Five Generations from George, Sr.

Benedict Topics 04 B
Five Generations from George Benedict, Sr. (c.1518)

Accurate, Updated Information about the Early Benedict Family
Because of the widespread dissemination of false and inaccurate information about the early generations of the Benedict Family in England and then in America, we at BENEDICT TOPICS have felt it our duty to provide a summary here of up-to-date, corrected data. We've included here data, benefitting from the latest research, for the last four generations born in England and the first generation born in America. You are invited to incorporate this data into your own work.

The following are some of the perpetuated myths needing to be demolished and discarded:

• The Three Generations of Williams in England.  (WRONG! - In the three generations preceding Thomas, there was only one William in Thomas Benedict's ancestral line: his father.)

• The Benedicts are Natives of Nottinghamshire.  (WRONG! - From at least the early 1500s, the Benedicts were natives of County Norfolk; they never lived in Notts.)

• Thomas Benedict is descended from the Hunlock family.  (WRONG! - Thomas's mother's family name was not known for certain until recently (2006) -- it is definitely Stephin; not Hunlock, Stephenson, Cresswell or Markham.)

• Thomas Benedict's wife's name was Mary Bridgum.  (WRONG! - His wife's maiden name was Bridgham; Bridgum was the phonetic misspelling by her grandson, James. Many Bridgham families lived in the vicinity of the Norfolk-Suffolk border. They were apparently unrelated to Bridgham families in Yorkshire.)

• Thomas Benedict and Mary Bridgham were married in Long Melford parish, Norwich, Norfolk, England in 1639.
(WRONG!- Two errors here: Long Melford is in Suffolk (about 3 miles north of Sudbury), not in Norfolk; and Thomas and Mary were probably married about 1639 in Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony, by Rev. John Younges.)

• Thomas Benedict came to America on the ship "Confidence" in 1638, 1639 or 1640.  (WRONG! - Thomas came, with his step-sister Mary, on the ship "Mary and Anne" or "Mary Ann" and was in Salem by early August 1637.)

Please use the links in the descent chart below to access correct vital data, and use the data to update your own Benedict lines. The old maps of Norfolk and Suffolk provide locality information. Other additions and corrections (with sources, please) will be gratefully received. In addition to my own research work over more than half a century, I am grateful to acknowledge the aid of other Benedict Family researchers for their contributions, especially Larue Olsen, whose recent article on the English Origins of Thomas Benedict in the December 2006 of The Connecticut Nutmegger has brought to light many new facts; also, I wish as well to thank Roberta B. Pierson and Janie Grant Puckett for the important ideas and data they have provided to me.

John Speede's
Map of Norfolk
(1610)

Click on
<<   Regional Maps   >>
or on
Generations
below
John Speede's
Map of Suffolk
(1610)

V
V

George Benedict, Sr.
(c.1520 - 1576)

|
V

George Benedict, Jr.
(1545 - 1584)

|
V

William Benedict
(1579 - 1629)

|
V

   Thomas Benedict, Sr.
(1617 - 1689)

|
V

_________₊_________
| _________₊_________
| __________₊__________
| _________₊_________
| _________₊_________
|

Thomas Benedict, Jr.
(c.1639 - 1688)

John Benedict
  (c.1641 - >1727)

  James Benedict
(1649 - 1717)

   Samuel Benedict
(c.1649 - 1727)

  Daniel Benedict
(c.1652 - >1723)

Site Map

Thomas Benedict's Origins -- Updated

Benedict Topics Homepage

	John Speede's Map of Norfolk (1610)	Click on << Regional Maps >> or on Generations below	John Speede's Map of Suffolk (1610)
		V V
		George Benedict, Sr. (c.1520 - 1576)
		\| V
		George Benedict, Jr. (1545 - 1584)
		\| V
		William Benedict (1579 - 1629)
		\| V
		Thomas Benedict, Sr. (1617 - 1689)
		\| V
_________₊_________ \|	_________₊_________ \|	__________₊__________ \|	_________₊_________ \|	_________₊_________ \|
Thomas Benedict, Jr. (c.1639 - 1688)	John Benedict (c.1641 - >1727)	James Benedict (1649 - 1717)	Samuel Benedict (c.1649 - 1727)	Daniel Benedict (c.1652 - >1723)