Bible of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and wives Almira (Heath); Jessey (Graham) and Clara J. (Moulton) of Tremont, Maine

Bible that belonged to the family of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and wives Almira (Heath) Benson; Jessey (Graham) Benson [or Jessie, Jessy]; and Clara J. (Moulton) Benson of Tremont, Maine.

The Bible, published in 1844 by Jesper Harding of 57 South Third Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, measures approximately 11-1/4" by 8-1/2" by 2-1/4" and contains two pages of Family Records, including Marriages, Births and Deaths.   From a quick riffle, it appears that there are no mementos inside, other than three obituaries pasted on the inside front cover.

The inside cover features three obituaries, shown below.

Obituary of Mrs. Almira (Heath) Benson, first wife of Benjamin Benson, Jr.

Obituary of Capt. Benjamin Benson, Jr.

Obituary of Mrs. Jessey (Graham) Benson, second wife of Benjamin Benson, Jr.

The two pages of Family Records have entries for Benjamin Benson, Jr., his first two wives Almira (Heath) Benson and Jessey (Graham) Benson and children of those two wives, as well as a marriage record for Benjamin's third wife Clara J. (Moulton) Benson.  

Marriages, listed on the left side of the page:

• Benjamin Benson Jr - Miss Almira Health - September 19, 1822
• Benjamin Benson Jr - Miss Jessy Graham September 19, 1855
• Benjamin Benson to Miss Clara J. Moulton - April 19, 1871
• Son of Benjamin and Jessy: James B. Benson To Eva M. Lawson in Rockland, Maine, October 20, 1880

Births, listed on the right side of the page [additional births on another page, farther below]

• Benjamin Benson Jr., July 18, 1801
• Almira (Heath) Benson, September 6, 1801

Children of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and Almira (Heath) Benson, shown on the first page of Births in two enlargements

• Harriet M [Maria ?] N. Benson, January 21, 1823  [N. for Norwood ?]
• Eliza Ann Benson, September 15, 1824
• Benjamin B. Benson, April 13, 1826
• William H. Benson, December 17, 1828
• John Q. A. Benson [supposedly John Quincy Adams Benson], July 19, 1830
• Henry C. Benson, October 27, 1832 [though his first name looks like "Honey", he was Henry Clay Benson]

Continued, Children of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and Almira (Heath) Benson

• Hannah H. Benson, May 15, 1836
• Julia A. Benson, October 27, 1837
• Samuel P. Benson, October 10, 1839
• Mary E. Benson, August 16, 1845  [given name looks like "Money"]

Children of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and Jessey (Graham) Benson

• James B. Benson, February 26, 1856
• Lyman N. Benson, October 11, 1857
• Daniel G. Benson, December 14, 1859

 Second Family Records Page listing Births in the left column and Deaths in the right column:

Births:

Jessy (Graham) Benson, second wife of Benjamin Benson, Jr., June 24, 1822

More Children of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and Jessey (Graham) Benson

• Eliza A. Benson, January 28, 1862
• Jessy Benson, Adopted, April 14, 1865 - this might be the adoption date rather than a birth date, but Jessie is a 5 year old in the 1870 Census, so a birth year of about 1865 would fit. I wonder if Jessy was the J. L. H. Benson born May 7, 1864 at Tremont, Maine.  Interestingly, Benjamin Benson, Jr.'s obituary, farther above, notes ..."and the fatherless, were never turned from his door". Whether a coincidence or not, Albert Jefferson Carver, son of Wills Carver and Sally (Hopkins) Carver was born at Tremont, Maine, on May 7, 1864.

Clara J. (Moulton) Benson, third wife of Benjamin Benson, Jr., July 28, 1843

Deaths on the upper half of the page:

• Almira Benson, March 12, 1850
• Eliza Ann (Benson) Thurston [wife of James Thurston], October 10, 1857
• Eliza A. Benson, May 1, 1865
• Jessy Benson, September 18, 1870 "at 11 oclock night"
• Samuel P. Benson [middle initial doesn't look much like a P, but P. is on his gravestone], September 8, 1875
• Benjamin Benson, Jr., September 23, 1875
• William H. Benson, October 14, 1877

Deaths on the lower half of the page

• Henry C. Benson, August 30, 1879
• Lyman N. Benson, August 22, 1887  [third digit hard to read; might not be 8]
• Julia A. Benson, June 10, 1910
• Hannah H. Benson, July 30, 1912
• Mary E. Benson, November 2, 1915
• John Q. A. Benson, March 5, 1917
• James B. Benson, January 20, 1926
• Daniel G. Benson, May 6, 1931

If you have information to share on any of the people mentioned above, please leave a comment or contact me directly.  I'd especially like to learn more about Jessy Benson, the adopted daughter of Benjamin Benson, Jr., and Jessey (Graham) Benson.