Where did he go?
Where did he go? Benjamin Greenslit of Bennington, Vermont and Cheshire, Massachusetts.
By, Meg Sondey
My third great-grandfather, Benjamin Greenslit, was born about 1792, probably in the Vermont area, and most likely the son of James Greenslit. Those are the most logical explanations, but there is little to no documentation for that!
We do know that he married Parthenia Davis on 24 October 1813 in Bennington. We also know that he and Parthenia had at least eight children between 1814 and 1832. We know that Parthenia died in Readsboro, Vermont in 1880 of heart disease at the age of 85 and that her estate was not probated until 1895… fifteen years after her death. Curious.
But what about Benjamin? Interestingly, he was not living with Parthenia or any of the children according to the 1850, 1860, 1870, or 1880 Federal Censuses. So where was he?
This is where it gets interesting. There is an 1841 record of Benjamin Greenslit marrying Sally Hayden in Stamford, Vermont on September 7th. In the 1850 census, Benjamin was living with Sarah Greenslit and ten year old Horace A Greenslit. In the 1855 Cheshire, Massachusetts census, he was living with Sarah, Horace, and 22 year old Eliza Greenslit! In 1860, Benjamin was still living with Sarah. Benjamin disappears from any and all records after that date! Sarah died on 30 December 1870 in Clarksburg, Massachusetts. Finally, Horace and Eliza are nowhere to be found after their appearance in the 1855 Massachusetts census!
The only grave that I have located thus far is for Parthenia Davis Greenslit in Bennington, Vermont. Fascinatingly, that gravestone indicates that she is the “wife” of Benjamin Greenslit!
So what is the story here? Why did Benjamin leave his wife and children in Vermont? Why did he move to Massachusetts? Who was Sally/Sarah Hayden? Were Eliza and Horace Benjamin’s children? What happened to them? What happened to Benjamin?
A distant relative created a family history of the Greenslits back in the 1930s and no explanation of this was offered! Perhaps someone knew… but no one recorded the story. So, I continue to research and hope that one day, in some obscure record located in an old file drawer in some town’s office, the mystery of Benjamin Greenslit will be solved!
Parthenia is buried in Bennington Village Cemetery in Bennington, Vermont. The stone indicates that she wa the “Wife of Benjamin Greenslet” I had to dig to get that inscription in view…. my cousins was freaked out by my digging, so I’m not certain if anything else was written on the stone.