Poor Ben Bostic! Sentenced to reform school until the age of 21 for STUBBORNESS!. Benjamin was born on 1 April 1876 to Rachel Steemer and William Bostic right here in Worcester. The youngest member of the Bostic clan, his mom died when he was only 11. His dad was a prominent figure in the Worcester Black community but absent from his family. Ben’s big brother Irving seemed to find himself in trouble quite often and not the best role model. So here is Ben at age 14 being sent away from his family for 7 years.

Ben joined the army shortly after turning 22 on 6 May 1898 as a cook. He mustered out less than a year later. He disappears from the record for nearly 30 years. He entered a disabled veteran home in Maine for a short time then transferred to a home in Chelsea, MA. It appears that Ben died at the home in Chelsea on 15 June 1937. He is buried in Mt Hope cemetery in West Roxbury, MA.