I haven't posted anything here for a very long time. Time to get back to it.
Not long ago, I checked in on Ancestry and found a shaky leaf on Benjamin Merritt's profile. I took a moment to click on it and I was speechless!
For many years I've thought about the circumstances surrounding Benjamin's death. It was all very curious. The family lore passed down was that Benjamin was running for Sheriff and someone didn't like him, so shot him.
As I dug into this story, I learned that it wasn't exactly accurate. I collected many details from a variety of regional newspapers. Each account gave new insights. Actually, he was running for state legislature. And the accounts varied in how he actually met his demise.
What I learned was that he had left his family in Nebraska the day before the November election to travel by train to Iowa to check in on his brother's family. His brother Josiah, had passed away 2 years earlier, leaving a wife and several young children. Benjamin was named one of the guardians to some of the children.
He rented a horse and buggy at the local livery and headed out. It is unclear if he ever made it to his destination in Lewis or if he was returning when this occurred. One account suggested that it may have been suicide. Others painted a
picture of a highway robbery. At any rate, he was found shot in the
head in the buggy.
I've looked and thought about this for a very long time. Were there court records? Coroner's inquest records? Other details that might lead me to the real truth of the 100+ year old mystery.
So back to the shaky leaf. . . I never imagined that I'd get my answers through a shaky leaf!! Here's the clipping that had been attached to Benjamin's profile on another person's tree.
Here was a possible answer to this mystery. Someone who was wracked with guilt over this episode had confessed before taking his own life.
It answers some questions, but certainly raises more. Thank you shaky leaf! And to the "cousin" who posted this clip on her tree!
Time to dig deeper!
I thought it would be helpful to lay out Hector's tree so to easily see what his family looks like. I'll detail the individual families in the near future.
Hector and Jane homesteaded in Lancaster County, Nebraska. They made application March 16, 1872 for an 80 acre parcel of land - Section 24 - Twp 12 - Range 4E
They proved up on it and received their land certificate Oct. 8. 1877.
They filed for an additional 80 adjacent to it in March 1880.
Can you imagine a family of 5 living in a 14 X 19 foot, one story house with three windows and one door??
They had also filed a Timber Conservation claim on one parcel, but had that revoked as they had not planted the required number of trees.
Here is Hector's final naturalization document that was attached to his homestead application as proof of his citizenship.
The naturalization process began in Cedar County, Iowa when they stopped and stayed there in 1870-1871.
Hector and Jane moved their family from Cedar County, Iowa after a short stay there. In the 1878 Nebraska census, they show up in Lancaster County, living in West Oak precinct.
They are shown living with the Donisthorp family. I don't know how the two families came to be acquainted. Sidney Donisthorpe eventually married Elizabeth McLean.
So
the search was on. . .where was Elizabeth? Well, as luck would have
it, I found her living back in Seymour, Ontario where the family moved
from. She was living with her aunt, uncle and grandmother as shown here in the 1871 Seymour Twp. census. The pieces
are starting to fit together!
By this time, I knew that Hector's mom was Agnes (Hunter) Curling. My great grandmother had a wonderful scrapbook full of clues about this family. One page had several clippings about Dinwoodies. I didn't know the full significance of those clippings until I found this census. Upon further research, I learned that both of Hector's sisters married Dinwoodie brothers.
Years ago, as I was exploring Hector's homestead land application in Nebraska, I found his Naturalization application completed in Cedar Co. Iowa attached to his file. I tucked that bit of information away and hadn't really thought much about it until last Spring.
I was taking a look at this very challenging project. Piece by piece. I put together a timeline for the family and realized that I didn't have a listing for them in the 1870/71 census. I searched and searched. Finally, there it was. The family was shown living in Cedar Co. Iowa in the 1870 census record.
I really didn't understand the significance of the location at that time. More on that later! What I did notice was that my great great grandmother wasn't living in the home at that time. She would have been 13 years of age, so I found that curious for her not to be at home with her parents.
So the search was on!
According to the St. Andrew's church, Hector and Jane had 3 children.
Elizabeth Heseltine b. 1858 (my gggrandmother)
Isabella b. 1861
Allen John Campbell b. 1862
