Elisha Benson (ca 1763-1811) and his Wife Sophia/Zerviah Nye (b 1763) of Middleborough & Rochester, Mass., and Woodstock & Pomfret Vermont

Elisha Benson was born about 1763, probably at Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the son of Elisha and Sarah (Stewart) Benson. [Benson] I wrote about Elisha and Sarah here. Elisha is my 5th great-grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family. Elisha is one of those ancestors for whom I have more questions than answers due to the lack of records found. 

Elisha Benson and Zerviah Nye were married 14 July 1783 at Rochester. [Rochester Vital Records 2:34] Marriage intentions of “Mr. Elisha Benson” of Middleboro and “Miss Sevier Nye”” of Rochester were published 13 May 1783. [Massachusetts Vital Records/Middleborough 2:102] The Rochester marriage intention gives the groom’s name as Isaac Benson, likely a transcription error.

Zerviah Nye was born 8 November 1763 at Rochester, the daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Irish) Nye. [Rochester VR 1:227] Her name is spelled in many ways and later she used Sophia as seen in several of her adult children’s death records.

Zerviah/Sophia and Elisha had at least six children whose births are not recorded. They are shown to be Elisha’s children by parent names on death records (children 1 and 5) and/or court guardianship records (children 2-6):

1. Levi born 14 August 1790 at Middleborough (date derived from his age at death). He married Lydia Holmes 19 June 1814 at Woodstock, Vermont [Benson]. He died 20 August 1867 at Woodstock, age 77; parents given as Elisha and Sophia Benson. [Vermont Vital Records/Woodstock on microfilm]
2. Luther born about 1795. He was a minor over age 14 when Joel English was appointed his guardian on 7 April 1813. He married Martha Stiles. [Benson]
3. Stephen born about 1798. He was a minor over age 14 on 7 April 1813 when Ebenezer Holmes was named his guardian on 7 April 1813. He married Olive Drew on 5 February 1828 at Woodstock. [Vermont VR Marriages B to 1871, page 10566] He died Woodstock 9 May 1837 at age 39. [Vermont Deaths B 1871-1908, page 8573] He’s buried Prosper Cemetery, Woodstock.
4. Leonard born August 1800 based on his age at death. He was a minor under 14 when Ebenezer Holmes was appointed his guardian on 7 April 1813. He married Ebenezer’s daughter Lydia Holmes of Woodstock on 19 June 1814. [Woodstock VRs on microfilm] He died 7 January 1877 age 78 years and 6 days. His death record gives his birthplace as Middleborough, Mass. and his parents as Levi and Lidda (Holmes) Benson, so perhaps his older brother helped raise him; Levi is too young to actually be his father. [Vermont Register of Deaths 1867, page 9, number 48]
5. Amelia born 10 May 1803 at Woodstock [calculated from age at death]. She married about 1825 Isaac Benson. She died Plymouth, Mass., on 25 February 1880. [Plymouth VR] Her death record gives her parents as Elisha and Sophia (Nye) Benson. 
6. Sylvia Benson born about 1804 at Woodstock. On 7 April 1814 she was a minor under age 14 when her mother Patty Benson was named her guardian.  

I descend from Amelia. I wrote about Amelia and Isaac Benson here. It is likely they had more children given the gap between their 1783 marriage date and the 1790 birth of Levi. One possible child is Elisha Benson who in the 1810 census is living in Pomfret, where the elder Elisha died a year later. There are two people in the household, a male and a female, both age 16-25.

Since Sylvia’s mother is identified as Patty in court guardianship record, I initially thought Elisha had a second wife but it seems unlikely given the closeness of age between Sylvia and her sister Amelia.

Elisha Benson Jr. of Middleborough purchased land near his dwelling house in “the South Purchase” on 26 April 1789. [Plymouth County Deeds 88:220] On 17 February 1795 Elisha Benson with Stephen Gibbs purchased land in Middleborough next to this land and divided the land on 10 April 1797. [Plymouth County Deeds 88:220]

In November 1791 at the Plymouth Court of Common Pleas, John Putnam (Sutton physician) attached Elisha Benson (Middleborough Yeoman) on a 16-month note dated 4 May 1790 for £5 2s 2d “lawful Silver Money…six months without interest then interest till paid.” Plaintiff said that defendant’s failure to pay was to his damage of £12. Default by defendant; judgment for £5 9s and £2 3s costs. Appealed by defendant but no further record. [Plymouth Court records 1686-1859 10:190] I find this puzzling because Sutton is in Worcester County, quite a distance from Middleborough. I also do not know whether this refers to Elisha Sr. or Jr.

Elisha and Sophia moved their family to Pomfret/Woodstock, Windsor County, Vermont. His father had also removed to Woodstock.

In the 1810 census Elisha Benson is living in Woodstock. The eight household members fits nearly perfectly to be Elisha Jr., although one of his young daughters is not included and there is perhaps an unknown older daughter included. The household members: 1 male under 10 [Leonard]; 1 male 10-15 [Stephen]; 2 males 16-25 [Luther and Levi]; 1 male 26-44 [Elisha; perhaps his estimated birth is off by a few years]; 1 female under 10 [Amelia or Sylvia]; 1 female 26-44 [Sophia or an older unknown child]; 1 female 45 and over [perhaps Sophia].

Elisha Benson Jr. died at Pomfret 12 April 1811. His father Elisha Benson Sr. evidently died early in 1813. [Benson]

It appears that Elisha Sr. and his wife took in their grandchildren and perhaps their daughter-in-law after their son Elisha’s 1811 death. It makes sense these are Elisha Jr’s children, but the records don’t state that specifically. [Hartford Probate District, Windsor Co VT, 4:427, 428, 446, 5:74, 6:78]

• On 7 April 1813, Ebenezer Holmes was appointed administrator of the estate of Elisha Benson Sr. of Woodstock, at the request of his widow Sarah Benson. 
• At the same time Ebenezer was also appointed administrator of the estate of Elisha Benson Jr. of Pomfret. 
• On this same date Ebenezer was appointed guardian of Stephen Benson, a minor over age 14 as well as Leonard Benson and Amelia Benson, both minors under age 14, all heirs of Elisha Benson of Woodstock.
• On the same day Joel English was appointed guardian of Luther Benson a minor over the age of 14 and heir of Elisha Benson of Woodstock.
• It seems that these heirs who were born around 1800 are grandchildren since Elisha Sr. was born in 1730/1. It aligns that they are Elisha Jr.’s children since he died before Elisha Sr. and their estates were being settled simultaneously.
• On 7 April 1814 Silvia Benson, a minor under 14 and an heir to the estate of Elisha Benson Jr of Pomfret—her mother Patty Benson was named her guardian. This is puzzling because her mother would have been Sophia/Zerviah. 

I have not found a death record for Zerviah/Sophia Benson.

Sources:

Richard H. Benson, The Benson Family of Colonial Massachusetts, Newbury Street Press, 2003

George Hyatt Nye & Frank E. Best, A Genealogy of the Nye Family, 1907

John Benson (ca 1660/65 to after 1725) of Hull and Rochester, Massachusetts and His Wife Elizabeth Briggs

John Benson was born about 1660-65 (estimated by approximate age at birth of first child) probably at Hull in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, the eldest son of John Benson and his wife whose name is unknown (although there is a great deal of unsubstantiated information about her identity out there). I wrote about his father John here. John is my 8th great grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Ellis Davis’ side of the family.

John’s birth was unrecorded and his father did not leave a will, but he is shown to be the son of John Benson through deeds. In 1708 and 1710 John Benson Sr of Middleborough conveyed lands including his homestead in Rochester to his son John. It seems John Benson Senior lived in a part of Rochester that became Middleborough when town boundaries were adjusted.

John Benson married Elizabeth Briggs by 1687. I have not found a record of their marriage, but a land transaction supports the relationship. John Benson, Jr., of Rochester, 21 March 1704/05, sold for 10 pounds to “to my honored father, Samuel Briggs,” his sea lot number 7 at Rochester consisting of 40 acres.  John signed the deed, rather than using a mark, so he was literate. (Plymouth County Land Records, vol 14, p 42)

Elizabeth Briggs was born Sandwich 3 April 1665, the daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth (Ellis) Briggs. (The Mayflower Descendant, “Sandwich, Mass., Vital Records,” 14:174)

Elizabeth and John had 11 children in 18 years, including two sets of twins (Rochester Vital Records, p. 34): 

Mary born 10 March 1688

Sarah born 15 July 1690

Ebenezer born Rochester 16 March 1693

John born 10 June 1696
Benjamin 16 Much 1697 (twin)

Joseph born 16 March 1697 (twin)

Bennett born 10 September 1698

Martha born 5 March 1703

Caleb born 29 Jan 1704 (twin)

Joshua born 29 Jan 1704 (twin)

Samuel born 22 March 1706

I descend from Ebenezer who married Joanne Andrews.

I have not found death records for John and Elizabeth, but John died after 1 May 1724 when John Benson of Rochester was surety concerning the estate of Thomas Hatch. 

I have maddeningly sketchy information on John! I just ordered a copy of The Benson Family of Colonial Massachusetts by Richard Benson, but it’s print on demand so will take a few months. Fingers crossed it offers more details on John and Elizabeth! 

Sources Not Included Above:

David Hamblen (communicated by) NEHGS Register, “First Settlers of Rochester,” vol 5, p. 85 (1851)

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

Ethel Farrington Smith, NEHGS Register, “17th Century Hull, Massachusetts and Her People,” July 1988

RA Lovell Jr, Sandwich A Cape Cod Town, 1984

Edna Anne Hannibal (compiler) John Briggs of Sandwich, Massachusetts and His Descendants, 1962

George Bowman (editor) The Mayflower Descendant, “Estate of Josiah Hatch3 of Rochester, Mass.,” 27:99

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

Moses Benson 1774-1822, and his Wife Experience Gibbs of Middleborough, Mass. and Woodstock Vermont

Moses Benson was born Middleborough, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, 16 Oct 1774, to Elisha and Sarah (Stewart) Benson. He is my 5th great grandfather on my grandfather Arthur Washburn Davis’ side of the family.

On 15 May 1796 he married Miss Experience Gibbs at Middleborough, both of Middleborough. (Middleborough VR, vol 2, p 159)  Neither the record of marriage or marriage intentions lists their parents. William Cutter wrote (see sources) that Experience was born 15 Mar 1776 at Sandwich, Barnstable County, Massachusetts, but I have not confirmed this. Her parents are a mystery to me, although I would think she’s a descendant of Thomas 1 Gibbs of Sandwich. To further muddy the waters, there is a later Experience Gibbs born 1797 who also married a Moses Benson. 

Moses and Experience moved to Woodstock, Windsor County, Vermont where most of their children were born. There are quite a few Middleborough families who moved to Woodstock and many familiar Plymouth Colony surnames. Cutter wrote that Moses and Experience lived briefly at nearby Bridgewater, Vermont, before settling on a farm in Woodstock soon after 1797, where they were one of the pioneering families.

Source: History of Woodstock by Dana

Moses and Experience and nine children:

Ebenezer born 14 Feb 1797, Middleborough

Samuel born 07 Jun 1799, Woodstock Vermont (marriage record) or Middleborough (death record)

Moses born 09 Jul 1801, Bridgewater Vermont, died age 16

Hosea born 24 Apr 1803, Woodstock

Isaac born 03 Jul 1805, Woodstock 

John born 12 Apr 1807, Woodstock, died at 14 months

David born 06 Jul 1810, Woodstock, died at 3 months

Lydia born 12 Feb 1812, Woodstock

Susan born 14 Jul 1818, Woodstock

I descend from Isaac who married his cousin Amelia Benson and moved to Plymouth, Mass, where they raised their family. I wrote about that couple here.

1810 Federal census, Woodstock, VT:
Moses Benson head of household

Free White Persons - Males - Under 10: 3

Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 2

Free White Persons - Males - 26 thru 44 : 1

Free White Persons - Females - 26 thru 44: 1

Number of Household Members Under 16: 5

Number of Household Members Over 25: 2

Number of Household Members:  7

1820 Federal Census, Woodstock VT:

Moses Benson head of household 

Enumeration Date: August 7, 1820

Free White Persons - Males - 10 thru 15: 1

Free White Persons - Males - 45 and over: 1

Free White Persons - Females - Under 10: 2

Free White Persons - Females - 45 and over : 1

Free White Persons - Under 16: 3

Free White Persons - Over 25: 2

Total Free White Persons: 5

Total All Persons - White, Slaves, Colored, Other: 5

This census indicates that either Isaac or Hosea are living away from home at this time. 

The 1800 Federal Census, Brookline, Windham Co., VT has a Moses Benson but seems unlikely he is this Moses as he had two children by this time and only one is listed in the census, plus I’ve seen no mention of Brookline in other sources. 

Moses Benson died 27 Feb 1822, age 47, at Woodstock, after an illness which prompted him to write his will the June before. 

source: Findagrave.com

Experience Benson, wife of Moses Benson, died 16 Jan 1834, age 59, at Woodstock. They are buried at Prosper Cemetery (Find a Grave memorial Moses ID 79244269; Experience ID 79244298).  A later index entry of her death record from 1919 does not list her parents’ names. 

source: findagrave.com

Moses’ will is dated 1 June 1821. He was unwell when he wrote the will at age 46 and died about eight months later at age 47. He names wife Experience, sons Hosea, Isaac, Ebenezer and Samuel; daughters Susannah and Lydia. His friend and executor Robert Cone was made legal guardian to Hosea, Isaac, Susannah, and Lydia who were all minors. He left his farm to Hosea and Isaac and they were to eventually pay other siblings $25 each and provide for their mother and younger sisters. If they didn’t agree to the terms, the farm would go to another sibling in a specific order with that person paying the others $25. The inventory includes Woodstock land of 82.5 acres with buildings thereon, livestock, farm implements, household items including a tea set, maple sap, and barrels of cider. His estate was considered insolvent and the list of claims against the estate came to $121. Perhaps Moses bartered for many goods and services and didn’t have much cash on hand. Plus he was ill for some time so his livelihood which depended on his health must have suffered. The Windsor Gazetteer from 1883/84 mentions that his son Hosea did take over his farm on Road 17, so good to know that wasn’t lost in the settling of his debt. 

According to the 1883/4 Woodstock Gazetteer, Moses married Experience Gibbs, reared nine children, and was one of the twelve men who established the Christian Church in town. The area where Moses and Experience lived was called English Mills, situated about 2.5 miles from the Court House, on a branch of the Quechee formerly called Beaver Brook, then Barnard Brook or North Branch. It is named after an early settler, Joel English, who came from Andover, Connecticut, and the fact there was a grist mill and a saw mill in the area. Early settlers lived in log houses, later replaced by frame structures. Robert Cone, Moses’ friend, neighbor, estate executor, and guardian to his minor children, farmed and made boots and shoes. Cone was a man of evenness of temper and careful judgment who lost all of his children to fever and lived to age 85. 

Sources Not Listed Above:

Davis' Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families, Appendix, page 300: Moses Benson married Experience “Briggs”

William Richard Cutter, ed., New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, 1914

Vermont Probate Records, Vol 6-7, p 341-34 1816-1825, Hartford District, from Ancestry’s “Vermont Wills and Probate Records 1749-1999” (Moses’ will)

Henry Swan Dana, History of Woodstock, Vermont, 1889

Hamilton Child, History of the Town of Woodstock, Gazetteer and Business Directory of Windsor County, Vermont, for 1883-84, printed January 1884

Lydia Brownson and MacLean McLean, NEHGR, ”Thomas Gibbs of Sandwich Massachusetts,” 1969

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., Provo, Utah, 1973. (Digitized on FamilySearch.org)