Bluebonnet Country Genealogy

Posts Tagged ‘Bennett’

Joshua F Bennett (b. 1794 Kentucky) was my fraternal fourth great-grandfather. He and his family came to Texas before 1850, and were living in Travis County for the 1850 United States Federal Census. He is my “oldest” Texas ancestor, having arrived here the earliest (so far…).

According to Ancestry.com, the surname Bennett is English, derived from “the medieval personal name Benedict (Latin Benedictus meaning ‘blessed’). In the 12th century the Latin form of the name is found in England alongside versions derived from the Old French form Beneit, Benoit, which was common among the Normans.”

The Internet Surname Database provides the following information about surname Bennett:

This interesting surname derives from the medieval given name “Benedict”, from the Latin “Benedictus” meaning blessed. This personal name owed its popularity in the Middle Ages chiefly to St. Benedict (circa 480 – 550), who founded the Benedictine order of monks at Monte Cassino, and wrote a monastic rule that formed a model for all subsequent rules. There were many versions of the name throughout Europe, and in England in the 12th Century the Latin form of the name can be found alongside versions derived from the Old French forms “Beneit” and “Benoit”, which were popular among the Normans. The surname dates back to the early 13th Century (see below). London Church Records list the christening of Dennys Bennett on June 15th 1567 at St. Mary at Hill, and the christening of Thomas Bennit on December 1st 1583 at St. John’s, Hackney. One John Bennett was an early emigrant to the New World; he is recorded as sailing in the “Plaine Joan” from London in May 1635, bound for Virginia. A Coat of Arms granted to a Bennett family is silver, a chevron between three red lions’ heads erased. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Benet, which was dated 1208, in the “Charter Rolls of Durham”, during the reign of King John, known as “Lackland”, 1199 – 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to “develop” often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Most of my Bennetts were cattle ranchers, first in Texas, then in Wyoming in the early 20th century.

One Bennett brother, James Bennett, Jr, grandson of Joshua F Bennett, apparently was a “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” kinda guy, having killed a man in San Saba County, Texas ca 1880, then fleeing to Wyoming, where he robbed several banks there and in Montana and even Canada, and was eventually killed trying to rob a bank in Glendive, Montana.

A second grandson of Joshua F was Thomas Joshua Bennett, who became a physician and was elected as president of the Texas State Medical Association:

Those Bennett boys where certainly an interesting and colorful bunch!

Last night, I was looking for an interesting image to post for Wordless Wednesday. I ended up at Wyoming Newspaper Project:

Discover the stories that formed Wyoming, through the Wyoming Newspaper Project. For the sheer volume of information they contain, newspapers are the single most important printed record of human activity. Historians, genealogists, and other scholars rely on them to provide a first-hand and sometimes the only account of local news. Available through this website are all the newspapers printed in Wyoming between 1849 and 1922, in an easily searchable format.

I first searched this database several months ago and was thrilled to find the obituary of Charles Bennett, my fraternal second great granduncle. So last night, I decided it was time for another visit.

After about 45 minutes of searching, then browsing, I was able to find two more Bennett obits, this time Alice Bennett and Jennie Bennett:

Jennie was the second wife of Charles Bennett.

I also found several articles concerning the estate of Charles Bennett. His third wife Daisy requested the sale of property to meet financial obligations, and then later notices of sale of land due to nonpayment of taxes. Interesting…

A few years ago, I found a reference to older brother George Bennett in a Wyoming history book, Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming, printed in 1901. A reference only, as I haven’t been able to locate the actual book. But last night’s searches led me to Google Books, and guess what I found?

Progressive Men of the State of Wyoming! And there on pages 605 and 606, was the story of George Bennett:

This entire book is available at Google Books, and as a .pdf download. Of course I downloaded it!

I realize that this book has no sources or original documents, so it’s not gospel. But it is still interesting and valuable, as it discusses names, places and events that I have already verified through other sources.

I will continue to periodically revisit both the Wyoming Newspaper Project and Google Books, as each site continues to add to its database.

Pardon my language, but…

WOW, THIS IS TOO D–M AWESOME!

Diane of the Genealogy Inside blog posted today about the Wyoming Newspaper Project. I have several Bennett ancestors who were cattle ranchers in Wyoming in the late 1800s-early 1900s. When I read her post, I instantly went to the site and started looking for mention of my Bennetts. After about 5 minutes, look what I found:

The Guernsey Gassette
(Guernsey, Platte County, Wyoming)
Volume XIX Number 1 Page 1
Nov 9, 1917

(click on the image to get a larger image)

Charles Bennett was my maternal second great granduncle!

Guess what I’ll be doing all evening!

On Thomas’s Destination: Austin Family:

Craig Manson over at Geneablogie has started a new meme which I think is important since it gets the surnames in my genealogy research info out into the blogosphere.  As Craig put it:

“List the surnames you are researching and the general localities. Then tell the names of your “Most Wanted Ancestors,” that is, the ones you most want to find behind that brickwall.”

Great idea!

My Names, Places & Most Wanted Faces:

HALL surname: Kansas (Shawnee County)>Texas (Cooke County)

McBURNETT surname: Georgia (Carroll County)>Texas (Milam County)

CARR surname: Alabama (Marengo County)>Texas (San Saba County)

CARROLL surname: North Carolina>Texas (San Saba County)

STANLEY surname: Alabama (Tuscaloosa County) >Texas (Hill County)

CARRICO surname: Missouri (Stoddard County) >Texas (Hill County) >New Mexico (Lea County)

ROGERS surname: Kentucky (Montgomery County) >Texas (Tarrant County)

TURNER surname: Tennessee (DeKalb/Cannon County)> Texas (Hill County)

DIXON surname: Alabama (Marengo County)

BENNETT surname: Texas (Williamson/San Saba/Brady Counties)

KENNEDY surname: Alabama (Sumter County) >Texas (Hill County)

DAVIS surname: Alabama (Tuscaloosa County) >Texas (Hill County)

TURNEY surname: Tennessee (DeKalb County)

VANCE surname: Tennessee (Wilson/DeKalb/Cannon Counties)

CHAPPELL surname: Virginia >Alabama (Fayette/Tuscaloosa Counties)

MOST WANTED ANCESTOR #1: William Earl HALL, my paternal great-grandfather, born about 1888, possibly Topeka, Shawnee, Kansas. Married Dovie C McBurnett, 22 Jan 1906, Ardmore County, Oklahoma. Living in Gainesville, Cooke, Texas when my grandfather was born. Worked for the railroad. Believed to have died before 1917 in railroad accident, location unknown. William and/or Dovie were believed to be of Chickasaw descent (mariage listed Chickasaw Nation Marriages 1895-1907: HALL, W E 22 McBURNETT, DOVIE 18 22 JAN 1906 TX,GAINESVILLE/ARDMORE J©57).

MOST WANTED ANCESTOR #2: Joseph ROGERS, my maternal 2nd great-grandfather, very little is known about Joseph, possibly born Kentucky, 1840-1850’s, married Susan Hannah Knox,  died in Kentucky when my great-grandfather Charles Arthur Rogers was a child.