Henry Bennett Sr (abt. 1629 - 1707)

Born about 1629 in England

Husband of Lydia (Perkins) Bennet — married 1651 in Ipswich, Essex County, Massachusetts, British America

Descendants

Died 12 Jan 1707 at about age 78 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Richard Draper [send private message]

Biography

Henry Bennett Sr migrated from England to British America.

Henry Bennett was born about 1629. He deposed at the Essex Quarterly Court to being about age fifty-five on 24 June 1684.^[1] He is not known to be the child of any of the other early Bennett settlers.^[2] In addition, he had a brother William in London, England, so Henry's birth in England and possibly London, is a logical choice.^[3]

Henry married (1) Lydia Perkins, baptized in Boston in 1632, daughter of John and Judith (Gater) Perkins.^[4] Their first child, Jacob, was born about 1651 or 1652.^[5]

Henry purchased a 200 acre farm from Jonathan Wade in 1654. Its southern boundary was Castle Neck Creek. He lived there for forty years. He also owned property on Hog Island (now Choate), Castle Neck and Plum Island.^[5]

He is frequently mentioned in the Essex Quarterly Court Records as juryman, plaintiff and defendant. The records sometimes call him Farmer Bennett. They also mention that he had servants and apprentices.^[6] Henry Bennett's name was on the 1665 Ipswich petition to the general court of Massachusetts which disapproved the action of Massachusetts authorities who opposed the king's commissioners.^[7] One mention, on May 12, 1675, he along with John Perkins and others, was given power to act in the matter of Jer. Belcher and others of Ipswich^[8]

Henry's brother, William Bennet, a vintner of Bishopsgate, London, died in 1672 and left Henry an inheritance of £100 sterling. The collection of the inheritance caused Henry considerable trouble, including a suit by Harlakendan Symonds for damages and his unsuccessful services in attempting to bring back the inheritance. The court found for the defendant, Henry. Two family items are mentioned during the testimony. Jacob Bennet, aged about 23, deposed that he was in his father's house during one of the conversations and John Bennet, aged about 20 years, deposed that he was present when his father and Symonds spoke. "Ephraim Fellowes made oath in court, 1 : 10 : 1675, that he was present when John Benett wrote this testimony, but a little while before he went out against the Indians."^[3]

It is said that Henry's wife, Lydia, died before 1672. Henry married (2) Mary (Smith) Burr, widow of John Burr and formerly wife of Philip Call. She was the daughter of Richard Smith of Shropham, Norfolk, England. 18 February 1678/9, Henry was a commoner in the right of Philip Call, whose widow had received his land. She died 12 Jan 1707/8.^[5]

Henry was still living 3 October 1707.^[5]

Children:

• Jacob born about 1651. He deposed 30 November 1675, stating his age as about twenty-three years^[3] and in 1676, aged about twenty-five, son of Henry.^[9]
• John b. about 1655; killed during the battle at Bloody Brook, 18 September 1675.^[3][10]
• William b about 1657. He deposed to being about age 24, with his father age 55, in 1684.^[11]
• Henry was born about 1664. He deposed to being about 33 on 31 May 1670.^[12] A 1683 court record states "William Bennet and Henry Bennet testified that being present with their father [Henery Benet, sr.] …"^[13]
• Thomas^[5]
• Possibly Stephen.^[5] "Henery Benit, Will Benit and Steven Benit" (on the list together) took the oath of allegiance in 1678.^[14]
• Possibly Benjamin,^[5]

Research Notes

This is not Henry Bennett of Lyme, Connecticut.

DNA

Y-DNA results indicate an inferred relationship to Henry between the following descendants^[15]:-

• Via son Benjamin with Lee Bennett, William Bennett, Kurt Bennett, Phillip Bennett, Randy Bennett, Jay Bennett, Alfred Bennett, Franklin Bennett; and

• Via son Jacob with Spencer Bennett, Robert P Bennett, Ernest E Bennett, David Bennett, Robert S Bennett, George Bennett.

• A third match has been confirmed via Ernest Massey Bennett. His oldest Bennett ancestor is Barrett Bennett. It has not yet been determined how he connects to Henry but DNA testing confirms that he is related.

Please visit http://www.ipswichbennett.com for further details about this group's Y-DNA results, or send a private message to Lee Bennett

DNA results indicate Henry's ancestors may have come from the Somerset or Devon areas in England. Based on these results other possible ancestor family names could include Coat, Locke, Seymour or French.

Could some of Henry's relations be living in Huntspill Somerset England in the late 1700's? Is the family of this Unknown Male Bennett (father of James, John, Pracey and William) connected to Henry and perhaps one of his children the father of an illegitimate Marmaduke Coat or vice versa, is Henry really a Coat or Locke? A case study was commissioned to help answer some of these questions and to try and pinpoint our ancestral homeland, the report is published on the Ipswich Bennett website and can be accessed here.

A new FTDNA project has since been started for those with the same geographic origins around the Bristol Channel to determine common ancestral lines. Refer Bristol Channel FTDNA Project.

Please contact Veronica Williams regarding any DNA matters associated with this profile.

Sources

1. ↑ Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume IX, p. 243; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/vol9/images/essex243.html : accessed 14 March 2023).
2. ↑ Robert Charles Anderson in the Great Migration Series, does not mention Henry Bennett except as the husband of Lydia Perkins [GM Immigrants 1620-1633 p. 1432] and James Savage's A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England Showing Three Generations of Those Who Came Before May, 1692. Vol. I-IV. (Boston, MA, USA: 1860-1862), states "[Bennett] "HENRY, Salem, 1630, on the Marblehead side, was of Ipswich, 1665, as in 2 Mass. Hist. Coll. VIII. 107, appears." Savage seems to have confused Henry with John Bennett who was in Marblehead in 1630 and who had only one known child, Mary. (See GM Immigrants 1620-1633 p. 167.)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume VI, pp. 84-86; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/vol6/images/essex084.html : accessed 14 March 2023).
4. ↑ Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633. Volumes I of 3 vols. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), p. 1432
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6} Bradbury, John M., "The Bennet Family of Ipswich," New England Historical and Genealogical Register, (Boston, Massachusetts: NEHGS, 1875) Vol. 29, pp. 165-169.
6. ↑ Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volumes I- IX; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex : accessed 14 March 2023).
7. ↑ Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Volume VIII of the Second Series, Second Edition (Boston: Nathan Hale, 1826), p. 107.
8. ↑ Shurtleff, Nathaniel B. (ed.), Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, Vol 5 1674-1686, Page 36. https://archive.org/details/cu31924026109797/page/36/mode/2up
9. ↑ Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume VII, p. 382; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/vol7/images/essex382.html : accessed 14 March 2023).
10. ↑ Bodge, George M., Soldiers in King Philip's War. Containing Lists of the Soldiers of Massachusetts Colony, Who Served in the Indian War of 1675-1677. (Boston, Printed for the author, 1891) p. 91.
11. ↑ Dow, Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume IX, p. 243.
12. ↑ Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume IV, p. 264; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/vol4/images/essex264.html : accessed 14 March 2023).
13. ↑ Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume X, p. 91; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/vol9/images/essex091.html : accessed 14 March 2023).
14. ↑ Dow, George Francis (ed.), Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, Volume VII, p. 157; digital images, Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive, (https://salem.lib.virginia.edu/Essex/vol7/images/essex157.html : accessed 14 March 2023).
15. ↑ DNA information updated by Veronica Williams 19:24, 3 January 2014 (EST)

• Ancestral File (R) Title: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (R) (Copyright (c) 1987, June 1998, data as of 5 January 1998) Repository: Salt Lake City, Utah 84150 USA

• Ipswich Bennett Website, accessed 2014.

• New England Marriages Prior to 1700, p63.

• "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633" (Name: New England Historic Genealogical Society;), III:1432.

• John M. Bradbury, "The Bennet Family of Ipswich, Massachusetts" (Name: Reprinted from the NEHGR, Boston, April 1875;).

• Ancestors if Charles Brush Perkins and Maurice Perkins by Charles Brush Perkins. (c) Copyright 1977 Charles Brush Perkins. Printed by Gateway Press, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland 1906