- Birth: June 1830
- First Marriage: Lucretia O’Cain, March 26, 1853
- Second Marriage: Eliza Jane Bodine, 1860
- Third Marriage: Azubah Smith, October 16, 1867
- Fourth Marriage: Martha (Craig) Christenot, April 25, 1887
- Death: December 7, 1903
Early Life
Benjamin Franklin Christenot or “Frank” as he was referred to in journals and newspapers, was born in June 1830, in Wellsboro, Tioga County, Pennsylvania, to Frederick and Asenath (Sanford) Christinat. He was the eldest of nine children, six of whom grew to adulthood. His father, Frederick, was born in Switzerland and his mother in Connecticut. His last name was consistently spelled as “Christenot”, yet his parents used variations of Christinat/Christinot/Christenat, as the name became more Anglicized or census takers chose their own spelling. It appears that Frederick and family were prospering in Wellsboro during 1830-1850 when Benjamin was growing up. Tioga County tax rolls list Frederick Christenot as a laborer, with one town lot and one cow in 1831. In 1844, when Benjamin was 14, Frederick is listed as a carpenter with a house, lot and one cow. In 1850, Frederick lists a house and lot, a lot on Pearl Street, and 51 acres of wild land in Delmar Township.
For some reason, family fortunes changed. On August 22, 1849, there is a death notice for Cornelia, daughter and ninth child of Frederick and Asenath. On August 28, 1850, a notice of a sheriff’s sale of their property was published. There is a Sheriff’s sale for Frederick in the September 11, 1850 edition of the Tioga Eagle. This was a period of economic hardship for that community. The 1850 census for Wellsboro lists Frederick as a carpenter living with Horace Cook, an innkeeper.
It appears that the poor economy forced the Christenot family to head west to Wisconsin. The 1850 census for Barbaboo, Sauk County, Wisconsin records Asenath and children B.F. (20), Ann M. (18), Charles F. (16), Mary A. (12), Emily E. (8), and Louisa (5) all living with Asenath’s brother, merchant J.F. (Joseph Francis) Sanford.
Children of Frederick and Asenath Christenat, Benjamin’s Siblings
- Benjamin Franklin Christenot (1830-1903)
- Anna Margaretha (Christenot) Edwards Douglass (1832-1910)
- Charles Frederick Christenot (1834-1886)
- Sarah Christenot (1836-1836)
- Mary Amelia (Christenot) Morrill (1837-1897)
- Sarah Christenot (1839-1839)
- Emily (Christenot) Marshall (1841-1881)
- Louesa (Christenot) Foss (1844-1923)
- Cornelia Christenot (1846-1849)
First Marriage – Lucretia O’Cain
Benjamin had few children, but many wives. At age twenty-two, he married Lucretia O’Cain, daughter of Nicholas and Almira (Howe) O’Cain of Connecticut on March 26, 1853. Benjamin and Lucretia had one child, Amelia Mary Christenot, born in 1854 in Wisconsin. She was referred to as “Mary” in adulthood. They lived and farmed near Baraboo, Wisconsin. Lucretia died in 1858 at age thirty.
Child of Benjamin and Lucretia Christenot
- Amelia Mary Christenot
Second Marriage – Eliza Jane Bodine
Benjamin married Eliza Jane “Janie” Bodine in 1860. Benjamin had tried to enlist in the Civil War, but was rejected for service for being physically unable. Benjamin and Eliza Jane had one daughter, Ellen Jane “Sarah” Christenot, born March 3, 1863, in Illinois. Benjamin may have caught the bug to mine for gold when long letters from a cousin arrived detailing his journey to the California Gold Rush were sent to the family. Benjamin traveled west and, by November 1863, was recording claims of placer gold in Summit District in Alder Gulch, Montana.
It is not known if his wife and child travelled with him originally or if they joined him in Virginia City after he became established.
On October 15, 1864, The Montana Post reported that the Summit Arastra Company milled some Oro Cache ore, and found it to be rich. Discussions were reported of “putting up a first class steam quartz mill convenience to their claims, as soon as it can be shipped from the states.” (“Summit Arastra Company,” 1864). In December of 1864, Benjamin Christenot commenced work on his Oro Cache claims using one mule to operate an arastra. He earned $8,358. This work in winter must have been difficult as the shaft of the Oro Cache sits at 8,040 feet of elevation.
With this start in hard rock mining, Benjamin was able to amass some 87 lode mining properties that were attractive to investors from the Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, area. Those investors formed the Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company (MGSM) which was chartered by the Pennsylvania Legislature on January 21, 1865.
A four-party agreement was recorded in the Madison County Courthouse on April 4, 1866, in which Benjamin, his wife Janie, and their attorney Lorenzo E. Williston sold to the Montana Gold and Silver Mining Company the 87 hard rock mining properties for $1,140,000. This agreement also resulted in an indenture that showed MGSM raised $250,000 which financed the gold-crushing machinery, the wagon train, and the gold-crushing mill (AKA Christenot Mill) at Union City, Montana. They sold bonds to raise these funds.
Benjamin was hired by the MGSM to be the superintendent of the mill. Gold crushing machinery was purchased and loaded onto a wagon train in Nebraska City, Nebraska, which started west on June 20, 1866. Travelling with the train were members of Benjamin’s extended family. Included were his first daughter, Amelia Mary, his father, Frederick Christenot with second wife Margaret, and his cousin, Azubah Smith. Also travelling were his brother, Charles, with second wife, Martha (Craig) Wilton Christenot and her daughter Alice Wilton. Benjamin did not join them, but went directly to Virginia City via stagecoach to oversee the construction of the mill at Union City. He arrived back there on August 4, 1866. The wagon train arrived in October of 1866.
Upon his return, Benjamin and Janie’s marriage became volatile and they divorced, each accusing the other of adultery. He denied being the father of their daughter, Ellen Jane “Sarah” Christenot. (DNA tests have since proved he was her father.)
Child of Benjamin and Eliza Christenot
- Ellen Jane “Sarah” Christenot
Third Marriage – Azubah Smith
Benjamin married his third wife, Azubah Smith, on October 16, 1867 in Virginia City. Azubah had travelled west in the MGSM wagon train with the other Christenots.
Azubah was born in 1842, in Wellsboro, Pennsylvania, and was Benjamin’s first cousin. Her parents were B.B. and Margaret (Christenot) Smith. Margaret was sister to Benjamin’s father, Frederick. There are no known children from this union.
Benjamin owned a hotel in Summit City and lived in the superindentant’s house by the Christenot Mill. He also owned a house in Virginia City, that is known is present time as the Raymond House. Along with his daughter, Amelia, Azubah may have lived with him in those places, or in Virginia City. With the failure of the Mill in 1869, Benjamin tried mining at a mill near Brown’s Gulch. The family of three eventually settled in the gold country of northern California.
Fourth Marriage – Martha Christenot
Benjamin and Azubah eventually divorced. He journeyed back to Virginia City, and, for his fourth and last wife, married Martha (Craig) Wilton Christenot, on April 25, 1887. She divorced him three years later for dissertion.
Later Life
Benjamin Franklin Christenot died on December 7, 1903, at age seventy-three in Hurleton, Butte County, California. He was a large man and had to have a large coffin built for him.
Benjamin Christenot headed west in 1863 in search of a better life. His success with mining brought his extended family to Montana and, over time, their decendants settled in the West.
Sources
Benjamin’s information was last updated in July 2022. Detailed Family Trees are available. Please contact us with content, questions or corrections.
Benjamin and Eliza Jane Christenot
Ellen Jane “Sarah” and John Wiber
George
Frank
Oliver
Courtney
Harold