Benoni Pratt (1720 - bef. 1807)

Born 3 Apr 1720 in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Hannah Parmenter — married 1738 in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died before 16 Apr 1807 before age 87 in Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Loreena Paull [send private message]

Biography

Benoni was born on 3 Apr 1720 at Framingham, Massachusetts to Jabez and Hannah Gale Pratt.^[1]

The family is sketched in Barry's "A history of Framingham, Massachusetts" on page 366.^[2]

The family lost three children within 5 days of each other in November of 1746. I can't imagine the sorrow that must have been felt in this household.

Benoni must die in 1807 at Framingham, Massachusetts. His probate file is enormous.^[3] Benoni's will is dated 16 Mar 1801. He does not name his wife, but does name three daughters and three sons and a granddaughter of a deceased son. His daughter Sarah and son John never married. His son Nahum is the executor of his estate and is presented to probate on 16 Apr 1807.

By 16 Jun 1807 all three of Benoni's sons step down from administering his estate and ask the judge to appoint John Trowbridge as administrator. John Trowbridge also mentions Benoni's widow in this document.^[4] Benoni's estate is encumbered by huge debts, which explains why none of the children wanted to be executors. His estate appears to be in total disarray. They have to sell all the real estate of Benoni, which sells for much less than the appraised value making the estate almost insolvent.

The estate is not settled until 19 Jun 1811 and by this time, Sarah Pratt has died. The estate has $43.07 in value. No mention of a spouse in any of the documents, so I wonder if John Trowbridge did not know if she was alive. I would bet that this family felt victimized by the probate court. There is a document that required John Trowbridge to swear that he attempted to get the most amount of money for Benoni's real estate, so even the probate judge must have been wondering.

Event

Event: attended town meeting as surveyor of highways

Type: Misc

Date: 05 MAR 1770

Place: Framingham, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA^[5]

Sources

• Source: S419 Author: J H Temple Title: History of Framingham, Massachusetts Publication: Name: the town of Framinghan; Date: 1887;

1. ↑ "Massachusetts, Town Clerk, Vital and Town Records, 1626-2001," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L979-635F?cc=2061550&wc=Q4D8-3TL%3A353350601%2C353826301%2C353826601 : 22 October 2020), Middlesex > Framingham > Births, marriages, deaths 1690-1809 > image 50 of 319; citing Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, Boston.
2. ↑ https://archive.org/details/historyofframing00barr/page/366/mode/2up?q=%22nathaniel+pike%22
3. ↑ https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/middlesex-county-ma-probate-file-papers-1648-1871/image?volumeId=14465&pageName=17852:1&rId=38362208
4. ↑ https://www.americanancestors.org/databases/middlesex-county-ma-probate-file-papers-1648-1871/image?volumeId=14465&pageName=17852:8&rId=38362215
5. ↑ Source: #S419 Page: pg 256