 - Dec
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| Name |
John Bridgham [1, 2] |
| Gender |
Male |
| Death |
Dec |
| Notes |
- In the preceding article, mention was made of a reference in the Boyd Marriage Index of Suffolk at the Society of Genealogists' Library in London to the marriage in 1629 between John Bridgham and Elizabeth "Benedick" at Woolpit in Suffolk. The entry in the original Parish Register of Woolpit reads: "1629, 8th September. John Bridgham & Elizabeth Benedict widow " [This is the only Bridgham or Benedict entry at Woolpit]. We have here, I think, a clue to the true parentage and county of birth of Thomas Benedict, who was born in England in 1617, came to New England about 1638, and settled successively at Southold, Huntington, and Jamaica, Long Island, ana at Norwalk, Conn., where he died between 28 Feb. 1689/90 and 18 March following . Thomas Benedict, who was a prominent man in each of the towns in which he lived, married Mary "Bridgum," and by her had issue nine children: Thomas, John, Samuel, James, Daniel, Elizabeth, Mary, Sarah, and Rebecca. According to family tradition, set down in his old age by Deacon James Benedict of Ridgefield, Conn., a grandson of Thomasl and Mary Benedict, the Benedict family came from the county of Nottingham, and Thomas was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of men named William Benedict. Deacon James Benedict further averred that Thomas's mother died, and his father then married "the widow Bridgum," who by a previous marriage had had a daughter Mary, who later became Thomas Benedict's wife. Now, Deacon James Benedict was a worthy but muddleheaded old gentleman. There is not the slightest trace of a Benedict family anywhere in any Nottinghamshire records, and we may be quite sure that no Benedict ever lived in that county. On the other hand, Deacon James Benedict's mother was a Gregory, and his maternal ancestors, the Gregory family, did indeed come from Nottinghamshire. This is the explanation of one confusion in the Deacon's recollections.
It seems altogether likely that Deacon James Benedict was also mixed up regarding the step-relationship of his paternal grandparents, Thomasl and Mary Benedict. No evidence has been found that a man named Benedict married a widow Bridgham , but in the Parish Registers of olpit we have found the marriage of a John Bride-ham to Elizabeth Benedict, widow, on 8 Sept. 1629. It seems very likely indeed that we have here the record of marriage of the widowed father of Mary "Bridgum" to the widowed mother of Thomas Benedict. The additional note in the marriage entry, "came both out of Norfolke," is further confirmation to our identification, for Norfolk and London are the only two localities in Englarid where the very rare name of Benedict is to be found in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. [3]
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| Person ID |
I25348 |
Mindrum |
| Last Modified |
3 Jul 2020 |
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| Sources |
- [S2770] Benedict/Hunloke/Hunlocke Connection, Roberta B. Pierson, editor Mary Alice Benedict Grindol, The Benedict Family History News, Volume 5, No. 3, Winter 1998, pp. 29-42.
- [S4844] John Coddington, The American Genealogist, 1957, Vol. 33, pp. 120-121, Note on Bridgham and Thomas Benedict of Norwalk, p. 121.
- [S4844] John Coddington, The American Genealogist, 1957, Vol. 33, pp. 120-121, Note on Bridgham and Thomas Benedict of Norwalk.
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