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Descendants of Benjamin Duncan,Sr.

Generation No. 1

1. Benjamin¹ Duncan,Sr. was born 1764 in Kentucky-Virginia ¹, and died Sep 09, 1820 in Kentucky, Anderson County - age 56. He married (1) Mary Bennett Feb 14, 1789 in Mercer County, Kentucky, daughter of Danal Bennett. She died Bef. 1816. He married (2) Susannah Hawkins Nov 09, 1816 in Franklin County, Kentucky, daughter of Mathew Hawkins and Hannah Maxwell. She was born Abt. 1777, and died 1845 in Anderson County, Kentucky.

Notes for Benjamin Duncan,Sr.:
Three years after Mercer County, Kentucky formed Benjamin Duncan married Mary "Polly" Bennett February 14, 1789. Benjamin purchased land on the Salt River in the early 1800s. Mary and Benjamin had at least seven children. Their last child Chloe was born in 1813. Benjamin's wife Mary died between 1813 and 1816 leaving him with at least one small child to care for.

November 9th, 1816 Benjamin married Susannah Hawkins Kilby. She was a widow with six children, five daughters under the age of ten and a son older than ten. Benjamin and Susannah had two sons Matthew and Mark. When Benjamin died September 9, 1820 Matthew was three and Mark was six months old. Susannah continued to live on the farm where she raised her children. After Susannah's death in 1845 Matthew bought Mark's share of the land and raised his children on the farm that his father Benjamin had bought. Mark and his wife Maria Bright moved west, first to Missouri then on to California.

DUNCAN RESEARCH NOTES:
By Rosemary Webb
Letter of Elizabeth Duncan
In the genealogy room at the Anderson Public Library in Lawrenceburg, Ky I found 2 letters written to Wyatt Shely (an Anderson Co. historian who wrote for the Anderson News) by Elizabeth Duncan, daughter of William A Duncan who was the oldest son on Matthew & Mariah Duncan. Elizabeth Duncan, great granddaughter of Benjamin, was given the notes her sister had taken from their father William Duncan about his grandfather Benjamin. The letters were written October 16, 1969 and November 10, 1969"

She quotes from her sister's note "Benjamin Duncan married a widow Hawkins in Culpeper County, VA., she being his third wife." she goes on the say "he did not mention the names of the 2 earlier wives but did give names of his children but did not say to which wife they belonged. They were Nimrod, Sam, John and William. He gave the names of the two sons of Susannah Hawkins Duncan and Benjamin as Matthew and Mark but did not mention names of daughters which the will of Susannah mentions. There was no mention of the parents of Benjamin. My father gave the birth date of Benjamin as 1735 which is most unlikely as this date would make him rather an old man when he married Susannah with subsequent issue of several children...my father said that Benjamin Duncan came to Kentucky in 1787, settled on Salt River in Lincoln County, which is now Anderson...Family hearsay says he came from Culpeper County Virginia where he married Susannah Hawkins a widow, date not given...The brothers of Benjamin, Mark and Matthew fought with Braddock in Pennsylvania in 1755. No proof...could be my father has a vivid imagination, who knows...My father William, eldest child and son of Matthew and Maria Reynolds, was mentally alert in 1929, and there should be some credence to his names and dates, although he must be wrong about Benjamin's birth date...My father said he came to Kentucky in the late 1700's but have been unable to find any record of him in any census of Virginia or Kentucky, which is not unusual." (Signed) Betty Duncan -(Elizabeth B Duncan)

My conclusions:
1. When William M Duncan (1858-1941) gave this information to his daughter in 1929 he was 71 and lived another 11 years. As she said there should be some credence in the names & dates he gave.
2. Perhaps Benjamin was really this old and born in 1735 instead of 1764. This would have made him 81 when he married Susannah and not impossible to still father children. The 1810 Anderson Co. Census lists him as over 45...but it doesn't tell us how old he is.
3. Sons mentioned...Sam, John and William were not children of Mary Bennett who he married in 1789 so perhaps there was an earlier marriage.
4. If Benjamin actually had brothers, Matthew & Mark who fought with General Braddock in Pennsylvania during the French & Indian War in 1755 he most likely would have been older.

More About Benjamin Duncan,Sr.:
Census: 1810, Franklin County, Kentucky, page 123 - 1 male over 45

More About Benjamin Duncan and Mary Bennett:
Marriage: Feb 14, 1789, Mercer County, Kentucky
Marriage bondsman: 1789, Samuel Nay; Teste - Sanford Bennett ²

Notes for Susannah Hawkins:
Susanna Hawkins Kilby was the widow of Henry Kilby when she married Matthew Duncan.

SUSANNAH'S QUILT
Susannah Hawkins, daughter of Matthew Hawkins & Hannah Maxwell was born about 1777 in Virginia. Susannah spent many hours when she was a child sewing the 7, 150 pieces of this quilt together. This quilt was given to her granddaughter, Lucy M Duncan, in 1861 when Lucy was one year old. Lucy born in 1860, was the first daughter born to Matthew Duncan and Maria Reynolds. In 1882 Lucy Duncan married Benjamin Price. Lucy Duncan Price then in turn gave the quilt to her nephew, Robert Allen Duncan, in 1901 when he was a year old. Lucy Duncan Price told the mother of Robert Allen Duncan, Luticia Blacketer Duncan that after she had pieced the quilt together the slaves then did the quilting.

The quilt was then passed down to Nancy Duncan daughter of Robert Allen Duncan along with a hand written note by Nancy's grandmother, Luticia. In June 2000 Nancy donated the treasured quilt to the Frankfort Kentucky Historical Society. This beautiful and unique quilt was placed on display beginning September 2000.

This is the type of quilt that young girls of the 1700's made to prove they were learning to be good seamstresses. In the 1700's & early 1800's sewing was very necessary skill as most all household linens and clothing were made by hand. Perhaps it was made for her hope chest in preparation for her trousseau.

Will of Susannah Duncan
January 13, 1840
I Susannah Duncan of Anderson County Kentucky being now of sound mind and disposing memory, and well knowing it appointed for all persons once to die, do in order to meet that event dispose of my worldly goods, with which it has pleased Almighty God to bless me which in the following manner to wit.

Item 1 - I will that after my death, that my body, my Executors herein after to be mentioned, be buried in decent Christian Burial.

2 - I will that after my decease that all my just debts be paid.

3 - I Will and bequeath the land on which I now reside, suppose to contain one hundred and fourteen acres, more or less, to my two sons Matthew and Mark Duncan and all the appurtenances and every part and parcel thereof to them and to their heirs forever, to be equally divided between them. And that the said Matthew and Mark Duncan shall pay the sum of five hundred dollars to my executors hereafter named, for this use and benefit of my daughters Clarissa Davies, Malinda Rains and Julila Ruckers and their children.

4 - I will and bequeath the balance of my estate of every kind of which I may dispossess to Matthew and Mark Duncan my two sons aforesaid and to Clairissa Davies, Malinda Rains and Julila Rucker my three daughters aforesaid for their use and their children only to be equally divided amongst them.

5 - I will and bequeath that portion of my estate that shall becoming to my daughters aforesaid and their children after said division shall take place to remain in the hands of my Executors aforesaid and too be laid out by them as soon as is convenient for land for the use of my said daughters and their children only for the purpose of securing them each a little home and when disposition of said land is made. I will and desire that this conveyance thereof be made to my Executors aforesaid and the survivor of them in trust for the use and benefit of my daughters and their children only forever,. The reason why I will my daughters portion to them and their children only is that their husbands are improvident and bad managing men and some of theirs if they have the control over it. I am convinced soon waste it and my daughters and their children would not be permitted to enjoy it - therefore I desire that they shall have no control over it.

6 - I will and appoint my sons - Matthew and Mark Duncan my sons aforesaid my Executors to this my last will and testament hereby revoking all others heretofore made by me. In testimony whereof I have set my hand and seal this 15th day of January 1840.

Witness present: Susannah x Duncan (seal)
Jordan H. Walker her mark
Robert Coke

More About Benjamin Duncan and Susannah Hawkins:
Marriage: Nov 09, 1816, Franklin County, Kentucky

Children of Benjamin Duncan and Mary Bennett are:

	2	i.	Benjamin² Duncan, Jr., born Bet. 1789 - 1800.
+	3	ii.	Nimrod Duncan, born 1793 in Kentucky; died Aft. 1850.
	4	iii.	Mary Duncan, born Abt. 1794.
+	5	iv.	Daniel Duncan, born Abt. 1795 in Kentucky; died Abt. 1849 in California.
	6	v.	Joseph Duncan, born Abt. 1810.
+	7	vi.	Chloe Duncan, born Mar 27, 1813 in Kentucky, Franklin County; died Nov 09, 1889 in Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado.
	8	vii.	Cynthia Duncan, born Unknown; died Unknown. She married Matthew Boswell Abt. 1834 in Franklin County, Kentucky.

More About Matthew Boswell and Cynthia Duncan:
Marriage: Abt. 1834, Franklin County, Kentucky

Children of Benjamin Duncan and Susannah Hawkins are:

+	9	i.		Mathew A.² Duncan, born Sep 18, 1817 in Kentucky; died Jun 24, 1899 in Kentucky, Anderson County - age 81.
+	10	ii.		Mark Duncan, born Mar 1820 in Lawrenceburg, Franklin County, Kentucky; died 1862 in En route to McMinville, Oregon..

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