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HENRY BENNETT (abt 1629 - 1709) of Ipswich
Parents: Unknown
Henry Bennett was born about 1629 in England. [Ref] He died after 3 Oct 1709. [Ref] He married first Lydia Perkins by about 1651. [Ref] (See her entry for further details.) He married second Mary (Smith) (Call) Burr, the widow of Phillip Call and John Burr and the daughter of Richard Smith of Shropham, Norfolk. [Ref][Ref] She died on 12 Jan 1707/8 in Ipswich. [Ref]
Henry was usually styled "Farmer Bennet". [Ref] He bought a 200-acre farm in Ipswich in 1654. [Ref] In 1698 Henry sold his farm to John Wainwright.[Ref]
In 1666 Henry was a signatory to the Ipswich petition to the General Court disapproving of the action of the Massachusetts authorities in opposing the King's commissioners. [Ref] He was on an 18 Feb 1678 list of commoners in Ipswich. [Ref] He appears to have had little interest in public life and never appears to have held office. He was on the trial juries at the 29 Sep 1663, 26 Sep 1665 and 29 Sep 1674 courts at Ipswich. [Ref]
At the Sep 1659 court, Richard Saltonstall's tenant William Fellowes won his boundary dispute case against Henry, whom he claimed had taken hay off of the land that he rented. Henry appealed to the Court of Assistants. [Ref]
When the Sep 1662 court ruled that James Sanders should be whipped or pay a fine for striking John Lynde in the meeting house on Sunday, Henry paid his fine. [Ref]
Elizabeth Gater, an apparent relative of Henry's mother-in-law Judith Gater, was the subject of a 28 Apr 1669 court case. Henry paid her fine. [Ref]
Henry apparently employed the troublesome Laurence Clinton. Henry's brother-in-law, Quartermaster John Perkins, sued John Andrews, Jr. for not paying Henry Bennett £10 for Laurence Clinton, according to agreement and Henry sued John Perkins for not paying him for Laurence Clinton. [Ref]
Henry was friends with the prominant Symonds family. Henry Bennett and Mr. Samuel Symonds, Jr. acted as attorneys to to Samuel Symonds, gentleman, at the Mar 1666 court. [Ref] Henry and William Bennett appraised the estate of Samuel Symonds, Jr., gentleman, on 29 Nov 1669. Henry Bennett and Mr. Samuel Symonds, Jr. acted as attorneys to Samuel Symonds, gentleman, at the Mar 1666 court. [Ref]
Mr. Harlackendine Symonds, gentleman, learned from Henry's son Jacob that Henry had a rich uncle in London. While on a trip to London, he made inquiries and met Mr. Henry Jennings, a vintner of Bishopsgate, who was the son-in-law of Henry's brother. Mr. Jennings told Harlackendine that Henry's brother William Bennett had died and left a legacy to Henry. Upon his return, Harlackendine, who had additional business in London, suggested to Henry that he would be willing to go London again to retrieve the inheritance, which amounted to £100, in return for half of it. In Harlackendine's version of events, he went to London and waited a year for a letter of attorney, which Henry did not send and without which he could not retrieve the money. He later discovered that John Fenton had collected the money on behalf of Henry and been paid £7; only 40 shillings was to go to Harlackendine. In Henry's version of events -- attested to by his son John -- Henry had turned down Harlackendine's proposal. Harlackendine then suggested that since Henry had been a good friend to him, he would collect the money for £10. Henry told him that if he decided to employ him, it would be for £10. But, that if he decided not to employ him, then it would be up to Henry to decide how much Harlackendine would be paid. Henry would have been willing to employ Harlackendine to receive the money, but only if Harlackendine's father had been willing to post a bond. Furthermore, Harlackendine -- while clearly not pleased with the outcome -- had said that since Henry had always been a good friend, he considered the matter settled. This latter statement was attested to by Hannah Lord. William Quarles deposed that Harlackenden's father had warned him not to go to England because Henry would not employ him without a bond from him and that he was unwilling to provide him with one. Harlackendine's attempt to sue Henry at the Nov 1675 court was unsuccessful; he successfully sued at the Nov 1676 court and Henry appealed to the Court of Assistants. [Ref]
Henry began a long legal altercation when he successfully sued his nephew John Stanion for debt in Nov 1677. [Ref]
At the Mar 1678 court, Daniel Epps successfully sued Henry Bennett, Sr. of Ipswich. He claimed that Henry's son Jacob had cut trees on his land. [Ref] An unsuccessful suit was brought against Henry in 1684 by Daniel Epps, who accused him of harboring Daniel's Indian boy Lyonel. [Ref]
Children of Henry Bennett and Lydia Perkins:
The Stephen Bennet who died in Jul 1680 and the Benjamin Bennet who witnessed a deed in 1692 may have been sons as well.
A group of Henry's descendants are conducting a DNA project: see their webpage IpswichBennett.com.
WILLIAM BENNETT (b. 1657)
Parents: Henry Bennett and Lydia Perkins
William Bennett was born in 1657. [Ref] He deposed that he was 19 in a case heard at the 27 Nov 1676 court, 24 in a case heard at the Jun 1684 court; he deposed that he was 28 in a case at the Jun 1685 Court. [Ref] Some internet genealogies say (without supporting evidence) that he married Eleanor Foster.
Henry Bennett of Ipswich had a son William of Ipswich. William and his brothers Jacob and Henry, Jr. are witnesses in a Jun 1685 court case. [Ref] There was also a younger William Bennett of Ipswich who married Sarah Giddings. It is conjectured that he is the son of the older William. This is also stated on the following webpage.
Children of William Bennett and (it is said) Eleanor Foster
Who is the Sarah Bennett who married William Backus on 24 Mar 1708 in Windham? [Ref]
WILLIAM BENNETT (abt 1696 - 1761) of Chebacco parish, Ipswich and Hampton
Parents: William Bennett and (it is said) Eleanor Foster
Is he the William Bennett who died 3 Sep 1764 in Windham? [Ref] Or (more likely?) the William who died 31 Sep 1761 [!], age 65, and is buried in the South Cemetery in Hampton? [Ref] William married Sarah Giddings after 23 Dec 1721 (int.) in Ipswich. [Ref]
In a 1722 deed, Sarah is referred to as the daughter of Job Giddings, deceased, and the wife of William Bennett, Jr. [Ref] In a 1723 deed, William Bennett, Jr. of Ipswich is referred to as a mariner. [Ref] In a 1733 William Bennett, Sr. is referred to as a yeoman of Chebacco in Ipswich. [Ref] In a 1736 deed, which also mentions his wife Sarah, William is referred to as a yeoman of Chebacco in Ipswich. [Ref]
William went from Ipswich to Hampton about 1638. [Ref]
William Bennett and Sarah Giddings had the following children:
SARAH BENNETT (d. 1812)
Parents: William Bennett and Sarah Giddings
Sarah Bennett was baptised on 3 Jul 1726 in Ipswich. [Ref] She died on 19 Mar 1812 in Hampton. [Ref] She married Capt. John Howard on 8 Jan 1740 in Windham, Windham, CT. [Ref]
Her grandfather William Butler mentioned her in his will. [Ref]
References
Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. Vol. 1-3. Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995. Online: New England Historic Genealogical Society website.
Barbour Vital Records
Bradbury, John M., "The Bennett Family of Ipswich," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 29, 1875.
Claypool, Edward, "Bailey-Giddings-Butler," Notes and Queries Section, New England Historical and Genealogical Record 59, 1905, 216-7.
Dow, George Francis, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Essex Institute, 1911.
Editors, "Materials for the History of Ipswich," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 7, 1853, 77 - 80.
Editors, "Notes," Essex Antiquarian 8, 1904, 189.
Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850. Online Database: NewEnglandAncestors.org
Windham County, Connecticut Genealogy website: http://www.connecticutgenealogy.com/windham/