Benjamin Fordham (abt. 1665 - bef. 1717)

Born about 1665 in London, Middlesex, England [uncertain]

Ancestors

Husband of Lydia (Jennett) Fordham — married 1697 in Philadelphia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, British Colonial America

Descendants

Died before 10 Feb 1717 before about age 52 in Annapolis, Anne Arundel, Province of Maryland

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Biography

Benjamin Fordham was a Maryland colonist.

Origin

No birth record for Benjamin Fordham has been found. He was likely born in England around 1665. The actual year of his arrival in Maryland is not known, but he was living in Maryland 5 MAR 1701 when his daughter Margaret was born. On 20 JUN 1702 the attorneys for Walter Dickinson of Hertford, tobbaconist, registered a bankruptcy notice among Anne Arundel Deeds to recover from Benjamin Fordham at Annapolis what is owed Dickinson.^[1]

Property

On 8 MAR 1705 Charles Carrol of Annapolis conveyed to Benjamin Fordham, gent. also of Annapolis two lots with a brewery and dwelling house already built with all the brewing implements for a total of £150.^[2]

Marriage & Family

Benjamin Fordham married Lydia Jennett. (source needed). They were the parents of the following children whose births were recorded in one entry in St. Ann's parish in Annapolis in 1708.

Benjamin Ffordham and Lydia parents of:

1. Margaret dau. b. 29 JUL 1698 at Phila. about noon
2. Lydia dau b. 5 MAR 1701 at Annapolis about midnight
3. Benjamin son b. 18 MAY 1703 at Annapolis about 1 a.m.
4. John son b. 20 OCT 1704 at Annapolis about 1 a.m.
5. Joseph son b. 3 DEC 1705 at Annapolis
6. Sarah dau. b. 3 OCT 1708 at 5 a.m.^[3]
7. Richard (named in will)
8. James (named in will)

Death

Benjamin Fordham apparently died in Philadelphia while on a business trip. His will is recorded in Pennsylvania and among the Anne Arundel Land Records.

Benjamin Fordham of Annapolis Maryland, gentleman, wrote his will 11 Aug 1716, proved 24 Apr 1718. He named his children and appointed James "Parrok" of Philadelphia, shipwright, the executor. Witnesses were Edward Roberts, Edward Jones and John Cadwalader.^[4]

We know James Parrock was Benjamin's brother-in-law from the will of Bridget Jennett; they married Jennett sisters. (source needed)

Sources

1. ↑ Anne Arundel Deeds Liber WT 2 folio 1
2. ↑ Anne Arundel Deeds Liber WT 2 folio 327
3. ↑ Wright, F. Edward, “Anne Arundel County Church Records of the 17th & 18th Centuries” Westminster, MD: Willow Bend Books 2002.
4. ↑ Wright, F. Edward, and Historical Society of Pennsylvania, eds. Abstracts of Philadelphia County Wills: 1682-1726. (Westminster, Md: Family Line Publications, 1995), page 173. Citing D. 94.