The Benton Family of Plaistow, West Ham, EssexAbel Benjamin Benton / Ostle Booz/Boaz BENTON (1853-?)
Ostle Booz BENTONOstle Booz was born 4 Nov 1853 at 4 Vine St, Plaistow, London, to Benjamin BENTON the grocer and his second wife Mary RUDGE. Benjamin had married Mary on 22 Jan 1850 at the West Ham Union Registry Office. He was aged 56 and she a spinster of 34. Mary RUDGEAccording to the census records, Mary was from Deptford, Kent, which is immediately south of West Ham on the south bank of the Thames River and she was born about 1816. I cannot find a baptism for Mary in this area. In the 1841 census, Mary RUDGE was a servant for William and Elizabeth OSTLE, at Heath St, off Commercial Road, Plaistow. Apparently Heath St was later renamed Head St and is today a rather run down part of the East End of London. William OSTLE was a retired Master mariner. He died in 1844 leaving a Will. The codicil to the will names Mary RUDGE and left her 16 guineas (£16/16/0) which is about £230 today. For comparison, Mary was probably being paid around £10 per year in wages (just under 4 shillings per week), so the legacy from William OSTLE was about 18 months wages.
Benjamin and Mary had two children:
The name "Ostle Booz" is intriging. He was indeed registered under that name, see the certificate below. "Ostle" is of Scandinavian origin, whereas "Booz" or "Boaz" is biblical. Referring back to Mary RUDGE in the 1841 census, she was the servant for William and Elizabeth OSTLE. William died in 1844 leaving Mary 16 guineas.(Elizabeth died early 1844 and was buried 8 February 1844 in the London and Tower Hamlets Cemetery, Square 52. William died a few months later and is buried with Elizabeth.) She named her first son after her benefactor. But the name did not last as by 1861 the child was known as Abel Benjamin and later as just Benjamin.
1861 censusBenjamin and Mary with their sons Abel and Ebenezer were living at 1 Vine Place Plaistow, which is adjacent to Vicarage Lane, off Church St, close to All Saints Church.
1871 CensusThey were now living at 2 South St, West Ham. Benjamin, now aged 79 is retired, but Mary aged 55 has taken work as a Carriage Cushion Maker. Note that the sons are now using their middle names (Benjamin and Frederick).
Emigration to South AfricaSometime after the 1871 census Ostle/Abel emigrated to South Africa. He changed his name back to Ostle Boaz BENTON perhaps as he felt it fitted in with the local names. He married Agnes Gordon BROWN at Jagersfontein on 5 April 1893. The marriage record shows he was working as a photographer.
Ostle and Agnes had two children: Mabel Bernice (born 22 Dec 1893) and Benjamin (born 29 Jun 1897). They were baptised together at Jeppestown St Mary, Pretoria on 15 August 1897.
Agnes BENTON died at Johannesburg in August 1898 and was buried at the Braamfontein Cemetery on 9 August 1898. She was 30 years old.
I have not yet located the death of Ostle. The Children of Ostle and Agnes BENTONMabel Bernice BENTON (1893-1944)Mabel Bernice married Leonard Robert MORTON on 17 April 1918 at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Jeppestown.
Mabel died on 21 December 1944 at Frere Hospital, East London South Africa.
Leonard and Mabel had two daughters: Agnes Mabel MORTON who married Lewis Charlton REYNOLDS and Maureen Blanche MORTON who married Benjamin Jean de Villiers. Benjamin Hughes David BENTONBenjamin was baptised at Jessestown on 29 June 1897. He married Ann WEST on 8 May 1918 at Johannesburg. They had two children: Hughes Thomas Boaz BENTON (born 1918, married Mona Vera STEENSMA in 1943 and they had two children); and Yvonne BENTON (1924-1924). Benjamin died at 3/1st Street, La Rochelle, Johannesburg on 4 July 1948. His death record shows he was an ex-soldier and previously a photographer (as was his father). He died of pneumonia and methylated spirits poisoning, the inquest being uncertain whether this was by accident or deliberate.
Last updated: 8 March 2025 |
