George R. Bentley

Copyright, Plagiarism, and Disclaimer

Copyright: The material on this website is protected by the copyright laws of the United States.

Plagiarism: Please give credit where credit is due and properly cite your source.

Disclaimer: Mistakes and errors are inevitable. Caveat emptor.

For more information, please see this page.
Pedigree
ListsGenealogy Notes
ChartsAncestors of Jennie Luene Logan
John Alden to Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
George Soule to Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
Captain Caleb Bentley to Jennie Luene Logan
Diana, Princess of Wales, and Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
King Ethelred II to Jennie Luene Logan
George Washington - Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
John Adams & John Quncy Adams - Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
James Madison - Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
Warren Gamaliel Harding - Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
Franklin Delano Roosevelt - Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
Barack Obama - Jennie Luene (Logan) Billings
George R. Bentley, son of Charles Spooner Bentley and Ann Eliza Jones, was born at Rensselaer Co., New York, 18 March 1835.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 He died at Latham, Logan Co., Illinois, 26 June 1903, aged 68 years, 3 months, 8 days,10 and was buried at Mt. Pulaski Cemetery, Latham, Logan Co., Illinois.11,2,12

George married (1) Thursia Maria Jones, daughter of Joseph Marion Jones and Julia Matilda Langwell, at McDonough Co., Illinois, 8 August 1860;13,14 he married (2), as her 2nd husband, Sarah J. Kretzinger, whose ancestry is unknown (or not traced here), at Blandinsville, McDonough Co., Illinois, 2 February 1865.15,16

Is George Bentley of Illinois one and the same as George Bentley of Niles Township, Cayuga Co., New York?

George appears in the 1850 census in the household of Charles Bentley, age 15, born in New York. Relationships are not given in this census, but the household appears to be a normal family group, and George is the oldest of the listed children. In 1898, Charles S. Bentley lists his living children in a Soldier's survey contained in his pension file, and includes George R., born in 1835.

In the 1855 New York state census for Cayuga Co., George is in a different Bentley household, 5 years older, but listed as "Servant." The children in the neighboring Charles Bentley household are all shown as sons or daughters and are the same as listed in the 1850 census. Both George and Charles are shown as born in Rennselaer Co. and as having lived in Cayuga Co. the same number of years, 16. That would place their arrival in Cayuga Co. in 1839, when George was only four years old, obviously moving there with his parents.

In 1860, George is in the George Foster household in Hire Township, McDonough County, Illinois. George is 25, born in New York, consistent with the 1850 and 1855 census data given above. I have not yet searched for other neighbors from New York in the Hire area, but George Foster of Illinois does not seem to be one of those.

George is found in the 1870-1900 Federal census' as cited and his age and birth place are always consistent with a birth in 1835 in New York; in 1900 it specifically states Mar 1835.

Finally, George's own civil war pension file includes a discharge certificate which states he was born in Rennselaer Co., New York, and a copy of his death certificate, giving the date of death and his age in years, months, and days. His calculated birth date, 18 Mar 1835, is consistent with all known census data, including the 1900 census, as well has that given in Charles Bentley's pension file.

The evidence appears conclusive that the answer is yes, they are one and the same.3,4,17,5,6,7,8,18,19

George R. Bentley was a private and served in Co. H of the 2nd Illinois Cavalry.20

George enlisted in the Union Army on 25 Aug 1862 at Carthage, Illinois. He was a private in Company H. Second Illinois Cavalry and was discharged on a Surgeon's Certificate of disability, 15 Mar 1863.21,20,22

George left a will dated at Logan Co., Illinois, 11 April 1903, filed 8 July 1903, and proved 17 August 1903, which mentioned:
his widow, Sarah J;
sons & daughters: Charles I. of Latham IL; William H. of Latham IL; Mary E Gasamay;
and six grandchildren: Estella, Roy, Essie, Huey, Kent, and Elsie Logan, children of his deceased daughter, Hattie Bentley Logan, wife of Dana Selurn Logan.22,23

Family 1

Thursia Maria Jones b. abt. 1841, d. 8 Jan 1864
Children

Family 2

Sarah J. Kretzinger b. 1 Nov 1844, d. 14 Apr 1919
Children
  • Mary Elizabeth Bentley24 b. 3 Nov 1865, d. 1960
  • Charles I. Bentley24 b. 8 Mar 1868, d. 25 Jul 1924
  • William Hal Bentley24 b. 17 Jun 1870, d. 1941
This person was last edited on19 Sep 2021

Citations

  1. [S548] George R. Bentley pension application file; certificate no. 861026 discharge certificate gives county & state of birth; Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
  2. [S1278] George R. Bentley, Death Certificates, File No. 178 (1903), Logan County Clerk and Recorder, Lincoln, Illinois.
  3. [S457] Ancestry.com, 1850 United States Census [on-line database and images] (http://www.ancestry.com), Niles, Cayuga Co., New York, population schedule, sheet #136, dwelling #119, family #123, Charles Bently household, age 15, born in New York; original data: NARA micropublication M432, Seventh Census of the United States, 1009 rolls, roll #483.
  4. [S584] New York State Census, 1855, Niles, 1st Election District, Cayuga County, John Bentley household, sheet 12, dwelling #95, family #95, age 20, born in "Rensler" County, called "servant", and lived in Cayuga 16 years, same as Charles S. Bentley, FHL Film #1435219, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.
  5. [S458] Ancestry.com, 1860 United States Census [on-line database and images] (http://www.ancestry.com), Hire Township, McDonough Co., Illinois, population schedule, sheet #268, dwelling #1939, family #1897, George Foster household, age 25, born in New York, a farm laborer; original data: NARA micropublication M653, Eighth Census of the United States, 1438 rolls, roll #201.
  6. [S459] Ancestry.com, 1870 United States Census [on-line database and images] (http://www.ancestry.com), Township 63, Range 14, Adair Co., Missouri, population schedule, sheet #102/2, dwelling #12, family #11, George R Bentley household, age 35, born in New York, a farmer with $1200 in real estate, $1000 personal estate; original data: NARA micropublication M593, Ninth Census of the United States, 1748 rolls, roll #755.
  7. [S460] Ancestry.com, 1880 United States Census [on-line database and images] (http://www.ancestry.com), Clay Township, Adair Co., Missouri, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 144, sheet #50, dwelling #312, family #313, George Bentley household, age 44, born in New York, a farmer; original data: NARA micropublication T9, Tenth Census of the United States, 1454 rolls, roll #671.
  8. [S461] Ancestry.com, 1900 United States Census [on-line database and images] (http://www.ancestry.com), Latham Village, Laevna Township, Logan Co., Illinois, population schedule, enumeration district (ED) 35, sheet #17A, dwelling #313, family #322, George Bentley household, age 65, born Mar 1835 in New York, a farmer; original data: NARA micropublication T623, Twelfth Census of the United States, 1854 rolls, roll #320.
  9. [S2325] Discharge certificate, George R. Bentley, (Co. H, 2nd Ill. Cav, pension no. S.C. 932,051), Case Files of Approved Pension Applications; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Record Group 15: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
  10. [S2409] Newspapers.com, on-line database and images, "Obituary", George Bentley, The Daily Review, (Decatur, Illinois), 30 Jun 1903, p. 6, (https://www.newspapers.com/): accessed Oct 2020.
  11. [S477] , Logan County, Illinois Cemetery Inscriptions: Volume I (1969; reprint, Decatur, Illinois: Decatur Genealogical Society, 1973), 59, further cited as Logan Co. Cemetery Inscriptions: Vol. I.
  12. [S2323] Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed Sep 2020), memorial page for George Robert Bentley, Find a Grave memorial #46338454, maintained by Joseph Crone, further cited as Find A Grave.
  13. [S648] Libby Grim, et al., McDonough County Marriages, 6 vols. (Macomb, Illinois: McDonough County Genealogical Society, 1980 -), 2:36, #1445, further cited as Grim, McDonough Co. Marriages.
  14. [S548] George R. Bentley pension application file; certificate no. 861026, veterans survey.
  15. [S548] George R. Bentley pension application file; certificate no. 861026, marriage certificate, form 3-402, survey 29 Jan 1898.
  16. [S461] 1900 United States Census, Latham Village, Laenna Township, Logan Co., Illinois, pop. sched., e.d. 35, sheet #17A, dwelling #313, family #322, George Bentley household, married for 39 [34?] years.
  17. [S584] New York State Census, 1855, Cayuga County, Charles S Bentley household, age 45, born in "Rensler" County.
  18. [S548] George R. Bentley pension application file; certificate no. 861026, birth date is calculated from age at death (68 years, 3 months, 8 days) from copy of death certificate; discharge certificate gives county & state of birth.
  19. [S1491] Charles S. Bentley pension application file; certificate no. 282652, Solidier's survey; Charles lists his living children including George R., born 1835; Pension application files based upon service in the Civil War and Spanish-American War; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C.
  20. [S548] George R. Bentley pension application file; certificate no. 861026.
  21. [S110] Jo Benear. Billings-Logan Family Records, Clippings and Family Group Sheets, 1988, Gregory Cooke, Clarkdale, Arizona, 7.
  22. [S475] Logan Co., Illinois, Will records, 1855-1930, 5:127, FHL microfilm 1316625, further cited as Logan Co., IL Wills.
  23. [S2409] Newspapers.com, "Will filed for probate,", George R. Bentley, The Daily Review, (Decatur, Illinois), 10 Jul 1903, p. 2, accessed Oct 2020.
  24. [S460] 1880 United States Census, Clay Township, Adair Co., Missouri, pop. sched., e.d. 144, sheet #50, dwelling #312, family #313, George Bentley household.