RECORD has to this point surfaced to show the existence of a Levi or Isaac Bennett who could be Moses or Hannah Bennett's father, so we must also question the supposed fathers of Moses and Hannah as given by Cutright, Doughman, Chance and Queen.
So Now What????
To some it may seem crazy to devote so much space to outlining what has been published about old Moses' dad only to denounce the published account outright, but I DO intend to suggest that the published account IS probably valid in part, at least when dealing with Moses Bennett's mother.
As I mentioned above there seems to be independent agreement down two branches of the family about the fact that there was at least one Bennett - Elsworth coupling about 1779. While I will cite numerous sources to probe this, I doubt if Ormsby E. Bennett had seen these when he gave his version of his ancestry to the compilers of the Upshur County history, and for this reason his identification of Moses Bennett's mother as an Elsworth is probably valid when considered with the available documented evidence. And further I doubt that Andy Jackson fabricated his account, as his is the branch of the family which left the most conclusive record of the Bennett - Elsworth coupling.
"no objection to the ….marriage between Wm Jackson and my granddaughter Hannah Bennett whom I have raised from a child….as her mother is dead and her father lives a great distance from this place."
That document is enough to suggest that at least one Bennett - Elsworth coupling produced at least one child by the late 1770s, provided that Hannah had not been previously married to a Bennett. It might also suggest that her father was alive and resided a "great distance" from Harrison County in 1798. Further evidence left by Moses Elsworth might suggest that if this Hannah was born of a Bennett-Elsworth union, she was an only child. In his will probated in Harrison County, Elsworth leaves her a full share of his estate as if she were his own child, and if she had a Bennett sibling one might wonder why he did not leave a full share to the sibling as well.
Could Moses Bennett have been a brother to Hannah? Her proven Elsworth maternity might suggest this, as might the fact that according to the Queen history Moses Bennett named a daughter Phebe Hannah Bennett. Could he have named her after his sister? Or might he have been raised by Joseph and Hannah (Starnes) Bennett and named a daughter after her? If Moses Bennett was not Hannah's brother, which the Elsworth will cited above might suggest, then could two marriages between Bennett mails and Elsworth females have taken place as has been reported? The published sources cannot be considered proof of this, as none of them present any real evidence of two Bennett-Elsworth marriages, nor any real evidence of the names of the Bennett husbands.
Numerous other records will associate the Bennett and Elsworth families. In fact the connections between the families and their descendants are innumerable. Both families begin to show up in records on the North Fork in (now) Pendleton County in the 1760s. As is noted elsewhere, about 1780 Hannah Bennett was born of a union of a Bennett parent and an Elsworth parent. The 1777 tithable list published in the Allegheny Regional Ancestors Volume 1 Issue 4 shows that the Elsworth and Bennetts were near neighbors at that time, as does the 178 Rockingham county tax list. The Revolutionary War pension record of James Lambert says that he (Lambert) entered the service in 1775 as a substitute for Jacob Elsworth and that he was given a discharge in writing about 1783 but the document "has since been lost by being in possession of one William Bennett who was drowned about a year after." In 1788, then the Bennett family members moved to Harrison County, Joseph Bennett and Moses Elsworth purchased farms on Coburn creek from Henry Runyan on the same day. Back in Pendleton in 1796 Joseph Bennett patented land on Elsworth Run. In 1802 in Harrison William Bennett and Moses Elsworth both witnesses the marriage bond of John Shaul to Susanna, daughter of Jacob Elsworth. Moses Elsworth sold Harrison County land to William Bennett in 1802. In 1807 in Harrison County, Jacob Bennett sr. married Mary, widow of Abraham Springstone of Randolph County. Jacob Elsworth was surety in the bond. The Harrison County minute book for 21 march 181 shows an order binding the orphans of David Bennett (named in the record as Simon, Margaret, Sally, Rebecca and Polly) to Jacob Bennett and Joseph Chevront. Chevront was married to an Elsworth.
Anyone who wishes to study the Bennett and Elsworth families will find in addition to the above records numerous marriage connections by the Bennetts and Elsworth into the same families, and many other movements in common between the families in several locations. These records, among others, will associate the families, and with the Jackson - Bennett marriage record support the supposition that the above publications were correct in their agreement that there was at least one union between a Bennett and an Elsworth in the 1770s. The fact that Moses Bennett seems to have been named for Moses Elsworth might further suggest that he was in fact born of such a union.
Identity of the Father
While it has been shown that various authors and solid evidence agree that Bennett male probably married an Elsworth, it has also been shown that it is NOT clear which Bennett. Cutright thought it was Levi. Doughman thought it was Isaac, Queen thought is was Joseph. Brill's article dealt primarily with showing HOW MANY Bennett-Elsworth couplings had taken place, and have adequately done so, was not concerned with hashing out the discrepancies between the fathers given I the other published sources. But as stated above one must question Cutright's and Doughman's accounts when we consider that there does not seem to have been any Isaac or Levi Bennett in the area at the time of Moses and Hannah's birth. That fact cannot be expressed enough. There just does not seem to have ever been a Levi or an Isaac Bennett living anywhere in proximity to the Elsworths in the 1770s.
Of course it is impossible "to prove a negative," but it can be said that no tax list, petition, road order, will book listing, land entry, land grant, law suit, processioner's record, church book or deed bears the name of Levi or Isaac Bennett in the Pendleton County area at the time of Moses' birth. At least none that has come to my attention, and more thorough researchers than I have looked. Jeff Carr reports that he has not found any. Nedra Brill also said so in her article referred to above. And it should be state that while there were something like nine Joseph Bennetts in this family in the late 1700s and early 1800s, no primary record shows any of them married to a Barbara. Someone will probably mail me some obscure record showing such a marriage, or showing a Levi or an Isaac in the right time and place, and I will get it the day this article gets into print. But, for now, no such record exists and I assert that while I have no doubt that the mother of Moses Bennett was an Elsworth, I do not accept Levi, Isaac, or Joseph as his father until some other researcher can provide sufficient proof.
Further Considerations
The entire first generation of the Bennett family in West Virginia is not as clear as some think. In 1782 tax lists indicate that by that time there were TWO Bennetts in the Pendleton area with adult children. The presence of an "extra" John and William would show this. Either Joseph Sr. had a son old enough to have adult sons by 1782 (which is not out of the question) or there was another Bennett contemporary with Joseph Sr. Records in Chalkley show that there was an adult John Bennett living on the South Fork by 1767, just two years after Joseph Sr. begins to show up, and Joiners published Northern Neck surveys has evidence of a Joseph and Thomas Bennett on Cacapon in the 1760s, contemporary with Joseph Bennett Sr.'s appearance in Pendleton. It seems to be the popular opinion among most researchers I have talked with that Joseph Bennett Sr. came to West Virginia and that all of the other descend form him. I am not so sure.
In 1778 Paul Hinkle, a relative of the Elsworths, wrote in his diary that Joseph Bennett Sr. had two sons who were householders and two married daughters. This being the case, there are too many adult Bennetts in the early 1770s to fit that profile. Morton cites a William, James and John Bennett in records before 1775, so since Joseph Sr. only had two sons who were householders by 1778, and it seems likely that one of these was the Joseph Jr. who died in 1810, one must wonder who some of these others belonged to. Paul Hinkle was definitely someone who would have KNOWN how many kids Joseph Bennett Sr. had, so it appears that there were adult Bennetts running around in the early 1770s who were not Joseph Sr.'s children. It may be that Joseph Sr. and some of his brothers or cousins appear in the 1760s and 1770s, and that the later generations descend from the collectively.
Even though no evidence of a Levi or Isaac Bennett who could be Moses and/or Hannah's father has surfaced, and even though there is no evidence of a 1770s era Joseph Bennett who could have been married to a Barbara Elsworth, the existence of such a person or persons cannot be ruled out emphatically. It is not out of the question that a Bennett male could have married about 1777, had a couple of kids, lost his wife, and left the state before 1782. If so, he would not show up in the tax lists in Virginia, and if he did not pursue a land grant there would be no record of him in such records. More research is needed into various Ohio Bennett families to clarify their origins in West Virginia (or rule them out).
Conclusion
The above should be enough to show that there is solid that at least one Bennett-Elsworth coupling did in fact produce at least one child about the time Moses Bennett was born. It should also show that the Bennett and Elsworth families are proven associates, further supporting Cutright's assertion that Moses Bennett's mother was an Elsworth. It also points out that there was no Levi or Isaac Bennett who could have married the Elsworth female. Evidence cited above will show there is no reason to associate Joseph Jr. of Pendleton County with Moses Bennett of the Elsworth, regardless of how many copies of group sheets that say otherwise might be out there.
What should be clear from the above is that there is good reason to believe that Cutright and Queen could be correct in their contention that Moses Bennett's mother was an Elsworth, and this gives Bennett a solid pedigree into 1400s Germany, although the first name of his mother is not clear. It should also be clear that we must be careful when we assess the published claims of Moses Bennett's paternity, and the published claims of the identities f the wives of the early Bennett males. There is no primary source that names Levi Bennett as Moses' father. Moses Bennett's father remains unknown, but it is hoped that now the issue is a little more clear, and perhaps we are in a better position to continue research and one day untangle the many mysteries in the West Virginia Bennett families.
Author's notes: The above article is a SHORT version of a manuscript I have been circulating among various Bennett researchers for about two years. The manuscript has been changed and updated several times and no doubt copies of one draft or another will be around for a long time. In those various drafts I suggested various parents for both Moses and Hannah Bennett. I suggested connections between them and other Bennetts based on tax list records, and other circumstantial evidence. While these suggestions might be good as ideas for further research, I suggest that all be disregarded as statements of relationships. There is still much hat needs to be learned about the West Virginia Bennetts. Jacob Sr., William Sr., and Richard all lived on the West Fork River and had families that are not fully documented. In Ohio in 1819 two children of Rosina (Elsworth) Shaul married Virginia born Bennett girls. A son of the Joseph Bennett mentioned above (husband of Catherine (Strader) married an Elsworth girl out West. All of these things and many others need to researched both in a n effort to illuminate the family of Moses Bennett and to complete the Bennett family history. So I am publishing this shorter version of my Bennett article now. I have removed all of my theories and suppositions about relationships between various persons, and I caution the reader that if one comes across any version of the above manuscript dated earlier than December 1996 the earlier version should be disregarded especially in any instance in which it contradicts information in the article above.
The Allegheny Regional Family History Society