Caleb Bennett (1675 - bef. 1753)

Born 11 Oct 1675 in Lyme, New London, Connecticut Colony

Ancestors

Descendants

Died before 6 Nov 1753 before age 78 in Lyme, New London, Connecticut Colony

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jennifer Lapham [send private message]

Biography

Caleb Bennett was born Oct. 11, 1675 at Lyme, New London, Connecticut. He was the son of Henry Bennett and Sarah Champion.^[1] Henry and Sarah (Champion) Bennett are recorded in the Mack genealogy, along with the names and birthdates of their nine children, including Caleb.^[2]

Will & Probate

Caleb wrote his will 9 Jan 1751 at Lyme, CT. In it he named his beloved wife, Bethiah, son Caleb and daughters Sarah (Bennett) Mack who married Jonathan Mack and Elizabeth (Bennett) Parmitor and grandson Joseph Bennett. Jonathan Mack was named as executor when Caleb and Major Daniel Ely were unable. The will was proved 6 Nov 1753 but the reassignment of executorship was dated 23 Apr 1757.^[3] Caleb Jr died 12 Nov 1732 and perhaps the Major was occupied elsewhere. Apparently Jonathan Mack was delinquent in his duties also. On 25 Jan 1758 he was notified that he was to appear in court in February to show cause as to why he hadn't carried out his duty, the widow's need being mentioned. The notice was delivered by Richard Ely the 2nd. There is a document in the Probate record that appears to be a bill for the nursing care of Caleb, dated April 1751, 54 weeks of nursing care & attendance. The bill also included cash paid to Major Ely, the weaving of 60 yards of cloth, washing and mending, funeral expenses, etc amounting to over 104 pounds. No money for his widow is listed. Another document is dated April 1754 concerning the administration bond signed by both Jonathan and John Mack. Jonathan presented the inventory completed 8 June, sworn 11 June 1754 amounting to 103 pounds, which wouldn't be enough to cover the amount willed to Bethiah. It can be assumed that she hadn't been caring for Caleb during his final year so perhaps the children didn't think she deserved an inheritance.

Research Notes

There are many unsourced online trees that state Caleb's wife was Abigail Chittenden and just as many that she was Isabel Willey. The trees with Abigail tend to identify daughter Sarah as being born in 1683, which is when Caleb's sister Sarah was born. The trees with Isabel tend to show daughter Sarah born in the early 1700's, which is more likely to be correct.

There were many Caleb Bennetts there/then that we are trying to sort out.

The Chittenden Genealogy^[4] states that Thomas Chittenden, son of William married Joanna Jordan, dau. of John and Anna Jordan, of Guilford had seven children including Abigail, born 15 Dec 1670 who married Caleb Bennett. Unfortunately there is no further information about Caleb or their children.

Caleb & Isabel were both from New London, Abigail from Guilford. Google tells me Guilford is 33 miles from New London which was a long way in the late 17th century. BUT they are both on the coast of Long Island Sound which makes the distance a lot shorter.

There are many Chittendens listed as buried in the North Guilford Cemetery in Guilford, Connecticut including an "Abigail, wife of Daniel __1732" which is the year Abigail (Chittenden) Bennet is said to have died. ^[5]

Caleb's brother Henry married an Abigail Pike & they had a daughter Abigail"

"Abigail Benit - Age: 2 d. Jun 1719 - Notes: dau of Henry Benit & Abigail Pike"

"Abigail Benit d. 24 Dec 1717 - Notes: wife of Henry Benit [nee' Pike]" ^[6]

There is a record of some Caleb & Abigail Bennett as parents of Isaac Bennet who was born 15 Apr 1747 in New Milford, Litchfield, Connecticut ^[7] There is also a record of Caleb & Abigal Bennit having a daughter Ann Bennit 31 Mar 1749 also in New Milford.^[8] These are obviously off by a generation (or two) in the other direction from Sarah b 1683. This Abigail may have been a Fowler.

Additional Note added by Mack-1127 September 2020: Isabell Willey is said to have first married John Griffee or Griffis, who died 1697. They lived in Hadam, which is about 10 miles up the Connecticut River from Lyme, where Caleb was born and died. Many Lyme residents relocated to Haddam and East Haddam. Sibling Isaac Willey married Rose, Caleb's sister. They lived and died in Lyme also. The widow of John Griffee isn't named in the court record, only complained about by a neighbor that took it upon himself to alert the court. He advised the court that the widow had already remarried (1700) and "...how she and her second husband did carry on together...". Now, there is an adult son left behind so either this is his 2nd wife or the wife is older than Isabel would have been. But, the widow's brother is named, John Willey, which supports Isobel Willey being the first wife of Caleb Bennett Sr.^[9][10] It is quite Possible Isabell married Caleb about 1698 or 1699, since the widow of Griffee (Probate record uses the name Griffis.) was remarried by 1700.

Sources

1. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F74X-5QS : 7 January 2020), Caleb Bennet, 1675.
2. ↑ Smith, Sophia. Mack genealogy. The descendants of John Mack of Lyme, Conn., with appendix containing genealogy of allied family, etc. The Tuttle Co., printers. Rutland, Vt. 1903. Henry and Sarah (Champion) Bennett, p. 1353.
3. ↑ Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts. Will of Caleb Bennet 9 Jan 1751 Probate Records, Vol G-H, 1755-1768 Pgs 338-9. Full Probate Packet Note: a couple of documents toward the end of this packet belong to the estate of Caleb II who died 1732.
4. ↑ "Chittenden Family; William Chittenden of Guilford, Conn. ..." Complied by Alvan Talcott, AM, MD, Press of Tuttle, Morehouse & Taylor, New Haven, 1882;pg 13
5. ↑ "Extracted from The Hale Collection; [Transcribed by Gary Nilson of Wallingford, CT]" http://dunhamwilcox.net/ct/north_guilford_cem.htm
6. ↑ "Deaths extracted from Lyme Town Records, transcribed by Rev. F.A. Chapman; NEGHR Vol 23 (1869) & subsequent"; http://dunhamwilcox.net/ct/lyme_deaths.htm
7. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WY-5Q7 : 7 January 2020), Caleb Bennet in entry for Isaac Bennet, 1747.
8. ↑ "Connecticut Births and Christenings, 1649-1906", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F7WH-K7X : 7 January 2020), Caleb Bennit in entry for Ann Bennit, 1749.
9. ↑ A Digest of the Early Connecticut Probate Records, Charles William Manwaring. 1904 R. S. Peck & Co., John Griffee estate Pgs 69-70.
10. ↑ Connecticut, Wills and Probate Records, 1609-1999 [database on-line]. Ancestry.com. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Original data:Connecticut County, District and Probate Courts. Probate Packet John Griffis 1697/98 No. 2404 Haddam. Images 1381 - 1401

• Connecticut Vital Records to 1870 (The Barbour Collection) Vital Records (incl. Bible, Cemetery, Church and SSDI) Lyme, New London, Connecticut, United States Volume: Lyme, Page(s): 16 [Caleb*], child of Henry [& Sarah], b. Oct. 11, 1675 (*Handwritten addition in original)

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profiles Bennett-4045 and Bennett-4039 were created through the import of CJB001.ged on Jul 18, 2012 by Christopher Becker.