Person:William Van Benschoten (3)

From Source:Van Benschoten, William Henry. Concerning the Van Bunschoten or Van Benschoten Family in America : A Genealogy and Brief History:

WILLIAM V.B. inherited his father's farm and passed his life on it. In the spring of 1823 he m. Charlotte Sanford, b. in 1803, dau. of William Sanford and Hulda Hull. The conditions were still wild; wolves abounded, the streams were full of trout; elk were plentiful, though these were fast killed off owing to their flight in the bush and dense woods being retarded by their spreading horns; and deer were frequently met with. An ingenious way William and his neighbors had of dividing their large game — for they usually hunted for it in parties — was this; whenever a deer or elk was shot the carcass would be cut up into as many pieces as there were hunters, and then one of the party would turn his back and apportion the meat in response to the question "Whose piece is this?"

William was a cheery, mirthful man and fond of practical joking; one great concern he had, however, which was that the name might die out — for he was an only son and the only grandson bearing the name. Actuated probably by this fear a family of seven children resulted before his early death.

1. ↑ ^1.0 1.1 4289, in Van Benschoten, William Henry. Concerning the Van Bunschoten or Van Benschoten family in America: A Genealogy and Brief History. (Poughkeepsie, NY: A. V. Haight Co. Printers, 1907)
   p. 778, 781.