The Early Pioneer Families of Daviess County: The Weldons

Benedict Weldon, son of  Joseph Weldon (1774–1827) and Hannah Best (1775–1832), was born Jan. 28, 1799, in Garrett County, Ky., when John Adam was president and Thomas Jefferson was vice president. He married Charity Ann Best, and when they arrived in Daviess County, they were one of the two first families to settle in what was Harrison Township in 1882. In 1831, it was described as being “four miles north of Breckenridge.”

The Weldons, like their neighbors, worked hard but were happy here. In fact, their son, Martin, was born in 1838, having the notoriety of being the first child born in their township. Large families were the norm during this time, and the Weldons were no exception. Benedict and Charity were the parents of 14 children about which we know. They also suffered their losses. Later, during the dreadful Civil War, three of their sons were killed. 

Benedict was so highly respected and regarded in the county that in 1840, he became the second man from Daviess County to serve in the state legislature. 

Benedict was also a man ahead of his time. He had already shown that education was important to him. He had proven that when he had started the first school in the community on his farm. He had built a log cabin for that purpose.

But that desire for education for his family and neighbors did not stop there. At a time when education for females was not considered a high priority, Benedict proved that he was part of a group of individuals who thought differently.

In the 1840s, if a woman was poor, she would most likely work in domestic service, like sewing, washing, or perhaps run a boarding house or take in lodgers. Women were somewhat slaves because of the lack of education and training. She would work hard, and very long hours. Many continued to work after she married since many poor men did not earn enough to support a wife. Life was very harsh for poor women in the 1840s because of poverty and lack of rights.

If she did have some education and pass the tests, she might become a teacher. Not every woman could do that, however, if she was not educated or able to even write her name. Poor women were taken for granted compared to rich women who would do lady-like things like sew, ride horses and have tea parties.

To add insult to misery, during this time period, women were still considered property of men. When she married, all property that she had inherited from her father, became her husband’s property. She couldn’t sign a contract, she had no rights. Legally speaking, she was considered invisible.

Daviess County can brag that it was ahead of many other communities when a female academy was established in the county. It was July 1849 when Benedict along with Jonathan E. Mann, Volney E. Bragg, Francis M. Estes, Joseph L. Nelson, John D. Williams and John D. Casey were appointed to the first Board of Trustees of the “Daviess County Female Academy.”

In many regards, they were ahead of their time. It was just a year before in 1848 when on the national scene, the first Women’s Rights Convention was held. This convention was the start of women’s suffrage movement (which did not end until 1920 when women received the right to vote). By establishing a female academy, Daviess County provided a launching pad for higher education for county women. It was the beginning of a better life for many Daviess County women.

Benedict Weldon died on July 2, 1860. Charity suffered the heartache of the loss of her husband, then shortly after, the loss of three of her sons! She died on Feb. 6, 1894. Both are buried at Weldon Cemetery in Gallatin. Their children were:

1. Elizabeth E. (1826–1862) married John H. Whitten Trosper in 1846. They had at least four children: Charity; Elijah; Mary C.; and James B. She is buried at Trosper Cemetery.

2. Humphrey R. (1827– 1864) married Elizabeth Gillilan, and they had two daughters, Mary A., and Elizabeth E. Second marriage was to Phebe Ann Woolsey, and they had one son, Gilbert B. Sadly, Humphrey was killed in the Civil War at the age of 37.

3. James B. (1829-1859) married Elizabeth Gillilan in 1855. They had Nathan B; James H; and Charity. He is buried at Weldon Cemetery. He died at the age of 30.

4. Benedict Jr. (1831–1838), died at the age of seven.

5. Catherine B. (1833-1922) married Joseph Stamper in 1858. In the census, she states that she has had two children, none were living in 1900. She had six children, three were living in 1900. Buried at Weldon Cemetery.

6. Ebenezer E. (1835–1909) married Elizabeth Jennings and they had: Mary C. William C.; James L.; and Humphrey J. His second wife was Nancy Lankford, and their children were: Rebecca J; Martin B.; Elizabeth A; and Edmund H In 1880, he married Ruby D. Willison in Oklahoma, and they had Ruby; Violet “Biola”; and Robert L. 

7. Joseph J. (1837-1913) married Mary Lankford in 1856. They moved to Wagoner County, Okla. Their children were: Thomas; Joanna; Sterling P.; Ebenezer; Charity R, and Mary V.

8. Martin J. (1838 – 1913) married Lydia, and moved to Oklahoma. His obituary describes him as being “a lover of good horses, and other live stock, and was one of the leaders and hardest workers in the big fair held at the fairgrounds in the fall of 1909. He never gave up the idea that Wagoner County could have and should have a successful annual fair. This community thought a great deal of “Uncle Mart” and wish he could have been spared to his family and to our community a few years longer. Besides his aged wife, he left five children as follows; W. J. Weldon and Mrs. Kate Gray, Breckenridge, Missouri; L. S. Weldon, Amarillo, Texas, John Weldon and Mrs. Mary J. Butler of Wagoner, all of whom were present at the funeral services which were held from the home of his son, John, of Wagoner.”

9. Silas D. (1841-1861), killed in the Civil War, at the age of 20. He is buried in Weldon Cemetery.

10. Issac H. (1841-1864), was in the Civil War at the age of 23. He is buried in Weldon Cemetery.

11. Anne E. (1844-1917), married John M. Patrick. Their children were: Lucy; Luetta A “Leva”; and Benedict. She is buried at Weldon Cemetery.

12. Elsie C. (1843-1906). Married first husband, George Ballard. She married second husband Moses Brown in 1876. She is a widow and living with her sister, Catherine “Kate” in 1900. She had six children, three were still living in 1900. One of those still living is Clarence C. Brown. She is buried at Weldon Cemetery.

13. Nicholas (born 1846). In December 1863, during the Civil War, Nicholas was involved in a robbery and eventual murder of Shelton Brock and Jerome Bloom when four rebel bushwhackers hit Mr. Brock’s store. Nick held the horses for Jim Nave, Jr., William Turner, and William Love while the three went in, shot the two and then robbed the store. Both of the victims were known to be stanch Unionists and there were no Union militia in the area. The bushwhackers were all caught. One, Bill Turner, committed suicide by hanging, and the others were brought to Chillicothe and found guilty. They were transferred to St. Joseph, and promptly escaped. One of the robbers, Jim Nave, was killed in a raid by Union soldiers. Nicholas eventually made his way to New Mexico, where he is found on the 1910 census in Pearson, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, with his wife, Mary. They had no children.

14. Thomas J. (1848-1925), married Victoria Myers, and they had Benedict, Silas D., and Charity B. By 1910, the family moved to Beaver County, Okla. He is buried in Garvin County, Okla.

There are still some Weldon descendants living in Daviess County.