Ann (Benjamin) Ellis (abt. 1593 - aft. 1627)

Born about 1593 in Sussex, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Died after 30 Jun 1627 after about age 34 in Watertown, Massachusetts Bay [uncertain]

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Biography

Ann's date of birth, place of birth, and parents are unknown.^[1] She was a "possible sister" of John Benjamin and Arabella Benjamin (who was licensed to marry on 8 Dec 1602 to Peter Austin of Tenterden, Kent), but evidence is lacking.^[1]

Profiles for Ann have offered birth details without primary sources of about 1589 in Heathfield^[2][3] or 1597 at Mayfield both in Sussex, England. Alternative details for birth in 1584 at Cotton in Suffolk and death on 30 Jun 1619 in Yorkshire have been offered, also without sources and seem unlikely on the grounds of geography. Most researchers connect the family of John Benjamin, the immigrant, with Chalvington, Sussex (see Research Notes).

Some researchers assume that Ann Benjamin was the first wife of John Ellis married in England in 1617.^[4]

Profiles for Ann have also offered unsourced dates for her death on 30 Jun 1627 or 4 Dec 1678, both at Watertown, Massachusetts. The first of these has been chosen for the data field, since it is consistent with the remarriage of John Ellis noted in the Research Notes below.

Research Notes

In assessing the research on John Benjamin (immigrant to Watertown, Massachusetts) by Bicha and Brown, Robert C. Anderson found that "extracts from the Heathfield Parish register shows that a Benjamin family resided there, but little more. In the "nearby parish of Chalvington they found many more entries, with some that show promise: John son of John Benjamin baptized 12 March 1585/6, and Richard son of John Benjamin baptized 16 July 1602."^[5]

Note that Paul K. Benjamin listed the children of John Benjamin and Joan Hook, transcribed from the parish register of Chalvington parish, Sussex.^[6] Bicha and Brown also transcribed these records and found no daughter named Ann.^[1]

Excerpt from Gloria Bicha's, "The Benjamin Family in America." Felch-7 02:16, 11 July 2013 (EDT) (p 2):

In the Genealogy of Park Benjamin by Hoover, 1948, he states: 'Concerning John Benjamin's forebears in England, we know nothing certain.' He also goes on to say that some of his earlier ancestors were inhabitants of Lower Hereford, near the Welsh border, but this has not been verified, either. There are records that would indicate that this branch lived in Heathfield Parish, County Sussex and had close connections with the adjoining county of Kent. There is a record of a Peter Austin of Tenterden, Kent "who was licensed to Marry December 8, 1602 Arabella Benjamin, daughter of John Benjamin of Heathfield, Sussex, yeoman". It would seem from collateral data that this would be the father of our John Benjamin and Arabella was a sister. Peter Austin and his wife are supposed to have come to America before John Benjamin.

Another possible sister is Ann, first wife of John Ellis. John Ellis came to America in 1621 on the "Fortune"and was one of the first settlers of Sandwich, Mass. in 1643. Ann probably died in England, since he married second in 1643 Elizabeth Freeman. His children from that first marriage were ...

However, in all the years of searching. . .with some done on 'the spot' in England, no one has been able to come up with the actual parentage or siblings of John Benjamin. The Chalvington Parish records certainly tend to give substance to the fact that his father was named John Benjamin, but reading any other relationships into those records is most difficult.

All Benjamins, who's ancestor was in this country before 1800 and are not of Jewish descent are believed to be of either the John Benjamin or Richard Benjamin line.^[1]

Therefore to summarize The Benjamin Family...: A record was found, "of a Peter Austin of Tenterden, Kent 'who was licensed to Marry December 8, 1602 Arabella Benjamin, daughter of John Benjamin of Heathfield, Sussex, yeoman.'" This record and unidentified "collateral data" are cited as evidence for a "possible sister" relationships for this Ann to John Benjamin and Arabella Benjamin. Note that some genealogists assume relationships solely on the basis of shared last names and places; this may be the case. There is no record of Ann, daughter of John Benjamin, born at Heathfield or at Chalvington, Sussex.

Failed to find sources at FamilySearch (Chris Weston, Sussex Team, 17 Feb 2021), SFHG, Visitations of Sussex, Berry's Sussex Families, National Archives or

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Bicha, Gloria Wall, and Helen Benjamin Brown, (1977) The Benjamin Family in America. [self published] https://archive.org/stream/benjaminfamilyin00bich#page/2/mode/2up Archive.org] (Pages vii-viii, 2-3).
2. ↑ Tree #0087. World Family Tree Vol. 42, Ed. 1 (Family Archive CD). The Learning Company, Inc, September 1999.
3. ↑ Culver.FTW
4. ↑ Name:Ann Benjamin; Spouse Name:John Ellis; Marriage1617; Source number: 407.000; Source type: Electronic Database; Number of Pages: 1; Submitter Code: PAT; Yates Publishing. U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. (website) (Accessed 23 May 2020)
5. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles (1995) The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. NEHGS AmericanAncestors.org (Vols I-III, Page 163).
6. ↑ Benjamin, Paul Kingsley (1993) The Heritage of the Benjamins Who Settled in McLean County, Illinois, and Legacies of Their Descendants. Bloomington, IL: P.K. Benjamin, FamilySearch.org (Page 26).

See also:

• Ancestry Family Tree
• FamilySearch ID: MQYP-SGD