Unknown (Unknown) Benham (abt. 1605 - bef. 1660)

Born about 1605 in England

Descendants

Died before 20 Jul 1660 before about age 55 in New Haven, New Haven Colony, New England

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Unknown (Unknown) Benham migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Biography

Good and Sweet Spirited Wife Benham

What better accolade could a puritan woman have received and from no less than John Davenport, Puritan Divine?^[1]

Of her name or birth nothing is known. It can be surmised that she traveled from England with her husband John, but this is not a certainty. The births of their children John and Joseph are estimated at 1631 and 1633, but they are estimates. Her husband requested freeman status in Massachusetts, 19 Nov 1630.^[2]

By 4 June 1639, (Signing of the Fundamental Agreement)^[3] the family had moved to the newly founded Plantation at Quinnepiac, which would shortly become the Colony of New Haven. A list estimated to have been created about 1640/1 listed the Benham family as five people.^[4] John, wife, and sons, John, and Joseph. The fifth person may have been an apprentice or another single person residing in their household. Single people did not have houses of their own in New Haven. They were required to live with a family.

In New Haven, the Benhams were members in good standing of the church and the community. Goodwife Benham sat in the fourth row of the cross seats on the women's side of the meeting house. (Called the Short seats at the upper end in the picture.) ^{[5] [6]}

New Haven Meeting House: Seats

Goodwife Benham died between 13 April 1660 and 20 July 1660.^{[7] [8]} John remarried shortly, in November, as was the custom of the times.^[9]

Children:

Child: John Benham died 1691.

Child: Joseph Benham died 1703.

Text of Davenports letter dated 20 July 1660:
"Brother Benham indeed (whose good and sweet-spirited wife the Lord hath taken from him since his return,- and a young child of one of his sons is since dead in his house, where also one of his son's wife lieth very weak) went to Hartford, but gave no notice of it beforehand that I might prepare a letter for him."^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Source: #Bacon p. 383
2. ↑ Shurtleff: Vol 1 p. 80
3. ↑ Source: #Hoadley1 p. 17
4. ↑ Source: #Hoadley1 p. 91
5. ↑ Source: #Hoadley1 10 march 1646/7 seating p. 304
6. ↑ Source: #Dexter1 11 Feb 1655/6 seating p. 273
7. ↑ Source: #Bacon Letters written by John Davenport: The first was written 13 April 1660, which mentions John and his wife on the occasion of their spill in the river. The second was written 20 July 1660, and mentions that she died. p. 382 & p. 383
8. ↑ Source: #Anderson p. 158. He cites Davenport 155, 156 ie. Isabel MacBeath Calder, Letters of John Davenport, Puritan Divine (New Haven 1937), which is not available online.
9. ↑ Source: #Boston p. 169
10. ↑ Source: #Bacon p. 383

• Source: Bacon: Bacon, Leonard. Thirteen Historical Discourses, on the completion of two hundred years, from the beginning of the First Church in New Haven, with an appendix. New Haven: Durrie & Peck, 1839.
• Source: Anderson: Anderson, Robert Charles. Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633. New England Historic Genealogical Society; Boston, 1995. 156-160
• Source: Hoadley1: Hoadley, Charles J, MA. (editor) Records of the Colony and Plantation of New Haven, From 1638 to 1649. Hartford: Case, Tiffany and Company, 1857.
• Source: Dexter1: Dexter, Franklin Bowditch (editor) Ancient Town Records Vol 1. New Haven Town Records 1649-1662. New Haven: New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1917.
• Source: Boston:: Boston Records. New England Historical & Genealogical Register 19:169
• Source: Shurtleff: Shurtleff, Nathaniel. Records of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England (William White, Boston, 1853-)