| Life fact | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Howard Johnston Benchoff |
| Born | July 15, 1876, in Rouzerville, Franklin County, Pennsylvania |
| Parents | Loudon Francis Benchoff and Martha Belle (Johnston) Benchoff |
| Spouses | Kathryn H. Mahon and Florence N. Conant |
| Children | Howard Francis, Rosalie Keith, Robert Johnston, Kathryn Mahon, and Josephine Harbaugh Benchoff |
| Primary residence | Woodstock, Virginia |
| Principal role | Headmaster of Massanutten Academy |
| Religious affiliation | Evangelical and Reformed Church |
Genealogy of Dr. Howard Johnston Benchoff
This genealogical account was constructed from the family information contained in the biography below. No relationships or life facts have been added from outside sources.
Howard Johnston Benchoff was born July 15, 1876, in Rouzerville, Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He was a son of Loudon Francis Benchoff and Martha Belle Johnston Benchoff. His father was born in 1851, and his mother in 1854.
Howard Benchoff married first Kathryn H. Mahon at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1904. She was a daughter of John Mahon and Ann Heckman Mahon and died in 1918. All five of Howard Benchoff’s children were born to this marriage:
- Howard Francis Benchoff, born September 25, 1905, and died September 27 of that year.
- Rosalie Keith Benchoff, born September 13, 1906.
- Robert Johnston Benchoff, born February 8, 1909.
- Kathryn Mahon Benchoff, born May 26, 1913, and died in 1917.
- Josephine Harbaugh Benchoff, born January 3, 1916, and died in 1938.
He married second Florence N. Conant at Newton, New Jersey, on September 14, 1919. She was a daughter of Theodore Emerson Conant and Ann Arnold Conant. Howard and Florence Benchoff made their home at Woodstock.
Family outline
- Howard Johnston Benchoff
- Father: Loudon Francis Benchoff
- Mother: Martha Belle (Johnston) Benchoff
- First wife: Kathryn H. Mahon
- Children:
- Howard Francis Benchoff
- Rosalie Keith Benchoff
- Robert Johnston Benchoff
- Kathryn Mahon Benchoff
- Josephine Harbaugh Benchoff
- Children:
- Second wife: Florence N. Conant
Source
This biography appeared in History of the Shenandoah Valley: Family and Personal Records, Volume III (Lewis Historical Publishing Company, Inc., 1952), pages 27-28.
Verbatim biography
The following is a faithful transcription of the original biography. OCR errors have been corrected against the printed page images, but the original wording, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and factual claims have not been rewritten.
DR. HOWARD JOHNSTON BENCHOFF— Since 1905, Howard Johnston Benchoff, A.B., A.M., Pd.D., has been headmaster of Massanutten Academy in Woodstock, Virginia. Not only has Dr. Benchoff exerted a decisive influence in education in the Shenandoah Valley, and ably guided the youth entrusted to his care, but he has also, through the years, taken a constructive part in community affairs, been a leader in religious work, and has in other ways been an example of a career profitably invested.
Dr. Benchoff was born in Rouzerville, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, July 15, 1876, and is a son of Loudon Francis and Martha Belle (Johnston) Benchoff. His father, who was born in 1851, engaged in teaching in the public schools for over forty years, and became superintendent of the schools of Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Elected to the state legislature for two terms, he represented his county for a total of six years. He married Martha Belle Johnston, who was born in 1854.
Their son, Howard Johnston Benchoff, began his education in the local schools, then entered Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1898. This college, in 1920, conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Pedagogy. After graduation from Franklin and Marshall, he continued his studies at Columbia University in New York City, where he received the degree of Master of Arts in 1904, Concurrently, during the years of these postgraduate studies, Dr. Benchoff had begun his teaching career, first becoming vice-principal (1898-1900) of the high school at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania and principal (1900-1903), and later superintendent of schools at Breckenridge, Colorado (1904-05).
Dr. Benchoff became headmaster of Massanutten Academy in 1905, and his long and uninterrupted period of service at that institution has been beneficial to the community at large, and to the youth who have come under his influence, as well as rewarding to himself.
He has in the meantime participated fully in the varied activities of Woodstock and the surrounding area—in business affairs, programs of civic betterment and welfare activities, and the work of his church. He was president of Shenandoah Valley, Inc., from 1924 to 1933. He was also associated with the Regional Board of Trade, covering thirteen counties in Virginia and two in West Virginia—the organization which sponsored the Shenandoah National Park, being the first to give its support to that project. It also sponsored the widening of what is now United States Route 11 from forty to eighty feet, through continually influencing the State Highway Commission, Dr. Benchoff was president of the Shenandoah National Park Association during 1925 and until that work was taken over by the State of Virginia. He directed the campaign which raised over one million dollars for the purchase of the first one hundred and eighty-six thousand acres of this area. After the Shenandoah National Park Association had raised $1,123,000, Mr. Rockefeller contributed several hundred thousand dollars, Edsel Ford fifty thousand, and other well-known philanthropists, proportionate amounts. The Association then turned its land acquisition over to the Federal Government, which undertook the development of the famous Skyline Drive as the outstanding and unifying feature of this extensive parkland.
It was Dr. Benchoff also who founded in Woodstock its first Rotary Club, an organization which is, at the time of writing, in its twenty-fifth year of profitable activity. He was its president for the first two years of its existence, and was a delegate to the International Conventions at Cleveland, Ohio, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Denver, Colorado. Dr. Benchoff, in distinguishing himself no less as a man of practical affairs than as an educator, has also directed programs which have given his community a better water supply, a superior hotel, and other civic advantages. His loyal work in religious channels has been connected with his membership in the Evangelical and Reformed Church, which he has served, among other capacities, as delegate to the synod. This congregation was originally a part of the Reformed Church in the United States, and it is considering plans to unite with the Congregational denomination, the new designation to be the United Church of Christ.
Dr. Benchoff is a member of the Blue Lodge of the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, as well as continuing his membership in the Rotary.
Dr. Howard Johnston Benchoff has been twice married. He married, first, at Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 1904, Kathryn H. Mahon, daughter of John and Ann (Heckman) Mahon. She died in 1918. By Kathryn H. (Mahon) Benchoff, he became the father of all his five children: 1. Howard Francis, born September 25, 1905, died September 27 the same year. 2. Rosalie Keith, born September 13, 1906. 3. Robert Johnston, who was born February 8, 1909. 4. Kathryn Mahon, born May 26, 1913, died in 1917. 5. Josephine Harbaugh, born January 3, 1916, died in 1938. Dr. Benchoff married, second, at Newton, New Jersey, September 14, 1919, Florence N. Conant. Mrs. Benchoff is the daughter of Theodore Emerson and Ann (Arnold) Conant. Dr. and Mrs. Benchoff make their home at Woodstock.