22 (CAPTAIN) BENJAMIN OATMAN
22 BENJAMIN4 (George3,
John2, Johannes1), son of George and
Ruth (Wooster) Outman, was born in
Ripton, Connecticut, in 1755 (per gravestone at Adams Center, Jefferson County,
New York). He was christened at St.
Paul's Church, Ripton Parish, Fairfield County, Connecticut, and died in Adams
Center on 1 March 1816. He married
Bethia Smith, who was born ca 1755 and died 28 February 1848. They are both buried at State Road Cemetery
(formerly Honeyville Cemetery), Adams Center, Jefferson County, New York.
View Benjamin’s grave marker here
At the age of nine
or ten, Benjamin removed to Arlington with his father; he later served during
the War of the American Revolution, where he was listed as a Freedom
Fighter. Part of this service is
recorded in Vermont Revolutionary Rolls as follows:
"A Pay Roll
in Capt. Jonas Galusha's Company in Col. Herrick's Regt. for service done in
the alarm in Oct., 1780.
[Private] Benj.
Oatman, 8 days in service, 55 miles traveled,
Total 1 [£], 9
[s], 0 [d]."
That he possibly
had further service is indicated by the fact that his gravestone is marked
"Captain" Benjamin Oatman.
After the war, the
family settled in Hartford, Washington County, New York, and later removed to
Adams Center in Jefferson County, where he was a farmer. Bethia was apparently living with her son
Elias when the 1840 census of Adams was taken.
Children of
Benjamin and Bethia (Smith) Oatman:
90 Benjamin
D., b. 1776, Oxford, CT; d. 18 Mar 1825; m. Lodice (Sadie) Wilson
91 Sarah
92 Asahel,
b. 8 Feb 1784; d. 1 Dec 1856; m. Sarah Parker ca 1804
93 Darius,
b. 14 Feb 1787; d. 27 May 1873; m. Jerushia _____, ca 1820
94 Oscar,
b. ca 1781?
95 George,
b. ca 1786, Washington Co., NY; m. Elizabeth Winslow
96 Daniel.
Although this son has in the past been known as “David,” new information
has come to light which definitely indicates that his name was “Daniel.” It's quite likely that he is the
"Darol" Oatman in the 1830 census of Jefferson Co., NY, in a
household of 1 male -5; 1 male
5-10; 1 male 30-40 (Daniel); 1 female
10-15; 1 female 20-30; and 1 female
50-60. In the 1840 census of Brutus,
Cayuga Co., NY, as "D. Oatman".
In 1850, in Conquest, Cayuga Co., NY, is “David” Oatman, age 47, with
wife Betsy 42, Sarah 19, John 16, Abagail 14, Charles 11, Harry 9, Ellen 4, and
Martha 2.
In 1860, Daniel,
age 56, a farm laborer b. in VT, was living in Portland Twp., Whiteside Co.,
IL, with wife Betsey, 52, b. VT; Charles, 22, b. NY; Henry K., 19, b. NY, and
Ellen J., 14, b. NY. He was still living
in Portland Twp., in 1870: Daniel, 66, farmer, b. VT, and Betsey, 62, b. VT.
Daniel was b. ca
1803-1804 in VT. He married Betsey
Washburne, who was born in Sandgate, Bennington Co., VT, and died 24 January
1896 in Pauline, Adams Co., NE, whose obituary states:
“Died. At the residence of H. W. Olmstead, 3 miles
south west of Pauline, Neb., on January 24, 1896, after a short illness of
pneumonia of the lungs, Mrs. Betsey Oatman, widow of the late Daniel Oatman. Mr. and Mrs. Oatman came to Adams county [NE]
in 1881 where he died four years ago.
She leaves three sons and two daughters, Mr. J. H. Oatman, of Pauline;
C. E. Oatman, of LeRoy; H. R. Oatman, of Prophetstown, Ill.; Mrs. H. W. Olmstead,
Pauline and Mrs. E. J. Cox, of Hastings, Neb., to whom the sympathy of a large
circle of friends is extended.”
Another obituary
for Betsey states that “Her husband died four years ago the 20th of
last month and had passed his 90th birthday.” This would give Daniel’s birth ca 1804,
having passed his 90th birthday by 20 Dec 1891. The second obituary
goes on to state: “In their younger days they lived in central New York. From there they moved to Illinois early in
the fifties, where they resided until 1881 when they came to Nebraska, making
their home with their daughter, Mrs. Olmstead.
She was a member of the Baptist church, having joined that society when
eighteen years of age. ...”
The above
information, plus records from Brad Oatman, a descendant of Charles E. Oatman,
gives us the following family picture of Daniel and Betsey’s children, surname
Oatman:
A Sarah W., b. 26 Dec 1830, Cayuga Co.,
NY; d. 9 Jul 1902, Pauline, Adams Co., NE.
Sarah traveled with her parents to Whiteside Co., IL, in 1855, was
married to H. W. Olmstead in 1856, residing in Prophetstown until 1874 when the
family moved to Adams Co., NE. They
settled on a homestead in Little Blue Township, near what is now Pauline, where
she lived out her life. Her husband
survived her, as did one son:
I E.
S. Olmstead, living in Pauline, NE, 1902
B John H., b. 18 Nov 1832, Baldwinsville,
Onondaga Co., NY; d. 15 May 1912, Crowell, NE, “caused by a cancer of the jaw
which developed recently.” John grew up
in New York, living with his parents until the early 1850's when the family
moved to Illinois, later on returning to New York. In March 1858, he married Pamelia J. Crandall
of New York. Two children were born who
died in early life. John was a member of
Co. F, 110th Reg. N.Y. State Volunteer Infantry, which went out from
Oswego in 1862 and was mustered out in August 1865 after the close of the
war. He was also a member of Silas R.
Strickland Post G.A.R. of Hastings, NE.
John came to Nebraska with his family in January 1883 and settled on a
farm near Pauline. His wife, Pamelia,
died near Pauline on 28 April 1896. John
later moved to Hastings and lived with his brother-in-law, H. W. Olmstead, later
living with a niece, Mrs. Nathan Kennedy, at Crowell. A short news item states that he died 15 May
[no year] at the home of his niece in Crowell; his body was taken to Hastings
where the funeral was held at the home of his nephew, E. S. Olmstead on Friday,
May 17. John and Pamelia are buried in
the LeRoy, NE, cemetery.
C Abigail, b. 13 Jul 1836, Cayuga Co.,
NY; d. 2 Jun 1893, Columbia, SD. Abigail
married Joseph W. Hixson in Whiteside Co., IL, 3 Nov 1859. She moved with her family ca 1855 to Jefferson
Corners, IL. They lived in Yorktown, IL,
and then Tampico, IL, until the spring of 1884 when they moved to South
Dakota. They had one son and three
daughters.
D Charles E. (Oatman), b. 6 Jul 1838,
Brutus, Cayuga Co., NY. Charles moved
with his family to Illinois in 1855, living in Whiteside County for several
years. Charles served in the 34th
Illinois Infantry, Co. B, during the Civil War.
He was mustered into the service in Whiteside Co., IL, on 7 Sep
1861. He first married, on 2 Feb 1864,
Mary E. LeFrancis, in Whiteside Co., IL.
Mary died 27 Jan 1877. They had
seven children, surname Oatman, all born in IL:
I Infant
son, b. 24 Jan 1866; d. 26 Jan 1866
II Infant
daughter, b. 6 Mar 1867; d. 16 Mar 1867
III Clinton
Emmitt, b. 31 Aug 1868; d. 18 Dec 1884
IV Daniel
Anthony, b. 4 Dec 1869
V Mary
Irene “Mamie,” b. 3 Jan 1872, Prophetstown, IL; d. 6 Jan 1953, Englewood, CO
VI Sarah
Almenia, b. 30 Jun 1874; m. _____ Lloyd; living in Corona, CA
VII Gertrude
Jenett, b. 23 Jan 1876
Charles
married second, Hulda Steel, 27 Jul 1878 or 1879. They resided in Illinois
until 1887, when he moved to Adams Co., NE, later moving to Hastings in 1890.
Charles died 23 Apr 1908 in Hastings, NE; Huldah d. 25 May 1912 at the Nebraska
sanitarium “where she has been failing for four months with dropsy.”; they are
both buried in LeRoy, NE. Charles and
Huldah had seven more children, surname Oatman:
VIII Ida, b. May 1879, Prophetstown, IL; d. 16
May 1927, Hollinger, NE
IX Katie,
b. 24 Jan 1881, Prophetstown, IL; d. 17 Jan 1932, Creston, NE; m. Nathan
Kennedy
X Martha
Jane, b. 15 Aug 1883
XI Maude,
b. 1 May 1890, Adams Co., NE; d. 1960, Beaver City, Furnas Co., NE
XII Floyd
Henry, b. 21 Sep 1892, Adams Co., NE; d. 1958, Lincoln, NE
XIII John Harvey, b. 22 Apr 1896, LeRoy, NE; d.
21 Mar 1987, Boone, IA, age 90; m. 7 Jun 1917, Clara Odelia Martin, daughter of
John August Martin and Wilhelmina Hintz, in Butte, Boyd Co., NE. She was b. 12 Nov 1893, in Almond, Portage
Co., WI, and d. 16 Jul 1979, Norfolk, Madison Co., NE, age 85. Children, surname Oatman:
a Gwenevier Cora, b. 22 Mar 1922,
Albion, NE; m. 3 Jun 1943, Darrell E. Hammond, in Nashville, TN, he b. 15 Jul
1920, Stamford, Harlan Co., NE; d. Lincoln, Lancaster Co., NE, 14 Jul
1976.
b John Harvey, Jr. (Oatman), b. 12 Dec
1925, Albion, NE; d. 26 Feb 2002, Boone, IA; m. 1 Feb 1948, Betty Lou Follette,
daughter of Eugene and Pearl “Polly” (Wilcox) Follette, in Creighton, Knox Co.,
NE; Betty was b. 1 Sep 1927, Carroll, NE.
John was a train dispatcher for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad
for 42 years.
XIV Hazel
Irena (Oatman), b. 13 Sep 1901, Adams Co., NE
E Henry K. (Oatman), b. ca 1841, NY, and
d. 1926; bur. Riverside Cem., Prophetstown, IL.
He appeared on the census in 1900 in Prophetstown, Prophetstown Twp.,
Whiteside Co., IL: Henry Oatman, 52, widowed, traveling salesman, b. IL; Benj.,
23, son, merchant, b. IL; Joseph M. Welch, 30, a boarder and farm laborer. Henry was married to Mary E. Frankenfield on
12 Dec 1873 in Whiteside Co., IL. Mary
d. 1893, bur. with Henry. Children,
surname Oatman:
I Benjamin
F., b. 1877; d. 1960; bur. Riverside Cem., Prophetstown, IL.
F Ellen, b. ca 1846, NY; d. ca 1909; m.
William E. Cox, 22 Feb 1866, Whiteside Co., IL.
Living in Hastings, NE, in 1898 at the time of her mother’s death.
G Martha, b. ca 1848, NY
97 Truman,
b. 1787; d. 20 Mar 1843; m. Orra Perry
98 Elijah,
b. ca 29 Aug 1778; d. 29 Jan 1860; m. 1) (poss.) Polly Horth; 2) Lydia Richards
99 Elias,
b. 9 Oct 1799; d. 26 Feb 1884; m. Eliza Bunce
100 Richard, b. 1807; d. 8 Feb 1891; m. Mary
"Polly" Havens
While earlier
reports placed Richard with this family, Richard was listed on the
"Register of Deaths of the Town of Adams, New York" as the son of Isaac
Oatman of Connecticut and Polly of Connecticut, and he has been placed with
that family and given the number 270.
Sources: Family records supplied by Mr. B. D.
Smith of Springford, ON
Various family
records
Register of Deaths
of the Town of Adams, NY
Family records of
Helen B. McDonald, Alexandria Bay, NY
1790 census, Adams
Center, Jefferson County, NY
1810 census,
Adams, Jefferson County, NY
1830 census, Jefferson
Co., NY
1840 census, Brutus,
Cayuga Co., NY
1850 census, Conquest,
Cayuga Co., NY
DAR Application
#692049
National Archives
Military records
"The State of
Vermont, Rolls of the Soldiers in the Revolutionary War
1775 to 1783"
[1904]
Obituaries of Betsey
Oatman, 1896
Obituary of Charles E. Oatman,
1908
Obituary of John H.
Oatman, 1912
Obituary of Hulda
Oatman, 1912
Obituary of Sarah W.
Oatman Olmstead, 1902
Family records and
sources supplied by Brad Oatman <OBJohn@aol.com>
(v2008)d/l