Carson Archives

Here you will find information on the ancestors and descendents of Chester Carson and Kathleen Rogers. Articles are listed newest to oldest. Start by reading the oldest articles first, then work your way back to the newest. I have also included links to their Online Family Trees. Please provide your own stories, additions, corrections, or feedback by clicking on the word "Comments" at the end of any article, or by e-mailing me. Enjoy!

Monday, February 27, 2006

Benjamin Truax (Sr) and the Revolutionary War

Benjamin Truax (Senior) was one of the early settlers of Bethel, Pennsylvania. He arrived from New Jersey, before the Revolutionary War, and settled a homestead where his namesake, Benjamin Junior, would be born and live out his days.

There are no specific records of Benjamin's participation in the Revolutionary War. However, his name is recorded as having received pay for service in connection with the Continental Line.

What was the Continental Line? People of our generation commonly use the term "Revolutionary Army" to refer to the troops who fought against the British for American Independence. If you look at records from the late 1700’s, you find many references to "The Continental Line." The term apparently came from the concept that these troops provided a line of defense on this continent. Unfortunately, the term was not used uniformly. State militia used the term, hence the Virginia Line, but this term might also be found as The Virginia Continental Line, or The Continental Line of Virginia. Which troops do such references apply to, state or Continental? Because of this, references to a member of a “Line” might mean the Continental Army, or a state militia. Finally, it is often unclear if the writer meant troops who were infantry, cavalry, or an artillery unit. So we need more information to understand Benjamin’s role.

Available records for Benjamin do refer to him as part of the "Continental Line", and specifically mention his name as part of the “Continental Line Depreciation Pay” rolls, and as a member of Capt. James McKinney's Company Militia, of the 1st Battalion, of Bedford County.

The first record tells us that Benjamin definitely served in the Continental Line, and not a state militia (depreciation pay was not paid to state militia). The second record lists Benjamin under the heading “Eighth Class Not Call’d.” I do not know precisely what this means. Since the purpose of a Muster Roll was to identify who was still serving in the unit (for pay purposes), it seems reasonable to conclude that he was available for service, but was not required to report for this muster roll.

Monday, February 20, 2006

No Postings Feb 20-26

I am traveling this week, with no computer access.

Friday, February 17, 2006

Benjamin B Truax & Perthinia Pittman

Benjamin B Truax & Perthinia Pittman were GGG Grandparents of Chester Carson.

  • Benjamin B Truax Sr. and Perthenia Pittman
    • Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Palmer
      • Stillwell Traux and Rachel Mann
        • John K Carson and Rachel Frances Traux
          • William Bernard Lloyd Carson and Maude Deleilah James
            • Chester Carson


Benjamin was born November 25, 1731 in Middletown, Monmouth County, New Jersey. He was probably the first child of LaRue Jacob Truax and Rebecca Abigail Stillwell.

Perthinia (sometimes seen as Berthinia) Pittman was the daughter of William Pittman and Hannah Kimble Loker. She was born March 16, 1741/42 in Burlington County, New Jersey.

You may find that the date of Perthinia's birth appears rather odd. Why is her year of birth listed as 1741/42?

Until January 1, 1752 the Colonies (and later the United States), England and Wales used the Julian Calendar. The Julian Calendar Year began on March 25. When the Gregorian Calendar (which we still use) was adopted, the New Year began on January 1 of each year. This caused a problem for dates that occurred in January, February and March under the old Julian Calendar. Although the year had not changed under the Julian Calendar at the time of a particular event, such as a birth, the year had changed for those areas that used the Gregorian Calendar. So, when the new calendar was adopted, the solution was to list the original (Julian) year that the event occurred, followed by a slash, and then the year the event occurred under the Gregorian Calendar.

So, Berthinia's birth date was on March 16, 1741 under the Julian Calendar (and if we had any original documentation from that date it would be so dated), but that day was also known as March 16, 1742 on the Gregorian Calendar (which had already incremented the year). Today, we show date as March 16, 1741/42.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

John & Miriam Palmer

Before I continue with the discussion of the Truax family, I'll cover the only small branch that I have for the Palmer's.

We just concluded a set of articles on Benjamin Truax Junior, and his wife Ezadiah Ethidia Palmer. Her parents were John Palmer and Miriam, who's last name is not known by me.

John Palmer was born in England, and arrived in America at a young age. He and his parents settled in New Jersey, which was also the birthplace of his daughter, Ezadiah. They moved to the area known as Sideling Hill, in the Belfast Township, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.

John married twice, and fathered many children. I do not know the name of the other wife. I don't even know if she was married to John before or after Miriam. I have the names of some of John's children, but other than Ezadiah, I have not sorted out which were the children of his marriage with Miriam, and which were the children from his other marriage.

John moved on to Monroe County, in Ohio, taking all but two of his children with him. Ezadiah obviously stayed behind. John lived in Ohio until he passed away. I do not know where or when Miriam passed away, nor do I know who the parents of either John or Miriam were.

Monday, February 13, 2006

Benjamin & Ezadiah Truax - 1846-1879

Benjamin passed away July 3, 1846, in Bedford, Pennsylvania. He was laid to rest at the Tonoloway Baptist Cemetery in Fulton County, PA.


A photo of the Tonoloway Baptist Church, courtesy of Brad Renno (Renno.org)

The 1850 U.S. Census collected significantly more information than all prior enumerations. Because of this we know that Ezadiah was a 70 year-old widower on October 9th, living in the Thompson Township of Fulton County, Pennsylvania. She was living with David Truax and Amanda Stilwell. David, a farmer, was a son, who never married. I do not know who Amanda was, but she may have been a grand daughter. Her real estate was valued at $2500. The census confirms that she was born in New Jersey.

I have not found an 1860 census record with Ezadiah. The 1870 census records were destroyed by fire.

Ezadiah passed away on March 20, 1879 at the age of 99. She was buried at the Tonoloway Baptist Church Cemetery.

In all, Benjamin Jr. and Ezadiah had eleven children: John, William, Benjamin, Joseph, Stilwell, Samuel, Elizabeth, Job, David, Rebecca, Mary Polly Truex.



An extract from the 1850 U.S. Census shows Ezadiah in a household with son David and Amanda Stillwell.

Friday, February 10, 2006

Benjamin & Ezadiah Truax - 1840

In 1840 the U.S. Census continued to focus on a generic count of the population, rather than collect information that would prove useful to genealogists and other researchers in future years. So, while we know that Benjamin Truax lived in Bethel Township, Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and the count of others in the home, we can only guess at who they were.

The count was: one male between 5-10; one male between 15-20; one male aged 20-30; one male 60-70 years of age (probably Benjamin himself); three females aged 20-30; and one female 50-60 (probably Ezadiah).

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Benjamin & Ezadiah Truax - 1830

The next record I have seen for Benjamin and Esadiah is the 1830 U.S. Census. (Note: Some web sites claim that Benjamin served in the War of 1812, but I have seen no records for this, or any pointers to the source of this belief).

Why do they not appear in the 1810 or 1820 U.S. Census? I wish I knew. Perhaps they are there, but not properly indexed on the genealogy sites that I use. Perhaps they moved for several years. It's all conjecture. But, they do reappear in 1830, in the same town and county of Pennsylvania where we last found them.

According to the census, the following people were in the home: 1 male, aged 15-20; 2 males between 50-60 (one of whom should be Benjamin himself); 2 females 10-15; 1 female 20-30; and 1 females 50-60.

No slaves or free colored persons are in this home, or any others on the page.


Benjamin's household is shown at the bottom of this 1830 US Census extract.

Monday, February 06, 2006

Benjamin & Ezadiah Truax - 1800

As the Nineteenth Century began, Benjamin and Ezadiah were in the sixth year of their marriage. Their family of four lived in the township of Bethel, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It appears that Benjamin and Ezadiah lived in the same home as Benjamin Truax, Sr. If you look at the census (see below), their names are listed sequentially, there is an X to the side of them, and the line for Benjamin Jr is blank. Census records at this time did not list names, they counted people by age group. So you will not find Benjamin's wife, Ezadiah, nor their children: John, William, Benjamin, and Joseph; listed.

Note that the last name is spelled Truax here.


Benjamin Truax Jr and Sr appear near the bottom of this census extract.

Friday, February 03, 2006

Benjamin Truax Jr and Ezadiah Ethidia Palmer

Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Palmer were Great-Great Grandparents of Chester Carson. The family line looks like this:

  • Benjamin Truex Jr. and Ezadiah Ethidia Palmer
    • Stillwell Traux and Rachel Mann
      • John K Carson and Rachel Frances Traux
        • William Bernard Lloyd Carson and Maude Deleilah James
          • Chester Carson


Benjamin Truax Junior was born on April 24, 1774 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. His wife, Ezadiah Ethidia Palmer, was born on March 8, 1780, in New Jersey.

The very first U.S. enumeration of it's citizens took place in 1790. The enumerators did not use pre-printed forms, and limited their collection of information to the name of the head of each household, the number of free white males (seperately counting those under 16 years of age from those over), the number of free white females, a count of all other free persons, and the number of slaves.

I have found a census record that, I believe, contains both Benjamin Truax Jr and his father. According to the entry for Benjamin Truax (Senior) the household included one male 16 and over; one male under 16, and two females. Though Benjamin (Jr.) would turn 16 this year, we don't know when the census was taken, or if the enumerator knew his exact age.

Four years later, on June 2, 1794, Benjamin (Jr.) married Ezadiah, in Bedford County, Pennsylvania.


An extract from the 1790 Census shows Benjamin Truax, other Truax family members, and Stillwell's. There were a number of marriages between the Truax and Stillwell families.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Family Trivia and the Death of Stilwell Trueax

In the prior posting, I reported on the information about Stilwell and his household in the 1880 U.S. Census. Interestingly, this is the source of a peice of Carson family trivia. If you look at the original census sheet that includes Stilwell's household, you would find that the enumerator of that portion of the census was Stilwell's son-in-law, John K Carson. John was the grandfather of Chester Carson.

I once thought that this fact might help us to track down the parents of John K Carson. Surely the U.S. Government would keep employment records on their enumerators, I naively thought. After sending off a series of letters, the final conclusion was that no, they do not hold those records. So, for now, John's parents remain a mystery. Not so for Stilwell.

But, before we begin a discussion of Stilwell's parents, we need to close our chapter on Stilwell himself. He passed away on December 26, 1885 in Pigeon Cove, Bedford County, Pennsylvania. He was buried in the Bethel Cemetery, near Warfordsburg, Fulton County, Pennsylvania. As alluded to in the posting on the death of Stilwell's wife, Rachel, the Bethel Cemetery is sometimes called the Bethel Mennonite Cemetery, depending on the demonination controlling the church at the time of the writing.