Ghosts of the Revolution Multi-Cache
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(regular)
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This is an easily walked area which was once typical colonial farmland with numerous stone walls now reforested.
The Daniel Benton Homestead, the oldest house remaining in Tolland, was built by Daniel Benton in 1720 and lived in by six generations of his descendants until 1932. In 1969 the house and lands were opened as a museum. Behind the house are several marked hiking trails over land which was once the homestead farm.
One of Daniel’s grandsons, Elisha Benton, who fought the English in the Revolutionary War, was captured and sent to one of their notorious prison ships, lying in New York harbor. There, like so many others, he contracted smallpox, probably as a result of his British captors' deliberately issuing clothing or bedding contaminated by the disease. As part of a prisoner exchange, the sick Elisha was sent home to Tolland.
Jemima Barrows, a young lady he had courted before the war, nursed him until his death a few weeks later. Jemima contracted the disease as a result of caring for Elisha and died soon after, a month before her 18th birthday. Because of the fear of small pox contagion, the two were both buried in the Benton Homestead yard. In recognition of her heroic assistance in their son's final days, the Benton family agreed to bury Jemima near her sweetheart. But since they had not been married, the bodies could not lie side by side, according to contemporary burial custom. So Jemima, interred a few yards away from her sweetheart, was separated in death by the carriage road. Thus have they been, apart in death as in life, to this day. Their restless spirits still inhabit the house and grounds, searching for each other and their lost love. With luck, you will have an opportunity to sight them in their eternal search.
While you are here, tour the house, which has been very well preserved and is continual upkeep by the Tolland Historical Society to get the true feel of austere colonial life. Reenactment groups use the grounds around the home as a backdrop for their events. For a detailed accounting of the history and ghosts that haunt this ancient homestead, and the history of the homestead check out:
(visit link)
(visit link)
To find the cache, go to the coordinates above, which denote the front entrance of the house and either park just off of the street in front of the Benton Homestead or in the driveway serving the homestead to the west.
Search the grounds near the house to find Elisha and Jemima’s graves.
From their epitaphs note the number of days Elisha was imprisoned. Add the number of days plus 86 to the last three digits of the house latitudinal coordinates to get the North latitude of the cache.
Note the number of days Jemima lived after Elisha’s death. Add the number of days minus 18 to the last three digits of the house longitudinal coordinates to get the West longitude of the cache.
The cache is a typical Tupperware container containing the usual cache trinkets. Have fun enjoying this little piece of colonial history!
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Ybbx sbe gur gerr jvgu vg'f urneg gnxra bhg.