Individual Details
James Wiley BENNETT
(15 Sep 1842 - 15 Apr 1912)
James Wiley Bennett was the oldest son of Joshua and Indiana Bennett. He served 3 years as wagon master, Company D, 4th Indiana Cavalry during the Civil War. After the war, he wagon trained to Wichita, Kansas for 7 years. Returning to Indiana, he worked as a carpenter at the American Car and Foundry Company in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Later, he became a contractor and built homes in New Albany and Jeffersonville, Indiana. Wiley's wife Sarah lived at the farm next door to his parent's farm and married Wiley in 1866 after being honorably discharged from the army on
January 18, 1866. From a story told by Sarah Lutz Bennett (and recounted in Ralph Reschar's Bennett Family History), Wiley and Sarah along with two sons, Calvin and
Mathew, took the trail west in a Studebaker "Prairie Schooner" pulled by a four horse team and drove as far as St. Charles, Missouri and decided that they did not want to go any further. They layed claim to a quarter-section of land out of Wichita where they built a sod house. They tried farming but the grass was so thick that it was almost impossible to plow it. Their third son, Sammy, was born here. After about 5 or 6 years, the grasshoppers came and ate everything green and the family decided to return to Indiana. On the way back, Sammy fell from the side of the wagon with the rear wheel passing over his body. Gravely injured, they took him to the rail head. Sarah went with him on the train but never found a doctor and Sammy died on the train. The train was stopped and Sammy was buried beside the tracks, probably in Kansas. Other brothers had taken Wiley's place on his father's farm so they lived with Sarah's parents until Wiley could build a new home for his family in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was here that their fourth and last child, Una Della was born. Wiley died in 1912 while living at 720 West Market Street, New Albany, Indiana and is buried the the National Cemetery, New Albany, Indiana along with his wife Sarah.
January 18, 1866. From a story told by Sarah Lutz Bennett (and recounted in Ralph Reschar's Bennett Family History), Wiley and Sarah along with two sons, Calvin and
Mathew, took the trail west in a Studebaker "Prairie Schooner" pulled by a four horse team and drove as far as St. Charles, Missouri and decided that they did not want to go any further. They layed claim to a quarter-section of land out of Wichita where they built a sod house. They tried farming but the grass was so thick that it was almost impossible to plow it. Their third son, Sammy, was born here. After about 5 or 6 years, the grasshoppers came and ate everything green and the family decided to return to Indiana. On the way back, Sammy fell from the side of the wagon with the rear wheel passing over his body. Gravely injured, they took him to the rail head. Sarah went with him on the train but never found a doctor and Sammy died on the train. The train was stopped and Sammy was buried beside the tracks, probably in Kansas. Other brothers had taken Wiley's place on his father's farm so they lived with Sarah's parents until Wiley could build a new home for his family in Jeffersonville, Indiana. It was here that their fourth and last child, Una Della was born. Wiley died in 1912 while living at 720 West Market Street, New Albany, Indiana and is buried the the National Cemetery, New Albany, Indiana along with his wife Sarah.
Events
| Birth | 15 Sep 1842 | Prather, Clark Co., IN | |||
| Marriage | 18 Jan 1866 | Clark Co., IN - Sarah LUTZ | |||
| Death | 15 Apr 1912 | New Albany, Floyd Co., IN |
Families
| Spouse | Sarah LUTZ (1843 - 1915) |
| Child | Calvin Reuter BENNETT (1866 - 1904) |
| Child | Matthew Wiley BENNETT (1871 - 1935) |
| Child | Sammy Bennett (1873 - 1877) |
| Child | Una Della Bennett (1876 - ) |
| Father | Joshua Sylvanus "Selvey" BENNETT (1818 - 1899) |
| Mother | Indiana DAVIS (1826 - 1915) |
| Sibling | Uriah Emmons Bennett (1844 - 1962) |
| Sibling | Enoch Wilson BENNETT (1846 - 1918) |
| Sibling | Benjamin Asbury BENNETT (1848 - 1891) |
| Sibling | Alvin Erasmus BENNETT (1850 - 1898) |
| Sibling | Clara Matilda BENNETT (1852 - 1931) |
| Sibling | Felix Alexander "Bud" BENNETT (1854 - 1942) |
| Sibling | Rosela Cornelia Bennett (1857 - 1857) |
| Sibling | Marion Silvanus BENNETT (1859 - 1921) |
| Sibling | Benson M. BENNETT (1861 - 1893) |
| Sibling | Rosabel [Rosa Belle] BENNETT (1864 - 1891) |
| Sibling | Ella Frances BENNETT (1869 - 1928) |