Brief Life History of Benjamin
When Benjamin Ames was born in 1827, his father, Joseph Ames, was 32 and his mother, Deborah D Farnham, was 31. He married Catherine McLannan on 27 December 1851, in Bucksport, Hancock, Maine, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Bucksport, Lincoln, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America for about 50 years. He died on 22 January 1903, in Bucksport, Hancock, Maine, United States, at the age of 76.
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Family Time Line
Sources (12)
- Benjamin Ames, "United States Census, 1870"
- Benjamin F. Ames in entry for Vincent Wallace Ames, "Rhode Island, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1630-1945"
- Benjamine Ames, "United States Census, 1860"
Spouse and Children
Parents and Siblings
Siblings (7)
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World Events (8)
1830 · The Second Great Awakening
Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.
1832 · Calais Branch is Chartered
The State of Maine chartered the Calais Railway in 1832, one of the first railway charters to be granted by the state. Construction was very long, as the project was reorganized, abandoned, transferred to other companies, and extended several times. It was finally completed in 1898.
1851 · First State to Attempt Prohibition
"In 1851, Maine outlawed the sale of alcohol, allowing exceptions only for ""medicinal, mechanical, and manufacturing purposes"". This made Maine the first state to experiment with prohibition. Neal Dow, mayor of Portland, believed that alcohol was linked to slavery and was also convinced by the Christian temperance movement. Dow ran into problems later for his anti-immigration rhetoric against the Irish, and also for breaking his own prohibition laws; although not a designated ""purchaser"", Dow personally purchased alcohol to distribute to local doctors, violating a technicality. As the citizens turned against him, Dow eventually ordered soldiers to fire on protesters. This marked a sharp decline in Dow's political career, and the Maine Law was repealed by 1856. Aspects of the law would remain in tact, however, and ultimately paved the way for the 18th Amendment, which prohibited alcohol on the national level."
Name Meaning
English (of Norman origin): from the Old French personal name Amis or from the feminine form, Amice. The Old French word amis, is from Latin amicus ‘friend’, which was used in Late Latin as a term for a man of the lower classes, in particular a slave. There were also derivatives of this as personal names, in particular masculine Amicius and feminine Amicia. Both were in use as personal names in England and may have contributed to the surname.
German: perhaps a nickname for an active person, from an ancient Germanic word related to Old High German amazzig ‘busy’.
Dutch: possibly a patronymic from Ame a common personal name in Holland and Friesland, an abbreviated form of an ancient Germanic personal name, perhaps beginning with amel ‘strong’.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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