Generation 2. Benjamin Franklin 'Ben' Ambrose (1860-1953).
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Son of Joseph Ritner and Margaret (Dougherty) Ambrose. This photo is undated; its photographer's mark is Shadle of Kittanning, PA.
Ben was born in 1860 in East Franklin Township, probably on his parents' farm. The family moved to the Cowanshannock farm when Ben was about 14. At some time in the early to mid 1880's, Ben moved to Muscatine, Iowa where he taught school and also held a job as a telegraph operator. He moved back to Armstrong County some time before November 1886, for that was when he married Adella Pettigrew, one of the daughters of Dr. John and Cordelia (McCurdy) Pettigrew. Following family tradition, Ben's younger brother Sam later married Adella's sister Charlotte.
Ben farmed in Armstrong County. His niece Maxine Stewart remembered that the farm was near Greendale.Ben and Adella had eight children: Harry W. (1887-1950), Frederick A. (1889-1908), Helen Cordelia (1893-1989), John R. (1895-1977), Matthew (1897-1980), Margaret A. (1900-1978), Frances W. (1905-1993) and Barton (abt 1904-1958).Adella died in 1905 and the family broke up. The older boys went out on their own, the three girls went to live with Sam and Charlotte Ambrose, and the younger boys lived with various relatives. George Leon Stewart was the children's guardian for financial matters.Ben went on to work for the Armstrong County Sheriff's department. When he retired in 1939, his obituary described him as a 'longtime employee.'In his later years he made his home with his youngest daughter Frances. He died in her house when he was 92.Ben and Adella are buried in the Rural Valley Cemetery, as are their children Harry, Fred, John, Margaret and Frances.
