Person:Benjamin Shankland (1)

According to WorldConnect databases, he married Henrietta Briggs and had children; then married Elizabeth (Peak) Dick and had children Lee and Ora.

 "Benjamin H. Shankland's first wife was Henrietta M. Briggs. They had five children. His second wife was Elizabeth Peak Dick of Menard County. They had two children. Orrie lived to maturity and his home was in the Chandlerville area. His third wife was Elizabeth Atterbury of Atterbury Station. They had three children: Blanche (Bradney), Alma (Tucker) and James. Blanche and James live in Brown County. In early life, Mr. Shankland was a farmer and a lay Methodist preacher in Cass and Menard Counties. He was instrumental in the erecting of a Methodist church at Oakford and the "Shankland Chapel" between Oakford and Chandlerville. He served with So. F. 132 Ind. Vol. Inf. during the Civil War." {'Descendants of William Shankland', by John N. Shankland, <www.shankland.name>, 1 Sept 2004, no sources cited}
 In the 1870 census, in Lee township, Brown Co., Illinois, Benjamin Shankland is 25 born Kentucky, farmer; with Henrietta 22 and Robert 1 -- both born Illinois. {p. 64, dwelling # 202.  Indexed at Brown Co., Illinois Archives, <www.rootsweb.com>}
 In the 1880 census for Township 18, 9 Range N., Cass Co., Indiana, B. H. Shankland is a farmer, age 36 from Kentucky (parents Kentucky).  His wife Elizabeth is 43, born Illinois, (parents Kentucky). The children are Lee, male, 2, born Illinois (father Kentucky, mother Illinois); Bell Shankland [from his first wife], 10, born Illinois; Walter Dick, stepson, 15, born Illinois; Alice Dick, 13; and Edward Dick, 13. There is also William Peak, farm laborer, 23 from Illinois (parents Kentucky) -- possibly Elizabeth's brother or nephew; Ellsworth Plugh, farm laborer, 17, born Illinois [probably son of Benjamin's sister Emerine (Shankland) Plew] then Emma Cook, servant, 27; and Louis Zeiglemyer, farmer, age 28 from Illinois (parents Switzerland).  {NARA T9-0178, p.654a}
 I believe he and Elizabeth (Peak) Dick divorced before 1897, possibly after the death of their son Lee.
 In the 1900 census for Lee, Brown Co., Illinois, Benjamin Shanklin is 57, born Nov 1843 in Kentucky (parents same), married 3 years, farmer; with wife Elizabeth 28, born Feb 1872 in Illinois (parents same), with 0 of 1 child living (?) and daughter Blanch P. 2, born Dec 1898. {ed 4, sh 8a, p. 46}
 NOTE:  I believe he may have divorced his second wife, as she is also listed in the 1900 census in Chandlerville, Cass co., with their son Ora. 
 In the 1910 census for Lee, Brown Co., Illinois, Benjamin Shankland is 66, born Kentucky (father US, mother Kentucky), married twice, this time for 13 years, 'own income'; wife Elizabeth is 37 born Illinois (parents same), married once, with 3 of 3 children living; children are Blanche V. 12; Alma B. 8; and Jamie P. 7. {ed 4, sh 1a, p. 201}
 In the 1920 census for Lee, Brown Co., Illinois, Benjamin F. Shankland is 76 bonr Kentucky (parents same); with wife Elizabeth (W?) 48 born Illinois (parents same); and children Alma B. 18 and James R. 17. {ed 4, sh 8b, p. 36, roll 300 HeritageQuest}
 "B.H. Shankland, retired farmer; P.O. Chandlerville; was born in Nicholas County, Ky., Nov. 23, 1843, son of A.G. and Judith (Stoops) Shankland. At the age of 19, our subject left home, and began farming on his own account, but removed in 1874 to this county. In April 1881, he retired from farming and removed to Chandlerville. He owns about 600 acres of land. April 3, 1861, he married Miss Henrietta Briggs, a native of Brown County, who died in 1871, leaving five children, only one of whom is now living, Laura Belle, born Nov. 24, 1871. Feb. 2, 1876, he married Mrs. Elizabeth Dick, of Menard County, daughter of William and Jane Peak, natives of Kentucky. Two children are the result of this union: Lee, born May 30, 1878, and Ora, born May 20, 1881. Mr. Shankland served in the late war about six months, as a member of Company F, 135th Reg. Ind. Vol. He and his wife are Methodists, and he is an A.F. and A.M., and a Democrat. {"Illinois: History of Cass County, Illinois", ed. William Henry Perrin. O. L. Baskin & Co. Historical Publishers, 1882;  Cass County USGenWeb., <http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilcass/Perrin/biographies/shankland.bh.txt>}
  "[Ora Shankland] was born at Chandlerville, Ill., June 20, 1881, a son of Rev. Benjamin Hartley and Elizabeth (Peek) Shankland, the former born in Nicholas County, Ky., November 23, 1843, and the latter in Menard County, Ill., November 19, 1835. The father was a Methodist minister and a farmer, and both he and his excellent wife spent their lives in doing good to others. Earnest and consistent members of the Methodist church, they worked towards its advancement, and made relieving the needy one of the chief aims of their existence. During the Civil War, the father served for six months in Company F, One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry."  {History of Cass Co - 1915 Chicago: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Page 954 ;  Cass Co., Illinois USGenWeb, <http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilmaga/cass/1915bios/shankland.html>}
  "In 1836, Peter Cartwright, pioneer Methodist circuit rider, and William Lynn with the help of Jonathan and Matthew Lounsberry and other interested neighbors, built a church about two miles southwest of Oakford. The building was dedicated as Lynn Chapel but later became known as Pecan Chapel. This church served a large territory and a thriving congregation until the older generation passed away. After several years with no regular services, B.H.Shankland, a farmer-preacher from Chandlerville, preached on December 13, 1885. This was followed by almost daily services for seven weeks with 500 people attending on January 24. Many names were added to the church rolls.{"They Left Their Mark In Oakford", 1872 Oakford M.E. Church Condensed from J.W.Lynn's History, 4 Oct 2003, <http://www.iltrails.org/menard/1872pg82a.html>}
 "In December of 1885, B.H. Shankland, a Methodist Preacher and farmer, with others, conceived an idea that the church should be moved to Oakford, then a thriving village with no church. In 1886, Pecan Chapel was moved to the present site of the Oakford Church where the membership and congregation grew.{Oakford United Methodist Church, 4 Oct 2003,<http://www.geocities.com/oakfordumc/history.html>}

1.   John Bowen. Bowen WorldConnect Database. (<wc.rootsweb.com>, 1 Oct 2003).