Benjamin VanCleve 1712-1775
A Thumbnail Biography by David C. Procuniar
All Rights Reserved Last updated: 31 Aug 2001
Benjamin VanCleve; son of Isbrandt VanCleve & Janetje Aertse Vanderbilt; Benjamin born on 01 Dec 1712 on Staten Island; died on 03 Jul 1775; married on 09 Sep 1734 to Rachel Covenhoven (12 Sep 1712 - 10 Jul 1801)
REF: The Andrews, Clapp, Stokkes, Wright, Van Cleve Genealogy Wright State University Archives
Children:
Jane VanCleve 1735/1736-
Cornelius (twin) VanCleve 1741-1760
Margaret (twin) VanCleve 1741-1742
Margaret VanCleve 1743-1760
Eleanor VanCleve 1745-1812
Benjamin VanCleve 1746/1747-
William VanCleve 1751-1751
William VanCleve 1752-1813
Anna VanCleve 1754-
Rachel VanCleve 1757-
Source:
David C Procuniar 3598 Harry Truman Drive, Beavercreek, Ohio 45432
The Andrews, Clapp, Stokes, Wright, Van Cleve Genealogies
Benjamin Van Cleve came to Dayton from Cincinnati as a young man to be its first school teacher. Van Cleve School is named after him. For two years he kept a diary of things he observed in the early settling of Dayton. This is the only written record of its kind we have. He loved books and learning, hence he wrote the textbooks used to open the first Dayton school in 1799. It was held over several months, the schoolmaster reserving time to gather his corn and time to go to Cincinnati to meet with the House of Representatives of the territorial legislature. It was open from 9 until noon, then from 2 to 6 p.m. Parents were to pay $2 per month for each pupil. In summers he farmed, in winters he taught school. For many years after, Dayton was never without a school. In 1803 he was appointed as Dayton’s Postmaster. He also helped establish the Dayton Public Library.
Benjamin is David C. Procuniar’s Sixth great grandfather
(most common relative is John Van Cleve who was married to Catharine Benham)
Wilbur-Orville Wright are David’s third cousin three times removed
The Wright Brothers (1867-1912, 1871-1948) Two famous brothers, Wilbur in 1867, and Orville in 1871, were born to Susan and Milton Wright. Their younger sister came along later. You may see all of their gravestones in a family group at Woodland cemetery in Dayton. The Wright brothers became interested in a self-propelling toy brought home by their father to relieve their boredom. The boys were voracious readers, reading every book on flight or machines available. They were also serious observers, questioning and testing how things around them worked. They made simple mechanical toys, and in 1888 they built a large printing press that they used to publish the West Side News in Dayton. Already successful printers, the brothers opened a bicycle repair shop in 1892. In that shop on West Third Street, they worked with tires, wheels, and air pumps, and dreamed that man could fly in a heavier-than-air machine. They tested the effects of air pressure on more than 200 wing surfaces using the first wind tunnel. Through their own research, they learned scientific facts and developed theories of flying. Their invention of aileron control, helped them in 1903 to build and fly the first power-driven, man-carrying controllable airplane. They chose the windiest place, Kitty Hawk, NC, and made their machine (750 lbs.) stand up under the wind and stay in the air for 59 seconds. They continued on to set new distance and altitude records for flight. Wilbur died of typhoid fever in 1912, while Orville lived on until 1948. As scientists they had uncovered the secret of flight. As inventors, builders, and flyers, they brought aviation to the world.
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© Copyright 2001 David C. Procuniar … Reprinted with permission …
