Submitted by George Kenyon
92-205 Plains Road West
Burlington, Ontario, L7T 4H3
gkenyon@bigwave.ca
Further information available.
Enquiries welcome.
Transcribed from photocopies.
SURNAMES:
KENYON
KINYON
STEVENS
KELSEY
ADAMS
HIGGINSBOTTOM
[The old Benjamin Kenyon family bible
The records in this bible go back to Gardner Kenyon and Mary Adams in the late 1700s in New York Stated their descendants in Canada.
Benjamin Kenyon (1831-1910), grandson of Gardner and Mary Kenyon, the only son of Henry W. Kenyon (1803 - 1834), was named in the will of his cousin, Jacob Gardner Kenyon who died in Seattle, Washington, on December 22nd 1892. Jacob Gardner was unmarried and left no children. The bulk of his considerable estate was left to three cousins: Benjamin Kenyon inheriting the Seattle property, with Ruth A. VanValkenburg and Martha Kenyon (VanValkenburg) Beaujean sharing the property in Humboldt County, California.
Benjamin was living on his farm on the 12th concession in Blenheim Township, Ontario at the time and to prove his claim Benjamin sent the old bible west where the will was probated in Eureka, California. He and Caroline later travelled to Seattle, then returned to Canada where they bought property in the town of Brantford, Ontario.
The whereabouts of the bible became a mystery. The "American Genealogist" in July 1937 published a brief family record of Gardner Kenyon and Mary Adams and in the article mentioned, "...To prove their claim, the old Kenyon Bible was sent west and unfortunately lost. But a member of the family had kept a copy, now in the possession of Miss Helen Beaujean, of Buffalo, N.Y."
In December 1998, Nancy Virginia (Kenyon) Sont contacted the writer looking for help to trace her ancestors. All she had was a small amount of information from an old bible that her parents had. "I have searched my roots for 20 years, but my Kenyon line ended in the Kenyon Bible of Benjamin's", she wrote.
It turned out that about thirty years ago, the bible had been given to her parents, Dr. James Byron Kenyon and Jane Jarvis (Jackson) Kenyon of Georgia, by Jim's cousin, Lloyd Kenyon of Vancouver. Lloyd had been given it, years earlier, by his great aunt Caroline (Lina) Kenyon, Benjamin Kenyon's youngest daughter. So the bible had not been lost. It was just waiting to be located.
Following are transcripts of the three 'Family Record' pages from the old Benjamin Kenyon bible, and the two pages of family records that were pasted into the back of the old Benjamin Franklin bible.
I would like to thank Nancy and her parents, Jim and Jane. Not only for their enthusiasm and their willingness to prepare copies for us, but for carefully taking care of an important genealogical record over the many years. As Jane said, "We had no idea we had such a valuable piece of 'genealogy' up on the shelf sleeping."]
[Transcript, Benjamin Kenyon Bible:
First family history page:
BIRTHS and DEATHS.]
Gardiner Kinyon Born April 18th 1753
Departed this life March 30th 1813
Mary Adams Born Jan,r 5th 1762
John Kinyon Born August 26th 1780
Lucretia Kinyon Born Dec,r 16th 1781
Elijha Kinyon Born Feb 15th 1783
Departed this life March 21st 1783
Enoch Kinyon Born Feb, 28th 1784
Elijah Kinyon Born August 12th 1786
Peggy A. Kinyon Born July 27th 1788
Richard Kinyon Born Dec 7th 1790
Gardiner Kinyon Jr. Born March 15th 1793
Departed this life July 26th 1814
Jimma Kinyon Born May 18th 1795
Departed this life November 9th 1796
David Kinyon Born April 17th 1797
Departed this life February 1798
James Kinyon Born Febr 25th 1799
Departed this life April 13th 1813
Phyletta Kinyon Born March 26th 1801
Henry W. Kinyon Born August 22nd 1803
Departed this life July 30th 1834
Catherine Kenyon born May 25 1810
Departed this life 15 April 1836
Transcript, Benjamin Kenyon Bible:
Second family history page:
BIRTHS and DEATHS.
Elisha Gardner Kelsey Born 27th March 1813
Departed this life Febr 8th 1814
Elizabeth Mary Kelsey Born Nov 8th 1814
Died November 26th
Julia Ann Kelsey Born August 27th 1816
Samuel Truman Kelsey Born August 18th 1818
Died Feb. 1889
Amelia Higginsbottom born 15 Nov. 1825
Jacob Gardner Kinyon born 22 April 1830
Died Dec 23, 1892
Katharine Kinyin Born Dec 16 1832
Polly Kinyon Born March 18 1836
Mary Rebecca Stevens Born the 13 June
David Stevens Born the 19 July
Benjamin Kinyon born April the 18-1831
Transcript, Benjamin Kenyon Bible:
Third family history page:
MARRIAGES.
John Kenyon Married Sept, 15th 1808
Elisha Kinyon Married Dec, 12th 1814
Peggy A. Kinyon Married December 16th 1811
Enoch Kinon married January 20th 1828
//end
