When Zera Benedict was born on 15 December 1806, in Groton, Groton, Tompkins, New York, United States, his father, Enoch Benedict, was 32 and his mother, Mary Veeder, was 29. He married Matilda Cowles on 17 January 1834. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 6 daughters. He lived in Millville Township, Clayton, Iowa, United States in 1860 and Iowa, United States in 1870. He died on 27 July 1888, in Jesup, Buchanan, Iowa, United States, at the age of 81, and was buried in Cedar Crest Cemetery, Jesup, Buchanan, Iowa, United States.
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1806–1888 Male
1817–1896 Female
1834–1922 Female
1836–1914 Male
1838– Female
1840–1854 Female
1842–1926 Male
+6 More Children
1773–1827 Male
1778–1837 Female
1802–1860 Female
1804–1885 Female
1805–1875 Male
1806–1888 Male
1811–1864 Male
+2 More Children
English, German, and Dutch: from the personal name Benedict, from Latin Benedictus ‘blessed’. This owed its popularity in the Middle Ages chiefly to Saint Benedict of Norcia (c. 480–550), who founded the Benedictine order of monks at Monte Cassino and wrote a monastic rule that formed a model for all subsequent rules. No doubt the meaning of the Latin word also contributed to its popularity as a personal name, especially in Romance countries. Occasionally the English surname may derive from Latin benedicite ‘bless (you)’, perhaps given as a nickname to an habitual user of the expression. In North America, the English form of the surname has absorbed the German variant Benedikt and many cognates from other languages, e.g. Hungarian Benedek , Slovenian Benedik (see Benedick ), and also their patronymics and other derivatives, e.g. Italian Benedetti .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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