This is a charcoal drawing of Mary Emma Benham who was born in Elizabeth Township in 1862. Emma (or Aunt Emmie), a descendant of the Gearhart, Bousman, Jackson and Benham pioneer families of Elizabeth Township, spent virtually her entire life living in the same home. She attended the first Kyle School (Elizabeth Township School #2). She never married but had many nieces and nephews who kept her busy.

After her parents died, she kept their little farm on Tipp-Elizabeth Road between Benham Road and Rudy Road. She sold butter and eggs to grocers and homes in Tipp City to supplement her income. She was a member of Cove Spring Church and Cove Spring Grange.

Emma had four siblings, three who lived with their families within a mile of her little farm. Her brother, Frank, lived on an adjoining farm with his wife, Mary (Young) and their six children. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Emma’s nephew, Arthur Benham, his wife Virginia (a nurse) and their two oldest children, Dick and Joan, lived with Emma and cared for her. Emma spent most of her life happily on her little farm and died in December of 1956 at the age of 94.