Brief Life History of Zera
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 27. 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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Family Time Line
Sources (11)
- Zera Benedict, "United States Census, 1860"
- Zera Benadict, "Iowa, Death Records, 1888-1904"
- Zera Benedict in entry for Mary A Pooler, "Iowa, Death Records, 1904-1951"
Spouse and Children
Children (11)
+6 More Children
Parents and Siblings
Siblings (7)
+2 More Children
World Events (8)
1808
Atlantic slave trade abolished.
1817
Historical Boundaries 1817: Tompkins, New York, United States
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.
Name Meaning
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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