Husband John Benninghoff 1 2 3
Born: 25 Dec 1801 - Lehigh Co, PA 4
Christened:
Died: 20 Mar 1882 - Greenville, Mercer Co, PA 5
Buried: - Shenango Valley Cemetery, Greenville, Mercer Co, PA
Father: Frederick Benninghoff (1760-1856) 3 6 7
Mother: Elizabeth Wert ( -1853) 7
Marriage: 1824 - Union Co, PA 4
• Residence: : Greenville, Mercer Co, PA.
Wife Elizabeth Heise 2 3 4
AKA: Elizabeth Heist 8
Born: 5 Nov 1804 - Union Co, PA 9
Christened:
Died: 26 Jul 1872 - Greenville, Mercer Co, PA 5
Buried: - Shenango Valley Cemetery, Greenville, Mercer Co, PA
Father: Martin Heise (1760-1867) 6
Mother: Mary Wagoner ( - ) 9
Children
1 M George Benninghoff 3 5 10
AKA: George Bennehoof
Born: 3 Apr 1825 - Clearfield Co, PA 8
Christened:
Died: 5 Feb 1909 - Meadville, Crawford Co, PA 11
Buried:
Spouse: Julia Ann Baney (Abt 1825/1830-1889) 3 12 13
Marr: 1848 14
2 M Charles Benninghoff 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: 10 Mar 1890 9
Buried:
Spouse: Sarah Yates ( - ) 9
3 M Martin Benninghoff 15
Born: 16 Mar 1828 - Clearfield Co, PA 16
Christened:
Died: 3 Mar 1898 9
Buried:
Spouse: Anna Mary Gahring ( - ) 16
Marr: 10 Oct 1855 - Venango Co, PA 16
4 F Amelia Benninghoff 5
Born: 25 Dec 1830 - Clearfield Co, PA 17
Christened:
Died: 28 Mar 1882 9
Buried:
Spouse: Jacob Gahring (1824- ) 17
Marr: 31 Aug 1859 17
5 F Elizabeth Benninghoff 18
Born: 3 Sep 1831 - Cherrytree Twp, Venango Co, PA 19
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Spouse: Robert S. Howe (1834- ) 19
Marr: 2 Mar 1854 19
6 M John E. Benninghoff 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: 11 Mar 1888 9
Buried:
Spouse: Julia Gehring ( - ) 9
7 F Catharine Benninghoff 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: 9 Apr 1883 9
Buried:
Spouse: Horace Duke ( - ) 9
8 M Frederic W. Benninghoff 2
AKA: Frederick W. Benninghoff 5
Born: 3 Jul 1837 - Venango Co, PA 2
Christened:
Died: 10 Mar 1907 - Greenville, Mercer Co, PA 2
Buried:
Spouse: Frances Jane Ricketts (1841- ) 2
Spouse: Julia Holmes ( -Aft 1913) 9
9 F Mary Jane Benninghoff 5 20
Born: 24 Jul 1839 - Venango Co, PA 20
Christened:
Died: 18 Jan 1898 9
Buried:
Spouse: Eli Reep (1832-Aft 1895) 20
Marr: 22 Aug 1861 20
10 M Jeremiah Benninghoff 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: 3 Apr 1903 9
Buried:
11 M Joseph Benninghoff 5
Born: 18 Dec 1843 - Cherrytree Twp, Venango Co, PA 5
Christened:
Died: Aft 1913
Buried:
Spouse: Ella Affantranger ( -Bef 1909) 5
Spouse: Jennie E. Miller (Abt 1865-1903) 21
Marr: 14 Dec 1898 21
12 M Milton Benninghoff 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: 11 Feb 1909 9
Buried:
General Notes: Husband - John Benninghoff
He was born in Lehigh County, PA, and when quite young removed with his parents to Union County, where he grew to manhood. About 1831 he and his wife and family removed from Clearfield County to Venango County, where he rented farm land for several years. He finally purchased land at different times until he owned a farm of 235 acres, which subsequently proved to be the most productive oil farm in the oil country discovered up to the present. This fortunate stroke of luck made him rich. His interest in the oil product of his farm extended from 1861 to April, 1868, when he sold his lands and removed to Greenville, Mercer County. During that period he had a large royalty coming in from the wells on his land, and his bank deposits in Franklin were correspondingly heavy. The bank failed and he lost a large amount of money. Losing confidence in such institutions, he concluded to be his own banker, and purchasing a safe kept his money in his house. On the evening of January 16, 1868, his safe was robbed of $250,000, not a cent of which was ever recovered, though the family spent $50,000 in attempts to capture the robbers. Notwithstanding this very heavy loss he died worth about $400,000. [HMC 1888, 776]
THE BENNINGHOFF ROBBERY.
No event in the criminal annals of the oil regions has created a more widespread excitement than the Benninghoff robbery; and whether the skillfulness of its execution or the magnitude of the amount involved be considered, it certainly ranks with similar occurrences that occasionally relieve the monotony of metropolitan life. John Benninghoff was a farmer and lived a mile and a half from Petroleum Center, in a secluded neighborhood. His farm proved to be valuable oil territory, and yielded an immense revenue. With the shortsightedness characteristic of men unused to the possession of large sums of money, and in consequence of a large loss through the failure of a local bank, he kept several hundred thousand dollars in a safe in his house. The plan of the robbery was formed at Saegertown, Crawford county, by James Saeger, Louis Waelde, Jacob Shoppart, and George Miller, in October, 1867. George Geiger, a hired man in the household of Benninghoff, was also an accessory, and Saeger secured the services of four professional cracksmen of Philadelphia named Donnelly, Gordon, Wright, and Fleming, to whom he was introduced by one Thackeray, an ex-policeman. On the evening of January 16, 1868, Waelde and the professionals set out from Meadville in a sled. Arriving at their destination, they abstracted the contents of the safe—two hundred thousand dollars in currency and fifty-five thousand dollars in bonds, and then returned to Meadville, where the booty was divided. Several of the minor conspirators were apprehended and convicted, but Saeger, by whom the robbery was planned and with whom it originated, escaped to the West, where he still lives. [HVC 1890, 594]
He and his wife were both of German ancestry. He was first a hatter by trade, was in later life a farmer, and succeeded at one time in accumulating a fortune of $300,000. He was a resident of Venango County, PA, fourteen years, and before his death lived in Greenville, PA. He had twelve children, who were all at their father's funeral but one, who was sick at the time. The father and all his sons were Republican in politics.
General Notes: Wife - Elizabeth Heise
from Hartleton, Union Co, PA