| Notes |
- Mike,
Way back in January you sent me an ancestor chart for Mary Stafford. I have not gotten around to analyzing it until just now. It has been very helpful, particularly since you have listed your sources for your information. It helped me fill in many details.
However, the information contained raises several major questions.
The first question is, "Do we have the right Mary Stafford?"
According to Kay, Bernadine Smith; Jehial Bennett: A History of the Forebears and Descendants of Jehial Bennett, First of Our Line in Wisconsin (Wisconsin Dells Events),
"Ephraim [Bennett] was born in 1725 in Rhode Island. He was a soldier in the French and Indian Wars 1756, and was taken prisoner in General Johnson's flight. He was held several years and upon his release he married a Mary Stafford. The exact date of the marriage is unknown but their firstborn was Ephraim, Jr., born 1762, and followed thereafter by James, Thaddeus, Thomas, Abraham, David and Joseph (or Jonathan)."
The DAR Patriot Index - Centennial Edition, Part 1, p. 230 states the following:
"Bennett...
Ephraim Sr: b 4-30-1732 NJ d 10-20-1813 NY m Mary Stafford Sgt NY
Ephraim Jr: b 5-1-1762 NY d 10-26-1845 NY m Hannah Bentley Pvt NY PNSR"
The information on Ephraim Jr. is confirmed in Abstracts of Revolutionary War Pension Files.
Herein lies the rub.
How could Mary Stafford, born October 4, 1750, the daughter of Thomas Stafford and Diademe Carpenter, be the mother of Ephraim Bennett, Jr. b. 5-1-1762? Now, October 4, 1750 may be a baptism date, but it still would not make Mary Stafford old enough to be Ephraim Jr.'s mother.
The mother of Ephraim Bennett, Jr, born 1762 would have to have been born 1746 or earlier. What evidence is there that Mary Stafford b. 1750 married Ephraim Bennett? Is there another Mary Stafford who might fit the bill?
Other questions/issues/additions
1. I believe the name of Thomas Stafford's wife was Diademe (as in crown) Carpenter. That is the spelling given in Austin.
2. His sons, Thomas, Joseph and Benjamin served in the Revolution, as did their uncle Joab. The following is the citation from the DAR Patriot Index:
Stafford...
Benjamin: b 4-25-1761 RI d 1-13-1836 NY m Lydia Lockwood Pvt RI PNSR...
Joab: b 11-14-1729 RI d 11-23-1810 MA m Susannah Spencer Col MA PNSR...
Joseph: b 4-25-1759 RI d 1855 NY m Orpha Sweet Cpl RI PNSR...
Thomas Sr: b 4-20-1723 RI d 7-20-1779 RI m Deadema [sic] Carpenter Pvt RI
Thomas Jr: b 1-19-1755 RI d 7-20-1805 NY m Lydia Corey Cpl Drm RI MA
3. Samuel Stafford, was born in 1636 according to Austin. If so, he would probably have been born in Plymouth, MA, where his father lived at that time, or possibly in Newport, RI, where he lived as of 1638, but not in Warwick, where the first settler was Richard Smith about 1637.
4. According to Austin, Thomas Stafford (I) made his will on November 4, 1677. The will was proved in April 1678. His death would more likely have been a month or so before the will was proved than in November 1677.
5. Austin does not list a child named Deborah for Thomas Stafford (I). Do you know what the source of the IGI assignment of this child to him was?
6. I believe that the mother of the children of Stukeley Westcott was Juliana Merchant or Marchant, and not Rosanna Hill. This is bolstered by the statement in your data base that he married Rosanna Hill in 1617/18 and Juliana Merchant 10/5/1619.
This is the conclusion of the following citation as well:
Stukely Westcott was born in Somersetshire, England about 1592. He married Julian (Juliane) Marchant 5 Oct 1619 at Yeovil, county Somerset...
With his wife and six children Stukely arrived at Salem, Massachusetts in 1635 and was made a freeman in 1636. In town records of 1636 "Stukely Westcott" is recorded as a grantee of land. On 25 Dec 1637 one acre of land was granted to "Stuky Wesket," and old records show that at that time his family consisted of eight persons. His "house lot of one acre" is described in an old colonial deed of 1643 as being bounded on one side by "the salt water."
Stukely was one of Roger Williams' closest friends and shared many of his opinions. Shortly after Roger Williams' banishment from Salem, Stukely and a number of others obtained permission to leave Salem, and went to Rhode Island. Stukely was the first named of the twelve grantees in the initial Deed of 1638, made by Roger Williams and his associates, know as the Proprietor's Company for Providence Plantations...
In March 1639 Stukely and eleven others organized the first Baptist Church of Providence, R.I., the first of the denomination in America. He became an inhabitant of Warwick, R.I.,before 1648; served as deputy to represent Warwick in the Colonial Assembly in 1651, 1655, 1660, 1662 and 1670; as member of the grand and petit juries frequently and as a member of numerous other committees. In 1664 he was authorized to keep an ordinary (inn) and to entertain when the King's Commissioners held court at Warwick. This vocation of inn-keeper was in early times frequently assumed by settlers who owned commodious houses at central points on the post-roads. (See Narragansett Historical Register #5)
Stukely died in 1677 at the age of 85 years, while visiting his daughter at Portsmouth.
Children:
1. Damaris was born ca 1621, Yeovil and married 17 Dec 1640 at Providence, R.I., Benedict Arnold I, who came to New England with his father William Arnold. They were the grandparents of Benedict, the traitor. They had nine children: Benedict...
2. Samuel, b Ilchester, Somerset, bpt 31 Mar 1622/3. Prob died young
3. Robert, b ca 1625/6 Somerset, was killed by Indians during King Phillip's War...
4. Amos, b prob Yeovil, 1631; died Warwick, R.I., after Jan 1686.
5. Mercy...
6. Jeremiah, b ca 1633; m Eleanor England" (1)
1) Padden, Mary Westcott; Ancestors and Descendants of Charles Lee Westcott (1985) p. 1-2
Once again, thank you very much.
John Hope
|
1742 - 1826 (84 years)
, d. Yes, date unknown 