Research Notes

• # It took a while to find "Uncle Bennit". At first we searched Smiths and Woods and Ganoungs trying to find a traditional uncle relationship. Per the letter he dies in 1890 and Bennett can't be THAT common as a first name, can it? Nothing. At some point, I was tracing through Charles Reynolds details and I noticed that his family lived near a Bennett Reynolds. I put that away for later. Still later, I was trying to figure out which Will Reynolds was being referenced and Bennett came up again. This time I went far enough to learn that his name was David Bennett Reynolds and he died just days before Mary E Wood found out and decided to mention it in a letter.
• 1850-10-19 Federal census for Rutland, Tioga Co., PA: Bennett(43), Margaret(33), Ezra(17), Orrin(15), Thomas(12), Jane(7), Draper(5), Sally(2) and Sabra ? (20, listed as a Reynolds, but I think it's lazy transcription).
• 1860-08-11 Federal census of Rutland, Tioga Co., PA: David(50), Margaret(43), Thomas(20), Jane(17), Draper(13), Sally(12), Daniel(10) ... and Washington Reynolds(23) is a farm laborer.
• 1880-06-01 Federal census for Rutland, Tioga Co., PA: Bennet(73), Margaret(66), Draper(30) and Maggie(2). Maggie is listed as a "daughter" but "granddaughter seems more plausible.
• 1890-02-27 letter from Mary E. Wood to Helen A. Stage mentions that "Uncle Bennit is dead". He passed less than 2 weeks prior.