Husband Willis B. Benedict 1 2 3 4
Born: 19 Feb 1838 - Enterprise, Southwest Twp, Warren Co, PA 3
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Father: Selden Spencer Benedict (1817-1873) 5 6
Mother: Mary H. Heffron (1817-1879) 6
Marriage: 18 Sep 1860 6
Other Spouse: Margaret Jane "Jennie" Irwin (1840-1877) 1 4 6 7 - 18 Jun 1874 4 6
Other Spouse: Edna J. Ruland ( - ) 6 - 25 Jul 1878 6
Wife Mary Sprague 6
Born:
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Died: Jul 1872 8
Buried:
Father: Elisha Sprague ( - ) 6
Mother:
Children
1 F Myra E. Benedict 6
Born: 30 Dec 1868 8
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Spouse: Dr. William G. Johnston (1866- ) 9 10
Marr: 21 Oct 1897 11
General Notes: Husband - Willis B. Benedict
He passed his boyhood in attendance upon the district schools of Southwest township, Warren County, PA, after which he underwent a thorough training at the Waterford Academy in Erie County. In 1856 he had the benefit of a course of study in Duff's Commercial College of Pittsburgh, the first and about the best institution of the kind west of the Allegheny Mountains. Thus equipped for the serious business of life, he returned to Enterprise and busied himself in aiding his father, until the oil development of 1859, when he added the production of oil to the manufacture of lumber. He commenced the production of petroleum in the fall of 1859, when he drilled a well in Rouseville, Venango County. He then united the two industries-that of operating in oil and that of manufacturing lumber-with a degree of success. He drilled many hundreds of wells, and owned large tracts of timber and oil lands. He was, unfortunately, a victim of the great oil fire, which caused the death of Henry R. Rouse, on the 17th of April, 1861, and himself escaped only with serious injuries.
Though not ambitious for political eminence, his ability for management, and his personal influence, made him, of necessity, active in public affairs. He was in principle a Republican, and while a firm and unyielding one, was not an “offensive” partisan. In 1862 he was elected treasurer of Warren County. He was elected to a seat in the State Legislature in the fall of 1880, and served with credit to himself and his constituents. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Enterprise, and contributed liberally to its support.
He attended the district schools at Enterprise, Warren County, PA, the Waterford Academy, Erie County, and Duff's Commercial College, at Pittsburgh. He began early the production of oil, and he was badly burned in the explosion at Rouseville, which killed Henry R. Rouse, in April, 1861. He first opened oil production on Pine creek, east of East Titusville, and opened the Enterprise district in the summer of 1865. In 1862 he was elected treasurer of Warren County, and in 1880 was elected to the state legislature. In politics he is uniformly a Republican. Though practically belonging nearly all his life to Titusville, he continued, until late in life, to keep his home at Enterprise. He finally moved with his family to Titusville, where he thereafter resided, in an elegant home on East Main street. In 1896 he was elected mayor of Titusville. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he was always a generous supporter of the church, both there and at Enterprise. He was charitable and shared in many public enterprises. He was director of the Titusville Board of Trade.