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Below is a family biography included in The History of Posey County, Indiana by John C. Leffel and published by Standard Publishing Company in 1913.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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S. Benthal, farmer, stock raiser and cattle feeder of Farmersville, Ind., was born in Black township, Posey county, same State, December 9, 1841, son of Cornelius and Rachael (Rowe) Benthal, the former a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Kentucky. They were married about 1836. Rachael Rowe was first married to David Culley and to them were born two children. Through her marriage to Cornelius Benthal she has eight children, of whom our subject was the fourth. Only one of the others is living: William, who lives in Jefferson county, Illinois. Those deceased are: Mary, Thomas, Rebecca, Jacob, Jowell, Sarah and Elijah. The father and mother died within a few weeks of each other in 1852, leaving this large family of children, the youngest only six months old. Our subject was then about eleven years of age and had to begin taking care of himself, and has continued to do so the rest of his life. What little schooling he received was at the country school house, with slab benches, and one long desk fixed to the wall. He worked on the farm with his uncle, Perry Allen, until July 9, 1861, when he enlisted in Company A, Twenty-fifth Indiana infantry. He left Evansville for St. Louis in the fall of 1861, then to Georgetown, Mo., and from there marched to Springfield, Mo., thence back to the Laurine river. They went to Cold Harbor where they captured some prisoners and took them to St. Louis. They next camped in Jefferson Branch for a few weeks, after which they came by boat to Cairo and joined the fleet going to Fort Henry. The regiment went to Fort Donelson and after the battle there was ordered to Shiloh, where they participated for two days in the battle of that name.

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This family biography is one of 232 biographies included in The History of Posey County, Indiana by John C. Leffel and published in 1913 by Standard Publishing Company.  For the complete description, click here: Posey County, Indiana History and Genealogy

View additional Posey County, Indiana family biographies here: Posey County, Indiana Biographies

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