Anne Jane (Benbrook) Hudson (1852 - 1938)

Dear Bert

I have selected your name from the Benbrook website and wonder if you can help me?

My great grandmother was Ann Jane Benbrook born 1852? and arrived in Melbourne, Australia about 1862. Her place of birth on her wedding certificate says Charleston America.

Father was William Benbrook who married Elizabeth King. There is a family story that the father and mother died at sea on the journey to Australia and we are not sure if the Benbrooks were a kindly couple who brought Ann Jane up. Any help you can give would be very much appreciated. My search at this point is on William and Elizabeth but if Ann Jane was their daughter it would help my search. Thanks and best wishes, Cynthia Burns

Hi Cousin Cynthia,

This was a real surprise. You came to the right place. I'm the author and publisher of BENBROOK. William Benbrook has been one of our lost souls and we didn't know where he disappeared to. I'm in contact with a small group of astute Benbrook historians and we'll be discussing you and your request very soon. There are several options that could have unfolded back in 1818 in South Carolina, when William Benbrook was born. In the meantime it would help if you could tell me your ancestry from Ann Jane up to you. Did Ann have any siblings? Who did she marry? How many children did she have and how do they connect to you? What town do you reside? Greetings from cousin Bert in Sacramento California USA

Hello, long-lost cousin (maybe) (wouldn't it be wonderful?) I have a photograph of 'Granny' Hudson. My father (who is still alive - 94 in April) remembers her with long white ringlets. My father, brother and I inherited her curly hair. She apparently told her family a story that she had been the sole survivor of a wagon-train disaster, but one of my cousins who spent a lot of time with them, told me that Ann Jane told her that she had made up that story and in fact both her parents had died and were buried at sea. She told my aunt that she arrived in Melbourne at the age of 10, and that it was very hot and she had taken off her boots, and the street paving' burned her feet. Ann Jane married George Austin Hudson (from Birmingham, England) on 19/01/1875, at Holy Trinity Church, Sydney. (Church of England) Her father, William Benbrook is listed as a Gardener. I have a certified copy of that document. A transcribed copy of her death certificate (26/10/1938 aged 86) says she was 22 years old when she married, but as you know, transcriptions are often not reliable. It would be easy to obtain a certified copy of the death certificate. Ann Jane's first child was Blanche Albertha b. 14/12/1875 (transcription information) but another source says 1876 died 26/01/1916, and her second child was Rosa Lee (Rosalie) Sarah Jane, born 22/08/1880, died 21/12/1957. The transcription of her death cert. says there was another daughter (Alice E. and two males (not named deceased) (Blanche was my father's mother she married Edwin Green (Ned) in 1893 and they had 11 children (my father, Roy, was the 8th.) When Blanche died in 1916, Edwin married Rosalie on 7/02/1917 and they had 3 more children, but according to a book published by a family member, there were three children born to Edwin and Rosalie before they were married: Amy Annie b.4/09/1897; William John b.17/06/1901; Dudley Charles b. 26/04/1913. I've only just worked this out today, and I'm not quite game enough to = ask my father about his father and aunt! who became his step-mother. Regards Cynthia

Hi Gang, I just received this most interesting note from Australia no less. It regards the mysterious William Benbrook on the 1850 Charleston, SC census on page 30 of BENBROOK. Well we now have a maiden name for Mrs. Elizabeth Benbrook (King) and that William left SC on ship for Australia in 1862 to never return. The attached note is from his 2nd great granddaughter, Cynthia Burns, presently residing in Australia. Her ancestry has evidently been there for the past 140 years. Note, her comment that William and Elizabeth were supposed to have perished at sea on their way to Australia. Gee that story gets around and now its in either the Pacific or Indian Ocean. Over the years, the disappearance of Ezekiel's parents has been twisted into many different aberrations. The real question is who was William Benbrook b. 1817-18, SC that I mentioned in our book and had no answer. He has risen again in Australia. In my judgement there can only be three answers: First, the oldest son of the Rev. John was supposedly William b. 1898? (see chart on page 48 and top of page 152 for Rev. John's children). Our Australian friend is most likely the Rev. John's grandson. Remember, we know from Chapter Four of BENBROOK that The Rev. John was in court extensively for selling land in SC on behalf of an associate for unacceptable local currency. So the tie to SC and the Rev. John is established along with the long Gould connection there, too (see page 30 again). The second option and one which I endorse because of the nature and personality of The Rev. John. The Rev. was in SC on business selling land for Micijah Shelton (see page 44, right column, second paragraph). = I believe The Rev. was in SC about 1817-18 at the time of William Benbrook's birth. Yes, his break with infidelity on this arduous trip to SC resulted in the birth of his illegitmate son, who was kept in private by the Gould's and raised by them in Charleston. The third and less likely option is William is the grand (or great grand) nephew of Ezekiel and those Benbrooks went from NC to SC when the main family migrated to KY in 1807. What is wrong with this of course. William's father who would have to be born between 1750 and 1798 appears nowhere in any record. On the other hand the census started in 1790 and his father could have died before that year or was merely missed on the original census and then died. I'm sending this to just you three because of the level of interest you have sustained in this rich family history and the contributions you have made. Your thoughts everyone. Cuz, Bert =20

Good morning John & Cynthia,

I don't know what time it is in Australia when it is 9:00 am here in CA.I've worked this out and I seriously believe William Benbrook, Jr. was the son of William Benbrook, Sr. and grandson of the Rev. John Benbrook. I need to back you up to 1748 and then bring you forward so you'll understand the scenario. Ezekiel Gould Benbrook, Sr. was born in 1748 in NC. There isa long standing story/rumor that he was born in England and he was an orphan; and that his parents died on the Atlantic crossing during the 1750s. That is where Ann Benbrook-Hudson's got her story about her own parents. I'm sure Ann arrived in Australia in 1862 with the accompaniment of both her parents. Ezekiel was not born with the middle name Gould but acquired it later inlife. He was very closely tied to the Gould Family of southern NC in the late 18th century. His children were most likely baptised and married by the the Rev. Daniel Gould. Ezekiel married Mary Meguiar 15 Nov 1773, Anson Co., NC. they had nine known children. The Rev. John Benbrook was theiroldest and he was born 1774-76, Anson Co., NC. He married Lucy Leaton in 1797?,Richmond Co., NC and had 12 children. Their oldest child was WilliamBenbrook, Sr? born in 1798?, Richmond Co., NC. Their 5th child would be named Dr. Daniel Gould Benbrook, (a graduate of Ohio State School of Medicine Cincinnati in 1831), another wild character and quite attractive man (his portrait in about 1840 is in my book.The Benbrook family along with five other families left NC for KY in 1807. It was a long trip of many people, oxen, horses and carts. Some of the men had gone out several months earlier to acquire land there. They located in Warren Co., which proceeded to divide into Allen (1815) Simpson (1819) Counties. In 1817, The Rev. John Benbrook left KY for SC to do business on behalf of Micijah Shelton. He sold some land for him and received "Cape Fear" currency which had a much lower exchange rate in KY. He would later be sued for that judgment. Rev. John had traveled to SC with the accompaniment of his oldest son, William (then about 19). It was on this trip that William met an unknown young woman, Cynthia's 3rd gr grandmother, and conceived this child. William returned to KY with his father and on the 1819 KY tax record he names appear: John Benbrook - 1 voter, 792 acres land, 3 slaves, & 5 horses; William Benbrook (his son) - 1 voter & 1 horse. William then disappears from the KY tax record 'till 1827, while his father remains on the record.The following is what I believed happened. In 1819, William got word from SC that his young companion was with child and he returned to SC in 1820 to marry her. He stayed 'till 1826 before returning alone. I think William Benbrook, Sr. quit on this marriage. His tax record for KY reads: 1827, 1 voter , no taxable possessions; 1829, 1 horse - value $10.00; and 1830, one horse - value $30.00. His son William Jr. (b. 1818) then was raised by his mother and in the helpful accompaniment of the Gould family. William and his wife, Elizabeth King, are residing in the same house with Patrick Gould in1850, Charleston, SC. William Benbrook, Jr. and his family disappeared after that until catching a clipper for Australia in 1862. In those days, Charleston was recognized as a leading sea port in the World. So information about places like Australia often proliferated. The harbor was always filled with all kinds of ships. I seriously doubt that Ann's parents died at sea as that same worn out fabricated story was over 100 years old in 1862 and just never went away. So we need to find the missing spouse of William Sr. (b. 1798 - your 3rd gr grandmother). The Rev. John Benbrook and Lucy Leaton were your 4th great grandparents and Ezekiel Gould Benbrook, Sr. and Mary Meguiar were your 5th great grandparents (my 5th) and that makes us 6th cousins.