Ishmael Bennett Sr. (abt. 1724 - 1820)

Born about 1724 in Scituate, Providence, Rhode Island

Ancestors

Son of Joseph Bennett and Joanna (Williams) Bennett

Descendants

Died 20 Jan 1820 at about age 96 in Harlem, Delaware, Ohio, United States

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Rick Snively [send private message] and Michael Bennett [send private message]

Biography

Private Ishmael Bennett Sr. served with 7th Regiment, Connecticut Militia during the American Revolution.

Ishmael Bennett Sr. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A009229.

Ishmael was born about 1724 in Rhode Island and he died 20 Jan 1820 in Ohio.^[1][2] His year of birth is based on his age at death.

He was perhaps best known for the time he spent in portions of the Wyoming Valley that were then part of Westmoreland County, Connecticut, but would eventually become Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. In particular, he is known for having been at the Battle of Wyoming (also known as the Wyoming Massacre) during the Revolutionary War and for serving as a private in the local independent militia later in the war.

According to History of Hanover Township and Wyoming Valley, edited by Henry Blackman Plumb:

Ishmael BENNETT was born in Rhode Island about 1730; moved to Connecticut; came to Wilkes-Barre about 1770 with a family by a first wife; settled in Wilkes-Barre; after the Wyoming Battle, returned with the expelled inhabitants; married a second time to Abigail BEERS, widow of Philip WEEKS, who was killed in the Wyoming Massacre in 1778 at the river's edge; removed to Hanover about 1788; lived on the Back Road about a half mile below the Sugar Notch Mines; removed to Ohio about 1816; died there, very old."^[3]

Ishmael married Martha about 1760, based on the birth of his first child about 1761. Martha's last name at birth, though listed here as Rockwood, is uncertain (see research notes). Over the next five years, they had three kids, Ishmael Jr., Martha and Thomas.

According to Blair's The Michael Shoemaker Book, Martha was deceased by the time Ishmael and the kids arrived in the Wyoming Valley in 1773.^[4] He settled in Pittstown (soon renamed Pittston), a township bounded by the Susquehanna River to the west and the Lackawanna River to the north. Bradsby mentions Ishmael Bennett as one of the earliest settlers of the town.^[5] Describing an 18 July 1797 land sale, Blair mentions that the lot in question was "bounded on the south by Lot 43 owned by Ishmael Bennett."^[6]

Ishmael was in the Pittston Fort with his three children during the Battle of Wyoming on 3 July 1778. The fort held, but it was included in the terms of surrender demanded by the victorious British and their Native American allies. The following day, people in the fort were given safe passage to leave. The Native Americans put black marks on the occupants foreheads to protect them as they fled. The white colonizers retook the fort about two years later.^[7]

In 1780, Ishmael was a private in John Franklin's Company posted in Wyoming. Franklin's company was an "independent" militia unit that the citizens of the Wyoming Valley organized to assist in the Revolution. He and Thomas appeared on the company's payroll from 2 Apr to 4 May 1780.^[8][9]

He would have married the widow Abigail (Beers) Weeks sometime after his military service based on the birth of their oldest known child about 1784.

Both an Ishmael Bennet and an Ishmael Bennett Junior appeared in the 1790 census for Luzerne County.^[10][11] The elder Ishmael's house included himself, four males under 16 and two women. The children of his first marriage all appeared in their own households. The women would have been Abigail and daughter Polly. The boys would have been Daniel, Josiah, possibly Nathan (see Children section below) and one or two unknown. The 1790 census for Luzerne was not broken down by township but it is likely the father would have been in Hanover and the son would have been in Pittston.

Ishmael Bennett appeared in Hanover in the 1800 census.^[12] At home were the head of the household (Ishmael) and his inferred wife (Abigail), both over 45, a female under 10 (Sarah, about 9), a female 10-15 (Polly, about 11), a male under 10 (unknown), a male 10-15 (Josiah, about 14) and one male 16-25 (Daniel, about 16). If Nathan was part of this household there would have been two males 12-14, unless he was born in late 1790 or 1791, rather 1789 as if reported base on the dates on his headstone.

Ishmael appeared in Hanover again in 1810 as Ishmael Bennet.^[13] He and his inferred wife are both over 45. At home were also a female 10-15 (unknown) and a male 16-25 (possibly Josiah 24 or the child under 10 in 1800).

At some point (about 1816, according to Plumb), Ishmael removed to Delaware County, Ohio, where he and Abigail are buried in Harlem Cemetery in Harlem Township.

His headstone reads:

If the inscription is accurate, he would have been born about 1724. His birth about 1730 is widely reported in secondary sources such as those cited above, but is not based on any primary sources that have been identified. This profile, therefore, uses the 1724 date.

An Ishmael Bennett appeared in the 1820 census for Harlem, which was enumerated 07 Aug 1820.^[15] There were two people, a man and a woman over 45, in the household. This does not appear to be Ishmael Jr. (see Research Notes). Consideration should be given to whether the date on the grave monument might be in error. Ishmael's year of death is sometimes reported as 1821, but without sourcing.

There are different views on Ishmael Bennett's parentage.

Profile manager Michael Bennett cites Y-chromosome DNA evidence in saying that Ishmael was the son of Joseph Bennett and Joanna (Williams) Bennet. Little detail is provided in the profiles.

Plumb notes that Ishmael had come to the Wyoming Valley with his brother Thomas and said their father was believed to have also been named Ishmael. "Ishmael BENNETT and THOMAS BENNETT, two brothers, came from England to America sometime during the reign of Charles II, married, and one of them settled in Rhode Island. A son or grandson, believed to be named Ishmael had, among other children, two sons who came in their old age to Wyoming."

The Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys goes into the history of the family in greater detail and has a completely different take.^[16] It reports that there were three brothers who came to the Wyoming and they were the children of Samuel Bennet. "He married Mary Stafford, one of their children was Ephraim; another was Thomas Bennett.... Another son was Ishmael Bennett, senior, who married Abigail (Beers) Weeks, who was killed in the massacre." The original immigrant in this lineage was said to be Edward Bennett from Wilshire, England who was one of the founders of Weymouth. The book provides considerable detail about this lineage, profiling a succession of three Samuels between Edward and Ishmael.

Plumb, a direct descendent of Ishmael Bennett, may have been closer to the truth, except it may have been the older brother Thomas, not Ishmael, who was their father's namesake. Some researchers suggest that Ishmael was the sons of Thomas Bennett Sr. and Jemima Harrington. This is the theory most commonly presented on on-line family trees such as those on Ancestry.com. This may be due to a misplaced reliance on West's compilations.^[17]

Nonetheless, there is documentation, including land sales between father and son, to show that Thomas Bennett Sr. of Scituate, Rhode Island indeed had a sons Ishmael and Thomas (though no Thomas or Ephraim). Thomas Sr. reportedly deeded 128 acres to his son Ishmael on 02 May 1760 (about the time of our Ishmael's first marriage) and sold him another 50 acres on 03 May 1762.^[18] There are reasons for to be concerned, however, about whether Ishmael of Hanover and Harlem is Thomas's son from Scituate. For example, Blair says Ishmael arrived in the Wyoming Valley about 1773 and Plumb puts it at about 1770. An Ishmael Bennet appears in Scituate in the 1774 Rhode Island census.^[19] He appears to be married and the children were two children instead of the three we would have expected from the first marriage of Ishmael Bennett of Hanover. None of this is conclusive, however, and he may have removed to Hanover between 1774 and 1776.

More documentation and argumentation is need to attach Ishmael definitively to any one set of parents.

Children

With Martha:

1. Ishmael Bennett Jr., b. 1761, d. 1859, m. (1) ? and (2) Amanda Belcher
2. Martha Bennett, b. 1763, m. Rufus Bennett
3. Thomas Bennet, b. 1765, m. Mary Ann Espy

With Abigail:

1. Daniel Bennett, b. 1784, d. 1861, m. Sarah "Sally" Adams
2. Josiah Bennett, b. 1786, d. 1857, m. Sally Taylor
3. Mary "Polly" Bennett, b. 1789, d. 1831, m. Lorenzo Ruggles
4. Sarah E. Bennett, b. 1791, d. 1881, m. Henry Blackman Plumb
5. Son Bennett, b. abt 1793, died young (appeared in 1800 census)

Another child is sometimes attributed to Abigail and Ishmael is Nathan Bennett, b. 1789, d. 1 Dec 1872, m. Ann Hoover.^[20] He was reportedly born the same year as Polly, however, and is not mentioned by Plumb. According to Dave Bennett, Josiah's grandson, the family had only the four children.^[21] Additional documentation would be needed to attach Nathan to this family with confidence. Daughters of the American Revolution records listing Nathan as Ishmael's son (see below) may be incorrect.

If his birthdate were wrong, however, Nathan may have been the inferred son born 1805-1880. It he was born in 1791 or early 1790, he would have been 9 in 1800 and 19 in 1810). It is also very possibly this is a child who did not survive.

The census record in 1790 suggests that there also may have been an older son or two.

Daughters of the American Revolution information:

• BENNETT, ISHMAEL
• Ancestor #: A009229
• Service: CONNECTICUT
• Rank(s): PRIVATE
• Birth: CIRCA 1730 WARWICK PROVIDENCE CO RHODE ISLAND
• Death: 1-20-1820 HARLEM TWP-BUR DELAWARE CO OHIO
• Service Source: PA ARCH, 5TH SER, VOL 8, PP 675, 676
• Service Description: 1) CAPT JOHN FRANKLIN CO, INDEPENDENT MILITIA, POST OF WYOMING, 1780
• RESIDENCE; Created: 2002-03-27 23:23:55.3, Updated: 2010-04-21 16:13:53.0, By: 1) County: WESTMORELAND CO - State: CONNECTICUT
• SPOUSE (1): MARTHA X; Created: 2002-03-27 23:17:13.16, Updated: 2002-03-27 23:17:13.16, By: Conversion 1)
• SPOUSE (2); ABAGAIL BEERS WEEKS; Created: 2002-03-27 23:17:13.16, Updated: 2002-03-27 23:17:13.16, By: Conversion 2)
• Child son: NATHAN BENNETT, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] ANN HOOVER
• Child son: DANIEL BENNETT, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] SARAH ADAMS
• Child daughter: MARTHA BENNETT, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] RUFUS S BENNETT
• Child son: JOSIAH BENNETT, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] SARAH TAYLOR
• Child daughter: SARAH ELIZABETH BENNETT, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] HENRY BLACKMAN
• Child daughter: MARY POLLY BENNETT, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] LORENZO RUGGLES

Research Notes

• Edmund West reports a marriage in 1860 to a Martha, maiden name unknown.^[22] Some on-line sources list Martha's last name at birth as Harris but do not provide sources. Another unsourced online family tree suggests that Martha's last name was Rockwood.^[23]
• The Ishmael in Harlem in 1820 does not appear to be Ishmael Jr. because he appeared in Pittston that year.^[24] Plumb wrote that the son remained in Pittston and Lackawanna and died there about 1858.
• The Ishmael Bennett who appeared in the U.S. censuses for Pittston in 1800, 1810 and 1820 was likely Ishmael Jr.

Sources

1. ↑ "Ohio Deaths and Burials, 1854-1997", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F683-M5S : 19 January 2020), Ishmael Bennett, 1820.
2. ↑ The Official roster of the soldiers of the American Revolution buried in the state of Ohio. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio Adjutant General's Dept., 1929-1959. Page 35.
3. ↑ Plumb, Henry Blackman. History of Hanover Township and Wyoming Valley, Luzerne County Pennsylvania. Wilkes-Barre, PA: Robert Bauer Printer and Stationer, 1885. Page 391.
4. ↑ Blair, Williams T. The Michael Shoemaker Book (Schumacher).1924. Page 607.
5. ↑ Bradsby
6. ↑ Blair, Williams T. The Michael Shoemaker Book (Schumacher). Scranton, PA: International Textbook Press, 1924. Page 469.
7. ↑ Pittston City in Colonial America and the American Revolution.https://www.pittstoncity.org/pittston-city-in-colonial-america-and-american-revolution/.
8. ↑ Ancestry.com. U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970. Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Microfilm, 508 rolls.
9. ↑ Colonial and Revolutionary Families of Pennsylvania: Genealogical and personal memoirs. New York: Lewis Pub. Co., 1911. Page 729.
10. ↑ "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKJ-8P9 : accessed 8 October 2021), Ishmael Bennet, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 144, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 568,148.
11. ↑ "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHKJ-8PS : accessed 8 October 2021), Ishmael Bennet Jr, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 144, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 8; FHL microfilm 568,148.
12. ↑ Ancestry.com. Pennsylvania, U.S., Septennial Census, 1779-1863 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Original data: Septennial Census Returns, 1779–1863. Box 1026, microfilm, 14 rolls. Records of the House of Representatives. Records of the General Assembly, Record Group 7. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg, PA.
13. ↑ "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2B-K7N : accessed 8 October 2021), Ishmael Bennet, Hanover, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 668, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 49; FHL microfilm 193,675.
14. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35780784/ishmael-bennet : accessed 07 October 2021), memorial page for Ishmael Bennet (1730–20 Jan 1820), Find A Grave: Memorial #35780784, citing Harlem Cemetery, Harlem Township, Delaware County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by Jean (contributor 46944240).
15. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHL9-5MR : accessed 8 October 2021), Ishmael Bennet, Harlem, Delaware, Ohio, United States; citing p. 193, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 89; FHL microfilm 181,395.
16. ↑ Hayden, Horace Edwin, Hand, Alfred and Jordan, John Woolf. Genealogical and Family History of the Wyoming and Lackawanna Valleys, Pennsylvania. Lackawanna County, PA. Lewis Publishing Company, 1906. Page 256.
17. ↑ Edmund, West, comp. Family Data Collection - Individual Records. [database online]. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2000.
18. ↑ For extensive but unsourced material on this family, see the research notes of Christie Travelute on Ancestry.com. Accessed on 8 Oct 2021 at https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/collection/1030/tree/165821047/person/312152376386/media/9b8d8a16-007b-40b8-8d6d-45ce86708cf7?_phsrc=eAy14849&usePUBJs=true.
19. ↑ Ancestry.com. Rhode Island Census, 1774 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997. Original data: Bartlett, John R. Census of the State of Rhode Island 1774. Providence, RI, USA: Knowles, Anthony & Co., State Printers, 1858.
20. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 April 2021), memorial page for Nathan Bennett (1789–1 Dec 1872), Find A Grave: Memorial #8521121, citing Hanover Cemetery, Hanover, Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Beth (contributor 48660466).
21. ↑ Posting to Beers Genealogy Forum, Genealogy.com, March 21, 2003. Accessed at http://genforum.genealogy.com/beers/messages/860.html.
22. ↑ U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900.
23. ↑ https://www.genealogy.com/ftm/s/t/e/Joseph-S-Stevenson/GENE1-0011.html.
24. ↑ "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHL5-7NQ : accessed 8 October 2021), Ishmael Bennet, Pittston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania, United States; citing p. 220, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 105; FHL microfilm 181,410.