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Jim & Selma Burrows
Lowell Anderson Burrows, the son of William Henry Burrows and Iona Belle Blue, was born on Wednesday, 4 November 1891 in Belle Plaine, Benton County, Iowa. He died at the age of 46 on Monday, 24 October 1938 in Newton, Massachusetts. The cause of death was tuberculosis/pneumonia. He was buried in Oak Hill cemetery, Belle Plaine, Benton County, Iowa.
Lowell Anderson Burrows (aged 25) married Grace Harriet Stull (aged 24) on Monday, 27 August 1917 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Grace Harriet Stull, the daughter of Frank Elmer Stull and Grace Elizabeth Chapin, was born on Friday, 27 January 1893 in Chicago, Illinois. She died at the age of 96 on Friday, 10 February 1989 in Lea Manor, Norwalk, Waterbury County, Connecticut. The cause of death was old age.
Their children are:
Elizabeth Burrows' second husband, Robert Benchley, jr. ("Bench") was the son of Robert Benchley, the humorist and brother of Nat Benchley, the novelist. The Benchley family tree in part looks like this:The Macleods
Judge Fredrick Macleod was born on Prince Edward Island. He was a naturalized citizen of the US. He came to Harvard University on a scholarship which he had received for being the top student for four years at Dal Housie College in Nova Scotia, wher he had majored in Latin and Greek. He was a Democratic State Senator, chairman of the railroad commision, and the public service commisioner, and went on to become a Superior Court justice.
Fredrick Macleod married Elizabeth Connor, who was a legal secretary.
Their children are:
- Janet Macleod, who (aged 32) married Clifton Gordon (aged 52), an officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Their children are:
- Blair Gordon
- Megan Gordon
- Graeme Macleod, born 28 September 1910, who married twice. [All that I know about the first marriage was that he had a son from it who died in the late 1960's. /s/ JLB]. He married second Elizabeth Ellen Burrows on 28 September 1940, which was her 20th and his 30th birthday. They were divorced in 1966. He died on 16 March 1973.
Their children are:
- Lorna Macleod, born on 2 March 1942, died of cancer on 2 Jan 1983, married Stephen Alan Smith in 1964.
Stephen died of cancer in 5 October 1980.
Lorna and Stephen's children are:
- Megan Campbell Smith, born on 12 November 1963 and died due to an automobile accident on 15 March 1981.
- Jeffrey Smith, born on 9 July 1965.
- Kristen Elizabeth Smith, born on 31 May 1968.
- Bryan Smith, born 28 December 1971.
- Bruce Macleod, was born on 19 June 1943, married on 10 June 1967 to Nancy Connell "Connie" Matthews.
Their children are:
- Sage Anne Macleod, born 15 December 1971.
- John Graeme "Jago" Macleod, born 28 December 1973.
- Brett Macleod, born 9 March 1976.
- Janet "Ginger" Elizabeth Macleod, born 24 March 1952, married Ray Zompa on 9 June 1973. They were divorced within a couple of years. Their child is:
- Lauren Grace Macleod, who was born "Lauren race Zompa" on 28 January 1974.
Research Notes:The Benchleys
William (Robert, Robert) Benchley was the immigrant Benchley.
His children were:
- William Benchley
- Stafford Stukeley Benchley
- James Healey Benchley was born 28 June 1796 in Smithfield, Rhode Island. He died of "stoppage" at 6 King St. Worcester, Massachusetts on 1 June 1872 at the age of 76. He married first Hannah Wetherby in Providence, Rhode Island on 30 January 1819.
Hanah, the daughter of Lewis (Thomas, Silas, Thomas, John) Wetherby and his wife Hulda Wesson, was born in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, on 2 October 1799, and died in Providence, Rhode Island, 13 June 1826, at the age of 27.
Their children were:
- Albert Leander Benchley, born 2 August 1819, in New Haven, Connecticut, died 31 December 1866 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Vickers in Grafton, Massachusetts, on 27 September 1840.
- a Son born and died 15 April 1821 in New Haven, Connecticut.
- Henry Wetherby Benchley, born 20 February 1822 in what is now Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, died 24 February, 1867 in Houston, Texas. He married first Julia Ann Goddard, 9 May 1845, in Middlebury, Massachusetts.
Their family is listed in the section below.
- Edwin Healey Benchley, born 22 April 1824 in Frankford, Pennsylania, and died 19 September 1826 in Providence, Rhode Island.
- William Shepherd Benchley, born 13 April 1826, in Providence, Rhode Island, and died 4 July 1826 in Providence, Rhode Island.
- Arnold Power Benchley, born 13 September 1800 in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and died 9 April 1860, in Lowell, Massachusetts. He married Ann Marble 13 May 1827 in Sutton, Massachusetts. She was born 21 April 1802, in Sutton, Massahcusetts, and died of a dislocated wrist and hip, 15 February 1880 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
- George Arnold Benchley, born 19 April 1810 in Smithfield, Rhode Island, and died 17 June 1836 in Savannah, Georgia. He married Rachel Weston Bowe 23 September 1832 in Scarborough, Maine. She was born born between 1808 and 1812, in Saco, Maine and died 21 March 1875, in Saco Maine.
The Benchleys -- Henry Wetherby Benchley
Henry Wetherby Benchley, born 20 February 1822 in what is now Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, died 24 February, 1867 in Houston, Texas. He married first Julia Ann Goddard, 9 May 1845, in Middlebury, Massachusetts.
She was born 25 April 1822, in Milbury, Massachusetts, died of consumption 30 July 1854, at 43 Salem St., Worcester, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Nathaniel (Samuel, Benjamin, Benjamin, William) Goddard and Rhoda Gale.
Their children were:
- Charles Henry Benchley, born 6 August 1848, in Worcester, Massachusetts, died 12 May 1923 in Worcester Massahusetts. He married Maria Jane Moran 23 June 1874 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Maria Jane Moran, the daughter of Charles Moran and Mary Ann Shumway, was born 27 October 1851 in Worcester Massachusetts, and died 19 December 1936 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Their children were:
- Robert Benchley, sr. (1889 - 1945) was born "Robert Charles Benchley", but changed his name later in life to just "Robert Benchley". When he did so, his son Robert Charles Benchley, jr. followed suit and dropped the "Charles" as well.
His children were:
- Robert Benchley, jr. was born at Sarah Lwarence Hospital in Bronxville, New York on 26 August 1919, and died on 24 June 1988.
Bench first married Elizabeth Woodward Dickinson on 25 September 1943. Elizabeth Dickinson was born on 9 June 1920, and died in August 1976.
Their children are:
- Elizabeth Darling Benchley, born on 7 July 1945.
- Robert Benchley, III born on 25 November 1950.
- Nathaniel Benchley. Nat was also an author. His book "The Off-Islanders" was made into the movie "The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!".
Nat's son is:
- Peter Benchley. Peter's books "Jaws" and "The Deep" were also made into movies.
I have seen the family grave site in Belle Plains. There is one large central stone. On one side (the North?) is carved the name Burrows. On the other side the name Blue is carved above the name Noble. There are three smaller stones to the North? and four in the opposite direction. All of the stones but that of Dr. Noble are of the same style. His is larger and simpler.
The cemetary records indicate that there are two unmarked graves in the plot--those of Thomas C. Blue and his wife Winnie Taylor Blue. It would appear that neither was cremated. Records indicate that Lowell, Wm H. and Alice were cremated, but Alice's grave is marked with wire as if her body were buried there.
The stones are arranged thus:
EPN ABN JDB EAB
Blue
Nobel
-------
Burrows
IBB WHB LAB (TCB) (WTB)
The inscriptions read:
Dr. E. P. Noble / 1868 - 1904 / At Rest
Alice Blue Noble / 1871 Peterson 1962
Father / John D. Blue / 1844 - 1930
Mother / Ella A. Blue / 1844 - 1939
Iona Blue Burrows / 1868 - 1936
William H. Burrows / 1865 - 1946
Lowell A. Burrows / 1891 - 1938
Iona's grave is also marked by two metal markers--one for th DAR, and one for the PEO.