Benedictus Pulsifer (bef. 1639 - abt. 1710)

Born before 1639 in England [uncertain]

Husband of Susanna (Waters) Pulsifer — married 1 Feb 1674 (to about 1710) in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts

Descendants

Died about 1710 after about age 71 in Ipswich, Essex Co., Massachusetts

Problems/Questions Profile manager: John Plummer [send private message]

Biography

Benedict or Benedictus, the first of the name in America, was the founder of the family in this country who settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, in or before l659. At a court held in Ipswich, September 24, 1678, Benedict Pulsephar, as he spelled his name, deposed that he had been in the town of Ipswich nineteen years. ^[1]

Benedict Pulsifer had settled in Ipswich, Massachusetts, ^[2] according to his own statement, by 1659.

He was probably married a year or two before coming to this country. By his first wife, he had four children:

• Benedict II, (or Junior). (b 1662; d 1690) which some researchers think he may have brought with him as an infant to New England. ^[3]
• John Pulsifer, b 1667; d 1737, of whose birth we have yet to find a record, ^[3],
• Elizabeth Pulsifer whose birth on 4 Dec 1669 is recorded in the town records of Ipswich ^[4]; d 1755
• William Henry Pulsifer, b 1671 ^[3]

His first wife, of whose maiden name we are ignorant, died at Ipswich July l6, 1673.

After the death of his first wife, , July l6, 1673, Benedict, Senior, married as his second wife in the succeeding February, Susana A. Waters of Salem, Massachusetts, who was the fifth daughter of Richard and Joyce Waters. She was born at Salem, Massachusetts, February 1, 1649. “Benedict Pulsephar, Senior, brought his young wife to Ipswich immediately after his marriage and entered upon what might be termed the second period of his career.” The records show that his young wife was rather vain. She liked to adorn herself. “She, among others, braved the laws in 1675 by appearing in the meeting house with a silk hood and scarf. She and the others were arrested, tried, and fined ten shillings each for yielding to their vanity.”

Benedict Pulsifer was a man of some means. He was also “a Ban of considerable education” in a period when educated Englishmen were rare.

Late in l663, or early in l664, he bought a dwelling house with outhouse, orchard, gardens, etc. of Moses Pingry of Ipswich, Massachusetts, which property Pigry had acquired in 1652 of Richard Scofield, who came to New England in 1635, This estate was sitated on the north of the “Torn River”. It’s site is now occupied by a factory. The original deed to this property was either lost or “casually” burned, and on February 7, 1667, Pingry made a supplementary deed of the property which he gave Benedict Pulsipher. Benedict was then styled a “planter”.

He added to his estate in- I664. In the same year, the town of Ipswich granted him a share (No. 55) in the town lands on Plumb Island, Castle Neck, and Hogg Island. He continued to reside at Ipswich, pursuing his occupation as planter or farmer for many years.

Susanna and Benedict had 10 children: ^[5]

• Richard Pulsifer, b 31 May 1675 ^[4]; d 1728
• William Pulsipher, b 12 Dec 1676 ^[4]; d 1771
• Susannah Pulsipher, b 5 Sep 1678 ^[4]; d 1689
• Joseph Pulsipher, b 13 Nov 1680 ^[4]; d 1711
• Benjamin Pulsipher, b 19 May 1683 ^[4]; d 1763
• David Pulsipher, b 27 Sep 1685 ^[4]; d 1775
• jonathan Pulsifer, b 25 Sep 1687 ^[4]; d 1763
• Susanna Pulsipher, b abt 1689 ^[3]
• Joanna Pulsifer, b 10 May 1691 ^[4]
• Margaret Pulsipher, b 14 Feb 1694 ^[4]; d 1788

There is no record in Ipswich of Benedict's death. He was alive in 1693, but clearly dead by 1726 when his wife died a widow. Some have speculated he died 10 Apr 1695, and others 1710, all without citations. On 1 Aug 1709 Benedict conveyed his property to his son Capt. Joseph Pulcifer of Boston, which lends some credence to his death being about 1710, the following year. ^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Wood, Adah Mackleprang, "The Early Pulsipher Family History," Published at FamilySearch.org 20 Apr 2015.
2. ↑ Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England (Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1862)
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} WeRelate Profile of Benedict Pulsifer (1639 - 1695)
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9} Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 - Ipswich Vital Records
5. ↑ WeRelate Profile of Susanna Waters (1649 - 1726) m. Benedict Pulsifer.
6. ↑ BENEDICT PULSIFER - obtained by Carol Easterbrook Wolf - Posted 27 Jan 2008 by lkf46 at Ancestry.com

• WeRelate Profile of Benedict Pulsifer (1639 - 1695)

• BENEDICT PULSIFER - obtained by Carol Easterbrook Wolf - Posted 27 Jan 2008 by lkf46 at Ancestry.com

• HISTORY OF BENEDICT PULSIPHER - obtained by Carol Easterbrook Wolf - Posted 27 Jan 2008 by lkf46 at Ancestry.com - this version has some follow-on generations.

• Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850 - Ipswich Vital Records - showing Elizabeth Pullsifer, d. Benedict. born Dec. 4, 1669; and Benedict Pulsipher, and Susanah Watters married Feb. ––, 1673

• Wood, Adah Mackleprang, "The Early Pulsipher Family History," Published at FamilySearch.org 20 Apr 2015.

• Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850' - Salem, Essex Co., Massachusetts, Vital Records - showing Susana Waters, d. Richard, bp. 1: 2m: 1649

• NORTHERN NEW YORK - Genealogical and family history of northern New York: a record of the achievements of her people in the making of a commonwealth and the founding of a nation. Published by Lewis Historical Pub. Co., New York, New York (1910). - Waters - Transcription by Coralynn Brown

• Source: S334 Savage, James. A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England (Boston, Little, Brown and Company, 1862)

• Farmer, John. A Genealogical Register of the First Settlers of New England (Carter, Andrews & co., Lancaster, Mass., 1829) - Page 239

• Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution - Application for Membership of William Edmond Pulsifer, descendant of David Pulsifer Jr (Rev War soldier)

• Ancestry.com - Public Member Trees - Bastian Family Tree by CamilleCox1 - Profile of Benedict Pulsipher (1629 - 1710) - has multiple sources

• Source: S00025 Ancestry.com - Public Member Trees - The Generations Network, Inc. Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006

• Source: S00069 Ancestry.com - One World Tree (sm) Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc.,

• Source: S413 Ancestral File

• MA Vitals.org> marriage and death

Acknowledgments

• Thank you to Andrew White for creating WikiTree profile Pulsifer-120 through the import of APW_2013-03-26.ged on Mar 26, 2013.
• WikiTree profile Pulsipher-49 created through the import of Shurtliff Family.ged on Jun 20, 2011 by Mark Shurtliff.
• WikiTree profile Pulsipher-54 created through the import of perry and plumb tree.ged on Aug 18, 2012 by Merry Kennedy.