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Nickname: B.F..

Father : William Samuel Sweet — Born: 1804, Vermont; died: 1859, New York

Mother : Jane Parks — Born: 1807, Northern Ireland; died: 1857, Wisconsin

Family: : Spouse — Abby Jane Smith — Born: 1839; died: 1914
Married: 16 Mar 1856

1. Waldo Sweet — Born: 1857; died: 1931, California
2. Mary Sweet — Born: 1858.
3. George B. Sweet — Born: 1860.
4. Ada Sweet — Born: 1862.
5. Ellis Sweet — Born: 1865.
6. Alice Elizabeth Sweet — Born: 1868, Wisconsin.
7. Benjamin Franklin Sweet Jr. — Born: 1870.
8. Jennie Sweet — Born: 1874.
9. Henry Sweet — Born: 1876.
10. Anna Sweet — Born: 1879.
11. Katherine Sweet — Born: 1881.

Events

24 May 1831 — Born: Mooers Forks, Clinton County, New York.

22 Jun 1860 — Census: Fond du Lac, Fon du Lac County, Wisconsin

11 Jun 1870 — Census: Fond du Lac, Fon du Lac County, Wisconsin

01 Jun 1880 — Census: Fond du Lac, Fon du Lac County, Wisconsin

From 1899 To 1890 — Mayor Of Fond Du Lac: .

1896 — Mayor Of Fond Du Lac: .

16 Aug 1903 — Died: Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.

Narrative Article

Benjamin Franklin Sweet and his brother Hannibal Livingston Sweet were probably born in Vermont before their father moved the family to Clinton County, New York.

The brothers settled in Fond du Lac where they founded B.F. & H.L. Sweet Company which made wagons and sleighs. The sleighs were especially successful. B.F. also was granted a patent on a braking system, presumably for the wagons. B.F. and H.L. list their occupations as "Wagon and Carriage Makers" on the 1870 census.

B.F. was active in the Masons and was twice mayor of Fond du Lac.

My grandmother Alice Sweet Ewing told me that her grandfather had been a carriage maker who had been approached by Henry Ford to make the bodies for his cars. Her grandfather had been for it, but his sons had thought it would be a passing fad, so her grandfather had declined.

This story seemed to me to be very much the stuff of legend, so I was not surprised to discover no such thing among the Ewings. But B.F. was her maternal grandfather, and he was a carriage maker. I do not suppose the story about Henry Ford can be proved or disproved now, but the point of the story seems in the main true. The family business evaporated in the next generation or so, and cheap motor vehicles are certainly partly the reason.

(Elsewhere, I have told this story the other way around, with the sons for making Ford's car bodies, and B.F. against it. That was not how she told the story according to my reconsidered recollection.)

—Lars Eighner

Names Index

By birth name

• Avery, Mary.
• Babcock, Ruth Julia Goodrich.
• Baker, Ann.
• Barrow, Edward Ewing — born: 1923; died: 1952, Korea.
• Barrow, Edward Rowland — born: 1889, Texas; died: 1972, Texas.
• Barrow, Sarah Elizabeth — born: .
• Bodurtha, Sarah Taylor — born: 1817, Massachusetts; died: 1851, New York.
• Borden, Ellen Walker — born: 1907, Illinois; died: 1972, Illinois.
• Congdon, Patience — born: 1746, Rhode Island.
• Davis, Helen Louise — born: 1868; died: 1932, Illinois.
• Private_M code: @I5@ — born: 1951, Texas.
• Eighner, Laurence Vail — born: 1948, Texas.
• Eighner, Lawrence Clifton — born: 1920, Illinois; died: 1983, Indiana.
• Ewing, Abbie Jane — born: 1897, Kansas; died: 1971, Texas.
• Ewing, Adlai Alexander — born: 1831, Kentucky; died: 1831, Kentucky.
• Ewing, Adlai Merriman — born: 1912, Texas; died: 1970, Texas.
• Ewing, Adlai Merriman — born: 1872, Illinois.
• Ewing, Adlai Osborne — born: 1779, North Carolina; died: 1820, Kentucky.
• Ewing, Adlai Thomas — born: 1844, Illinois; died: 1922.
• Ewing, Alexander — born: 1774, North Carolina; died: 1816, North Craolina.
• Ewing, Alexander Osborne — born: 1816.
• Ewing, Alice Elizabeth — born: 1926, Texas.
• Private_F code: @I1@ — born: 1906; died: 1991, Oklahoma.
• Ewing, Anne — born: 1705, Northern Ireland.
• Ewing, Annie — born: 1772; died: 1842.
• Ewing, Catherine Adlai — born: 1820.
• Ewing, Eliza Ann — born: 1809, Kentucky; died: 1900, Illinois.
• Restricted_F code: @I136@ — born: 1928, Texas.
• Ewing, Elliot Winchester — born: 1874; died: 1891.
• Ewing, Fielding Nathanial — born: 1811.
• Ewing, Henry Anderson — born: 1841, Illinois; died: 1934, Kansas.
• Ewing, Henry Wallis — born: 1867; died: 1948.
• Ewing, Henry Wallis Jr. — born: 1894, Kansas.
• Ewing, Isabella Caroline — born: 1814.
• Ewing, James — born: 1708, Northern Ireland; died: 1788, Virginia.
• Ewing, James Stevenson — born: 1835, Illinois; died: 1918, Illinois.
• Ewing, James W. — born: 1776, North Carolina; died: 1818, Kentucky.
• Ewing, Jane — born: 1782.
• Ewing, John.
• Ewing, John Fielding Wallis — born: 1837, Illinois; died: 1914.
• Ewing, John Wallis — born: 1808, North Carolina; died: 1855, Illinois.
• Ewing, Joshua — born: 1697, Ireland; died: 1753, Maryland.
• Ewing, Kitty — born: 1725.
• Ewing, Lawrence Bodurtha — born: 1901, Kansas; died: 1902, Kansas.
• Ewing, Lucius Winchester — born: 1901, Kansas.
• Ewing, Margaret.
• Ewing, Mary Brevard — born: 1869, Illinois.
• Ewing, Nancy Jane — born: 1833, Kentucky; died: 1906.
• Ewing, Nancy McWhorter — born: 1784.
• Ewing, Nathaniel — born: 1747, Maryland; died: 1822, Kentucky.
• Ewing, Nathaniel — born: 1693, Northern Ireland; died: 1748, Maryland.
• Ewing, Patrick — born: 1736, Maryland; died: 1822, Maryland.
• Ewing, Rebecca M — born: 1806; died: 1824.
• Ewing, Richard Avery — born: 1877, Texas.
• Restricted_M code: @I135@ — born: 1932, Texas.
• Ewing, Robert — born: 1738.
• Ewing, Ruth Stevenson — born: 1880, Illinois; died: 1951, China.
• Ewing, Samuel — born: 1740.
• Ewing, Samuel — born: 1705, Northern Ireland; died: 1758, Virginia.
• Ewing, Sarah Catherine — born: 1882, Kansas; died: 1973, Maryland.
• Ewing, William — born: 1664, Scotland; died: 1736, Maryland.
• Ewing, William — born: 1694, Northern Ireland; died: 1796, Virginia.
• Ewing, William — born: 1630, Scotland.
• Ewing, William Gillespie — born: 1839, Illinois; died: 1922, Illinois.
• Forsyth, Irene.
• Restricted_F code: @I134@.
• Giffin, Anna — born: 1863, New York; died: 1937, California.
• Gillespie, Jane — born: 1700, Ireland.
• Green, Letita — born: 1843; died: 1913, Illinois.
• Hanson, Ada Ruth — born: 1907; died: 2000, Florida.
• Hanson, Benjamin Moody — born: 1865, Illinois; died: 1831, Iowa.
• Hanson, Bertha — born: 1867, Wisconsin; died: 1948.
• Hanson, Eleanor — born: 1903; died: 1989, Kansas.
• Hanson, Elizabeth Moody — born: 1914.
• Hanson, Harriet Ellinor — born: 1869, Wisconsin; died: 1939, Pennsylvania.
• Hanson, Hobart — born: 1917.
• Hanson, Ira Bray — born: 1879; died: 1880.
• Hanson, Irene — born: 1874, Wisconsin; died: 1869, Iowa.
• Hanson, Jesse Spaulding — born: 1871, Wisconsin; died: 1921, Iowa.
• Hanson, Joseph Miles — born: 1868, Wisconsin; died: 1921, Ohio.
• Hanson, Margaret Merriman — born: 1909; died: 1992, South Dakota.
• Hanson, Nelson — born: 1836, Sweden; died: 1924, Iowa.
• Hanson, Perry Oliver — born: 1875, Wisconsin; died: 1967, Kansas.
• Hanson, Perry Oliver — born: 1915.
• Hanson, Richard Ewing — born: 1905, China; died: 1993, Vermont.
• Harlow, Robert Dean — born: 1926; died: 1998, Oklahoma.
• Hyde, Kate.
• Kelley, Mary Arden — born: 1894; died: 1956, Texas.
• Private_M code: @I17@ — born: 1930, Texas.
• Killough, Mickey June — born: 1930, Oklahoma; died: 2009, Kansas.
• Private_M code: @I16@ — born: .
• Private_M code: @I15@ — born: .
• Private_M code: @I167@ — born: Kansas.
• Lynn, Emerson Elwood — born: 1898; died: 1986, Arizona.
• Lynn, Emerson Elwood Jr. — born: 1924, Colorado.
• Lynn, Emerson Killough — born: 1950, Kansas.
• Private_M code: @I166@ — born: Kansas.
• Lynn, Susan — born: 1956, Kansas.
• Merriman, Elizabeth Julia — born: 1843, Massachusetts; died: Kansas.
• Merriman, Henry — born: 1811, Massachusetts; died: 1887, Illinois.
• Merriman, Henry Payson — born: 1838, Massachusetts; died: 1911.
• Milford, Eliza — born: 1630, Scotland; died: Ireland.
• Miller, Burney — born: ; died: .
• Moody, Ada Jane.
• Myers, Lulu Jane — born: .
• Osborne, Rebecca — born: 1747, North Carolina; died: 1816, North Carolina.
• Parks, Jane — born: 1807, Northern Ireland; died: 1857, Wisconsin.
• Pickel, Christopher — born: 1766, New York; died: 1850.
• Protsman, Maria — born: 1829, Indiana; died: 1906, California.
• Robertson, Grace.
• Scott, Angelo C. — born: 1899; died: 1968.
• Scott, Angelo Cyrus — born: 1857, Indiana; died: 1949, Oklahoma.
• Scott, Charles Frederick — born: 1860, Kansas; died: 1938, Kansas.
• Scott, Charles Frederick Jr..
• Scott, Clara Belle — born: 1855.
• Scott, Effie June — born: 1871.
• Scott, Emma Louise — born: 1865; died: 1879.
• Scott, Ewing Carruth — born: 1894, Kansas.
• Scott, John Walter — born: 1823, Pennsylvania; died: 1899, Oklahoma.
• Scott, Ruth Merriman — born: 1897; died: 1995, Kansas.
• Scott, Susie Flora — born: 1867; died: 1873.
• Scott, Walter Winfield — born: 1853, Indiana.
• Scott, William Alexander — born: 1850.
• Smith, Abby Jane — born: 1839; died: 1914.
• Spencer, Katherine.
• St. John, Anna.
• Private_M code: @I169@.
• Stevenson, Adlai Ewing — born: 1835, Kentucky; died: 1914, Illinois.
• Stevenson, Adlai Ewing II — born: 1900, California; died: 1965, United Kingdom.
• Stevenson, Adlai Ewing III — born: 1930, Illinois.
• Stevenson, Elizabeth Doris — born: 1897.
• Stevenson, James Turner — born: 1808, Kentucky; died: 1857, Illinois.
• Stevenson, Julia Scott — born: 1874.
• Stevenson, Letitia Ewing — born: 1876.
• Stevenson, Lewis Green — born: 1868, Illinois; died: 1929, Illinois.
• Stevenson, Maria McClellen — born: 1802, North Caroline; died: 1883, Illinois.
• Stevenson, Mary Elizabeth — born: 1872.
• Stroup, Alex Roscoe — born: .
• Sweet, Ada — born: 1862.
• Sweet, Alice Elizabeth — born: 1868, Wisconsin.
• Sweet, Ann — born: 1740.
• Sweet, Anna — born: 1879.
• Sweet, Anna — born: 1766; died: 1845.
• Sweet, Annie — born: 1800; died: 1825.
• Sweet, Annie E. — born: 1842.
• Sweet, Benjamin Franklin — born: 1831, New York; died: 1903, Wisconsin.
• Sweet, Benjamin Franklin Jr. — born: 1870.
• Sweet, Edwin Ruthven — born: 1846.
• Sweet, Ellis — born: 1865.
• Sweet, Fannie — born: 1791.
• Sweet, George — born: 1783, Vermont; died: 1843.
• Sweet, George B. — born: 1860.
• Sweet, Hannah — born: 1795; died: 1842.
• Sweet, Hannibal Livingston — born: 1834.
• Sweet, Henry — born: 1876.
• Sweet, Hiram — born: 1811; died: 1887, Vermont.
• Sweet, James S. — born: 1789, Vermont.
• Sweet, Jennie — born: 1874.
• Sweet, Katherine — born: 1881.
• Sweet, Marinda.
• Sweet, Mary — born: 1858.
• Sweet, Mary — born: 1786, Vermont; died: 1843.
• Sweet, Owen Addison — born: 1836.
• Sweet, Patience — born: 1793, Vermont; died: 1864.
• Sweet, Stephen — born: 1710, Rhode Island; died: Rhode Island.
• Sweet, Stephen Congdon — born: 1763; died: 1845.
• Sweet, Stephen Congdon — born: 1800.
• Sweet, Sylvester — born: 1741, Rhode Island; died: 1810.
• Sweet, Waldo — born: 1857; died: 1931, California.
• Sweet, William Samuel — born: 1804, Vermont; died: 1859, New York.
• Sweet, William Wallace — born: 1839.
• Taylor, Mary Ella — born: 1875.
• Unknown, Clarrisa Jane.
• Vail, Alice Elizabeth — born: 1927, Texas; died: 2004, Oklahoma.
• Vail, John Arthur — born: 1904, Texas; died: 1989, Texas.
• Wallis, Sofia Goodrich — born: 1785, North Carolina; died: 1848, Kentucky.
• Winchester, Elliot Bockwith — born: .
• Private_M code: @I170@.
• ____, Unknown — born: 1670, Scotland; died: Scotland.
• ____, unknown — born: 1680; died: Northern Ireland.