Memorials › Robert Earl Benson
Robert Earl Benson
21 Jul 1896 – 1 Mar 1921
| Birth | 21 Jul 1896 |
| Death | 1 Mar 1921 |
| Cemetery | Otto Cemetery Otto , Big Horn County , Wyoming , USA |
| Added by | Renae Gormley Hawker on 15 Dec 2017 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/185924075 |
Bio
Robert is buried in the same grave as his grandmother, Martha Elizabeth Benson. Robert was born, contrary to his death certificate, in Haws, Arkansas. His father was William Rush Benson, born in Mississippi and his mother was Melenee Davis, born in Tennessee. This is the bio from his other memorial #66999054:Robert's cremated remains were not initially taken after his death and were still available at the Oregon State Hospital until 2017 when they were claimed by a relative. He was the son of William Benson of Tennessee and Mary Davis of Ohio. Robert was born in Texas. According to his death certificate he was born in 1897 and according to his draft registration his birth year was 1896. At the time of the WWI draft registration in April 1918, Robert was in the San Francisco city jail. At the time he was an unemployed mariner. He reported that he had been a private in the coast artillery. He was single. During the 1920 census Robert was a paid employee, an attendant, at the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble Minded. The facility was a quasi-educational institution charged with educating people with developmental disabilities. In 1933 the facility was renamed Oregon Fairview Home. It was closed in 2000. In the summer of 1920 Robert contract tuberculosis. On 1/14/1921 Robert was admitted to the Oregon State Tuberculosis Hospital. That facility was the first state owned facility of its kind in the West. It opened in 1910 with 50 beds. By the 1920s the hospital had over 100 beds. After being a patient there for 1 month and 18 days, Robert died of pulmonary tuberculosis. More information is available at http://www.oregon.gov/oha/amh/osh/pages/cremains.aspx A book by David Maisel and a documentary by Ondi Timoner & Robert James, both entitled "Library of Dust" also provide more information.
Photos
Family
Parents
Siblings
- Fred Walter Benson 1895–1919
- Robert Short 1900–1982
- James Andrew Short 1903–1975
- Mildred Short White 1909–1957
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