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Benjamin was born in 1728, the son of Benjamin Cranston and his wife Elizabeth. Benjamin Sr. married Elizabeth Thurber around 1726 and then Elizabeth Eastabrooke on 5 March 1728/9. It would seem that Benjamin was the son of the first wife. Another scenario has that he was born to the second woman and the second marriage took place a year later (or perhaps a date was recorded or transcribed incorrectly).
Benjamin married Sarah Bowen at Warren, Rhode Island in 1749.[1] She passed away in 1770. Their children recorded at Warren:
- Caleb b. 12 February 1749-50
- Benjamin b. 7 February 1754
- Sarah b. 8 September 1755
- Elizabeth b. 2 July 1757
- Phebe b. 21 March 1762
- William b. 1 February 1764 d. 21 August 1781
- Peleg b. 2 March 1770
Benjamin appears in the 1774 census in a household with an adult female. He seemingly married Keziah Cole, widow of Samuel Cole (who died in 1768), as Benjamin and Keziah Cranston recorded a daughter at Warren:
- Harte b. 3 May 1778
Keziah the widow of Samuel Cole definitely then married Joshua Ormsbee in Cranston in 1783, but is called "Keziah Cranston" in the marriage record. "Kisah Cronston" appears as head of a household containing no adult males in the 1782 census at Warren. I would seem, then, that Benjamin passed away between 1778 and 1782.
Research Notes
Benjamin appears at Warren as head of household in the 1774 census of Rhode Island[2]. The age/sex distribution of the household and inferred attributions are
- one white male over 16: Benjamin
- two white males under 16: probably sons William and Peleg
- one white female over 16: wife Keziah
Two Benjamins appear at Warren in the 1777 Military Census of Rhode Island, both aged 16-50. These are probably Benjamin and his son.
Sources
- ↑ Arnold: Vol. 6, Warren Marriages, Page 18.
- ↑ 1774 Census
- Arnold, James N. Vital Record of Rhode Island, 1636-1850 (Narragansett Historical Pub. Co. , Providence, R.I., 1891)
- Rounds, H. L. Peter. Vital Records of Swansea, Massachusetts to 1850 (New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1992)
- 1774 Rhode Island Census, Warren, Page 1, Entry 25 -- Benjamin Cranston; citing transcription by Annie Austin in Rhode Island Roots 33 p.24, March 2007.