Navorska tree » John Benjamin (1585-1645)

Personal data John Benjamin 

• He was born on March 21, 1585 in Sussex Co., Eng.
• He was christened on March 12, 1585 in Heathfield, Sussex Co., Eng.

  Attention: Baptized (March 12, 1585) before born (March 21, 1585) .

• (note1) .Source 1

  Source: Author: Rose Elysium, Melba Wofford, Wayne G. Crandall, Steven Martin, Larry Payne, James Stanton, et al.

• (Alt. Birth) about 1595 in somewhere in Eng.Source 1
• He died on June 14, 1645 in Watertown, Middlesex Co., MA, he was 60 years old.
• This information was last updated on June 10, 2023.

Household of John Benjamin

He is married to Abigail Eddy.

They got married about 1619 at Cranbrook, Kent Co., Eng.

Child(ren):

1. Caleb Benjamin  ± 1638-1684 

Notes about John Benjamin

John Benjamin

Sources: Author: Elysium,Rose; Wofford, Melba; Crandall, Wayne G.; Martin, Steven; Payne, Larry; Stanton, James; et al.; Title: "John Benjamin," (Publication site: Salt Lk. City UT, Publisher: Family Search, Publication date: xxx Mar MMXXIII)

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/9M44-YLT

"... John Benjamin Last Changed: March 2, 2023 James Stanton Sex Male Reason: Benjamin Family in America Last Changed: February 15, 2021 Fergy

Birth 21 March 1585 Sussex, England

Reason:

Given that John's parentage is UNKNOWN it follows that any specific birth or baptism or location for either would be UNKNOWN. Anderson in the "Great Migration" estimates a circa 1595 birth, which is an educated guess. Last Changed: May 30, 2023 Rose Elysium

Christening 12 March 1585 Heathfield, Sussex, England, ... Last Changed: May 15, 2023 Larry Payne

Death 14 June 1645 Watertown, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, ... Last Changed: May 13, 2023 Steven Martin

Emigration Ship "The Lyon" departed 22 June 1632 London, England Reason:
https://whipple.one-name.net/docs/lyon.html Last Changed: November 27, 2021 Wayne G. Crandall

Emigration Ship "The Lyon" arrived 16 September 1632 Boston, Harbour, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colony, ...

Reason:
https://whipple.one-name.net/docs/lyon.html

Spouses & Children

John Benjamin Male 1585 - 1645
Abigail Eddy Female 1601 - 1687
Marriage about 1619 Cranbrook, Kent, England

Children (8)

[1] John Benjamin Male 1620 - 1706
[2] Abigail Benjamin Female 1624 - 1704
[3] Mary Benjamin Female 1626 - 1646
[4] Joseph Benjamin Male 1633 - 1704
[5] Samuel Benjamin Male 1636 - 1669
[6] Caleb Benjamin Male 1638 - 1684
[7] Abel Benjamin Male 1640 - 1719
[8] Joshua Benjamin Male 1642 - 1684

We are fortunate that John has a listing in the most accurate of all collections regarding early New England settlers, the Great Migration series by Robert Charles Anderson. According to this source, we don't know exactly when or where John was born, or who his parents were. Anderson estimated that John was born about 1595, based on the idea that he was married about 1619 or 20, and may have been about 25 when he married, which is a pretty close average for men in those days.

John Benjamin in his will called John Eddy his brother, which has been interpreted to mean that John Benjamin and John Eddy were brother-in-laws. It is believed, then, that John Benjamin married about 1620 in England, Abigail Eddye, the daughter of Rev. William & Mary (Fosten) Eddye. Rev. Eddye was the Vicar of St. Dustan's, Cranbrook, England. Abigail was baptized in that parish in 1601.

John likely brought his wife and probably three children with him to New England. There is no detailed list of the females and children aboard the ship. There is only a list of those men who were required to take an oath of allegiance before boarding the Lyon. Among those were John Benjamin and Richard Benjamin. See attached under Sources. Richard may have been a much younger brother, or a nephew, or, quite frankly, unrelated.

John lived first in Cambridge but removed to Watertown by 1643.

John and Abigail had 8 known children, the oldest three probably in England: John Abigail Mary Joseph Samuel Caleb Abel Joshua

According to Anderson, estimating the birth dates and birth order of John and Abigail's children has proven very difficult. No christening records for his children born in England have been found, and none of his children born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony have birth records either, which is unusual.

In John Benjamin's will, he identifies only son John by name, and then vaguely refers to "seven other children." His only known daughters, Abigail and Mary, have been identified through Mary's will. Besides son John who was mentioned in the will, five other sons have been identified through various direct and indirect means - land deeds, probate documents, etc.

The book, The Benjamin family in America (see attached under Sources) has a lot of good information about John and his family. Where it differs in some detail, the entry in the Great Migration series is considered to be more accurate.

John built a home on 6 acres of land in Newton (later Cambridge). Gov. Winthrop described it as a "mansion"...unsurpassed in elegance and comfort by any in the vicinity. It was a mansion of intelligence, religion, and hospitality, visited by the clergy of all denominations and by the literate at home and abroad. On April 7, 1636, the home was badly damaged by fire.

About 1643 the family moved to Watertown, Mass. John was a member of the Church of Christ in Cambridge, and later of the First Church of Watertown. Records of 1642 say that John Benjamin owned the largest "homestall" of any one in town.

John died June 14, 1645 in Watertown, Mass.

Abigail died May 20, 1687, presumably at the home of her daughter, Abigail Benjamin Stubbs."
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