William Bennett (abt. 1626 - 1712)

Born about 1626 in Berwick St John, Wiltshire, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 14 Jan 1712 at about age 86 in Twyford, Wiltshire, England

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Biography

"This William (II), as if determined to make up for his brother's bachelorhood, married twice. His first wife, recorded at the Heralds' College as "Mary dau. of Geo. Mullens, of Bovington, Co. Dorset and afterwards of Bradford in said Co., Gent." died a year after marriage in giving birth to a daughter. By his second wife Jenevora Franke, he had a son and a daughter. It was this son, also called William, that became the heir and the head of the family."^[1]

Died at Twyford. ^[2]

Buried 14 January, 1711-2. ^[3]

"William Bennett Gent. (b. 1626-1712) of Semley, Co. Wilts. 1684, and afterwards of property he bought known as Whiteings, in the Parish of Compton Abbas, Dorset 1692. Baptized at Berwick St. John, 1626. William became possessed of the Calehouse Estate after the death of his eldest brother, Thomas [Victoria, History of Wiltshire, vol.xiii, p.74]; will dated 30 May 1684; living Jul 1704; died at Twyford, and buried at Berwick St. John, 1712; M.I. [College of Arms] Mention as Cousin William in the will of William Bennett (d. 1699); a deed was signed in Shaftesbury in 1696 by a William Bennett Senior." ^[4]

William inherited Cale House or Callis Place from his brother Thomas.

“In 1558–9 William Gray held an estate called CALLIS place. (fn. 243) Lands perhaps formerly part of the estate may have been held in 1572 by James Mervyn (fn. 244) (knighted in 1574, d. 1611). They passed, apparently with Fonthill Gifford manor, to Mervyn Tuchet, earl of Castlehaven, (fn. 245) who in 1623 sold Callis place to Thomas Benett of Pythouse. In 1631 Benett granted the lands to his third son William (d. 1661), who devised them to his wife Agnes for her life. On her death they passed in turn to her sons Thomas (d. 1667) and William Benett (d. 1712). William was succeeded by his son William (d. 1729), whose daughter-in-law Parthenia Benett (fn. 246) held the lands as Callis farm, 41 a., in 1769. (fn. 247) The farm apparently passed to the younger William's son John (d. 1772), after whose death it was bought by Thomas Benett of Pythouse. (fn. 248) Thereafter it was part of the Pythouse estate. Lands formerly of Callis place may have been among those of Oysters farm, sold by trustees of Evelyn Fane-Benett-Stanford c. 1950. (fn. 249)”^[5]

N.B.: The "younger William" above also had a son William who predeceased his father in 1724, less than a year into his marriage to Parthenia who held the lands in 1769 (she died in 1770). John, who died in 1772, was his younger brother.

Sources

1. ↑ Memoir of the Bennett Family of South Wilts, John Bennett, undated, privately printed, p. 37 [1]
2. ↑ "dyed at Twyford 14 Jan 1712 but buryed at Berrick" Compton Abbas buria Burials 1640 - 1714 Transcribed by Sue Stead from the originals at the Dorset History Centre DHC: Ref PE/COA/RE 1/1: MIC/R/503
3. ↑ Name William Bennett Event Type Burial Event Date 14 Jan 1711 Event Place Compton-Abbas, Compton-Abbas, Dorset, England "England, Dorset, Parish Registers, 1538-1936," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJD4-PLQR : accessed 5 March 2016), William Bennett, 14 Jan 1711; Burial, citing Compton-Abbas, Compton-Abbas, Dorset, England, Record Office, Dorchester; FHL microfilm 2,427,490.
4. ↑ see Ben(n)et(t) of Pythouse, Tisbury, Wiltshire, A Supplemental Genealogy, a collaborative work . BEN(N)ET(T) OF PYTHOUSE —A SUPPLEMENTAL GENEALOGY—Part ONE lists descendants of William Putte (Pyt) alias Bennet(t) [1225] of Pythouse, Tisbury, Wiltshire. To that end, many related and possibly related Bennetts have been researched. “There are records of numbers of Bennetts all round this part of Wiltshire in the 16th Century and onwards, as is testified by the Parish registers of Fonthill (3 miles from Pythouse), Iwerne Minster, Compton Abbas, Tollard Royal, Sturminster Newton and so on. They were nearly all farmers and parsons. The Parish Registers of St. James’ Shaftesbury records nearly 100 births, deaths and marriages of Bennetts between 1587 and 1720, and there are four memorials to Bennetts in this church.” G. Kingdon, A GUIDE TO PYTHOUSE, 5.7.68, (pp.16-17)] The APPENDICES list Bennetts who may be possibly related to Pythouse.The genealogy of the Ben(n)et(t) families of Pythouse and Norton Bavant were researched by John Montague Benett-Stanford—and his tree is displayed at Pythouse. During an approximate 800 years descent from William, Pythouse Bennet(t)s have dispersed widely, settled abroad; and even have intermarried with other regional Ben(n)et(t) families. Initial connections among the various South Wiltshire and Dorset Ben(n)et(t) lines are currently unknown; but what is known is listed in the Appendices Since the advent of internet publishing and email, much data has become available; and in this manner, the following probable Pythouse descendants have come to share their family histories and pedigrees: John Charles Bennett , Leslie Brian Bennett Excell, William Guy Randell Stevens, John Frank Bennett (A Memoir of the Bennett Family of South Wilts), Amanda Le Couteur Bennett, Frederick Bennett, Benny Charles Bennett, Bradley C. Gray, Robin Kaye Wilson, David Wayne Kuykendall, Peter John Bennett, Robert Moody
5. ↑ https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol13/pp66-79