John Benson born about 1635 in Caversham, Oxford; died Rochester, Massachusetts 1712

John Benson was born in England about 1635. He was less than four years old when he migrated to Plymouth Colony in 1638 on the Confidence, which left Southampton in April, with his parents, John and Mary, and sister Mary. The passenger list spells the name Binson from “Consham” in Oxfordshire. Fred Benson wrote that Consham is an error deciphering old handwriting and should be Caversham. In 1911 the village, which is located on the River Thames, was transferred to Berkshire and became part of the borough of Reading. The family first lived at Hingham and removed to Hull by 1657. John Benson is my 9th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Davis’ side of the family.

About 1664 John married, likely in Hull, a woman whose name is unknown. They lived at Hull until about 1680 when John sold the land to his brother Joseph and removed to Rochester where he purchased land from original grantee John Dunham. On 16 January 1698/99 he was assigned a lot in the right of the “share he bought of John Dunham.” (Proprietors’ Records 1:33)  

The Rochester grant included present towns of Mattapoisett, Westport, Rochester, Marion, and Wareham and was granted to 33 people in 1679 who were from towns including Sandwich, Scituate, Plymouth, Hull, and Hingham. 

Grace Hildy Croft and Ethel Farrington Smith wrote (see Sources below) that John married Elizabeth Marsh from Salem. I spent time research Elizabeth’s interesting ancestry and found a lack of evidence for that claim. Robert Charles Anderson in The Great Migration Begins states John Benson’s identity as Elizabeth Marsh is unsubstantiated. 

The Benson’s seven children were born at Hull.  Although their births are not recorded, they are identified through various land transfers. My research on the children is a definite work in progress:

John born about 1665 in Hull, Massachusetts; married Elizabeth Briggs

Joseph born about 1667 in Hull; married Charity Clapp, Deborah Smith, and Lydia ——- 

Isaac born about 1669 in Hull; m. Mary Bumpus

Jacob born about 1671 in Hull; m. Experience Bryant 

Hannah born about 1672 in Hull; m. John Hunt

Benjamin born about 1675 in Hull; m. Elizabeth Bryant

William born about 1680 in Hull; m. Elizabeth Stetson

I descend from John. 

John Benson took the oath of allegiance at Hull and was made a freeman in Plymouth County in 1682.

He received a considerable amount of land from his father John Benson, whose will was written 16 April 1678 and proved 1 March 1679. He and his brother Joseph received land, the house lot, orchard and barns. He also was to receive a double portion of the meadows after his mother Mary/Marah’s death. John and Joseph were both to pay five pounds to each of their sisters Combs and Hall and to the children of their sister Shore, deceased. 

An entry in Rochester records reads “Feb 16, 1680, Pd. Goodman Benson for attending Court.”This likely refers to town business he performed at Plymouth Court, and shows he was a resident of Rochester from the very first and that he was a respected citizen.

John Benson Jr is mentioned on page three in the first volume of Rochester records (1680) and frequently thereafter in land transfers. On 7 September 1700 he transferred part of his Rochester lands. In 1708 and on 4 Jan 1709/10 he conveyed lands in Rochester to his son John and is called John Benson Sen of Middleborough. This was probably the residue of his estate and indicates that his homestead lands were in that part of Rochester which was set off to Middleborough in the adjusting of the town boundaries.

John Benson and John Randall were partners in a wood lot which they divided in the winter of 1694/5 (Proprietors’ Records 2:5-7). 

John Benson died 10 March 1711/12 at Rochester (Rochester Vital Records, p 348). He was about 77 years old. Since the area of Rochester where he lived became Middleborough, Perhaps he was buried at Nemasket Hill Cemetery but no stone for him survives. He did not leave a will; he likely divided all his lands before his death but not all of the gifted land deeds were recorded. 

Sources Not Mentioned Above:

William Richard Cutter editor, New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial, 1914

Charles Edward Banks, The Planters of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1620-1640,1930, Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Reprint c. 2006

Ethel Farrington Smith, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, “17th Century Hull, Massachusetts and Her People,” July 1988

Grace Hildy Croft, The Benson family; descendants of Isaac Benson and Mary Bumpas, and allied families: Archer, Bumpas, Howard, Knapp, Lewis, Luce, Meech, Milks, Potter, Reynolds, Waite, Whipple, Williams, et al, 1973

Andrew H. Ward, New England Historical and Genealogical Register, ”First Settlers at Hingham." 2:251 (1848)

Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration, Immigrants to New England, 1634-1635, 2005

Fred A Benson, Benson Family Records, 1920

Samuel Gardner Drake, Founders of New England, p 39 lists passengers of the ship Confidence of London