Elk County Genealogy Project
Benzinger Township
This township no longer exists as the area all became the City of St Marys. The township was named after Colonel Matthias Benzinger who was from Baltimore. He purchased the land that was St Marys Borough along with Mr. Eschbach.
St Marys City
Named after the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Members of The German Catholic Brotherhood of Philadelphia and Baltimore arrived on the banks of Elk Creek on 8 Dec 1842 and due to it being the day of the aforementioned feast so named the area. It was the Borough of St Marys in the Township of Benzinger until the citizens in 1991 voted to combine the two into the City of St Marys. It is now the largest third-class city in PA by land mass, covering nearly 95 square miles. It's population runs approximately 14,000 people.
1850 Census for Benzinger Township
Family Group Sheets