Biography (tree link)
Benjamin Sheldon was born in about 1820 to Gardner Sheldon and Nancy Gorum. He married Louisa Vaught in Edgar County, Illinois in 1846 and shortly thereafter moved to Fond-du-Lac County, Wisconsin where their first children were born, Olive (1847) and Alvah (1849). Louisa and the kids were listed with her father in the 1850 Census, while Benjamin had already moved to Goliad County, Texas to re-establish the family there.
Louisa and the children followed him and the family continued to grow in Texas – twins Mary and Marion (1855), and John (1858) were born. At some point in Texas, and perhaps early on, the family moved into their own farm at nearby Helena, Karnes County, Texas – now a ghost town.
It was here in 1859 that Benjamin was shot and killed by Alexander Selser, a man who lived and worked on Benjamin’s farm. According to Martin Vaught, brother of Louisa, the murder was due to Benjamin’s outspoken anti-slavery views. It may have also been for this reason that the trial was continually put off from session to session for a decade before the Attorney General finally decided to drop the case and the court held a verdict of dismissal. Alexander Selser was never tried for the murder. Martin Vaught came out to Texas to take in his sister and the Sheldon children. They moved back to Illinois for a short time before settling in Kansas. Louisa never remarried.
Documentation
Census:
- 1820 – Edmeston, Otsego, New York – with parents.
- 1830 – Pittsfield, Otsego, New York – with parents.
- 1850 – Edgar County, Illinois – his wife and kids with her parents
- 1850 – Goliad County, Texas – Benjamin boarding
- 1859-1868: Indictment of Alexander Selser for the murder of Benjamin Sheldon.
- 1859 (11 July) – New Orleans Crescent – notice of Benjamin’s murder.
- 1927 (25 Dec) – Wichita Beacon – Martin Vaught remembers Benjamin’s murder.
