Holbrook line: Benjamin Amos 1748-1814

I wrote a blog post recent about Robert Amos, brother to Benjamin.  It was an interesting (to me) blog post because I was able to uncover some information about Robert that was new to me.  With Benjamin, I have some new to me information but I am not sure what it all means. 

Let's start at the beginning.  Like Robert, Benjamin was the son of James and Hannah Clarke Amos.  James and Hannah had at least nine children.  Robert was at least seven years older than Benjamin, so I don't know how close they were as children.  When Benjamin grew up, he married Sarah Bussey, daughter of Edward Bussey and Mary, who was the widow of Edward Pendergrass.  (I have not yet solved the mystery of Mary's maiden name, and would surely love some help on that challenge.)

Benjamin and Sarah were married in about 1772, and had at least four children-Elizabeth, Mary, Ann, and James, all named in Benjamin's will.  Now here's a mystery:  Did Benjamin ever leave the land he lived on?  The reason I ask is that I can't find another Amos in this immediate family who would have been alive to be the Benjamin Amos who was listed as a merchant in Baltimore, in 1800.  The location is given as 48 Calvert Street.  If this is the same Calvert Street as the one so named now, then he would have been just a few blocks from the harbor, an excellent location for a merchant.  Also, if we assume this is our Benjamin, it gives us a reason that his granddaughter Martha might have been in Baltimore when she married Peter Black in 1812. 

But then there is the census information.  It shows Benjamin Amos in Harford County, Maryland (where he was born and died) in 1790, with 6 white males (presumably including himself), one of which is under 16, and 6 females.  No slaves are reported, but since I can't identify all of these people it's possible that slaves were included in these numbers.    The 1800 census, when he possibly was in Baltimore, shows him in Harford County District 4, with a male and a female over 45, one male aged 10-15,  one female 16-25, and ten slaves.  The 1810 census shows him at Havre de Grace, Harford, Maryland, with one female 16-25, a male over age 45, and 10 slaves.  Two questions arise:  Slaves, and where was Sarah? 

The only thing I can say about the slavery issue is that grandfather William was a Quaker, and abhorred slavery.  There was a split in the family between those who were willing to "own" slaves and those who were not.  I don't know how serious the split was but I do know a family that had been harmonious in their beliefs was under considerable strain as the slavery issue played out. 

I don't know where Sarah was in 1810.  Possibly she was with a child, nursing someone through an illness or pregnancy.  In 1820, after Benjamin had died, she was in Election District 4, Harford County, with one slave to care for her.  No slaves are mentioned in Benjamin's will but he did divide his personal property up between his four children, after his wife had her thirds.  So did he still have slaves?  I don't know. 

Also confusing are the dates.  Benjamin's will is dated January 2, 1815 and his death date is generally given as January 15, 1815.  However, there are wills dated 1814 just before his will and also the second will after his.  And..there are inventories of a sort, handled by James Amos, the executor of Benjamin's will, that are dated November 14, 1814 and then January 19, 1818.  These refer to debts and to cash on hand.  Did James serve as executor for another Benjamin Amos?  Did whoever copied these wills read the dates wrong?  What is the explanation for this?

So we are left with mysteries:  What happened to the slaves, and when and how did he initially acquire them?  Did Benjamin have a business in Baltimore at one time?  Did he perhaps lose them when a business failed, or sell them to keep a business afloat?  When did he die, really-1814 or 1815?  Clearly there is more to be learned about this ancestor of ours, but what we do know is intriguing. 

The line of descent is:

Benjamin Amos-Sarah Bussey
Elizabeth Amos-Robert Amos
Martha Amos-Peter Black
Elizabeth Black-Isaac Hetrick
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants