Eugene Benjamin Moone

Eugene married Constance Gibson Kirby 5 Oct 1940. Constance was born 6 Nov 1916. [Group Sheet]

1. Merill Kirby Moone was born 26 Jul 1946, Providence, RI.

Benjamin married Lena May Whitford 18 Apr 1908, Coventry, Kent Co., RI. Lena (daughter of Charles Carmi WHITFORD and Harty Potter JOHNSON) was born 27 Nov 1875, West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI; died 22 Apr 1935, Coventry, Kent Co., RI; was buried 25 Apr 1935, Manchester Cemetery, Washington St., Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have a lovely portrait of her, taken when she was about 20, at Ye Rose Studio. This studio opened in 1886 at 385 Westminster St., Providence.

Notes:

In the Federal Census of 1860, the family is living at Coventry, Kent Co., RI: Benj Moon 34 RI manfr, Hannah M. 43 RI, Abby A. 8 RI, Harris 4 RI, and Martha Carr 67 RI.

In the Federal Census of 1870, the family is living at Coventry, Kent Co., RI: Benjamin Moon 42 RI cotton manufacturer, Hannah M. 52 RI, Abby A. 18 RI, and Harris 14 RI.

In the Federal Census of 1880, Benjamin Moon is age 55, a manufacturer, living at Coventry, Kent Co., RI; in the household with him are: Abbie Whitman 27 RI dtr, housekeeper; Mary Welch 16 MA servant; and Kate Golding 3 MA apprentice.

In the Federal Census of 1900, the family is living at Coventry, Kent Co., RI: Benjamin Moon 72 RI, Arena F. Moon 48 RI wife, Benjamin 16 RI son, Della F. 12 RI dtr, Abbie Whitman 49 RI dtr widow, Harris Moon 46 RI son, and Catherine Golden 23 MA adopted dtr. Benjamin's occupation is Capitalist & Landlord.

From great-grandson Ed Moone:
I want to add to the information on my great-grandfather, Rev. Benjamin Moon. In addition to him being a Baptist Minister, he was also a mill owner. Moon Mill was located in Washington Village on Main Street in a location now occupied by a convenience store. The mill produced cotton twine most notably used for carpet warp. The mill was destroyed by fire in the early 1900's. I'd like to quote from a book that I have regarding my great-grandfather. The book is "A History of Greene and Vicinity" by Squire G. Wood, privately printed in Providence in 1936. He writes with reference to Sharp Street Church "Rev. Benjamin Moon, who lived at Washington, a mill owner, and considered well off for those days, came to us on the third Sunday for many years. He was a good man and a good preacher, although pretty lengthy sometimes." (See, it comes to me honest, I get it from my great-grandfather, lol) Rev. Moon's house was across Main Street from the mill. The house still stands. It is the house on Main Street at the corner of Holden Street.

Benjamin married Arena Frances Arnold Abt 1882. Arena (daughter of Olney W. Arnold and Comfort A. Brown) was born Jul 1851, West Greenwich, RI; died 1938; was buried , Manchester Cemetery, Washington St., Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have a photocopy of his original birth entry at the Town of West Greenwich. Charles Carmi was named for his two grandfathers, Carmi Whitford and Charles Tibbetts. I also have a photocopy of his death entry in the Book of Deaths for 1910, p. 30, in the Town of Coventry.
We have one picture of my Great-great-grandfather Whitford. This is posted at our family website [www.thesorensens.net]. Also there is a photograph of his gravestone at Maple Root Cemetery.

All of the children and their birth dates are listed in the book "Records of the Bailey Family," p. 61.

In the 1860 Federal Census at West Greenwich, Charles is 25 and living with his parents, along with his married sister, Marcy W. Church, 29. In the 1870 Federal Census, Charles C. 34 and his wife Harty 21 are still living at West Greenwich, RI. They have a child Hattie L., age 1. The family is in the household of Jeremiah & Sally W. Whitford, ages 64 & 61, Charles's parents. The 1880 Census at West Greenwich shows him married, age 45, with his wife and five daughters, again living in the household with Jeremiah and Sally Whitford, Charles's parents. This is probably the family farm on Rt. 3 in West Greenwich, where there is now a motel and gas station, at the intersection of Interstate 95. He is age 65 in the 1900 Census at Coventry, and is listed as the head of the household which includes his children as well as two grandsons, Angeretta's sons. I have photocopies of the pages from these three censuses.

Example -- 1880 Census:
Charles C. Whitford age 45
Harty P. Whitford 30
Hattie L. 11
Angeretta W. 9
Julia E. 6
Lena M. 4
Olive 2

Charles was elected to the Exeter Town Council in 1888 (was this a different Charles Whitford?).

There is a paragraph about Charles C. Whitford and his family on p. 1343 of J. R. Cole's "History of Washington and Kent Counties," published in 1889. Although the writer has made two mistakes (names Charles's grandfather as Jeremiah instead of Carmi, and names his wife as Hattie instead of Harty), he does offer other information that is more reliable. We are told that Charles was born in 1834 in West Greenwich, and that he has been a farmer all of his life, having bought the farm where he now lives in 1884 (probably the farm on Knotty Oak Rd. in Coventry). It says he was married to [Harty] in 1866, and lists his children as: Hattie L., Angeretta W., Julia E., Lena M., Olive L., Charles W., and Nelson J. Lastly, he comments that "the family is said to be of Welsh descent."

Of the individuals in this family, the ones I have personal memories of are Angeretta, who was my great-grandmother Remington; Olive, who was my great "Aunt Ollie"; Charles W., who we called "Uncle Will"; and J. Nelson, who was my great "Uncle Jerry."

My dad, Norman Remington, says he remembers driving by the site of the old family homestead, which was on Rt. 3 between Harkney Hill Road and the present Interstate 95. About where the Best Western/Congress Inn is today, there was a spring. Further up the road, where the plat Wood Estates is now located, there must have been a family burial site, because when the plat was being planned (perhaps in the 1960s?), certain Whitford heirs had to sign, acknowledging there were interments on the property, and giving their permission for the project to proceed.

Charles married Harty Potter JOHNSON 25 Nov 1866, Richmond, RI. Harty (daughter of Philip JOHNSON, Jr. and Tryphena Hoxsie GREENE) was born 12 Apr 1850, Coventry, Kent Co., RI; died 27 Nov 1917, Coventry, Kent Co., RI; was buried , Maple Root Cemetery, Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

We have a picture of Great-great-grandma Harty Whitford, taken in 1912 in a five-generation group which includes her father. More recently I was given a picture of her as a young mother. These and other family pictures are posted at our family web site [www.thesorensens.net].

I have a photocopy of her original death entry in the Book of Deaths in 1917, p. 51, for the Town of Coventry. Also, her gravestone has been photographed.

I think she must have been named after Harty (Potter) Johnson, wife of her uncle Caleb Johnson.

Notes:

The original marriage entry is at the Richmond Town Hall in the "Book of Marriages and Deaths, 1850-1910, p. 14. It says, "In Richmond, Nov. 25th (1866), Charles C. Whitford born in West Greenwich, age 31 -- a farmer, and Hatty P. Johnson born in Coventry, age 17; parents of each: Jeremiah and Sally W. Whitford, Phillip and Tryphena H. Johnson; married by Gilbert Tillinghast, Minister of the Gospel." It was the first marriage for both of them.

Notes:

In the Federal Census of 1850, the family is living at West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI. Oliver & Nancy have 10 children, including what appears to be a set of twin boys.

Oliver married Nancy Unknown Abt 1825, RI. Nancy was born Abt 1800, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

In the Federal Census of 1850, Olney 23, Comfort 20, and Drusilla Arnold 4 are living at West Greenwich with Comfort's mother Almeda Brown 48.

In the Federal Census of 1870, the family is living at West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI: Olney W. 43, Comfort A. 40, Arena F. 18, Alvina E. 16, Amey A. 14, Minnie J. 12, Effie Eldora 9, John W. 5, Albert E. 1, and Amanda Brown 68.

Olney married Comfort A. Brown 12 Mar 1845, West Greenwich, Kent Co., RI. Comfort (daughter of Pardon Brown and Almedia "Amanda" Olin) was born Abt 1830; died 26 Apr 1871; was buried , Pardon Brown Lot, Sharpe St., West Greenwich, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have a photocopy of his birth entry at West Greenwich. Also, a photograph of his gravestone has been posted on the family tree at our web site [www.thesorensens.net].

In the 1850 Federal Census, Jeremiah is 44 and Sally W. is 41. Their children, Marcy W. & Charles C., are 19 & 15. The family is living in West Greenwich, RI.

In the 1860 Federal Census, Jeremiah, 54, & Sally W., 53, are still at West Greenwich. Son Charles C., 25, is with them, as well as married daughter Marcy W. Church, 29.

In the 1870 Federal Census, Jeremiah & Sally W., ages 64 & 61, are living at West Greenwich, RI. With them is married son Charles C., 34, his wife Harty 21, and their child Hattie L. 1.

In 1880 Jeremiah & Sally W. Whitford, ages 74 & 71, are still at West Greenwich. In the household with them are Charles C. & Harty P., ages 45 & 30, and their five daughters. Jeremiah is a retired farmer; his son Charles is a farmer.

I believe the Whitford farm was up on the hill near the intersection of Rt. 3 and Interstate 95, where a motel is now. This is where my great-grandmother lived as a child. At one time there was a spring there, about where a gas station is now.

Jeremiah married Sally Williams TIBBETTS 24 Dec 1826, Warwick, Kent Co., RI. Sally (daughter of Charles TIBBETTS and Maplet REMINGTON) was born 30 Dec 1808, East Greenwich, Kent Co., RI; died 15 Dec 1899, Coventry, Kent Co., RI; was buried , Maple Root Cemetery, Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

I have copies of census pages from 1860 and 1880 showing Sally at ages 52 and 71, also a certified copy of her death certificate from the town of Coventry, as well as a photocopy of the original death record in the Coventry Book of Deaths for 1899. A photograph of her gravestone has been posted on the family tree at our web site [www.thesorensens.net].

Notes:

The marriage of Jeremiah and Sally was recorded in two newspapers: The Providence Journal of 11 Jan 1827, and the Providence Phenix of 24 Dec 1826. (See newspaper announcements transcribed in Arnold's Vital Record of RI)

I have a photocopy of the original marriage entry recorded at West Greenwich Town Hall (p. 46), which reads: "Warwick December 24th AD 1826 -- I hereby Certify that Mr. Jeremiah Whitford and Miss Sally W. Tibbits were Lawfully Joined Together in Marriage by me the Subscriber Jonathan Wilson"

The family Bible says they were married at West Greenwich. It is unclear exactly where they were married, although the record at West Greenwich has a reference to Warwick.

Under that entry the births of their two children are recorded: Mercy Waterman Whitford and Charles Carmi Whitford. Also, according to "Alden G. Beaman's Vital Record of RI, New Series," an infant son was born in 1830 and died 1 April 1830, buried in West Greenwich.

Notes:

We have a nice five-generation picture which includes Philip in 1913, when he was ninety. There is another one taken around the same time in which he has Margaret Estelle Whitford on his lap. The story is that he was blind in his old age.

Philip's gravestone has been photographed. According to the RI Cemetery Database, the Maple Root Cemetery "is a very old cemetery containing many inscribed field stones for the earliest settlers in this area. Records at Town Hall indicate that the first lot in the newer section was sold to Philip Johnson on 7 Nov 1893." I would guess that this was my 3xGreat-grandfather Johnson, or else his son Philip R. Johnson.

In the 1860 Federal Census, Philip & Triphina H. Johnson are living in Coventry, RI. In the home are Hearty P. 10, Philip R. 9, and Triphina 5, as well as Persilla Johnson, 74, Philip's mother.

By 1870 Philip has remarried, and he and Phebe are at Coventry with three children in the household: Ednah P. 9, Patience J. 6, and Zilpha W. 1.

In 1880 they are still at Coventry, and two daughters are with them: Orvilla P. 24 and Zilpha W. 11. Orvilla is Phebe's daughter from her previous marriage to Isaac Paine.

Philip married Tryphena Hoxsie GREENE 25 Nov 1849, West Greenwich, RI. Tryphena (daughter of Hiram GREENE and Abigail JOHNSON) was born 19 Aug 1827; died 9 Jul 1866, Coventry, Kent Co., RI; was buried , Maple Root Cemetery, Coventry, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Her gravestone has been photographed. Her surname has been spelled as Green and Greene, as has the name of the clergyman who married them, Caleb Green(e).

"Tryphena Greene-Johnson, daughter of Hiram, m. her second cousin, Philip Johnson [Philip, Philip, Ezekiel, EIizabeth Greene-Johnson, Usal Greene, John, John]. Their children have five strains of Greene blood. Harty Johnson-Whitford, m. Carmi Whitford. Philip R. Johnson. Has a son and a daughter." (source: "The Greene Family and its Branches" by Lora S. LaMance, Mayflower Pub Co.)

The following is a partial quote from "Acts and Resolves of the General Assembly of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations" pub. by Henry Ward, Sec'y, 1846, p 7: "Upon the petition of Abigail Greene of Coventry, A. Greene, in this State, guardian of the persons and estates of Tryphenia H. Greene and Benjamin Greene, minors, children of Hiram Greene, late of said Coventry, deceased, praying for the reasons therein stated, that . . . "

Notes:

I have a photocopy of the original record from the official book of the Town of West Greenwich for 1851, p. 77. They were married on 25 Nov 1849 by Caleb Green, Minister of the Gospel, and the marriage was recorded by John James, Town Clerk, about a year and a half later. The minister, Elder Caleb Green(e) (elsewhere it is spelled with a final "e"), was married to Lucetta Nichols, daughter of Susanna Whitford and Ambrose Nichols.