The Ancestry of Elizabeth Benham wife of John "Long" Burch

CHAPTER 16

THE BENHAM FAMILY of New England

The Benham Family originated in Devonshire, England with John Benham who landed at Nantasket, near Boston, Massachusettes, May 30, 1630. He settled in Dorchester (now South Boston), and were allotted land among the original proprietors. John Benham Senior was a brickmaker and the "town crier," and belonged to the Old South Church of Boston.

In 1638 the Benham family joined Eaton and Davenport's colony and were numbered among the seventy original families who colonized New Haven, Connecticut. A four-acre house lot and sixteen-acre out lot were assigned them. When John Benham died is unknown but thought to be crca 1605. His first wife by whom he had two sons is unknown. She died before July 1659 and he married again 16 November 1659, at Boston, to Margery, widow of Thomas Allcock, of Dedham, Massachusetts. They were married by Governor John Endicott. They were not married long before John Benham died in New Haven in1661. An inventory of his estate was taken in January 1662.

JOSEPH BENHAM and WINIFRED KING

Accused of Witchcraft

6^th Great Grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones

John Benham had a son named Joseph Benham born circa 1633 most likely at Dorcester. He was raised in the community of New Haven where he was convicted 23 March 1652 when he was about 18 years old "upon a complaint made to ye governor of sundrie [sundry] in ye Towne that had committed much wickedness in a filthy corrupting way with another.”

Six youths from the village “were examined in a private way, and their examination taken in wrighting [writing], wch [which] were of such a filthy nature as is not fitt to be made known in a publique [public] way: after which the Court were called together, and ye youthes before them; their examinations were read and vpon their severall confessions the Court, being mett at the meeting house vpon the day avoue [above] written, sentenced the youthes aboue [above] named to bee whipt publiquly."

The youths were Joseph Benham, Joshua Bradley, Benjamin Bunill, Thomas Kimberly, William Trobridg [Trowbridge], and Thomas Tutill [Tuttle]. At the age of 21 Joseph Behham took the oath of fidelity in 1654. Two years later on 15 November 1656 Joseph married in Boston, Massachusetts, Winifred King the daughter of John King and Mary Baker Hale. Winifred's mother was said to be Mary Hale, twice accused, but acquitted, of being a Witch in Boston, in 1681 and 1691. She was said to have owned a boarding house after her husband died and was also accused, though it was never proven, of poisoning her boarders.

Joseph Benham, in his mid thirties, moved to Wallingford in 1670 to the village of Wallingford, a few miles north of New Haven, and became an original proprietor of that town. He may have left New Haven on bad terms as that in Wallingford the Benhams continued to have a bad reputation in town. In his spare time, Joseph allegedly verbally bashed the local magistrates, and his wife Winifred was believed to use magic to inflict harm on children. While she would eventually be acquitted, her legacy as the Witch of Wallingford lived on. It all began in 1691, the year the Salem witch trials in Massachusetts when Joseph Benham was brought before the New Haven court for criticizing the magistrates, allegedly saying, “these people are no more fit to rule this government than dogs.” Woodward said Joseph Benham was “soundly put in his place” by the court.

A year later, however, in 1692, rumors began circulating about the nefarious activities of his wife, Winifred. By the time accusations were brought against Winifred, this was a family people had been talking about for a long time. This “family had been difficult members of the community for some time in ways that made people uncomfortable enough that they began to think of the wife as a possible witch.”

Author Cynthia Wolfe Boynton wrote in “Connecticut Witch Trials” that Goody Parker was the first to accuse Winifred King Benham of witchery. Joseph Benham allegedly threatened Parker for this, saying that if she continued to accuse his wife, “he’d load his gun with two bullets and use them both on her.” The threat led to Joseph and Winifred facing the courts, but the charges seemed to have been dropped, and suspicions surrounding the family persisted.

Court date November 1692: "Winifred Benham of Wallingford being summoned to appear at the Court for examination upon suspicion of witchcraft, was now present, and the witnesses were called to testify what they had to say in the case, and accordingly gave in their testimonies in writing which were read in the hearing of the said Winifred. And she being called to say what she had to say for herself, her general answer was, that she knew nothing of the matters testified, and was not concerned therein. She also gave in some testimonies for herself which were read.

The Court having heard and considered all the evidence against the said Winifred Benham and not finding sufficient grounds of conviction for further prosecution (at present) of the said Winifred, do therefor at this time dismiss the business, yet advising the said Winifred Benham solemnly to reflect upon the case, and grounds of suspicion given in the alleged against her, and told her if further grounds appear against her by reason of mischief done to the bodies or estate of any by any preternatural acts proved against her she might justly fear and expect to be brought to her trail for it."

Court dated June 1693: "Winifred Benham of Wallingford, her husband Joseph Benham being bound in a bond of 20 pounds for her appearance at this Court for further examination about Witchcraft, he was called and appeared, and the Court adjourned the case to their next session, and then upon notice given the parties to appear, and the said bond to continue for said appearance, which said Benham consented to.

In 1697, Winifred King Benham and her daughter Winifred Jr. were accused of witchcraft once again, this time by three local teenagers, who claimed she inflicted bodily harm on them in the form of “the appearance of spots.” Winifred King Benham and her daughter were brought before a grand jury in Hartford, but the case was dismissed. This was likely due to a modification in Connecticut’s standards for evidence of witchcraft, which was changed following a previous witch hunt in the 1660s. The result was that no one was executed in the state for witchcraft again. Even if the state stopped executing people for it, the general consensus was that “witchcraft was very, very real.

August 1697 "A special County Court by order of the Governor held at New Haven the 31st of August 1697. Present" Robert Treat, Esq., Governor: William Jones, Esq., Deputy Governor; Major Moses Mansfield, Assistant. Complaint being made to the Authority by Ebenezer Clark, Joseph Royce, and John Moss, Jr., all of Wallingord, against Winifred Benham, Jr. her daughter, that Sarah Clark daughter of said Ebenezer Clark, Elizabeth Lathrop, and John Moss, son of the said John Moss, Jr., were frequently and sorely afflicted in their bodies by the said Benham, mother and daughter, or their apparitions, and as they strongly suspect by their means or procurement by the Devil in their shapes, and therefor desire the Authority as God's Ordinace for their relief strictly to examine the said suspected persons in order to a due trial of them, that a stop may be put to their suffering and prevention of such mischiefs among them for the future.

The court having seriously considered the accusations and information on good testimony given in against Winifred Benham, Sr., and Winifred Benham, Jr., upon suspicion of them for witchcraft, they, or the devil in their shapes, afflicting sundry young persons above named, as formerly accused and suspected in the year 1692; and finding clear and sufficient grounds of suspicion against them after strict examination of the said persons apart and severally, see just cause to bind over the said Benham's mother and daughter to appear at the next court of Assistants in October next at Hartford in order to their further examination and trial personally and the husband of said Winifred Senior gave 40 pounds recognizance for their appearance accordingly, or that they be secured in prison for their said trial, and said Benham to pay the charge of this Court.

Court Charges, 21 shillings. Execution granted for said 21 shillings. Memorandum. The death of said (blank) young child to be inquired into, with what appeared of spots on said child and the like spots on said Benham quickly vanishing.

"In Robert Calef's "More Wonders," Published in 1700 appears the following "In August 1697. The Superior Court at Hartford, in the Colony of Connecticut, where one Mistress Benom was tried for Witchcraft, she had been accused by some children that pretended to the spectral sight; they watched her several times for Test: they tried the experiment of casting her into the Water, and after this she was Excommunicated by the minister of Wallingford.

Upon her Tryal [trial] nothing material appearing against her, save Spectre Evidence, she was acquitted, as also her daughter, a girl of Twelve or thirteen years old, who had been likewise accused; but upon renewed complaints against them, they both fled into New York Government."

The following comments were written by Donald Lines Jacobus concerning this incident: "The youthful accusers belonged to respectable families of Wallinford. John Moss (in his 15th year) was the son of John and Martha (Lathrop) Moss, grandson of John Moss, for many years a deputy to the General Court and Commissioner for Wallingford, and of Samuel Lathrop, Judge of the New London Court, and great-grandson of Rev. John Lathrop.

Elizabeth Lathrop (aged 19) was first cousin of John Moss, being daughter of John and Ruth (Royce) Lathrop; her father was dead and her cousin Joseph Royce may have joined in the complaint on her behalf.

Sarah Clark was aged 16. She had a brother born in 1694 who did not survive, but the date of his death is not recorded. The child who had spots and died was more probably a son of Joseph Royce, who died in December 1695 aged a few months.

The accused was Winifred King of Boston who married Joseph Benham of New Haven in 1657. They were among the first settlers in Wallingford in 1670. She was probably about 57 or 58 years old at the time of the 1697 accusation. Her daughter Winifred, the youngest of her 14 children, was then aged but 13.

Calef's assertion that continued suspicions drove mother and daughter to seek refuge in New York state is doubtless true. Unable to put their bad reputation behind them, the Benhams eventually ended up relocating to New York after the trial. Two of the Benham children, Joseph and James, remained in Wallingford, where the younger Joseph died in 1702. The elder Joseph Benham appears to have died the following year, but the probate entries are meagre and it is not certain whether his wife Winifred survived him.

There is some reason to believe that the elder Joseph and his wife died on Staten Island. The Benham realty in Wallingford was divided by agreements made between the heirs in 1727 and 1728. These show that the son John Benham was then resident in Kings County, N.Y., and that the three Benham daughters, Anna, Sarah, and Winifred, with their respective husbands, Lambert Johnson, Jacob Johnson, and Evert Van Namen, were living in Richmond, N.Y.

The records of the Dutch church on Staten Island contain mention of their families, and show that Lambert and Anna (Benham ) Johnson had a daughter Winifred Baptized in 1696. This was a year before the witchcraft accusation and since the elder Winifred then had a married daughter living on Staten Island, it was probably to this daughter's home that she fled; and some of the younger children either accompanied or followed her thither.

Calef's account of the case seems to be trustworthy so far as it can be verified, and we need not hesitate to accept his statement that Mrs. Benham was searched for witch marks, probably at the New Haven trial.

His assertion that the water test was applied is perhaps questionable. Mr. Jones one of the examining Magistrates, is known to have held the water test in slight esteem. However, it may have been applied at Mrs. Benham's own request.

Accused witches were no less superstitious than their accusers, and feeling confident of their own innocence, sometimes volunteered to undergo the water test, in the belief that it would prove them innocent. Nothing is known against the character of Mrs. Benham, and the family was of good repute, save for the suspicions of witchcraft. Two at least of her daughters named a child for their mother, which tends to show that they were fond of her. It is pleasing to learn that the young daughter, Winifred Junior, after passing through such terrifying experiences, was married to Evert Van Namen and reared a family in Richmond, New York."

JOHN BENHAM and ANNA NEELTJIE

5^th Grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones

John son of Joseph Benham and Winifred King was born November 3, 1671, in Wallingford, Connecticut. He moved with his family from Connecticut in 1697 and may have settled on Staten Island. He married a woman of Dutch ancestry named Anna Neeltje Kymber and moved to the westernmost end of Long Island to the village of Brooklyn.

JOHN BENHAM and GEATJE VAN DYKE

4^th Grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones

John Benham son of John Benham and Anna Neeltjie Kymber was born

16 May 1702 New Utrecht, Kings County, New York on Long Island.

Death 17 August 1784 Freehold, Monmouth, New Jersey, USA

John Benham married a Dutch woman named "Geatje" Van Dyke in New York Colony. He then moved to Monmouth County, New Jersey where he lived in Freehold Township during the Revolutionary War. After Geatje died he remarried a woman named Catherine who survived hum. At the June 28, 1778, Battle of Monmouth, near Freehold Township, General George Washington's soldiers battled the British under Sir Henry Clinton, in the longest land battle of the American Revolutionary War. It was at Monmouth that the tactics and training from Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben developed at Valley Forge during the winter encampment were first implemented on a large scale.

"John Benham's house and barn were wantonly tore and broke down as to render them useless by the British.”

Will of John Benham “In the name of God, Amen, August the seventeenth day, One-thousand, Seven- hundred and Eighty-four.  I, John Benham of the County of Monmouth in the Province of New Jersey, being sick and weak in body but of perfect mind and memory, thanks be given unto God, therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body and knowing that in appreciation of my final days, do make and ordain this my final Will and Testament, that is to say, principally and first of all, I give and recommend my soul into the hands of Almighty God that gave it and my body to the Earth to be buried in a decent and Christian burial at the discretion of my executor. Nothing doubting but at the general resurrection I shall receive the Lord again by the mighty power of God, and as touching such worldly estate wherein it has pleased God to bless me in this life, I give, devise and dispose of the same in manner and form following:

• Imprimis, I give and bequeath to my grandson, John Benham, son of Peter Benham, the sum of five shillings.

• Item. I give and bequeath to my son Joseph Benham the sum of ten pounds to be paid six months after the death of his mother by my executor.

• Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Anna Taylor after my decease one Negro girl named Nan.

• Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Hendrica Van Dyke after my decease one Negro named Bett.

• Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Elizabeth Couvenhoven after my decease one Negro girl named Yafe.

• Item. I give and bequeath to my daughter, Catherine Van Horn after my decease one Negro named Rofe.

• Item. I give and bequeath unto my well beloved wife, Catherine Benham the full use and benefit of all land and tenements and the remaining part of all my goods and chattels, moveable or immovable, during her natural life, and after my wife's decease it is my will and desire that all and every part of real and personal estate be sold by my executor and equally divided between my daughters, Anne Taylor, Hendrica Van Dyke, Elizabeth Couvenhoven, Catherine Van Horn, and my grandchildren of my daughter Mary Clayton named Robert Clayton and John Clayton and Sally, wife of Ammoriah Morris, and Hannah, wife of William Van Horn, they having one share except the old wench, Rofe. My will is that she is free after my wife's death.

I do likewise make and ordain Hendrica, Sarah and Garret Vandiveer my sole executors of this, my Last Will and Testament, and I hereby utterly disallow, revoke and disclaim all and every other former testaments, wills, legacies, bequeaths and executors by me in any ways before named wills and bequeaths, ratifying and confirming this, and no other to be my last will and testament.

In Witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal this day and year above written. John Benham (Mark) Signed and Sealed in the presence of: John Van Cleve Hendrick Smock Joseph Hilyer

He died on 17. Aug. 1784 at Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey, at age 92. The Inventory of John Benham was taken by Joseph Clayton and David Covenhoven on 3. May. 1785. His estate was proved on 20. May. 1785.

PETER BENHAM and ANNA JAMES

3^rd Grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones

Peter Benham the son of John and Geatje" Van Dyke Benham

Born 1 January 1725 Freehold Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey Colony

Died 12 JUNE 1780 Cameron Parish, Loudoun, Virginia, United States.

He married circa 1747 Anna James the daughter of Robert James a wealthy Planter of Freehold Township. She died about 1658 in New Jersey. They had seven children. The will of Robert James dated 19 September 1774 mentions legacies left to grandchildren John, Peter, Richard, Ann, and Catherine Benham. They were each left £20. After the death of his first wife he remarried 24 February 1761 Catherine Wessel.

Peter Benham at the age of 51 years served in the 3rd Virginia Regiment during the Revolutionary War. He enlisted 8 February 1776 and signed up for two years and was mustered out 1 April 1778 from Company 6. His health must have been compromised as that he died two years later at the age of 55 at his plantation in Loudon County, Virginia.

The Wright brothers who invented the airplane descend from Peter and Anna James Benham through their daughter Catherine Benham. She married John Van Cleve and had a daughter, Margaret Van Cleve. She married George Reeder and they had a daughter Catherine Reeder. She married Dan Wright and they had a son Milton Wright. He married Susan Koerner and were the parents of Orville and Wilbur Wright.

JOHN BENHAM and MARGARET FOWLER

2^nd Grandparents of Josie Cronkhite Jones

John Benham son of John and Anna James Benham

Born 16 May 1748 Freehold, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States

Died 08 July 1782 Cameron Parish Loudoun CO, VA

Wife Margaret Fowler daughter of William B Fowler and Elisabeth Griffin [1751–1782]

Birth 1751 • New Jersey, Monmouth, New Jersey, United States

Death 1782 • Loudon, Virginia, USA

John Benham married Margaret Fowler circa 1769 in New Jersey and had at least 5 children before he died about 34 years old. He received £20 from his grandfather Robert James which he acknowledged 1 October 1775. He served as a Sergeant in the 3rd Virginia Regiment as did his father. Their daughter Elizabeth Benham was orphaned at the age of five years old and was raised by a family by the name of Toiles until she married John “Long” Burch.