The Bennett Family
 



This information is contributed by Bob Bennett



I have here for you a couple of documents which tie in through one of the sons of Thomas, 
Samuel, his father's will and the Will of his maternal grandfather, Willis Cherry.  The 
"Indenture" document has much slave information for your new page, albeit, some of the 
named individuals may not have originally accompanied the Benett family to Kentucky from 
Duplin. I have also attached the Will of William Bennett, another son of Thomas. 


Thomas Bennett is listed on the Revolutionary War pages.

MARRIAGE BOND of THOMAS BENNETT TO ANN KINNARD



MARRIAGE BOND OF THOMAS BENNETT TO ANN KINNARD State of No. Carolina Duplin Know all men by these presents that we Thomas Bennet and All of the County of Duplin are held and firmly Bound unto his Excellency Samuel Johnston Esq. Govr of the said State and in the Just and full Sum of five hundred pounds Current Money to be paid to the said Governor or his Sucessions in Office, to which payment will and timely to be made we bind ourselves, our Heirs, Excrs and Adminrs Jointly and Severally firmly by these presents, Sealed with our Seals --- and Dated this 24th day of January 1789. The Condition of the above obligation is such that Whereas the said Thomas Bennet --- above Bound hath The day of the date hereof applied for and obtained A licence for a Mariage intended to be Celebrated between Him and Ann Kinnard --- --- Of the County of Duplin (Singlewoman). Now if it shall not happen at any time hereafter that there is any Just Cause or lawful Impediment to obstruct the said Mariage then the above obligation shall be void, otherwise to remain in full force and Virtue. his Signed, Sealed & Delivered Thomas X Bennet In the presence of mark W Dickson C.C. W. Dickson Transcribed from a copy of the original, by Robert Bennett 549 Hoot Owl Court Melbourne, Florida 32935. The overall layout of the document has been maintained, as has spelling and punctuation.

Will of William Bennett


Will of William Bennett





This is a good document that pertains to the Bennett and Cherry families.

Power of Attorney Samuel Bennett


Power of Attorney Samuel Bennett





Continuing with the Samuel Bennett material is the attached document which gets into the new African American site field of interest. While the slaves mentioned were too young to have accompanied Samuel to Kentucky, they could be children of those who might have.

Indenture of Samuel Bennett


Indenture of Samuel Bennett





Indenture of SAMUEL BENNETT Son of Revolutionary War Soldier Thomas Bennett Transcribed by ROBERT BENNETT 549 HOOT OWL COURT MELBOURNE, FLORIDA 32935 Whereas I Samuel Bennett of Muhlenberg County and Commonwealth of Kentucky have heretofore made a division of my Negroes among my Children except one Negro boy which I still have in my possession and being desirous to settle my affairs in my own way Now for in consideration of the love and affection that I have towards my five daughters towit Betsey Garvin wife of Thos Garvin Cherry Jarvis the widow of Edward Jarvis Rebecca Kelly wife of William Kelly Bruce widow of Bruce & Nancy Jarvis wife of Ira Jarvis all of the County aforesaid & for the further sum of one Dollar To me in hand paid do give grant & Convey unto my Five daughters named as aforesaid The said Negro boy slave by the name of Daniel about sixteen or seventeen years of age which slave I warrant & defend to my said daughters their heirs & against the claim of all & every other person or persons whatever. Witness my hand this 23 day of June 1837 attest his Charles Morehead Samuel X Bennett SEAL Robert Clark mark Commonwealth of Kentucky Muhlenberg County Before me Charles F Wing Clerk of Muhlenberg County Court came Charles Morehead ands Robert Clark the Subscribing witnesses to the written instrument of writing & proved the same to be the act & deed of Samuel Bennett which is thereupon truly recorded. June 26th 1837 Chas F. Wing The Deed above is recorded in Deed Book # 9, page 1 in the Court of Muhlenberg, Ky. It is copied as written. The daughter “Bruce” listed above is Eleanor who married a Mr. Bruce. Apparently, the disposition of Samuel’s slaves was causing dissension in the family, for he had to better delineate the disposition of several other slaves to his daughter Cherry three years earlier. Samuel Bennett was the son of Duplin County, N.C., citizen Thomas Bennett. Samuel was probably born in Duplin, the son of Thomas and first wife, Mary ----. Samuel married Mary ‘Polly’ Cherry, daughter of Duplin’s Willis Cherry, and headed to Kentucky in the great migration of 1801/2 of Duplinites to that territory. Samuel’s sister, Rebecca and her husband, and her husband John Byrd, also were on that trip and settled in Muhlenberg County Kentucky. John was the son of Robert Byrd of Duplin County. John Byrd died in 1808, and Rebecca married Spencer Hines, probably a son of William Hines of Duplin, who lived in the same Duplin district as did Rebecca’s family. Her father’s Will refers to her as Rebecca Hines (1816). Samuel is found on the 1790 and 1800 Duplin County US censuses and appears on the 1810 Muhlenberg County US census. He recorded 200 Acres of land on Cypress Creek in Mulenberg County on 18 August 1800. Samuel never went back to Duplin to collect or settle his inheritance, for on 24 January, 1827, he sold all interest in his inheritance in his father’s estate, AND in the estate of Willis Cherry, obviously having survived his wife Mary (Polly). This sale of inheritances was to son Bryant, who was given a Power of Attorney, with which he went back to Duplin to settle accounts. Bryant C. Bennett was the only son of Samuel and Polly (he had five sisters). He most probably was born in Duplin. He married Sally Watkins, the daughter of Peter Watkins and Delilah Grice. Sally was born in Duplin in 1794. She married Bryant Bennett 3 August 1820, in Muhlenberg Kentucky. She died on 3 September 1835, in childbirth, most likely to son Edward R. Bennett, born on 3 September 1835. This marriage produced five daughters. Bryant married, in July of 1836, Susan Poag, of which nothing more is known.
Census matrix of Duplin County Bennetts 1784-1840 Compiled by Bob Bennett 549 Hoot Owl ct Melbourne, Fl 32935 18 February 2007
1784 Only Thomas Bennett, Sr. is found, in Capt Bowden’s District, as of April 1786 (when the list was returned). There were 4 males and 3 females living with him. The sons would be William, Thomas Jr., Samuel, and Jeremiah. (Son John is to be found in Sampson County with 4 young sons in his house. He married--or remarried, in 1803 in Sampson, to Sarah Register.) 1790 Shows that sons William and Samuel have set up homes of their own. William is still apparently single and Samuel appears to have a wife and young daughter. Thomas still has 4 sons (1 over 16 years and 3 under 16) and 3 females in his household, having remarried to Ann Kinnard in January 1789. 1800 William has disappeared from the census though we know from his Will he was married and had 3 young children (Thomas, John and Litha. Thomas died before 1812). Samuel has a son and 3 daughters under the age of 10 in his household. He and his wife are between the age of 26 and 44. Sons Thomas, Jr. and Jeremiah have moved out of Thomas Sr.’s household. Jeremiah is living alone, and Junior has one son under the age of 10, having married in 1798. Thomas, the elder, still has three sons (James, Jesse, and Kinnard) and 2 daughters (Katherine and Hannah?) in his house. 1810 Samuel has moved to Kentucky (1800). Jeremiah apparently moved away for he is mentioned in his father’s Will of 1816. Thomas, Jr. has 3 sons and a daughter under the age of 10 and 2 sons between 10 and 25. He and his wife are aged between 26 and 44. Son Jesse has moved out of the elder’s home and has a son and daughter under 10 in his house. He and his wife are between 26 and 44 years of age. Thomas, the elder, still has a son and daughter under 10, an adolescent son and two daughters at home. 1820 A William Bennett between the age of 16 and 26 shows up with a son under the age of 10. From elimination, we may conclude this William is a son of Thomas, Jr. (married in 1798). Thomas the elder died in 1816, but Junior is listed having 5 sons and 3 daughters under 10 years and 3 other males, in addition to 2 adolescent females in the house. It would appear his wife Sarah had died, or she could be the Sarah Bennett listed separately on the census, with no others in the household. 1830 Thomas Bennett, Jr. appears as the most senior Bennett in age on the census, between 50 and 60 years of age. His wife appears to have died for the oldest females in the family are two ladies between 15 and 20. As there is a girl under 5 years of age, it would appear that one of the older girls and perhaps the one son between 20 and 30 comprise a family living with Thomas. From the process of elimination again, it makes sense that the Martin, Charles and John Bennett listed are siblings, the sons of Thomas. They are all young and just starting families. The remaining Bennett, a John Bennett between 40 and 50, is apparently the son of William Bennett who died in 1804. John’s mother was Mary Connerly. He has a growing family, with 4 sons and a daughter less than 20 years of age. 1840 Martin has apparently moved on. Thomas remains, being between 70 and 80. He appears to still have a son with family living with him. Brothers Charles and John remain, having 8 and 6 children respectively under the age of 20 years. John Bennett, first seen on the last census reappears, himself having 5 children under 20. Duplin’s first Thomas Bennett had two sets of children. Of the first set of sons, William married Mary Connerly and died in 1804; Samuel married Mary Cherry and died in 1834; Jeremiah unknown; John married Sarah Register and died in 1849 or 50; and Thomas, Jr. married Sarah Gibbs and died in September 1852. Of the second set of sons, nothing is known of James, Jesse or George T., except that George was in Duplin where he witnessed a deed in 1812, and as late as December 1850, when he posted a marriage bond. Kinnard is reported to have died in Green County Alabama in July 1844. Of the first set of daughters, Sarah married a Millard and died before July 1816 in Duplin. Rebecca married John Byrd and migrated to Kentucky in or about 1800. She later married Spencer Hines and was recorded on the 1840 census living with her married daughter Mary Grimes at the age of 63. Of the second set of daughters, Sarah married Duplin’s Mark Rogers. Mary married a Wiley from Duplin. Nothing is known of Catherine or Hannah. Date of death for any of these women is unknown.

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