Soldier Information
Name: Thomas Bennett
Alias:
Place of Birth: Oldham KY Year of Birth: 1829
Occupation: Farmer
Eyes: Black Hair: Black Complexion: Black
Height in Feet: 6 Inches: 0
Enlistment Information
Enlistment Date: April 25, 1865
Enlistment Place: Louisville
Enlistment State: KY
Compiled Military Service Record
Document: View
Congressional District: 5
Company: H Regiment(s): 125th Regt USCI
Mustered Where: Louisville, Kentucky
Mustered Out Date: October 31, 1867
Rank at Muster Out: Private
Notes:
Most of Private Bennett’s CMSR pages offered minimal information, however, it was noted that in the spring of 1866, he was on duty as a teamster, and in the fall of 1866, he was on duty as part of a military escort for a train headed for Fort Cummings in New Mexico.
Soldier Death Information
Died in war? No
Military Death Date:
Military Death Location:
Military Cause of Death:
Death Date:
Cause of Death:
Soldier Pension Information
Pension Card Link: Pension Card
Pension Application Date: August 3, 1890
Application No.: 904166 Certificate No.: 714415
Alternate First Name: Alternate Last Name:
Widow Pension Information
Widow Pension Card: Pension Card
Widow Application Date: August 8, 1898
Application No.: 680730 Certificate No.: 506624
No other family pension card found
Pension File Information
Pension File:
Pensioners:
Pensioner County: Pensioner State: KY
Number of Pages:
Pension Notes:
Thomas Bennett granted an invalid pension, however, the application and certificate numbers on his pension card, retrieved from Ancestry are illegible. His pension index card was retrieved from Fold3.com, with legible application and certificate numbers.
His widow also received a pension. The dates of his invalid pension and of his widow’s pension are helpful in determining Thomas Bennett’s death date. No death certificate was discovered for Thomas Bennett, but based on his pension information, he died no earlier than August 3, 1890, and no later than August 8, 1898. Widow’s name was listed as Ailsie Bennett. Her information was retrieved from the Ancestry.com pension index card.
Freedman’s Bank/Freedmen’s Bureau Information
No Freedman’s Bank information found
No Freedmen’s Bureau Documents found
Family Information
Mother First Name: Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings:
Wife #1 First Name: Elsie Maiden Name: Ford
Wife #2 First Name: Maiden Name:
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children: Sarah Bennett 1851
James Bennett 1856
William Bennett 1860
Fannie Bennett 1864
Admonia Bennett 1867
Walter 1868 Bennett
John Bennett 1873
Delia Bennett 1876
Family Notes:
No death information was discovered for Thomas Bennett. Based on his pension card information, he died sometime between August 3, 1890 (when he applied for his invalid pension), and August 8, 1898, when his widow applied for her pension benefits. According to the 1900 Census, Elsie Ford Bennett had ten children in her lifetime, but the identities of two of her ten children remain unknown. Although at least two of Thomas Bennett’s sons (Walter and John Bennett) remained in their Oldham County for their entire lives, most of his other surviving children moved from Oldham County to Shelbyville, Kentucky (Shelby County) and/or Louisville, Kentucky (Jefferson County). His youngest daughter, Delia Bennett was the exception. She took part in the “Great Migration” and by 1920, relocated to Cleveland, Ohio (Cuyahoga County), where she died in 1937.
Family Tree:
View Family Tree on Ancestry.com Please note: this requires a paid Ancestry.com account to view
1870 Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Profession: Farm laborer
1870 Live with/near former enslaver? Yes
1870 Real Estate Value: 0 1870 Personal Estate Value: 0
1870 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1870 Census Notes:
In the 1870 Census, Thomas Bennett’s age was incorrectly transcribed as “76.” He was actually closer to 50 years old. He lived near LaGrange in Oldham County, Kentucky with his wife, Elsie (aka Ailsie, Alsie, etc.) and six of his children. Elsie Bennett’s birthplace was listed as Kentucky, but in subsequent years, her birth location was sometimes given as Missouri. Also in the household was an unrelated African American man named Orange Minor (1830-1888) with whom Thomas Bennett served in Co. H 125th USCI.
1880 Census
1880 Census Link: View
1880 Profession: Laborer
1880 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1880 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1880 Census Notes:
In 1880, Thomas Bennett, his wife and six of his children lived in the Floydsburg community in Oldham County. Prior to the Civil War, Thomas Bennett’s enslaver, James Vincent (1799-1872), owned a farm in Floydsburg, but the enslaver was deceased by 1880.
1890 Census
1890 Census information not found
1900 Census
1900 Census Link: View
1900 Profession: None
1900 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1900 Own/Rent: Rent 1900 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1900 Farm/House: House
1900 Census Notes:
Thomas Bennett died sometime between the 1880 Census and August 8, 1898 when his widow applied for a pension. In 1900, his widow Elsie Bennett 86 (Census age was incorrect, she was closer to 70 years old), lived on Main Street in LaGrange (Oldham County) in the household of her youngest daughter, Delia Bennett, 24, who was single and worked as a cook. Also in the household was Martha Taylor, age 80, a widow, who was described as Delia Bennett’s aunt and presumably was Elsie’s sister. Both Elsie Bennett and Martha Taylor were born in Missouri. Delia Bennett was the only member of the household who could read and/or write.
1910 Census
1910 Census Link: View
1910 Profession: Laundress at home
1910 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1910 Own/Rent: Own 1910 Home Free/Mortgage: Mortgage 1910 Farm/House: House
1910 Census Notes:
Sometime between 1900 and 1910, Thomas Bennett’s widow, Elsie Bennett, passed away. No death records for Elsie Bennett were discovered. By 1910, at least five of her ten children were still living, including Fannie Bennett Riggs (1864-1933), who lived in Shelbyville, Kentucky (Shelby County), with her husband Walter Riggs (1863-1941), and three of their five surviving children (Rachel, Mary T., and Truman Riggs). Fannie Riggs had ten children in her lifetime but only five were living as of 1910. Also in the household was their granddaughter, Mary L. Riggs (1908-), daughter of Rachel Riggs (1888-1934). Fannie Riggs worked as a laundress at home and her husband drove a transfer wagon. The Riggs family owned their home at 322 Bradshaw Street. This house, although it is in very poor condition and does not appear to be occupied, still stands on Bradshaw Street, surrounded mainly by industrial buildings and vacant lots.
1920 Census
1920 Census Link: View
1920 Profession: Restaurant proprietor
1920 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1920 Own/Rent: Unknown 1920 Home Free/Mortgage: Free 1920 Farm/House: House
1920 Census Notes:
In 1920, Fannie Bennett Riggs was one of the few African American entrepreneurs in Shelbyville, and likely the only African American woman in Shelbyville to own and operate her own business. She was the proprietor of a restaurant in downtown Shelbyville. Fannie and her husband Walter Riggs, who worked as a general laborer, owned their home at 322 Bradshaw Street in Shelbyville. The Riggs family lived near the Bethel A.M.E. Church and the “Colored Masonic Lodge,” both located on Main Street, just a short walk from the Riggs home on Bradshaw Street. Also in the household in 1920 were two grandchildren, Mary Riggs, age 12, and John Riggs, age six.
Enslaver Information
Name: James W Vincent Location: Oldham County, Kentucky
Previous Enslaver:
Enslaver Notes:
Enslaver James Vincent (1799-1872) and his family owned large tracts of land near the Crestwood community (formerly known as “Beard’s Station”) in Oldham County. In September 1863, the U.S. Government seized the assets of William Thomas Vincent (1838-1907) of Oldham County, an officer in the Confederate Army who was charged with treason. His exact connection to the enslaver of Thomas Bennett is uncertain, but he was either a son or a nephew of James Vincent. In 1863, the U.S. Government seized 130 acres in Oldham County from William Thomas Vincent–a farm that was adjacent to enslaver James Vincent. In addition to the land, the government named two enslaved persons, Henry and Julia Ann, who were confiscated along with William Thomas Vincent’s other “property.”
1850 Enslaver Census
1850 Census Link: View
1850 Slave Schedule Link: View
1850 Number of Enslaved: 10
1860 Enslaver Census
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: $16,300 1860 Personal Estate Value: $10,560
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 10
1870 Enslaver Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Real Estate Value: $10,000 1870 Personal Estate Value: $15,000
1880 Enslaver Census
Compensation Information
Compensation Applied? Yes Compensation Received? No