Samuel Herbert BENJAMIN (1874-1963)
Samuel Herbert BENJAMIN was my maternal grandfather’s father. He was born on 9 November 1874 at Box Quarries, Box, Wiltshire1. His mother was Cecelia BOWMAN (who had been married to George BENJAMIN) and, thanks to DNA testing, his father is now believed to be Charles BULL.
Samuel, known as Herbie, married Bertha DIXON on 7 October 1896 at the Parish Church, Ditteridge, Wiltshire2. They had six children and lived their whole life in Ditteridge. However at the time of the 1911 census, Samuel was away from home and was boarding with a couple in Littleworth, Farringdon, Berkshire3. He was a stone mason and even built his own home, The Crest, in Ditteridge.
Samuel’s wife died in 1931. He remarried on 26 August 1939 to Alice HAYWARD at St Peter and Paul Church in Mellingly, Sussex4.
Samuel died on 27 May 1963 at The Crest, Ditteridge, Wiltshire5. He was cremated on 30 May 1963 at Haycombe Crematorium, Bath, Somerset6 and his ashes were buried at Ditteridge Church on the same day7.
Blogs featuring Samuel Herbert BENJAMIN can be found here.
Footnotes
- Birth Certificate of BENJAMIN, Samuel Herbert. December quarter 1874, Chippenham Registration District, Vol 5a Page 66. Certified copy issued by GRO on 3 June 2009 held by Amelia Bennett.
- Marriage Certificate of BENJAMIN, Samuel Herbert and DIXON, Bertha. December quarter 1896, Chippenham Registration District, Vol 5a Page 144a. Certified copy issued by GRO on 2 June 2009 held by Amelia Bennett.
- Census return. England. 1 April 1911. BENJAMIN, Herbert. Great Faringdon, Berkshire Enumeration District 01. RG14; Piece 6431; Schedule Number 48. https://ancestry.co.uk Image 98 of 203.
- Marriage Certificate of BENJAMIN, Samuel Herbert and HAYWARD, Alice. September quarter 1939, Halisham Registration District, Vol 2b Page 394. Certified copy issued by GRO on 20 August 2017 held by Amelia Bennett.
- Death Certificate of BENJAMIN, Samuel Herbert. June quarter 1963, Chippenham Registration District, Vol 7c Page 401. Certified copy issued by GRO on 16 April 2015 held by Amelia Bennett.
- Cremation record. Haycombe Crematorium. Register of Cremations. 1963 Entry 2313. https://deceasedonline.com.
- Burial record. Ditteridge Parish Registers. Burial entry viewed at Ditteridge Church by Amelia Bennett in about 1996. Further details not available.
I have just watched the FHDU 2022 video of your search for Samuel. What a great puzzle! I have encountered a falsified birth registration in my family (false name for the father and a false marriage for the parents), which was found when trying to resolve DNA matches, but your example is the first time I’ve heard of a forged birth certificate. Please do share what you learn from the Petty Session records where Charles was let off the hook.