Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 127, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 June 1917 — DEATH OF OUR OLDEST CITIZEN [ARTICLE]

DEATH OF OUR OLDEST CITIZEN

MRS. JARED BENJAMIN PASSES AWAY AT THE AGE OF EIGHTY-THREE. Mrs. Jared Benjamin, Rensselaer’s oldest citizen, passed into the great beyond this Thursday afternoon at 1 o’clock. Had Mrs. Benjamin lived until the eighth day of next August she would have been 83 years of age. The vitality of this old lady was remarkable. . As late as last Sunday she went to Remington and back in an automobile. For the past two weeks she has not been as active as formerly, but she had been up and about the house until the last two days. She was the wife of Jared Benjamin, who came to this county in 1838, his age at that time being eighteen years. The marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin took place Sept. 10, 1848. Before her marriage Mrs. Benjamin was Miss Lottie Halstead. Her brother, David T. Halstead, preceded her in death, he having died June 22 1914. Mrs. Benjamin was for a number of years before her marriage a teacher in the schools of Porter county. She was a woman of strong personal character and took a vital interest in matters relating to the church and education.

Mrs. Benjamin was the mother of four daughters two living and two dead. The living are Mattie Benjamin, with whom she was living at the time of her death, and Mrs. John Martindale. •