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Descendants of James Bennett

Generation No. 1

1. JAMES² BENNETT (NICHOLAS¹) was born 1615 in Cranfield, Bedford, England, and died April 1659 in Fairfield, Conn. He married HANNAH WHEELER March 13, 1638/39 in Concord, Middlesex, Mass, daughter of THOMAS WHEELER and ANN HALSEY. She was born February 10, 1616/17 in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, England, and died in Fairfield, Conn.

Notes for JAMES BENNETT:
Some of the Information on this line is from The Ancestral Lines of Chester Everts Howell.

Mr Close continues with a line from James Bennett:
-James(1) born ca 1618 in England. He married Hannah Wheeler in Concord,
Massachusetts about 1639. She was born February 10, 1617, died in
Fairfield, Massachusetts (Connecticut ?). James died in1659.
-Son: Thomas(2) born October 16, 1642. He married Elizabeth Thompson in
Fairfield, Connecticut by 1665. She was born about 1644 and died about
1705. Thomas died in Fairfield, Connecticut in 1704.
-Son: James(3) born August 06, 1675 at Fairfield. He married Deborah
Adams January 02, 1695. James died July 17, 1725 at Ridgefield,
Connecticut. We searched WFT Volumes 1- 7 hoping to find information on
this James and Deborah but no luck. Volume 5 Tree # 2093 is an Adams
family: Abraham and wife Martha___. Their Children are Susanna b. 1688;
DEBORAH b. est. 1669-1697; Hannah; Mary; Abigail; Elizabeth. They lived
in Fairfield county, so this Deborah is about the right age and in the
right place to be the wife of James.
>From "History and Genealogy of the Families of Old Fairfield" Vol I pg.
70: James Bennett, son of Thomas. Born at Fairfield, August 06, 1675, d.
at Ridgefield, July 27, 1725. He settled at "Bennett's Farms", on the
Ridgefield-Danbury line. Married Deborah Adams, Dau. of Abraham.
Administration granted January 10, 1726 to widow Deborah. Samuel Bennett
of Danbury chose mother Deborah guardian April 02, 1726, and she was
appointed guardian to Abraham and Deborah. Deborah of Danbury conveyed
April 23, 1731, to Nathan Adams land in Fairfield from father Abraham
Adams, deceased. In 1748 Deborah conveyed to Abiah, wife of "my son
Samuel" land at Bennetts Farms.

Children of James and Deborah:
-Gershom(4): baptized September 14, 1701 at Fairfield, Connecticut. He
married Sarah Gregory, Dau. of Thomas, b. February 04, 1709/10. He was
in Warwick, Orange county, New York in 1768. There is a 'Gerasham'
Bennet in the census of 1790 living in Chemung Twp., New York.
-Elizabeth(4): baptized May 09, 1703. She married Jonah Smith in
Ridgefield on December 29, 1726.
-Ephriam(4) (Ephraim): baptized June 03, 1705 at Fairfield. He married
Hannah (the HGFOF Vol I cited above has only m. Hannah ____ no last
name) Benedict, born about 1705. No marriage date (we can assume between
1725 and 1730).
Mr Close states ' there is no proof but some researchers believe these
are the parents of the Hannah Bennett who married Jonathan Rockwell
III'.
-Hannah(4): baptized March 12, 1709/10 at Fairfield. She married Israel
Mead.
-Samuel(4): baptized July 13, 1712. He married 1st Abiah Nobel. Married
2nd
Mary ____. (The HGFOF Vol I) has m. 1st Abiah Bennett, Dau. of Joseph,
bapt. at Stratfield, February 22, 1708/09).
-Abraham(4): baptized June 16, 1715. He married about 1737 at Ridgefield
Silence Hickox, Dau. of Samuel, born September 19, 1713 at Waterbury.
>From HGFOF Vol I:
-Deborah - no birth information. Married at Ridgefield Benjamin Wilson
June 02, 1737.
Abraham and Silence had son:
-Abraham(5) Jr. He was born ca. 1742/1744 at Ridgefield. He married
Jerusha Wanzer (ca 1742 - 1839 died Steuben county, NY).
Abraham Jr. was in the Revolutionary War in Orange county, New York.
Three of his eleven children are given:
-Nancy(6): born August 26, 1791. Married William Rockwell, son of
Jonathan III, in Chemung. She died January 01, 1859 in Chemung.
-John(6): born April 04, 1786. Married Sally Rockwell, daughter of
Jonathan III.
-Comfort(6): born January 18, 1781 at Warwick, New York. He married
Abigail Miller. He went with his widowed mother, Jerusha, to Chemung in
1799. Data on the James Bennett line is from Ancestral computer files
of the Mormon Church.
Mr Close notes further there were two Ephraim Bennetts in the 1790
census in Chemung county, one marked as junior. Ephraim Bennett was a
member of the Wellsburg Baptist church at the same time as the
Rockwells, IE. 1789. On FTM cd #183 (Early Settlers of NY Vo II) we
found records of the Old School Baptist Church in Warwick, Orange
county, NY. In 1764 James BENEDICT was called to preach there.
Membership is given by year unless the individual joined before such
records were kept, which case is designated by an X. Members included:
BENEDICT: X Hannah D (no date) and Sarah d. (no date).
BENNETT: X Deborous; 1775 Elizabeth; 1769 Ephraim D 1788; 1791 Esther
mentioned as wife of John; 1771 Gershom; X Jerusha d 1809 and Rhoda;
1775 Jestes (Justice??); 1774 Marah; X Matthew d 1809; 1775 Moses; X
Rhoda; 1769 Sarah; 1774 Thomas d Jan 1791, and Thomas Jr. d 1790.
"BENTLE" : 1775 Dinah (wife of Greene Bentley Sr.). BURT: X Daniel D
Mar. 5, 1805; 1765 Hannah (Note: Hannah Benedict b. 1716 m. Daniel Burt
in 1737 in Fairfield, CT).
ROCKWELL: X Ann; 1769 Hannah; 1773 Jonathan d 1793 (Jonathan III
Rockwell died in 1820 - perhaps the D or d refers to letters of
Dismissal to another church?).
Mr Close discovered there were five Ephraim Bennetts who fought in the
Revolutionary war in New York. Jonathan and Hannah Rockwell went to
Orange county, New York before the War.
They are on the 1775 assessment list for Warwick Twp. Living near them
were Bennetts: Ephraim, Abraham Sr and Junior, Matthew and Thomas, names
found later with Jonathan in Chemung.
On FTM CD #310 (Census Index: Colonial America) we found listed in
Hardyston Twp., Sussex Co., NJ - 1774 tax assessments: Ephraim Bennit;
Gershom Bennit; Jeams Bennit; Matheu Bennit; Moses Bennit and Thomas
Bennit (all spelling as used in the original). We could not find
Hardston but Sussex county adjoins New Jersey's border with New York
state, very near the town of Warwick in Orange county, NY.
As Mr Close points out - there are too many Bennetts, Bennets, Bennitts
etc. with the same first names repeated generation after generation.
One can reasonably assume that the Bennetts most closely associated with
the Bentley family were the Bennetts from Edward's line, since they all
came from Rhode Island. Ephraim Bennett Jr. married Hannah Bentley.
Thaddeus Bennett married Eunice, another daughter of Greene Bentley. The
Bennetts who were associated with the Rockwell's were most likely from
James Bennett's line, since they came from Connecticut. If the Hannah
who married Jonathan Rockwell is indeed a Bennett, she would be,
presumably, from James' line, since her marriage took place in
Connecticut. Apparently, none of the other sons of James and Deborah
Bennett are candidates, so the best guess is Ephraim and Hannah Benedict
Bennett as her parents.
There is another possibility. On WFT Vol 6, Family Tree #0281 contains
information about a Nathan Bennett, son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Rose)
Bennett, b. August 06, 1697, married February 25, 1723/24 Deborah
Curtiss, daughter of Ebenezer and Ruth (Porter) Curtiss. There are seven
children listed, including HANNAH born September 1738 at Stratford,
Fairfield county, CT. There is no other information on this Hannah
Bennett. One of her brothers, Daniel is listed in this pedigree as
having died in Cayuga county, NY. So it would appear that this Bennett
family also had a NY connection. Our Hannah was born about 1740,
possibly or probably at Ridgefield, Fairfield county, CT where she was
married.
The BENEDICT family.
There are numerous family trees in WFT Volumes 1 - 7 on the Benedicts.
The following is a summary of that information.
-Thomas(1) b. 1617 in England m. 1638 Mary Bridgum he d. 1689/90
-Children: John(2); Elizabeth(2); Mary(2); Sarah(2); Rebecca(2);
Thomas(2);
-Samuel(2); James(2) and Daniel(2)
-John(2) Thomas(1) b. est. 1341-1659 m. est. 1663-1697 Phoebe Gregory
(Dau. John & Sarah ___ Gregory) he d. post 1727\\
-Children: James(3); Joseph(3); Phoebe(3); John(3); Benjamin(3);
Thomas(3)
-James(3) John(2) Thomas(1) b. January 05 (or 15 in another record),
1684/85 m. April 07,1709 Sarah Hyatt (Dau. of Thomas & Mary ___ Hyatt)
he d. November 25, 1762\\
-Children: Sarah(4); Ruth(4); Peter(4); Hannah(4); Phoebe(4); James(4);
Martha(4); Thomas(4); John(4)
-James(4) James(3) John(2) Thomas(1) b. February 19, 1719/20 m. May 05,
1740 Mary Blackman (Dau. of John & Jemima Hurlbut Blackman) he d.
September 09, 1792 at Warwick, Orange county, NY. According to Tree
#2846 the DAR Lineage Book says he was living in the Wyoming Valley of
Pennsylvania during the massacre. This refers to an attack by Loyalists
and Indians, led by Sir John Butler, on July 03, 1778.\\
-Children: William(5) William(5) James(4) James(3) John(2) Thomas(1) b.
July 14, 1755 m. 1781 Jane Vance he d. May 24, 1827 at Warwick, Orange
county, NY. He served in Col. Wisner's Regiment, Orange county Militia,
4th Reg. Col. Hathorn (spelled Hawthorne in other records).\\
-James(2) Thomas(1) b. Abt. 1640 m. May 10, 1676 Sarah Gregory (Dau. of
John & Sarah ___ Gregory); m. 2nd Sarah Porter he d. post August 1717\\
-Daniel(2) Thomas(1) b. est. given as 1640 m. est 1671-1740 Mary Marvin
he d. after February 15, 1722/23\\
-Samuel(2) Thomas(1) b. --- m. Rebecca Andrews d. ----\\
Children: Thomas(3)
-Thomas(3) Samuel(2) Thomas(1) b. March 27, 1679 m. est. 1692-1715
Elizabeth Hickocks (Dau. of Samuel & Hannah (Upson) Hickocks he d. April
17, 1719.\\
-Children: *HANNAH(4) b. 1708 no other information. She would be about
the right age to have married Ephraim Bennett (son of James and Deborah
(Adams) Bennett, the possible parents of a Hannah Bennett).
-Thomas(2) Thomas(1) b. also given as ca. 1640 m. January 164/65 Mary
Messenger he d. November 20, 1688\\
-Children: Hannah(3) b. January 08, 1675/76 m. December 12, 1695 Samuel
Royce son of Samuel & Hannah (Churchill) Royce she d. January 12, 1767
-John(3) John(2) Thomas(1) b. March 03, 1675/76 m. Abt. 1699 (we have a
difference of opinion here - two WFT records give her as Mary Haite. Two
other trees give her as Anna (Hannah) St. John. The names are so
different, it would seem someone has mixed the facts on two different
John Benedicts. The names of the known children would tend to support
Anna (Hannah) as the correct wife.\\
-Children: John b. ca 1701; Matthew b. October 02, 1703; Caleb b. Abt.
1709; Nathaniel b. Abt. 1716; *Anna (Hannah) b. Abt. 1716; Phoebe b.
Abt. 1718. Anna (Hannah)'s date of birth certainly could have been
earlier, 1703 to 1708 seems quite possible. That could make her another
candidate for the Hannah Benedict who married Ephraim Bennett.
-Hannah(4) James(3) John(2) Thomas(1) b. January 25, 1715/16 m. 1737
Daniel Burt she d. January 20, 1810, probably in Orange county, NY.
-Children (Surnamed BURT): Phoebe; Daniel; Martha; Hannah; Ruth; Lydia;
Sarah; Esther; Ann; James.
The list of members of the Old School Baptist Church in Warwick raises
another question: who were the Ephriam and SARAH Bennett who joined in
1769? This Ephriam is said to have died in 1788. This being so, he could
not have been the Ephraim who joined the Wellsburg Baptist church in
1789, or the Ephraim, Sr or Jr, listed in the census of 1790 referred to
by Mr Close. The Warwick church was attended by Bennetts, Benedicts,
Rockwells and Burts, all Connecticut families(and also by Dinah
Bentle(y) of Rhode Island). If this Ephraim Bennett was a Connecticut
Bennett, could he have been Jonathan Rockwell's father-in-law? Could
Hannah's parents have been Ephraim and SARAH, not Ephraim and Hannah?
You will note the youngest daughter of Jonathan and Hannah Rockwell is
called Sally, but Mr Close also gives her name as SARAH.
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More About JAMES BENNETT:
Freeman: March 13, 1638/39, Concord, Mass
Moved to: 1644, Fairfield, Conn
Residence: Concord, Mass

Children of JAMES BENNETT and HANNAH WHEELER are:

HANNAH³ BENNETT, b. June 1, 1640, Concrod, Mass; d. October 29, 1650, Fairfield, Conn.

Notes for HANNAH BENNETT:
died young

2.	ii.	THOMAS BENNETT, SR, b. October 16, 1642, Concord, Mass; d. June 17, 1704, Fairfield, Conn.
3.	iii.	JAMES BENNETT, b. Abt. 1645, Fairfield, Fairfield, Conn; d. October 6, 1736, Stratford, CT or Fairfield, CT.
4.	iv.	JOHN BENNETT, b. Abt. 1648, Fairfield, Conn; d. Cohansey, NJ.
	v.	MARY BENNETT, b. January 20, 1651/52; d. Bet. 1654 - 1659.
5.	vi.	SARAH BENNETT, b. Abt. 1654; d. 1726.
6.	vii.	HANNAH BENNETT, b. Abt. 1656; d. 1713.

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