Moses Benson 1774-1822, and his Wife Experience Gibbs of Middleborough, Mass. and Woodstock Vermont

Moses Benson was born Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 16 Oct 1774, to Elisha and Sarah (Stewart) Benson. He is my 5th great grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Davis’ side of the family.

On 15 May 1796 he married Miss Experience Gibbs at Middleborough, both of Middleborough. (Middleborough VR, vol 2, p 159)  Neither the record of marriage or marriage intentions lists their parents. William Cutter wrote (see sources) that Experience was born 15 Mar 1776 at Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, but I have not confirmed this. Her parents are a mystery to me, although I would think she’s a descendant of Thomas 1 Gibbs of Sandwich. To further muddy the waters, there is a later Experience Gibbs born 1797 who also married a Moses Benson. 

Moses and Experience moved to Woodstock, Windsor County, Vermont where most of their children were born. There are quite a few Middleborough families who moved to Woodstock and many familiar Plymouth Colony surnames. Cutter wrote that Moses and Experience lived briefly at nearby Bridgewater, Vermont, before settling on a farm in Woodstock soon after 1797, where they were one of the pioneering families.

Source: History of Woodstock by Dana

Moses and Experience and nine children:

Ebenezer born 14 Feb 1797, Middleborough

Samuel born 07 Jun 1799, Woodstock Vermont (marriage record) or Middleborough (death record)

Moses born 09 Jul 1801, Bridgewater Vermont, died age 16

Hosea born 24 Apr 1803, Woodstock

Isaac born 03 Jul 1805, Woodstock 

John born 12 Apr 1807, Woodstock, died at 14 months

David born 06 Jul 1810, Woodstock, died at 3 months

Lydia born 12 Feb 1812, Woodstock

Susan born 14 Jul 1818, Woodstock

I descend from Isaac who married his cousin Amelia Benson and moved to Plymouth, Mass, where they raised their family. I wrote about that couple here.

1810 Federal census, Woodstock, VT:
Moses Benson head of household

Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: 3

Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 2

Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 : 1

Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44: 1

Number of Household Members Under 16: 5

Number of Household Members Over 25: 2

Number of Household Members:  7

1820 Federal Census, Woodstock VT:

Moses Benson head of household 

Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820

Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 1

Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1

Free White Persons - Females - Under 10: 2

Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : 1

Free White Persons - Under 16: 3

Free White Persons - Over 25: 2

Total Free White Persons: 5

Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 5

This census indicates that either Isaac or Hosea are living away from home at this time. 

The 1800 Federal Census, Brookline, Windham Co., VT has a Moses Benson but seems unlikely he is this Moses as he had two children by this time and only one is listed in the census, plus I’ve seen no mention of Brookline in other sources. 

Moses Benson died 27 Feb 1822, age 47, at Woodstock, after an illness which prompted him to write his will the June before. 

source: Findagrave.com

Experience Benson, wife of Moses Benson, died 16 Jan 1834, age 59, at Woodstock. They are buried at Prosper Cemetery (Find a Grave memorial Moses ID 79244269; Experience ID 79244298).  A later index entry of her death record from 1919 does not list her parents’ names. 

source: findagrave.com

Moses’ will is dated 1 June 1821. He was unwell when he wrote the will at age 46 and died about eight months later at age 47. He names wife Experience, sons Hosea, Isaac, Ebenezer and Samuel; daughters Susannah and Lydia. His friend and executor Robert Cone was made legal guardian to Hosea, Isaac, Susannah, and Lydia who were all minors. He left his farm to Hosea and Isaac and they were to eventually pay other siblings $25 each and provide for their mother and younger sisters. If they didn’t agree to the terms, the farm would go to another sibling in a specific order with that person paying the others $25. The inventory includes Woodstock land of 82.5 acres with buildings thereon, livestock, farm implements, household items including a tea set, maple sap, and barrels of cider. His estate was considered insolvent and the list of claims against the estate came to $121. Perhaps Moses bartered for many goods and services and didn’t have much cash on hand. Plus he was ill for some time so his livelihood which depended on his health must have suffered. The Windsor Gazetteer from 1883/84 mentions that his son Hosea did take over his farm on Road 17, so good to know that wasn’t lost in the settling of his debt. 

According to the 1883/4 Woodstock Gazetteer, Moses married Experience Gibbs, reared nine children, and was one of the twelve men who established the Christian Church in town. The area where Moses and Experience lived was called English Mills, situated about 2.5 miles from the Court House, on a branch of the Quechee formerly called Beaver Brook, then Barnard Brook or North Branch. It is named after an early settler, Joel English, who came from Andover, Connecticut, and the fact there was a grist mill and a saw mill in the area. Early settlers lived in log houses, later replaced by frame structures. Robert Cone, Moses’ friend, neighbor, estate executor, and guardian to his minor children, farmed and made boots and shoes. Cone was a man of evenness of temper and careful judgment who lost all of his children to fever and lived to age 85. 

Sources Not Listed Above:

Davis' Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families, Appendix, page 300: Moses Benson married Experience “Briggs”

William Richard Cutter, ed., New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, 1914

Vermont Probate Records, Vol 6-7, p 341-34 1816-1825, Hartford District, from Ancestry’s “Vermont Wills and Probate Records 1749-1999” (Moses’ will)

Henry Swan Dana, History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1889

Hamilton Child, History of the Town of Woodstock, Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windsor County, Vermont, for 1883-84, printed January 1884

Lydia Brownson and MacLean McLean, NEHGR, ”Thomas Gibbs of Sandwich Massachusetts,” 1969

Grace Hildy Croft, The Benson family; descendants of Isaac Benson and Mary Bumpas, and allied families: Archer, Bumpas, Howard, Knapp, Lewis, Luce, Meech, Milks, Potter, Reynolds, Waite, Whipple, Williams, et al., Provo, Utah, 1973. (Digitized on FamilySearch.org)