A Local Ancestor

In my search, I found an ancestor that was buried in Delaware county. Little did I know that they practically meant down the street. She's about a 20 minute drive, in traffic, from my house. Her name at her time of death was Abigail Bennet, though her maiden name was Beers. Her second husband that she's buried with is named Ishmael Bennet, but the one who was my grandfather is Philip Weeks (?-3 July 1778). 

Philip and Abigail (About 1742-28 July 1839) had a daughter named Lydia (About 1778-28 May 1867) who is a grandmother of mine. Abigail would have been my Great (x7) Grandmother. For the family reading this, she was the great-grandmother of John W Ricketts (18 June 1835-1 June 1863) on his mother's side, so Ricketts folks, she's your ancestor, too.

If my sources are correct (and at this generation they may very well not be because I have no documents, just what someone types into a website) she was born in Connecticut. She married both of her husbands in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She and Philip were married in 1773. Something's just not right in my sources though, because I find her daughter, Lydia, was born in Perry County, Ohio, but that means she would have left Pennsylvania and then returned later to marry Ishmael. I do believe she's the right person, but I don't think that the locations are right for either her daughter's birth or her second marriage. She theoretically could have gone back to PA, especially if she didn't have family support when her husband died, but in that time I really doubt the trek was made-it was horse and buggy, you know.

The cemetery she's found in is very small. According to findagrave.com there are about 110 internments, that includes people buried together so there aren't many headstones.

Their gravestone also has a veteran's flag and star next to it that reads "1776" my uneducated guess on the topic suggests that he was a revolutionary war veteran...but I really wasn't well taught in school about wars. I learned about the standardized tests, but not the Seven Year's war or the war of 1812 or any of that business. I think I'll learn about it in my zeal to learn about these ancestors as I come across veterans like this.

After researching the history of Harlem Township, I have come to find that our ancestors were part of it's founding. Wow. It's impressive to me. Though Ishmael was my step Great (x7) Grandfather, I noticed the names and photographed the graves nearby that were of his family. I don't know how he was related to Daniel, but I took a photo of his headstone. That is...if this is the right Daniel Bennet. He could be a jr.

What I'm getting at is this...

Harlem Township
The township was formed from Sunbury Township in 1810 and was named by Dutch settlers from Harlem, New York, who brought the name from Harlem in the Netherlands. Benijah Cook bought 4000 acres for 42 cents per acre at a sheriff's sale in Franklinton. Others who followed were Stephen Thompson, Rev. Daniel Bennett, Elijah and John Adams, William Fancher, N.B. Waters, John Budd, Benjamin Farishild, George Fix, Conrad Wickizer, Thomas and Eleazer Mann, Abijah and Gorden Mann, Daniel Hunt, Elam Blain, John Hanover, Jonathan Bateson and Nathan Paul. The settlers were from New York, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Centerville (Center Village) was laid out in 1848 by Edward Hartrain and Ben Roberts. By 1880 it contained about 150 residents. Amos Washburn and James Budd laid out Harlem in 1849. This smaller town had only 50 residents in 1880.                                                 From "History of Delaware County and Ohio, 1880"

This text can be found here.

That other name there, Conrad, he married Lydia Weeks, Abigail's daughter. He's my Great (x6) grandfather.
Upon further research, there seems that there once was a "Wickizer Cemetery" that can no longer be found. I found a detailed site listing it as Wickhieser Cemetery, but there is a house there now according to the map. Thanks for building on my family. Just kidding. We'll see if I can find anything else on it. For now, that map can be found here.

This lack of organization in this post gives evidence for how this search is going...one thing leads to another and another.

The township's website describes their upcoming bicentennial celebration of it's founding in 1810. It's the weekend I go back to school, but I'll see if I can make it out there--considering I'm related to the beginning families and all. Besides, who doesn't enjoy a small-town festival, except for the people who grew up in that small town?

So, I think that's enough discovery shared for today. I will try to do better research before beginning a post so that my thoughts are more concrete next time. I never liked writing drafts.