Mary (Beebe) Benedict (1637 - aft. 1675)

Born 18 Mar 1637 in Broughton, Northamptonshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Samuel Benedict I — married before 1673 (to after 5 Mar 1675) in Norwalk, Fairfield, Connecticut

Descendants

Died after 5 Mar 1675 after age 37 in Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut Colony

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Biography

Mary Beebe, daughter of John Beebe and Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe, was baptized at Broughton, England 18 March 1637.^[1] In the spring of 1650, her father John Beebe sets sail for North America from England with his family, but is struck with an unknown illness so severe that on 18 May 1650 he pens his last will and testament mid-voyage. This will identifies seven children as his heirs and these children are identified as John, Thomas, Samuel, Nathaniel, Jaemes, Rebecca, and Mary. The will has no mention of John's wife Hannah, nor his daughter Hannah, both of whom were linked as family members by earlier documentation found in Northampton. The will goes on to note that Nathaniel, James and Mary are minor children and he charges the four elder children to "care for the provition" of the younger children until they reach the age of majority. Unfortunately, the illness claims his life and his children reach the shores of North America as orphans. The family arrives at Massachusetts Bay and fractures into two parts; the first group which includes Rebecca, James, and Mary go with Mr. William Lewis and John Cole, named as overseers of the will and advisor counselor to his children, to Hartford, Connecticut. The remainder of the boys become associated with Rev. Richard Blinman, living in Glouchester, MA, and subsequently migrate with him in October of 1650 to New London, Connecticut; coincidentally, Richard Blinman is also noted to later have removed to New Haven, Connecticut prior to returning to England in 1659. Mary, based on the date of her baptism, would have just turned 13 years old at the time John Beebe signed his will and would not have been eligible to receive her portion of the estate until 1655 when she would have been 18.

At this point the documentation trail on Mary Beebe becomes a bit sketchy; a search of Ancestry.com yields two death records for Mary Beebe bp. 18 March 1637 one in Hartford, Hartford CT ^[2], and the other in New Haven, New Haven, CT ^[3], which are inconsistent in death location and are of very questionable veracity. Nevertheless, these records place Mary in Hartford or New Haven rather than New London. Both sources cite her Beebe surname on the death record, so if either record is correct, then she died unmarried. There is yet another tertiary source ^[4] which states that Mary Beebe was living in New London, Connecticut in 1662, when she would have been 24, but offers no evidence for this assertion.

The historical record documents that the four older Beebe children failed to provide for the youngest son, James, as directed by their father; as it is known that James Beebe had been delivered into indentured servitude, by Mr. William Lewis at Hadley, Hampshire, MA to be served until his 25th birthday. It may be that the indentured servitude was beneficial for James, having been orphaned and isolated from the rest of his family out in the wilderness of Hadley, Massachusetts, but the fact he was indentured and isolated from his family is a pointed reminder that the elder Beebe siblings failed to provide for James as directed by their father. On the other hand, the historical record appears to support the notion that Rebecca Beebe did, in fact, take full responsibility for the care and provision of her younger sister Mary, because the next mention of Mary Beebe is found in Norwalk, Connecticut at the time her sister, Rebecca Ruscoe and her husband John had become pioneer settlers of the village. This record is offered by Torrey ^[5] in "New England Marriages Prior to 1700" in which he states says that Samuel Benedict's first wife was a Miss Beebe, married by 1673, at Norwalk, CT; citing Norwalk VR 10, Benedict 241-242, and Randall Anc. 468. Here it should be noted that prior to 1673, the only known, single female Beebe in the North American continent of marriageable age was Mary Beebe. Furthermore, if she was a member of the John and Rebecca Rucsoe household, then she would have been a next door neighbor to the Benedict household. In addition, it is known that her brother James Beebe, also was a resident of Norwalk, was later married Sarah Benedict, the sister of Samuel; hence Samuel Benedict and James Beebe would have been doubly related in-laws as they had married each other's sisters.

Genealogical Records

The following section of this profile provides detailed information found in the various cited sources. The purpose of this section is to provide the reader access to the information contained within the cited sources; to identify source data conflicts and identify the origin of data errors; and, finally, to provide a platform to analyze, cross-correlate, and comment on important aspects of the cited historical data record.

Church Records

Baptism records for the children of John Beebe and Rebecca Ladd:

• Primary Source, Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812 ^[6] Data Extract: Note the following records have been extracted from scanned images of the original Broughton, Northamptonshire Church of England Parish Records as provided at Ancestry.com. The cited parish records are hyperlinked to the image of the original document stored in the Ancestry database; note, a paid up membership in Ancestry.com is required to access the the scanned images of these original 1592 - 1611 documents:

1. ) Children of John Beeby and Rebeckah Ladd:
   1. ) Ancestry Record; Broughton Parish Records: image 52 of 61: John Beeby, son of John and Rebbecca Beeby, bapt. 4 Nov 1628
   2. ) Ancestry Record; Broughton Parish Records; image 53 of 61: Rebecka Beebee the daughter of John Beebee & of Rebecka his wyfe was baptized August 11, 1630.
   3. ) Ancestry Record; Broughton Parish Records; Image 4 of 90: Thomas and Samuel, Twins; the Sonnes of John Beebie and Reb{eckah}, his wyfe, were baptised on the There and Twentieth day of June 1633.
   4. ) Ancestry Record; Broughton Parish Records; Image 5 of 90: Nathaniel, the Sonne of John Beeby and Rebekkah his wyfe was babtized the three and twenty day of January (23) 1635.
   5. ) Ancestry Record; Broughton Parish Records; Image 6 of 90: Mary the daughter of John Beeby and Rebekah his wyfe was baptized the eighteenth day of March 1637. {Note Mary is itemized in listing #13, the last name listed in the 1637 tabulation.}
   6. ) Ancestry Record; Broughton Parish Records; Image 7 of 90: Hannah, the daughter of John Beeby and Rebekah his wyfe was baptized the three and Twenty day of June (23) 1640.

Vital Records

• Primary Source, Edwin Hall, The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Connecticut: With a Plan of the Ancient Settlement ^[7] Data Extract:

1. ) Records of Norwalk, Connecticut; Page 195: Migration of Thomas Benedict, his descendants.
2. ) Records of Norwalk, Connecticut; Page 188: Children of Samuel Benedict born prior to his marriage to Rebeckah Andrews:
   1. ) Johannah Benedicte, the daughter of Samuell Benedicte, borne the twentie second day of October, Anno 1673.
   2. ) Samuell Benidicte, the sonne of Samuell Benidicte, borne, the r fifth of Mrch, Anno 1675, 1675.
3. ) Records of Norwalk, Connecticut; Page 190: Samuels Benydicke tooke to wife Rebeckah Andrews, the daughter of Thomas Andrews, formerly of Faierfeild, and was married the 7th of July 1678.
   1. ) Thos. Benydicke, the sonne of Samuell Benydicke, borne the 27th of March Anno 1679
   2. ) Abraham Benydicke, the sonne of Samuel Benydicke, born the twentieh-one of June, Anno 1681.
4. ) Records of Norwalk, Connecticut; Page 312: Samuel Benedict Genealogy

Death Records

• Tertiary Source, Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-193 ^[3] Summary: Mary Beebe died in New Haven, New Haven, Connecticut. Date of death unknown.

• Tertiary Source, Edmund West, comp. , ^[2] Summary

1. ) Mary Beebe died at Hartford, Hartford County, CT. Date unspecified.

Biographic and Genealogical References

• Secondary Source, Clarence Beebe in his book Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe ^[1] cites Mary Beebe in profile (7). Data summary;

1. ) Monograph, etc.; Page 14: Mary Beebe (7), daughter of John Beebe and Rebecca (Ladd) Beebe, was baptized at Broughton, England 18 March 1637.
2. ) Monograph, etc.; Page 9, 10: Clarence Beebe published a transcription of the will of Mary's father John Beebe in his book, Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe^[1], page 9 and 10. The section of the will relevant to Mary Beebe states, ..."wherefore I, John Beebe, Husbandman, late of Broughton in the County of Northhampton, being by Gods good hand brought on a voyadge towards New Engl'd to sea and there smitten by the good hand of God, so as that my expectation is for my chaynge, yet through mercy as yet in perfect memory and understanding; doe hereby (my just and dewe debts being fully and dewely discharged); give and bequeathe unto my seven children, to say John Beebe, Thomas Beebe, Samuel; Nathaniell, Jeames Rebecca and mary Beebe, all and every such moneyes or goods of what spetia or kynde somever as all the proper estate belonging unto me the above sayde John Beebe, to be equally divided between the sayd John, Thomas, Samuel, Nathaniell, Jeames, Rebecca and mary Beebe in equall parts and portions. Further, I the sayde John Beebe doe will that my faure elder children to say; John, Thomas, Samuel, and Rebecca shall have that part of the sayde monnies and goods belonging unto the three younger to say, Nathaniel, Jeames, and Mary, in their hands as wel as theyr owne proportions, and that the sayde John, Thomas, Samuell, and Rebecca shall take care for the provition of the three younger till that they the sayde Nathaniell, Jeames, and Mary be of adge at wh tyme they are to have theyr proportions payde in unto them by my sayde sonnes & daughter John, Thomas, Samuel, and Rebecca Bebe... Lastly I will that it be understood that my daughters be at full adge for receyving theyr proportion of the estate at ye adge of eighteen years; As A testimony that this is my last will and testamt I have this eighteenth day of May one thousand sixe hundred and fifty sett to my hand and seale."

• Secondary Source, Clarence Almon Torrey, U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700 ^[5] Data extract:

1. ) Torrey, Births; Page 61, Image 76 of 1022: Samuel Benedict:
   1. ) Samuel Benedict, ( ___ to 1719) & first wife [Miss Beebe]; b. 1673, Norwalk , CT. {The introduction to the Torrey books notes that b preceding a date indicates the birth of a child, hence the marriage was before the specified date. In this case, the marriage would have been before the 22 Oct 1673 birth of Joanna Benedict cited on page 242 of the Benedict source ^[8].}
   2. ) Samuel Benedict, ( ____ to 1719) & second wife Rebecca Andrews; 4 July 1678, 8 July 1678, 7? July 1678; Norwalk, Danbury

• Secondary Source, Hall, The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Conn.; with a Plan of the Ancient Settlement, and of the Town in 1847, ^[9] Data Extract:

1. ) Norwalk, CT History; Appendix B Page 308-319, Extensive 1847 Genealogy of Ten Generations of the Benedict Family.
   1. ) Norwalk, CT History; Page 309. Fourth Generation, Biography and Genealogy of Thomas Benedict Sr.
2. ) Norwalk, CT History; Page 344. Plat map of Norwalk, Connecticut. {This map is a bit of an enigma. The only identification of the map is in the book title stating that the book includes a "Plan of the Ancient Settlement, and of the Town in 1847. The map on page 344 has no identification, nor clarification regarding it's contents. The map shows the path of the New York and New Haven Railroad, which clearly did not come into existence until the mid 1850s, cutting through the center of the town. However, the name identifications on the town lots have a nearly 1:1 correspondence to the 1668 listing of the initial inhabitants of the city on page 55 of the text. Hence, the best explanation of the map contents is it that it is an 1847 plat map of the town whereby the author used ancient land records to overlay the identities of the 1668 residents onto the 1847 Norwalk plat map. } Note that the properties of Thos. Benedict Sr, and John Ruscoe abut each other; therefore Samuel Benedict would have been a next door neighbor to Mary Beebe (who would presumably have been living in the household of her sister and brother-in-law John Ruscoe). It would also explain how James Beebe, the brother of Rebeccah (Beebe) Ruscoe, and Mary Beebe would have become acquainted with the Benedict family and to have consequently married Samuel Benedict's sister Sarah, and provides the basis for the enduring close ties between the Beebe and Benedict families. The lots of Thomas Benedict Sr. and John Rusco may be found on road to Stamford and the railroad track intersects the southern border of their lots.

Map of Norwalk Conn.

• Secondary Source, The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America ^[8] Data Extraction:

1. ) Benedict Genealogy; Page 241-242. Samuel Benedict, son of Thomas Benedict, was born about 164_. He continued to reside with his father until after his removal to Norwalk, Connecticut. There he married, first (unknown), by whom he had Joanna and Samuel. He married second July 7 1678, Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Andrews of Fairfield, Connecticut, by whom he had five children, the last two in Danbury Connecticut. In the fall of 1684, and the spring of 1685, he with his brother James, his brother-in-law James Beebe, Judah Gregory (brother-in-law of James Benedict), and four others, purchased land of the Indians and made the first settlement at Paquiogue (Danbury). Dr. Samuel Wood, who married Rebecca, daughter of Thomas Benedict, soon followed and Daniel, the youngest son of Thomas Benedict also settled there soon after 1690. Thus it will be seen that the majority of the first settlers of Danbury were of the Benedict stock and connection. Children:
   1. ) Joanna Benedict, born 22 Oct 1673
   2. ) Samuel Benedict, born 5 March 1674/5.
   3. ) Thomas Benedict, born 27 March 1679.
   4. ) Nathaniel Benedict, born ____
   5. ) Abraham Benedict, born 21 June 1681
   6. ) Rebecca Benedict, married Samuel Platt
   7. ) Esther.

• Secondary Source, Rootsweb Genealogy ^[4] Summary: Mary Beebe, daughter of John Beeby and Rebeckah Ladd, baptized 18 March 1636/37 at St Andrews Church, Broughton, Northamptonshire, England. Death: After 30 SEP 1662 in New London County, CT possibly where she lived unmarried Sep 1662 (site has source citation for 1662 New London residence, but with insufficient information to retrieve and verify).

Research Notes

1. ) 2019-01-15. IF AND ONLY IF, the Torrey assertion that the first wife of Samuel Benedict was a Miss Beebe and stands to be based on solid evidence and is correct; then the only possible candidate to be the first wife of Samuel Benedict is Mary Beebe, who was born about 1637 and was the sister of James and Rebecca Beebe, both known, early residents of Norwalk Connecticut. The basis for this statement is that the first wife of Samuel Benedict would have had to be of a marriageable age, and had her first child on 22 Oct 1673, which would establish a reasonable birth date for this first wife to be sometime prior to 1653; this would have to be true in order to order to satisfy the constraints established in the Benedict Genealogy narrative ^[8]. The only known female Beebe in North America to be born prior to 1653, and with no previously known marriage attachments is Mary Beebe, the sister of Rebecca and James Beebe, born in 1637, and a member of the original Beebe family whom immigrated, with her father John Beebe, and family, to North America in 1650; hence it stands to reason that if Samuel Benedict's first wife was in fact a Beebe, then it had to be Mary Beebe. Note: the first known female Beebe to be born in New England as a daughter of this immigrant family was Rebecca Beebe, daughter of Thomas born in 1663, and while it would be possible and reasonable for Mary to have had nieces born prior to 1653, there are zero known nieces for prior to Rebecca in 1663. The Samuel Benedict and Mary Beebe pairing also makes a ton of sense based on other information on this Beebe family that is well known. That is to say, Rebecca (Beebe) Rusco was charged by her father in his 1650 Will to care for the younger siblings, and it seems that Rebecca shouldered this responsibility and may have provided a home for her younger sister. So if Mary lived with her sister Rebecca (Beebe) Rusco until she reached the age of majority in 1659, per their father's directive in his will, then Mary would have been a next door neighbor to the Thomas Benedict family, according to the Norwalk, CT History; plat map (page 344) of the original group of settlers at Norwalk, Connecticut in 1655. Hence if Mary did indeed live with the Ruscos, then the possibility and probablity that Samuel Benedict, and Mary Beebe knew each other and were married is exceedingly high, almost certain (given the Torrey citation), and this marriage would account for the post immigration-movements of Mary Beebe, as being under the care of her sister Rebecca. This narrative provides a very logical and credible connection to the Benedict family. Also, it is worth noting that the date of the second marriage of Samuel Benedict (7 July 1678) occurs prior to the marriage of Mary's brother, James Beebe, to Samuel Benedict's sister Sarah on 19 Dec 1679, hence Samuel Benedict and James Beebe would have been double related by marriage, but not concurrently. Samuel Benedict and James Beebe were two of the original founders of Danbury Connecticut in 1693, and were clearly tightly bound by family relationships.
2. ) 2019-01-17 The information which identifies Clarence Torrey's sources for each of the marriages in his tome is only available on the microfilm edition of the text; however, it it would appear that Mary Elizabeth Stewart actually researched this microfilmed source because her Jan 2019 note in this Wikitree biography cites the Torrey sourcesf or the Samuel Benedict marriages as: "Norwalk VR 10, Benedict 241-242, and Randall Anc. 468." Online copies of original source material for the Norwalk Vital records and the Benedict Genealogy citations have been found and referenced in this profile. Furthermore they have been thoroughly examined for a reference to a first marriage between a Miss Beebe and Samuel Benedict. While the Benedict genealogy clearly identifies that Samuel Benedict had an unknown first wife, the Norwalk Vital records only allude to a first marriage as the records show two children born to Samuel Benedict prior to his marriage to Rebecca Andrews, but contain no record of a first marriage, thus the Torrey allusion to Miss Beebe as the first wife of Samuel Benedict must be contained in the elusive Randall Ancestry.
3. ) 2019-01-21. Found this 1879 Genealogy of the Randall Family. It does not have a page 468, nor does the numbering system have a Benedict or Beebe for profile 468.
4. ) The following definitions and syntax conventions apply to the preceding text of this profile:
   1. ) A Primary Source contains data that was recorded by the person in the profile; or by someone known to or with first hand knowledge of that person, during the person's lifetime, death or within two generations thereafter.
   2. ) A Secondary Source is a genealogical reference created as the result of a extensive study of available source material and it provides some evidence of the source documentation used to generate the text data.
   3. ) A Tertiary Source is a genealogical data source which is a collection of genealogical information that does not cite Primary or Secondary information sources, and the data may be factual or hearsay.
   4. ) Braces {Editorial Note Example} are used to insert editorial comments; that is to say, information or clarification that is not contained in the original, cited source material.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Beebe, Clarence, Monograph of the Descent of the Family of Beebe, from the earliest known immigrant--John, of Broughton, England, 1650, compiled and edited by Clarence Beebe, 150 Nassau Street, New York,1904; Profile (7) page 14. Clarence Beebe Genealogy online -Title Page
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Deaths [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2001. Mary Beebe death
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Ancestry.com. Connecticut, Deaths and Burials Index, 1650-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011. Original data: "Connecticut Deaths and Burials, 1772–1934." Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2009, 2010. Index entries derived from digital copies of original and compiled records. Death of Mary Beebe
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} Rootweb Genealogy, Rootsweb Genealogy for Mary Beebe
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Torry, Clarence A. New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Baltimore, MD, USA; Genealogical Publishing Co., Copyright,1985. Seventh printing 2004. Available at:

   1. ) Ancestry.com -- seachable on-line database; data access fee required. Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Provo, UT, USA, 2012.
   2. ) New England Marriages prior to 1700; at American Ancestors. IMPORTANT NOTE American Ancestors cites the version of Torrey which includes Torrey's Source References, the version at Ancestry does not!
      1. ) Torrey uses a coded abbreviation for his source citations; a cross reference manual which expands Torrey's abbreviations into a title string having sufficient information to perform a source verification search may be found HERE.
   3. ) Print edition. This manuscript is still in print and may be available at Amazon.com or Abebooks.com or other rare booksellers. Note the edition without the references is a single volume, with references is a multivolume set.

6. ↑ Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1532-1812; Ancestry.com database on-line. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Northamptonshire Record Office; Northampton, England; Register Type: Parish Registers; Reference Numbers: 52p/91. Ancesty.com indexed bapt. record for Thomas & Samuel
7. ↑ Hall, Edwin, Pastor of the First Congregational Church; The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Connecticut: With a Plan of the Ancient Settlement, Norwalk, James Mallory & Co., New York, Baker and Scribner, 1847. Public Domain.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Henry, Marvin, The Genealogy of the Benedicts in America, Albany, Joel Munsell,82 State St. 1870. {Public Domain} Pages 321-323. Title Page Benedict Genealogy online
9. ↑ Hall, Edwin (Pastor of the First Congregational Church), The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Conn.; with a Plan of the Ancient Settlement, and of the Town in 1847, Norwalk: James Mallory and Co., New York: Baker and Scribner, 1847. Title Page

Other Sources

The following section provides a listing of source material that is pertinent to the profile subject, but not presently cited in the narrative text of the profile.

• Plat map of ancient Norwalk, Connecticut showing the Norwalk CT residential lots of John Ruscoe (husband of Rebecca Beebe and brother-in-law of James and Mary Beebe) and Thomas Benedict (father of Samuel Benedict) as living on adjacent lots in the original Norwalk settlement. Hence Mary Beebe (as a ward of her sister Rebecca Ruscoe and brother-in-law John Ruscoe) and Samuel Benedict would have been next door neighbors during their teen years.
  • Plat map of ancient Norwalk
• Ancient historical records of Norwalk Connecticut. Page 312 Samuel Benedict\
• Page 164
• Page 199 Blinman.