Ben Holcomb was born August 17, 1848 in Ontario. He also attended school in Michigan as well as Ontario.
On October 2, 1878 he married Alice White in Pennsylvania. Miss White had been raised in New York State.
The couple lived on a farm in Ontario for several years before coming to Dakota in 1882.
He came to North Dakota with two brothers and a friend, Mack and Elias and John Bort. The first winter, Ben went back to Canada and in the spring, brought his wife back here. The Holcomb brothers, with the aid of John Bort, planted trees. He is said to have planted 4,000 trees. He planted about 12 acres of seeds but only the boxelder and ash grew. He had the only trees in the area nearer than the Hawksnest.
The Holcombs had six children: Bessie, Creighton, Pearl, Lloyd, Chester and Charles.
Source: A History of Foster County 1983 Page 28B