Son of Andrew George Bentz and Catherine Hershey
Peter was born on the 28 February 1872, in York, Pennsylvania
to Andrew George Bentz and Catherine Hershey.[1]
On the 4 of June, 1880 in Warrington, York, Pennsylvania,
Peter was listed with his parents, A. G. and Catherine Bentz. He had turned nine
years old on his last birthday, the third child out of eight children. He was
attending school.[2]
 |
| 1881 Estimated Timeframe |
By 1885 the family had moved to Clear Creek in Saunders
County Nebraska. Peter at age thirteen and his two older brothers, ages
fourteen and fifteen were at home instead of school while all the younger
children were in school.[3]
Since family predominated as the main labor force during this time period, it’s
likely why the older male children were not in school.
 |
| 1900 Est Timeframe |
On 26 Sept 1900 Peter married to Mary Ethel Turk at Lancaster, Nebraska. Peter was listed as twenty-eight years old and Mary Ethel was listed as nineteen years old. Both living in Lincoln, Nebraska at the time.[4] Mary Ethel Turk was born on 29 December 1881 in Rosecrans, Lake, Illinois to Lewis H. Turk and Mary Elizabeth Ely Turk.[5] His brother George had married Mary’s sister, Julia Edith in 1893.
 |
| 1900 Marriage |
 |
| Peter and Mary Ethel Bentz |
In April of 1903 Peter lost both his mother and sister.
They had committed suicide at different times but in the same month.[6]
Sometime before 1910, Peter had attended college to become
a Dentist.
The 1910 Census shows Peter and his wife, (Mary) Ethel, renting a
house on South 15th Street in Lincoln City, Nebraska. He owned his
own Dentist practice. They had been
married for ten years. Peter was thirty-eight and Ethel was twenty-eight. By
this time his father had been remarried for six years, also living in Lincoln.[7]
 |
| 1912 - 2434 S. 15th Street |
 |
| What the house looks like on Google Earth in 2023 |
On the 9th of April 1916, Dorothy E. was born to
Peter and Mary Bentz in Lancaster, Nebraska.[8]
January of 1920, Peter and (Mary) Ethel had purchased the house on
South Street, owing no mortgage payment. They had a daughter, Dorothy age three
and a half. Peter’s dentistry was located at 721 Federal Trust Bldg.[9]
1924- Peter lost his father in December.[10]
In the spring of 1930, Peter and Mary were living at 2815
Stratford Avenue in Lincoln Nebraska. They owned this house in town, valued at
around $13,000. Their daughter, Dorothy, was fourteen years old, attending
school. They had Peter’s niece, Olive,
living with them. She was twenty-eight and teaching in a public school. Peter owned his Dentist Practice. Olive, was Peter’s brother Allen’s daughter.[11]
 |
| House in 2023 (google earth) where they lived in 1930 at 2815 Stratford Ave |
His brother, George, died from an Auto Accident in 1933.
George was married to the sister of Peter’s wife.[12]
They were still living at the same residence in 1940, the
value dropped to $9,000. However, by this time both Dorothy and Olive had moved
out. Warran and Nellie, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law were staying with
them. Warren was a Wholesale Nursery Salesman and Nellie was a Retail
Saleslady. Peter was still working his Dentistry Private Practice.[13]
In March of 1941, Dorothy married David Sutton Blanchard in
New York City. They were both graduates of the University of Nebraska. David
worked at the Banker and Shipper Fire Insurance Company.[14]
1950 Census is showing Peter (age 78) and his wife, Mary
(age 68) living with Edith L. Bentz (age 74). Mary and Edith are sisters. The
address is 1702 Sewell in Lincoln, Nebraska. Peter was still working as a
dentist and Mary was helping him in the office.[15]
Their daughter, Dorothy, age 35, and family (David, 35,
Daniel, 7, Diane, 3) arrived back to the States in 1951 after a visit to Le
Havre, France. They boarded a ship named America on June 5th in
France and docked in New York (Ellis Island /Castle Garden) on June 11th. They were living in 1680 Burr Street Lincoln
Nebraska.[16]
On the 23rd of September in1960 Mary Ethel Turk
Bentz died. Her obituary is in The Evening Star (Washington DC, dated September
24, 1960.[17]
After his wife died, Peter moved to Washington D. C. in
1962 to live with his daughter, Dorothy and her husband; where he remained for
the rest of his life.[18]
At the age of 96, Peter died on the 5th of May,
1968. He was a former dentist in Lincoln Nebraska for 60 years. He was also a
member of St. Paul Methodist Church, Knife and Fork Club and the State Dental
Association. Surviving him are a daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Blanchard of
Washington, D.C. and a niece, Mrs. Joseph Brown of Lincoln.[19]
Peter and Mary are both buried in the Parklawn Memorial
Park and Menorah Gardens in Rockville, Montgomery County, Maryland, USA.[20]
 |
| Dorothy and baby Daniel |
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| Peter with Children and Grandchildren |
[1]
Census Records, Social Security, Findagrave.com
[2]
1880 Census, Pennsylvania
[3]
1885 York County, Pennsylvania Census
[4]
Marriage Record
[5]
Illinois Births and Christenings familysearch.org database
[6]
Newspaper Articles, Lincoln Nebraska
[7]
1910 Census, Lincoln Nebraska
[8]
Newspaper Article, New York City
[9]
City Directory on Ancestry, Lincoln Nebraska
[10]
Newspaper Article, Nebraska
[11]
1930 Census, Lincoln Nebraska
[12]
Obit from a Newspaper Article
[13]
1940 Census, Lincoln Nebraska
[14]
Newspaper Article
[15]
1950 Census, Lincoln Nebraska
[16]
New York Passenger List
[17]
Obit in Newspaper
[18]
Obit in Newspaper
[19]
Obit in Newspaper
[20]
Findagrave.com
