Elizabeth Mary (Marsh) Benson (abt. 1638 - abt. 1704)

Born about 8 May 1638 in Oxfordshire, England [uncertain]

Wife of John Benson Jr — married about 1662 in Hull, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony

Descendants

Died about 26 Feb 1704 at about age 65 in Hull, Plymouth, Massachusetts [uncertain]

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Elizabeth (Marsh) Benson is currently protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project for reasons described in the narrative. Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: PGM

Because she has been inaccurately claimed in the past to be a child of a known PGM-era immigrant, John Marsh, she is being tracked and co-managed by the Puritan Great Migration Project.

Disputed

Martha Benson was probably non-existent, and was not the daughter of John and his wife. She remains attached as PGM Adjunct.

Biography

This profile represents the wife of John Benson and mother of his children.

A previous version of this profile claimed she was born on 8 May 1638 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England.^{[citation needed]}

She died on 26 Feb 1704 in Hull, Plymouth, Massachusetts. ^[1]

Elizabeth or Mary?

Elizabeth (some day Mary) Mar... (some say Marsh; see below)

This Elizabeth (who married John Benson) was NOT the daughter of John Marsh III (1611-1674) and Susanna (Skelton) Marsh (1620-1695). In The Great Migration 1634-1635,^{[2] [3]} The publication of this article resulted in a correction which states that "the identification of his wife as Elizabeth Marsh rests evidently on unpublished research done for the Benson Family Association and may not be correct. All that is positively known is that Elizabeth's surname began with the three letters Mar ".^[4] Another source provides a bit more context for this correction: "The name (Elizabeth Marsh) is from correspondence with Shirley Redden in June 2001. She was the source of the statement that her surname began with the letters Mar in "Additions and Corrections to Seventeenth Century Hull and Her People" (referenced immediately above). A number of years ago she saw a hand-penciled notation in the margin of a small Benson genealogy in the Boston Public Library stating that some scraps of Hull records survive, on one of which was found the following: John Benson and Elizabeth Mar... (remainder missing) daughter of ... (remainder missing.) Although some publications have identified his wife as Elizabeth Marsh (b July 8, 1646 at Salem, daughter of John and Susanna (Skelton) Marsh), this marriage has not been confirmed in primary sources. It would be unusual for a woman from Salem, which is north of Boston, to marry someone from Hull, which is south of Boston."^[5]

A different source shows that John Benson's wife was probably named Mary (not Elizabeth) and identified four of their children. This source also says that she is probably the Mary Benson that died in Rochester February 25, 1711. ^[6] (Note: This adds substantial doubt about Elizabeth Marsh marrying John Benson.)

The Benson Family Records says the name of John Benson's wife is unknown.^[7]

Marriage

Whatever her first name or origins, this woman married John Benson (1634-1711) abt 1660 in Hull, Plymouth, Massachusetts. John was the son of John Benson (1608-1678) and Mary (Williams) Benson.

Children

She had the following known children:

1. John BENSON b ~1665 Hull, Plymouth Co, MA d >1725 in Hull
2. Joseph Benson b.~1667 Hull, Plymouth Co., MA d 9 July 1737 in Rochester, Plymouth Co., MA
3. Isaac Benson b. 1669 Hull, Plymouth Co., MA d 1746 - Gloucester, Providence Co., RI

Sources

1. ↑ Fred H. Benson, The Benson Family Records, The Craftsman Press Syracuse, NY 1920 Page 18
2. ↑ The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, Volume V, M-P, by Robert Charles Anderson. Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2007. (Subscription required.) . Page 30, citing NEHGR 142:270
3. ↑ Smith, Ethel Farrington, "Seventeenth Century Hull Massachusetts and her People" The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society Reference Volume 142 (1988), page 270. Subscription
4. ↑ "Additions and Corrections, Volume 142 (1988)", The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Reference Volume 143 (1989), page 361. Subscription.
5. ↑ Benson, Richard H, The Benson family of colonial Massachusetts, published 2003. Reference page 23
6. ↑ Holman, Mary Lovering, Scott genealogy : descendants of John Scott of Roxbury ..., published 1919. Reference pages 291-2
7. ↑ Benson, Fred H., The Benson family records : in which is given some of the descendants of John Benson of Oxfordshire, England, who came to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the year 1638, together with some of the families allied by marriage to his descendants, published 1920. Reference pages 17-20

See also:

• "The Ancestors and Descendants of John Lewis Benson and His Sisters and Brother:" pp 107 - N H Benson, IN 2011
• "The Benson Family: Descendants of Isaac Benson and Mary Bumpas" pp 4,

G H Croft-Christensen 1973

• Find A Grave: Memorial #131032115