About Us
Many early pioneer families have remained for generations in our beautiful township, their homesteads nestled amid rolling hills, breathtaking vistas, and fields of grain.
Carol Marker Mumford was one of those pioneer descendants.
Carol knew that Elizabeth Township was a well-spring of history, a “living museum.” Today, we look back at her spirited, stalwart endeavor with gratitude.
Our Mission
To preserve the provenance and the continuing heritage lifestyle of the people and place of Elizabeth Township.
Our Purpose
To promote interest in the history and cultural heritage of the Elizabeth Township Historic District, located in Miami County Ohio, and to encourage and support the preservation of Elizabeth Township as a listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
To collect, preserve, and share appropriate items and information pertaining to the history of the township and the families therein.
To maintain a library and to publish, whenever possible, appropriate materials relating to local history, genealogical research, architectural, cultural, and social growth in the township.
To encourage the education of all citizens of the Township in historical studies and pursuits.
To cooperate wherever possible with historical societies throughout the country and with other groups having similar purposes.
Membership
Open to all individuals interested in the purposes of the Society. There are three very reasonably priced levels of membership: Individual, Family, and Supporting.
Membership includes a quarterly newsletter (February, May, August, November) with many interesting articles and photos of the people and places of Elizabeth Township’s past and present.
Frank E. and Mary Benham Family
We mentioned that Frank and Mary Benham had six children in eight years. When you have that many kids in quick succession, chances are grandchildren may follow in the same way. Here are twelve of the Benham grandchildren with Grandma Mary in around 1951 or 1952 on the porch at Bob and Edna's home...
Here is a picture of the Frank E. Benham family in the late 1920s. Frank Edwin Benham married Mary Etta Young when he was 53 and she was 27. They had a farm on Rudy Road just south of Tipp Elizabeth Road. Their grandson, Jim and great-grandson Doug and his family now own and farm that farm.
Mary Young Benham also grew up in Elizabeth Township on the dairy farm on what is now Tipp-Elizabeth Rd. just east of Gearhart Rd. Frank and Mary had six children in eight years, including Robert Woodrow, who was born in 1917, Frank Arthur (1919), Roy Edwin (1920), Lloyd George (1922), Cassa...
This is a photograph most likely from around 1890 of the children of John V. and Cassa (Bousman) Benham. Cassa was born in Elizabeth Township in 1831, the daughter of Leonard Bousman (also spelled Bausman) and Elizabeth Jackson Bousman. Both the Jacksons and the Bousmans came to Elizabeth Township...
The Other Salem….
Don't miss this riveting program on one of the most challenging times in colonial America: