The Tribe of the Twelve Benjamins (part 4)

Benjamin 11 has not been tied into the family tree.   All we know is that he was born in King George about 1748 and that his father was Richard.   A best guess is that he was a great grandson of Richard, the youngest son of Henry the Immigrant.

Benjamin 12 was born about 1771, possibly a son of Joel (son of Henry III or grandson of Enoch?).   He was a resident of Stafford County, Virginia in 1781 and in King George in 1783, a change probably based on altering county boundaries rather than an actual move.

I have not exhausted the stable of available Benjamin Berrys.   In the 1810 and 1820 census in Virginia and Kentucky one can find another five or six others about whom I have done no research.   And several of the sons of Benjamin 2 named sons Benjamin. But enough is enough.

While this may have been a bit of overkill regarding these Benjamins, consider this.    They not only had the same given name, they tended to congregate in the same areas with other Benjamins or with other Berrys who had a Benjamin as a brother, just not that Benjamin.   Here are the Benjamins that resided near each other:

• -Benjamins 1 and 4 were born about the same year and raised near each other along the Rappahannock.   Later they separately moved to Frederick where they both lived to a ripe old age.


• -Benjamins 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7 were all in Frederick during some part or all of the period from 1760 to 1810.   In the Frederick tax list for 1792 there are four Benjamins listed.   The missing one was probably Benjamin 7 who was already living in Kentucky.


• -Benjamins 2 and 7 were living in adjacent Fayette and Woodford Counties in central Kentucky during the 1790s and early 1800s.   By 1820 they each had sons, Benjamin 3 and Benjamin 8, living with or near them.


• -Benjamins 5 and 6 were living near the brothers of Benjamin 2 (Thornley, Reuben and John) in Union and Hopkins County in western Kentucky by 1820.   But lest we forget, the wife of Benjamin 5 was the sister of Benjamin 2 and his brothers.


• -Benjamin 9, 10, 11, and 12 were contemporaries in King George County, Virginia.   Benjamin 9 and 10 were also connected to Mason County, Kentucky.

When you find a document in one of these counties referring to Benjamin Berry, you always have to puzzle over which Benjamin is being referenced.   Sometimes it is totally unclear.   Sometimes there are clues that help to differentiate.   The most helpful is when their spouse is named.   Of course that wouldn't even help in Frederick if you find a Benjamin Berry with wife Winifred.

I truly hope this has not further confused the Benjamin Berry conundrum.
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Responsibility for this report is solely with the author, Gerald Jones.   Please send any additions or corrections to jones64k@msn.com or phone me at (520) 825 0728 in Tucson AZ.
Copyright January 2006, Tucson AZ
Revised:   23 Sep 2006