Cynthia (Vail) Benson (1801 - 1877)

Born 28 Feb 1801 in Thompkins, Cayuga, New York, USA

Ancestors

Wife of Alva Benson — married 11 Aug 1820 in Clark County, Indiana, USA

Descendants

Died 10 Nov 1877 at age 76 in Hyrum, Cache, Utah, USA

Biography

Cynthia (Vail) Benson was a Latter Day Saint pioneer.

Family

Born as Cynthia Vail in Palmer, Saratoga County, New York on February 28, 1801, her parents were Gamaliel Vail and Lucy Manning.^[1]

Cynthia married Alva Thomas Benson in the town of Jeffersonville, Clark County, Indiana in the summer of 1820. The date was August the 11th.^[2]

Alva's father, Benjamin Benson, was an early follower of Joseph Smith, founder of the Church of Latter-Day Saints. Benjamin Benson sat on the High Council in Nauvoo, Illinois.

Cynthia was baptized into the LDS faith on February 21, 1832. She was thirty-one years old at that time. Her future father-in-law, Benjamin Benson, officiated her baptism.^[3]

From 1839 to 1846 Cynthia Vail Benson lived in Nauvoo^[4]Things did not go well for the Mormons in Nauvoo. Their prophet was arrested and murdered after fleeing imprisonment in Missouri. Their troubles stemmed from the "practice of plural marriage", a new doctrine that Joseph Smith had incorporated in the sect. Ultimately, Cynthia and her Mormon brothers and sisters lost their Prophet, when he was arrested and killed. Ironically, the issue of Plural Marriage became an issue within the theocracy itself which caused a break in ranks, so to speak.

Cynthia and her family left Nauvoo in 1846 and followed their new leader, Brigham Young, to the their new 'promised land' in Utah, the Great Salt Lake Basin. They spent some time in Council Bluffs getting prepared for the long trip.^[5]

During the Iowas Census 1851 Cynthia was living in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.^[6][7]Those living in the household were:

• Alvin(Alva) Benson age 50
• Cynthia Benson age 48
• Lucy Benson age 18
• Moroni Benson age 17
• Polly Alvira Benson age 11
• Cynthia Elizabeth Benson age 8

Mormon Wagon Train Wikimedia Commons

In 1852, the family had finished preparing for their long journey from Kanesville, Iowa (Council Bluffs) to the Great Salt Lake. They traveled with about 250 others with the 16th Company wagon train led by Captain Uriah Curtis. They departed on the 28th of June and arrived at their destination on September 29, 1852. Those in the family who were in the wagon were:^[8]

• Keziah Barber Messenger Benson at age 72; (Cynthia's mother-in-law)
• Alva Benson; spouse; age 52
• Moroni Benson; son; age 19
• Polly Alvira Benson; daughter; age 13
• Cynthia Elizabeth; daughter

Cynthia died on November 10, 1877. She was living in the town of Hyrum, Cache County, Utah.^[9]Cynthia is buried in the Hyrum town cemetery. A photo of Cynthia and her gravestone can be seen at Find-A-Grave Memorial #48773178

Research Notes

Indiana Compiled Marriages list DOD as 7 Aug 1820.

Ancestral File Number

Ancestral File Number: 27BF-8Q

Sources

1. ↑ Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1830-1848
2. ↑ Indiana, Select Marriages Index, 1748-1993
3. ↑ Membership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-=day Saints, 1830-1848
4. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/K2W3-2X9
5. ↑ https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mormons-begin-exodus-to-utah
6. ↑ Iowas Census, 138-70; Jordan Dodd and Liahona Research, Author; Ancestry.com Publisher; 1999, Provo, Utah.
7. ↑ 1850 U.S. Federal Census; Pottawattamie, Iowa
8. ↑ https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/companies/98/uriah-curtis-company-1852
9. ↑ History: Church of Jesus Christ, Pioneer Database 1847-1868

• Indiana Marriages, 1811-2007, database with images, FamilySearch, Alvah Benson and Cynthia Vail, 11 Aug 1820; citing Clark, Indiana, United States, various county clerk offices, Indiana; FHL microfilm 1,415,852.
• United States Census, 1870, database with images, FamilySearch, Cyntha Benson in household of Alvin Benson, Utah, United States; citing p. 11, family 91, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 553,109.

See Also:

• The New York Times; Nauvoo, the Town the Mormons Left, by Jerry Klein; 19 Aug 1979
• [https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/1997/06/the-pioneer-trek-nauvoo-to-winter-quarters?lang=eng Church of Jesus Christ.Org; The Pioneer Trek; by William G. Hartley.
• Background image is An modern attempt to recreate an unofficial flag used by members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) for the State of Deseret (i.e. Utah Territory).[1]

Acknowledgements

• Johnson Family History by Jessica Jones; Ancestry Family Tree