Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy

Bennett

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  • Name Bennett 
    Gender Male 
    Person ID I651  Petersen-de Lanskoy
    Last Modified 27 May 2021 

    Children 
     1. Thomas Bennett,   b. Abt 1587, , , England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. From 1633 to Sep 1641, Mulberry Island, Warwick, Virginia, United States Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 46 years)
    Last Modified 28 May 2021 
    Family ID F508  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • RESEARCH_NOTES:
      1. No Bennett as yet been found, so these research notes are currently just a repository on potential leads and sources.
      2.
      2. Lynn Parham, longtime Mangum researcher and editor of the publication "Mangum Family Bulletin," includes the following treatise and summary of the English Bennetts from whom many believe the non-related Gov. Richard Bennett line of early Virginia descend. It has generally been agreed that our line in Virgiinia through Thomas Bennett appears to be unrelated to the Gov. Bennett line; however, Lynn appears to believe there may be some potential relationship to this English line since he includes it as background information. He does state: "Sadly, these controversies [of the Bennett origins] will not be solved in this book. I do hope to present here a clear understanding of the various theories of Bennett origins hoping that future researchers will eventually resolve them." From the book "Pleasant Mangum and All His Kin, the Story of the Bennetts, the Mangums, and the Parhams," comp. by James Lynn Parham, Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, MD, 1997, Chapter 2, Enter the Bennetts:
      The Puritans
      The Puritans were a religious sect who thought the English Reformation had not gone far enough in its separation from the Roman Catholic Church. In particular they thought that some of the retained ceremonies and forms were too suggestive of the papacy. They objected to the use of the cross in baptism, the clerical vestments, the custom of kneeling at the altar and other Catholic forms of worship, which had already been rejected by the reformed churches
      on the European Continent
      The Puritans came into their own during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. She, however, disliked Puritanism because of the simplicity and bareness of their worship. More importantly, many Puritans opposed the idea of royal power. Efforts were made to suppress them but with little success. Eventually the Puritans looked to America for freedom to worship as they pleased. They were very successful and powerful for a time although they did suffer some persecution. Their migration to the colonies stopped about 1640, however, when England gave them more religious freedom.
      Edward Bennett
      Edward Bennett was a wealthy London merchant and a Puritan. He was one of the pillars of the Puritan's "Ancient Church." He owned a fleet of trading ships, which was to play a major part in his dealing with the English colony of Virginia. He resided in Delft, Holland for a while and may have carried on his maritime trade from there and Amsterdam. He was deputy Governor of the English merchants at Delft. He may have later influenced the coming of Dutch trading ships to Virginia.
      Edward Bennett was elected a free member of the Virginia Company on 2 May 1621. On 21 Oct 1621 he and several associates received a patent for a plantation in Virginia. It was conditioned on he and his associates bringing 200 immigrants and settling them in Virginia. Mr. Bennett's plantation, later called "Bennett's Welcome" was situated on the south side of the James River "in Warrascoyack County. The county was named after one of the local Indian tribes but was renamed Isle of Wight in 1637. 'Bennett's Welcome' was one of the first large plantations in Virginia and was known as a "Puritan Settlement".
      In Feb, 1621/2 the "Sea Flower" arrived with 120 settlers, presumably Puritans, led by Capt Hamor for Edward Bennett's plantation. The settlers quickly busied themselves, preparing the site of the plantation. On 22 March 1621/2, just a month after their arrival, the Indians attacked. There was a huge massacre and the Bennett plantation at Warrascoyak suffered more than most. 53 of the 347 people killed in the massacre were killed at the Bennett plantation. The plantation was abandoned for a time because the colonists were ordered to congregate for protection in the city of Jamestown and other points which could be defended, The plantation was reoccupied a few months later, after the Indian threat lessened. Edward Bennett, on 7 Oct., 1622, requested and was granted permission to repossess the plantation.
      Edward Bennett and his family eventually brought in about 600 immigrants. His two brothers, Richard and Robert, came to the New World to oversee the plantation. Edward must have thought that his oversight could be performed better in England because he only came to Virginia later and only for a short time. He must have come to Virginia in the spring of 1628, after the death of his two brothers. Edward married Mary (Bourne) Spencer in London, reportedly on 2 March 1628. It is unknown if his new bride accompanied him to the Virginia Colony. He represented his plantation in the House of Burgesses on 29 May 1628. That body commissioned him and another member to represent them in England, Edward returned to England soon thereafter, never to come to Virginia again. (1)
      Edward died before 30 Sept 1664 in England and his Virginia estate was divided among his two daughters, Mary Bland & Silvestra Hill. Edward's widow may have been the Mary Bennett, who died in England 19 May 1661, buried 22 May 1661 at the parish Church of St. Thomas the Apostle.(2)
      "Robert Bennett, brother of Edward was in Virginia during the massacre. He survived because he wrote a letter to his brother Edward Bennett in England on 9 June 1623. He died before 20 Nov. 1623. The census of 16 Feb. 1623/4 lists him as one of the dead in 'James Cittie' since the previous April.(3) Another brother, Richard, died in Virginia 28 Aug. 1626, according to the records of the General Court, held 13 Oct 1626.(4)
      When Edward Bennett left Virginia and returned to England, he left his plantation in the charge of two of his nephews. By coincidence they had the same names as his two deceased brothers, Richard and Robert Bennett. One of those nephews, Richard Bennett, was destined to play a key role in the history of the New World.
      Governor Richard Bennett:
      Richard Bennett, 20 year old nephew of Edward Bennett, first appears in the Virginia court records on 29 March 1628.s He was apparently attending to the affairs of his uncle, Edward Bennett When Edward returned to England, Richard apparently became the leader of the Virginia Puritans. The Puritans, under his leadership, soon moved to Nansemond County, which was quickly becoming populated with that religious sect. Unfortunately the Nansemond County records were destroyed by fire in 1888.
      Richard was a member of the House of Burgesses for Warrascoyak in 1629, Justice of Monthly Court in 1632 and a member of the Governor's Council in 1639-42. In 1649 he led a group of about 300 Puritans to Maryland but he returned to Virginia. He was made Governor of Virginia on 30 April 1652. He married Ann, widow of John Vtie, in 1614 but left no male descendants. One of his descendants, through the female line, was Confederate General, Robert E. Lee. Gov. Bennett's will was probated 3 Aug. 1676 in Nansemond County, Virginia as well as in England.
      The Bennetts of 'Bennetts Welcome':
      It has been difficult to determine exactly which English family these Bennetts came from. Research has focused on two families, possibly related. One family is the Bennets of Chillingham Castle and the other is the Bennets of Wiveliscombe, Somerset.
      Most Bennett researchers agree that the Wiveliscombe family was the most likely family from which the Bennetts of 'Bennett's Welcome' descended. It was known that Richard Bennett, Governor of Virginia was a nephew of Edward Bennett the London merchant who was proprietor of 'Bennett's Welcome'. In 1656n Gov. Richard Bennett was in England negotiating with Lord Baltimore.6 The Governor made the following affidavit in the Admiralty Court in the case of Ewers against Watts, 12th day of February 1657. "J, Richard Bennett, an inhabitant of Virginia but at present living in London, born at Wilscombe in the county of Somerset, aged 49 years or thereabouts..."
      Research has shown that Wilscombe is a common pronunciation of Wiveliscombe. Boddie reports that a search of the parish registers found both his (Gov. Bennett's) father's and grandfather's families.
      The Bennets of Wiveliscombe.
      Wiveliscombe in Southwest England is about 9 miles west of Taunton in Somerset. Wiveliscombe contains about 1500 people (1980). The parish registers there date back to 1538.
      John Bennet, tanner, was the first Bennet we have records of in Wiveliscombe. His parentage is unknown. His wife "Margery" was buried in the local cemetery 3 Dec. 1564. We presume he was the father of the two younger Bennets there, Robert and John. As evidence of this, Robert named his first daughter "Margery" and his first son 'John', the same names as his supposed parents.
      Robert was born about 1533 and he also was a tanner. He married in the Wiveliscombe Parish church 10 July 1558 to Elizabeth Edney (Ednye). His will, probated in Nov. 1603, lists many Children. Other children were inferred from the christenings and burials listed in the parish registers. In all he had as many as 15 or more Children, many having the same name as earlier children who had died. It appears that the three brothers of 'Bennett's Welcome' (Edward, Robert & Richard) were sons of this Robert and Elizabeth (Edney) Bennet. Edward Bennett was christened in the parish church at Wiveliscombe 2 Feb. 1577/8, the 15th and last child of his parents.
      Thomas Bennet, oldest surviving son of Robert and Elizabeth (Edney) Bennet, was christened at Wiveliscombe, 2 April 1570. He was named sole executor of his father's will in 1603. One of Thomas's sons, Richard Bennet, christened 6 Aug. 1609, was the nephew of Edward Bennett who came to Virginia in 1628 and eventually became governor of Virginia.
      This theory of the origins of the Bennetts of 'Bennetts Welcome' is not without its problems. The first problem is the date of birth of Edward Bennett. The parish registers show he was christened 2 Feb. 1577/8. However, Edward Bennett stated in an affidavit 24 Aug. 1635 that he was "...55 years of age or thereabouts?" The key question is how "thereabouts" is his statement of age? If he was indeed exactly 55 years old he would have been born no earlier than 1579, slightly at odds with his reported christening in 1577/8. Christenings were often performed long after births but the christening here in question seems to have occurred before the birth. Still, ages and dating was notoriously prone to errors in that day and time and the discrepancies may not be significant.
      Another problem is that the nephew of Edward, (Robert Bennett), has not been positively identified in this family of Bennetts. Robert was probably not a brother of the Governor, Richard Bennett although both were nephews of Edward. Richard did have a brother named Robert but that individual was christened in 1601/2 while Robert Bennett, the nephew of Edward Bennett, was born about 1608.
      Lastly, there is the fact that the arms of Governor Richard Bennett, (gules, three demi lions rampant, argent), are the same as those of the Earl of Arlington (Henry Bennett of the Clapcot Bennetts).(8) This prompted Virginia Secretary of State Ludwell to write to Lord Arlington in 1666 saying he believed that Governor Richard Bennett was, "of your Lordship's family as he has the same arms." It is unfortunate that the Wiveliscombe Bennetts recorded no pedigree and arms in the Visitations of Somerset.
      Boddie explains the Secretary Ludwell's statement about the similarity of
      arms and the possible family relationship as follows; "It is now evident that the Honorable Secretary of State for. Virginia was only guessing as all the descendants of Thomas Bennett of Clapcot. founder of this family, were traced without any connection being found with Governor Bennett's family."
      These arms described above were the same arms used by the Bennets of "North Bavant," Wiltshire. It is possible that these "Norton" Bavant Bennets were the parent stock of both families. William Bennett of the Norton Bavant line, who died in 1574, had a brother John and an uncle John, both untraced. It is at least possible that one of these two John Bennets is the one who appears at Wiveliscombe in the 1500's.(9) Note the 'Anns' and pedigree at the beginning of this section on the Bennetts.
      The Bennets of Chillingham & Clapcot (An Alternate View):
      Mrs. Muriel Bennett Minium, in her book "Bennetts on the Bias" presents a theory that these New World Bennetts originated from the Bennets of Clapcot Manor. She is obviously basing her lineages on some earlier theories of Bennett origins, which other writers, Boddie & Archibald Bennett for example, appear to have discounted.(10)
      In any case, her publication has a far more important role to play in our search for the origins of our own line of Bennetts through one Thomas Bennett of Warwick County, Virginia. She is the first author to offer a reasonable, if unproved, theory of the origin of our Thomas Bennett.
      But first, more about the Chillingham Bennetts. In spite of the pedigree's title, "The Bennets of Chillingham Castle," Chil1ingham Castle did not come under the control of the Bennets until Charles Bennet married Lady Mary Grey in 1695. He became the 1st Earl of Tankerville. After Charles assumed control of Chillingham Castle the next seven generations of Bennets lived there. The pedigree is therefore titled "The Bennets of Chillingham Castle" although the pedigree actually begins with the Bennet line many generations before they possessed the castle. Our interests lie in those earlier generations, especially the one who possessed Clapcot Manor.
      The pedigree of the Chillingham Castle Bennets began with Thomas Bennet of Newbury who was born about 1459. He died about 1509. Newbury is about 35 miles west of London in Berkshire while the Chillingham Castle is in Northumberland, in the Northern part of England.(11)
      The next generation, after Thomas Bennett of Newbury, was Thomas Bennet, citizen of London. He was born about 1479 during the reign of Edward IV, King of England. The third generation was John Bennet of London and Newbury who died about 1559. He had son Thomas who was the first Bennet in possession of Clapcot Manor.
      According to "Domesday Book" there were two Clapcots in 1066 AD.(12)
      They were apparently close together and held by a man named 'Miles' in "Slotisford Hundred" of Berkshire. The 1086 Domesday map shows only one Clapcot almost on the border of Berkshire & Oxfordshire. Unfortunately, the borders of the 'Shires' appear to have changed since 1086. The location of Clapcot may now be in Oxfordshire. Mrs. Minium reports that one Clapcot is near Wallingford on the Thames. Wallingford is in Oxfordshire about 35 miles west and a little north of London. She also reports that the other Clapcot is near Malmesbury in Wiltshire. Maimesbury is about 40 miles west of Wallingford.
      It is reported that Thomas married Anne, daughter of Sir Michael Molines, of Mackney, Berkshire. The Chillingham pedigree shows Thomas and Anne of Clapcot with five children. They were:
      Richard who married Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Tisdale of Lanford, Deanly, Berks.
      Sir Thomas, Sheriff of London, 1594, and Lord-Mayor, 1603-04, when he received the honor of knight-hood; married Mary, dau. of Robert Taylor,d.16, Feb. 1626-27.
      John, d.s.p.
      Anna, m. William Dunscombe, of Brickhill, Bucks.
      Margaret, m. Sir George Croke, Justice of the Common Pleas.
      This pedigree conflicts with other published pedigrees including the one shown at the beginning of the section on the Bennetts. Those other pedigrees show the last three children above as children of the son, Sir Thomas Bennett, sheriff of London rather than the father, Thomas of Clapcot. In possible confirmation of these other pedigrees, the 1629 will of Ambrose Bennet, son of Sir Thomas the sheriff, mentions his "sister Dame Marie Crooke, now wife of Sir George Crooke".(13) This appears to mean that Sir Thomas' daughter was the one who married Sir George Croke, not the daughter of Thomas and Anne of Clapcot. It is unknown why the above pedigree calls her Margaret while Ambrose's will definitely says Marie and another brother John Bennett calls her Mary.(14)
      Few of the individuals of Virginia's 'Bennett's Welcome' can be tentatively identified in the 'Chillingham' Bennet family. There probably was an Edward, son of Richard and grandson of Thomas and Anne of Clapcot. The will of Alderman Thomas Bennett, who also was a son of Richard, mentions his brother Edward Bennett.(15) Unfortunately, we have found nothing else about this Edward and we presently have no indication that he had brothers named Richard and Robert, as Edward Bennett of 'Bennett's Welcome' did.
      Mrs. Minium reports that these two brothers, Richard and Robert were established in the will of Edward Brent, dated I Feb. 1624.(16) It is true that the will does mention Robert and Richard Bennett and the wording makes it clear that he was referring to the Bennetts of 'Bennet's Welcome." However, nothing in the will appears to link these Bennetts with the Clapcot Bennetts rather than the Wiveliscombe Bennetts.
      The above shows that at present the theory that the 'Bennett's Welcome' Bennetts descended from the Clapcot Bennetts is unproven at best. That, however, does not distract from Mrs. Minium's theory of the origins of our Thomas Bennett line.
      According to Mrs. Minium it was John, the son (or grandson) of Thomas of Clapcot that held the key to our Bennett line. In the pedigree he is listed as d.s.p. 'd.s.p,' is an abbreviation for the Latin 'decessit sine prone', meaning in general terms, 'deceased without Children'. Mrs. Minium's research showed that no one who came to the New World were listed in the pedigrees. She therefore believes that John, instead of dying without issue, came to America. She also believes, unfortunately without actual proof, that John was the father of our Thomas Bennett of Warwick.
      On the negative side, John, if he was father of our Thomas, obviously did have issue. Thomas must have been born in England, about 1580. Also, John was not deleted from the pedigree as Mrs. Minium claimed happened to those who came to America. He was listed as deceased without issue (d.s.p.).
      If this John Bennett did come to the Virginia Colony about 1609, as Mrs. Minium theorized, then he was likely the John Bennett who was one of the 'living' in the census of 1623/4 in Warwick Squeake. Warwick Squeake is located on the south side of the James River, 14 miles below Hogg Island. It seems to be just another name for Warrascoyack, now known as Isle of Wight County, Little else is known about this John Bennett and we find no direct evidence that he was the father of our Thomas Bennett. We do not find him in the census (Muster) of 1624/5. Mrs. Minium believes that John was father of Thomas because of the continuity of Christian names and the fact that they were located in the same vicinity. The 1623/4 census does not show John Bennett with a family. It is of course possible that he left a family in England, and that at least one son, Thomas, eventually came to America.
      It is hoped that further research will eventually reveal the true ancestry of the two Virginia lines of Bennetts. Mrs. Minium's theory, however tenuous, is the only one we presently have for the origin of our Thomas Bennett. The destruction of records in the civil war may have relegated Thomas's origins to the 'unknowable' forever. We sincerely hope not.
      References:
      1. An Edward Bennett came over in 1644 as a headright of Edwin Conway. We presently believe this was not the merchant Edward Bennett. Edward the merchant was wealthy and would have paid his own way to Virginia. In fact, he would probably have come over on his own ship, not having to pay for his passage.
      2. William & Mary Quarterly, 2nd Series, Vol. 16, page 318, 1936.
      3. John Camden Hotten, The Original Lists of Persons of Quality, 1600-1700, [Hereafter known as 'Hotten"], page 191, census of 16 Feb. 1623/4. See also Hotten, page 178, "The list of Living," which shows a Robert Bennett living at James Island. This may have been a nephew of Robert and Edward Bennett. We know he came to the colony about this time. See Bibliography for additional information on Hotten's book.
      4. Virginia Magazine of Biog. & History, #26, page 239.
      5. Virginia Magazine of Biog. & History, #30, page 360.
      6. John Bennett Boddie, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight, page 266n.
      7. John Bennett Boddie, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight, page 273.
      8. The Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, #25, page 393, (1917). See also
      John Bennett Boddie, 17th Century Isle of Wight, page 266n.
      9. Burke's General Annory lists a John Bennett, Esquire of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and the Queen's Master of Ordnance of the North Parts, 1568. It is reported that the original main line of Bennetts were the Bennet families of Dawley, Middlesex, England.
      10. Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, #25, page 393, (1917).
      11. Chillingham Castle in Northumberland is about 6 1/2 miles Southeast of Wooler and south of Belford. It was built in 1344 and enlarged in 1828. It is now a tourist attraction.
      12. See Domesday Book in the Bibliography.
      13. Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, #25, page 390, (1917).
      14. Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, #25, page 392, (1917).
      15. Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, #25, page 393, 1917.
      16. Will of Edward Brent -1 Feb. 1624, proved before Sir Frances Wyatt, Gov. & Capt. General of Virginia, 20 April 1625 and in the P.C.C. 24 Aug. 1625. See John Bennett Boddie, "Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight," pages 270-271."