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Wilmot John "Bill" Carpenter

Male 1891 - 1961  (69 years)


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  • Name Wilmot John "Bill" Carpenter  [1
    Nickname Bill 
    Birth 1 Jul 1891  Ballantree, Whiteship Township, York, Ontario, Canada Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Death 16 Jun 1961  Farwell, Clare County, Michigan Find all individuals with events at this location  [1, 2
    Notes 
    • He was the son of John Carpenter and Jane Stover, and born in Ontario, Canada on 1 July 1891, according to the "Ontario, Canada, Births, 1869-1909" on Ancestry.com.

      https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.2/M25T-2XZ/p1
      Name: Wilmot John Carpenter
      Event: Birth
      Event Date: 01 Jul 1891
      Event Place: Whitchurch Twp., York, Ontario
      Gender: Male
      Father: John Carpenter
      Mother: Jane Stover
      Registration Year:
      Registration Number: cn 37449
      Film Number: 1846451
      Digital Folder Number: 4656908
      Image Number: 486
      Collection: Ontario Births, 1869-1912

      He completed his World War I Draft registration card as an alien in Farwell, Clare County, Michigan, showing his place of birth as Ballantrae, Ontario, and claiming English citizenship. He was a single farmer and the time of this registration, and was shown as of Medium heighth and build, with Grey eyes and black hair.

      Bonnie Benkelman reported that her uncle worked for a lumber yard. He was an enthuisiastic outdoorsman, and loved to hunt and fish.

      Obituary
      (Source: Clare Sentinel, 22 June 1961, Page 8, image posted to FamilySearch by Tom Ladner)

      W. Carpenter Dies 17 70

      Wilmot Carpenter of Farwell passed away at Central Michigan Community Hospital in Mt. Pleasant Friday, June 16 at the age of 70.

      Mr. Carpenter was born on July 1, 1891 in Canada. He later met and married Mae Benkelman. They moved to the Farwell area, where they have lived ever since.

      Mr. Carpenter worked as a bookkeeper of the Farwell Lumber Company until his retirement several years ago. He was a life member of the Corning Lodge in Farwell, a member of the Damascus Royal Arch Masons, and a member of the Farwell Methodist Church. He was a veteral of World War I.

      Mr. Carpenter's wife, Mae, and a cousin are his only known survivors.

      Funeral arrangements were taken car of by Coker's Funeral Home in Farwell. The funeral was held Monday, June 19, at 2:00 p.m. at the Farwell Methodist Church with Rev. John Allen officiating. Interment was a the Surrey Cemetery.
    Person ID I37  Strong Family Tree
    Last Modified 23 Dec 2023 

    Family Florence Mae Benkelman,   b. 8 May 1896, St. Francis, Cheyenne County, Kansas Find all individuals with events at this locationd. 19 Dec 1989, Stuart, Martin County, Florida Find all individuals with events at this location (Age 93 years) 
    Marriage 1 May 1926  Flint, Genesee County, Michigan Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • Marriage date of 1 May 1926, per Dorothy Williams (Mae's niece and later stepdaughter), may be incorrect?

      The 1930 census shows that a John W and Jennie Carpenter were living in Lapeer County, Michigan. He was shown as age 39, born Michigan with both parents also born in Michigan. She was shown as age 30, also born in Michigan, with her mother born in Canada, and father in Michigan. Based on the ages of marriage shown, they would have married about 1920.

      However, in 1930, Wilmot and Mae Carpenter can be found in Flint, Genesee, Michigan, having been married approximatley 5 years, based on their current age and age at the time of their marriage.

      Unless Wilmot John Carpenter secretly married to both women, and moving between households in 1930, the John W Carpenter married to Jennie Hoeksema is a different man entirely, of approximately the same age. Additionally, Mae's husband was born in Canada, not in Michigan.
    Family ID F31  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 23 Dec 2023 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 1 May 1926 - Flint, Genesee County, Michigan Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - 16 Jun 1961 - Farwell, Clare County, Michigan Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Photos
    Benkelman, Benjamin F. Sr. ca 1920's with his children and their spouses
    Benkelman, Benjamin F. Sr. ca 1920's with his children and their spouses
    Back Row, L to R:
    Wilmot "Bill" Carpenter, Ben Benkelman, Sr., Ben Benkelman, Jr., Jim Pease, Minnie Benkelman, Eustace Ball, Harold Benkelman in the late 1920's.

    Front Row, L to R:
    Mae Benkelman Carpenter, Lois Benkelman Pease, Ruth Benkelman Ball, Isabel Fletcher Benkelman, Avis Smith Benkelman
    At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
    Jesse, Minnie ca 1960, with her childrens' spouses on her 95th birthday
    Jesse, Minnie ca 1960, with her childrens' spouses on her 95th birthday
    Minnie Jesse Benkelman, celebrating her 95th birthday, posed with the spouses of her children

    Standing, l to r: Eustace Ball, Avis Benkelman, Bill Carpenter

    Seated: Isabel Benkelman, Minnie


  • Sources 
    1. [S469] Williams, Dorothy Ball--Family Researcher (dotwfl@comcast.net) 3331 Southwest Villa Place, Palm City, FL 34990 ; based in part on BonnieMargaret Benkelman Jacob's unpublished typescript, THE FAMILY BENKELMAN.

    2. [S595] Striffler-Benkelman Broadcast, (Family Publication, published sporadically to record family milestones in connection with the annual Striffler-Benkelman Family Reunions, with Vol. 1, Number 1, published Sept. 7, 1936. Issues on file at the Rawson Memorial Library in Cass City, Michigan include Vol. 5 (1941), Vol. 7 (1944) and Volumes 8 (1945) through Vol. 28 (1968). Issues published from 1961 through 1964 were not assigned volume numbers, and 1963 appears to be missing. Xeroxes of the existing issues were also made by Melinda McLemore Strong in 2007. According to a article published by the Cass City Chronicle on August 6, 1981, commemorating the Fiftieth and Final Striffler-Benkelman Reunion, the final issue of the STRIFFLER-BENKELMAN BROADCAST appears to have been Volume 28, published in 1968.), 1961 Issue, not assigned a volume number (Reliability: 3).