THE BENNETT FAMILY OF ENGLAND AND VIRGINIA

The Bennetts were in the New World (American Colonies) almost from the beginning. Edward Bennett, an English merchant and trader and a Puritan, descended from the Bennetts of Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England. He and two of his brothers, Robert and Richard, obtained a patent to establish the Puritan plantation "Bennett's Welcome" in the Virginia Colony. On Feb. 1621/2 the "Sea Flower" arrived with 120 settlers, presumably Puritans, led by Capt. Hamor for Edward Bennett's plantation. The settlers quickly busied themselves, preparing the site of the plantation. On 22 March 1621/2, just a month after their arrival, the Indians attacked. There was a huge massacre and the Bennett plantation at Warrascoyak suffered more than most. 53 of the 347 people killed in the massacre were killed at the Bennett plantation. The Indians were in turn massacred and were quiescent for a time. The settlement eventually prospered although Robert and Richard soon died there. Edward Bennett who remained in England except for a short stint in the Colony, then appointed his two nephews to run the plantation. Coincidentally their names were the same as Edward's brothers, that is, Robert and Richard. The nephew Richard eventually became the Governor of Virginia.

The Bennett line, which about 80 years later intermarried with the Mangums, were not so famous as these trader Bennetts. The relationship between the two lines of Bennetts is presently unknown. For the Bennett line that was associated with our John Mangum, the first one we are sure about is one Thomas Bennett of Warwick County, Virginia. He represented Mulberry Island in the House of Burgesses in 1632. He married Alice, widow of Thomas Pierce. Thomas Pierce was slain in the Indian massacre of 1621/2 in the presence of his wife and child. They were carried off as captives but eventually freed. Thomas must have married her about 1624, and we believe they had one son, Richard Bennett Sr., although it is not absolutely certain that Alice was his mother.

Muriel Bennett Minium, in here book "Bennetts on the Bias" (1990), says that Thomas was son of a John Bennett who survived the Indian massacre of 1622, and that he was descended from the English Clapcot Bennets. There was a John Bennett listed as one of the 'living' in the 1623/4 census of Warwick Squeake (now known as Isle of Wight Co., VA). Unfortunately there is no evidence linking this John Bennett to our Thomas Bennett.

Richard Bennett Sr. sold land to John Mangum in 1695. This is the first sure record of John Mangum in the colonies although there are tax records as early as 1692 that appear to refer to John but using alternate spellings of his last name. John was married to a Frances who was Administrator of his estate in 1737. The records show that John was intimately associated with this Bennett family and Richard Bennett Jr. named a granddaughter Frances Mangum in his will in 1720. The seemingly obvious conclusion is that John Mangum married Frances, granddaughter of Richard Bennett Jr. If so, then we really don't know Frances' maiden name with certainty. In this scenerio we only know that one parent of Frances was a child of Richard Bennett Jr. If Frances' father was a son of Richard, then Frances maiden name was Bennett. If Frances' mother was a daughter of Richard, then Frances' maiden name via her father is presently unknown.

From some investigations into the somewhat obscure timelines and ages of members of this Bennett family, some researchers believe that John Mangum's wife Frances was a daughter of Richard Bennett Jr. and the couple's daughter was the granddaugher Frances who was named in his will. Unfortunately, the theory that Richard Jr. had a daughter Frances is speculation at this point since no direct evidence for a daughter named Frances has been found. Richard did not mention a daughter named Frances in his will.

The prevailing theory most seem to prefer, unfortunately still speculative, is that Richard Bennett Jr.'s daughter Silvester (mentioned in his will) was possibly named Silvester Frances. She would be the wife of John Mangum, and the Frances named in Richard Bennett Jr.'s will as his granddaughter was their daughter. It seems to be a reasonable scenerio, but presently cannot be proven, even though many published lineages accept it as fact.

This Bennett family and its association with the Mangum family is discussed in length in several issues of the Mangum-Mangham-Mangrum Journal. Wills of Richard Bennett Sr. & Jr. can be seen in issue 47 of the Journal. A discussion of the 'Frances Mangum' problem is discussed in Issue 61, page 23. My book "Pleasant Mangum and All His Kin" (1997) has three chapters on the Bennett family.