Benjamin Hemingway - What happened to his family after his death? - part 4

In the previous posting about the family of Benjamin Hemingway, I included a section of the petition by his second wife, Harriett Webb, for guardianship of the six children. Five of these children were children of Perlina (Pauline) Webb. The two women were most likely sisters.

Perlina and Benjamin were married by Rev. Wm. Jenkins (Presbyterian) 21 December 1839. Their witnesses were John Hemingway and Josiah Helmke. She died 14 August 1849. She is buried in Hagerman East Cemetery, Markham. Her namesake was born 20 July 1849. Was her death an aftermath of childbirth?

With five young children including a newborn, Benjamin would have needed help raising the children. Harriett Webb stepped in to fill that role. Perhaps, Harriett had already been helping Pauline with the children. A search for a possible marriage of the couple on Ancestry.ca resulted in finding only one possible one in Illinois on 5 August 1851 in Hancock County, Illinois. The same search on Family Search found the same record. At that time in Canada West (Ontario), marriages would have been registered at the District Level. Some of them are listed on Ancestry. Together, Benjamin and Harriett had a little girl, Anna Benjanna. In the 1861 census, Benjanna's birthplace is given as Illinois. This leads me to believe that the marriage listing could be for the right couple. Ancestry only has the index and no image.

Between 1852 and 1861, Harriett remarried. She married widower, Elijah Bostwick. Elijah had children from his first marriage to Sarah Rogers: Esther, Seneca, Phoebe Ann, Nathan and Jonathan. Sarah died 16 June 1847. He married Margaret Austin in 1851 but she only lived a few months after their marriage.

You may recall that Elijah Bostwick acted as surety for the guardianship petition. Elijah and Harriett likely married around  1854. Together, Elijah and Harriett had Sarah Alice 30 June 1855, Thomas Albert 6 October 1856, Ida Louisa 15 October 1858, Lydia and Lizzie 9 March 1861, and Rachel E. 18 October 1863. and Ella 16 October 1864 and Hannah Mahala (called Hela in the 1871 census).

In 1861, Elijah, Harriet and two of Elijah's sons, and their three children are living in Pickering Township. With them are Harriet's daughter Benjanna, and Harriet's step children Rachel, Mahala and Corwile [Corwin].

To be continued . . .

Benjamin Hemingway - Perlina Webb Ontario District Marriage Registrations, Home District; digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 13 April 2015), citing microfilm MS 248 Reel 2, Archives of Ontario, Toronto

"Illinois, County Marriages, 1810-1934," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KFK3-PV4 : accessed 15 April 2015), Benjamin Hemmingway and Harriett Webb, 05 Aug 1851; citing Hancock, Illinois, United States, county offices, Illinois; FHL microfilm 954,177.

Canadian Quaker Yearly Meeting Records, Pickering Monthly Meeting Register; digital images, Ancestry.ca (http:// www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 April 2015), citing Reference Number: B-2-29; Reel Number: 18 Canadian Yearly Meeting Archives; Newmarket, Ontario, Canada

1861 Census of Canada West, Ontario County, Pickering Township, p. 78. line 31, Elijah Bostwick household; digital image, Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 13 April 2015), citing microfilm C-1057, Library & Archives Canada, Ottawa.

1871 Census of Canada, Ontario, Ontario County (district 47) Pickering Township (sub-district a), p 21, family 76; digital image Ancestry.ca (http://www.ancestry.ca : accessed 10 April 2015), citing microfilm C-9973, Library & Archives Canada, Ottawa.

© 2015 Janet Iles