
BENNETT FAMILY GENEALOGY
MOTTO: De bon vouloir servir le roi
(“To serve the king with a right good
will”)
The name Bennett is an age-old
Boernician-Scottish name whose roots are found in the Scottish/English
borderlands of the medieval era. Originally it was a common diminutive of the
name Benedict, which comes from the Latin phrase bene (‘well’) dicere (‘to
say’) or benedicere (‘to bless’), and
its past participle benedictus (‘blessed’),
a frequent Christian name bestowed in honor of the great St. Benedict (circa
480-547, Benedict of Nursia, founder of the Benedictine order). This is where
we get the word ‘benediction’ that Webster’s
Dictionary defines as “the invocation of a blessing; especially the short
blessing with which public worship is concluded.”
S. B. Bennett in his 1899 book The Bennett, Bently and Beers Family quoted
James Gordon Bennett, founder of the New
York Herald (pg. 3): “The Bennetts were a little band of Freeboters, A.D.
896, in Saxony. I have no doubt they robbed and plundered a good deal. They had
emigrated to France and settled on the river Loire, where they lived several
hundred years. The family was Roman Catholic, and later, of the Church of
England.” The name was first found in a
part of north Lancashire, where a Benedictine monastery known as Furnace Abbey
was founded by the Savigny monks of Normandy in 1127. There they held a family
seat. In England, because of the Reformation, and the family’s strong
identification with the Monastic Movement, against which King Henry VIII
(1509-1547) worked so strongly, they fell out of favor, except in Catholic
circles; however, during the reign of King Charles I (who ruled England,
Scotland and Ireland; 1625-1649), they began acquiring considerable importance.
Sir Henry Bennett became the private secretary to King Charles II (1649-1660).
By the 12th century, the name was found
in versions derived directly from Latin, as well as versions derived from
Norman French. It is a common occurrence
for personal names to be shortened, or take on various forms. As early
as 1190 it showed up in the Records of Nottingham as Benefit, in Yorkshire
(1301) as Benite, in Scotland (1402) as Benet, and between 1208 to 1581 as
Bennet (Cambridge), Benetes (Stafford), and Bennett (Cornwall). Other spelling variations include Bennitt,
Benett, Benit, Beneat, Benight, Bennetson, Bonat, and Bonette. Some researchers
will also include the names of Bennison, Benison and Benson, yet it is more
likely that they are derivatives of the surname Benn, which may be based on the
Nordic name Bjorn. An ‘s’ placed at the
end of the name, as in Bennetts, means “child of Bennett.”
The name Bennett has existed in Ireland
since the fourteenth century when the ancestors of the Irish Bennetts moved
there from England with the early Norman
settlers, and like many of these assimilated the Gaelic culture and traditions.
In Ulster, the family name frequently appears as McBennett, while in most other
sections of the country it survives in its original French form (Benoit,
Beneit, which was common among Normans) which in Irish was Bineid. Throughout
Irish history, the Bennetts seem to have been more noted as merchants, civic
leaders, and literary men, than as soldiers or landowners. Their names are
found most frequently in the records of the medieval guilds. They made their
homes chiefly in Dublin and other Irish ports and centers of commerce. Outside
the cities, the name is today numerically strongest in the counties of
Kilkenny, Leix and Cork. Bishop Bennett, who ruled the See of Cork when Henry
VIII proclaimed himself the head of the Church, was deprived of the
temporalities of the See for his resistance to the Act of Supremacy. Many
others of the name have distinguished themselves as educators and literary men
both in England and in the United States.
The name turned up very early in the
Colonial period in America, and few names were mentioned more frequently
(though not always in a complimentary manner). In Boston, you’ll find a Bennett
Street, and the mercantile firm of Benet & Co. existed as early as 1630.
Among the first settlers in America were William Bennett (Virginia, 1628), and
Samuel Bennett (Lynn, Massachusetts, 1635).
“A GOOD name is rather to be chosen
than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” (Proverbs
22:1)
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ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF INTERLOCKING
FAMILIES
A
ABY
ACKHART ADAMS ADAMS ADAMS AGETT AGNEY ALBRIGHT ALESSI ALLISON ALSBAUGH AMHISER AMSLER ANDERSON ANDERSON ANDERSON ANWAY ARMSTRONG ARMSTRONG ARMSTRONG ARMSTRONG ARNOLD ARNOLD ARONSON AUGHEY AUKER AUMILLER AUMILLER AUMILLER AUNGST AUNGST AURAND AURAND AWE
B
BACHMAN BAILEY BAILEY BAILEY BAILY BAKER BAKER BAKER BAKER BANKS BARGER BARGER BARGO BARKET BARNARD BARNES BARR BARTH BARTHOLMEY BARTLETT BASEHORE BASHORE BATTISTA BAUM
BEAM BEAR BEARLEY BEARLEY BEATTY BEAVER BEAVER
BEAVER BECHTAL BECK BECK BECKHAM BECKWITH BENDER BENNER BERGARA BERGSTRESSER BESCH BICKHART BIEBER BILLINGS BINGMAN BINGMAN BISHOP BITTING BLACK BLACK BLAIR BLANTON BLEWETT BLOOM BOBB BOLLEN BOLLINGER BONHAM BONSON BONSON BOOHER BOOHER BOOKER BOOKER BOONIE BOOP BOSSERT BOSSINGER BOUSUM BOWER BOWERSOX BOWERSOX BOWERSOX BOWSER BOYER BOYER BOYER BOYER BRABANDER BRACKBILL BRACKBILL BRANNAN BRANNON BRATTON BREACH BRENEMAN BRESSLER BRIAR BRININGER BRINNINGER BRISTOL BRITTAIN BROADHEAD BROCK BROUGHT BROWER BROWER BROWER BROWN BROWN BROWN BRUMBAUGH BRUNNER BRYNER BUCHANAN BULICK BURDGE BURGER BURKE BURLEW BURLEW BURNS BURRILL BUSH BUSKIRK BYLER BYRD
C
CADDY CALHOUN CAMP CAMPBELL CAMPBELL CANARY CANFIELD CAPARRO CAPITOSTI CARBAUGH CARBAUGH CARMICHAEL CAROLUS CARSON CASNER CASNER CASNER CASSETT CASTLE CHAMBERLAIN CHARLES CHERRY CHILCOTE CHOATE CISNEY CLAAR CLAAR CLAPPER CLARK CLABAUGH CLINGER CLOSE CLOSE CLOUSER CLOUSER CLOUSER CLOUSER COATS COBB COBLE COFFEE COFFEY COFFMAN COLABINE COLBERT COLLANBINE COLLINS COLLINS COLYER CONDRON CONN CONRAD COOLEY COON COON COOPRIDER CORKINS CORRELL CORSON COX CRAIG CRAIN CRAMER CRAMER CRIMMEL CRISTE CRISTILLO CRISWELL CROCKER CROOKS CROZIER CUBBERNUSS CULBERTSON CULLEN CUMMINGS CUNNINGHAM CUNNINGHAM CUNNINGHAM CURRY
D
DANNELS DAVIES DAVIS DAVIS DAVIS DAY DAY DAYTON DEAMER DEAMER DEAVOR DeCAIR DECKER DECKER DEFFENBAUGH DEISS DeLISIA DELL DELL DELRIO DERK DICK DIEHL DIETRICK DILL DILLMAN DILLON DOBSON DODSON DOLAN DOLBIN DORMAN DOULON DOUGHERTY DRASS DREESE DROCKENMILLER DRUCKEMILLER DUELL DUNMIRE DUNMIRE DUNMOND DUNN DURST DYSART DYSART DYSART
E
EARGLE EARNEST EBERHARD EBERSOLE ECKLEY ECKLEY EDMUNDSON EHLEY EILER EISENHOWER EISENHOWER ELLER ELLIOTT ELWELL EMBRIANE EMCH EMIEL EMMELL ENDERS EPPERSON ERHLICH ERICKSON ERRICKSON ESTEP ESTES EVART EYER
F
FARBER FARMER FARRAN FARRAND FARRELL FARRELL FASNACHT FAUST FEIST FERENCZ FERGUSON FERGUSON FERRELL FETTERHOFF FETTERMAN FIELDGROVE FIKE FINIZIO FIREBAUGH FISHER FISHER FISHER FISHER FISHER FISHER FLECK FLEMING FLEMING FLORENCE FOCHT FOESIC FOGLE FOLK FOLKROAD FOLTZ FORD FOREMAN FORNAWALT FOSTER FOUSE FOWLER FOX FRALEY FRASE FREEBERG FREED FREED FREY FRY FRY FRY FRY FRYE FRYE FULLERTON FULTZ FULTZ FUNK FURGASON FURNIER
G
GAMBER GANE GASPER GASTON GATTON GAUTIER GEARHART GEARHART GEEDEY GEESAMAN GEIB GEISSINGER GEORGE GIBBONS GILBERT GILBERT GILBERT GILES GILES GILL GINTER GIPE GLASGOW GOODWIN GORDAN GORDON GOSS GOSS
GOSS
GOSS GOSS GOSS GOSS GOSS GOSS GOWEN GRACE GRAF GRASSMYER GRAY GRAY GRAY GRAY
GREENBURG GREGG GREIDER GREINER GRIFFITH GRISSINGER GROSE GROSS GROSS GROVE GROVE GROVE GROVE GRUBB GRUPP GUSLER GUTSHALL
H
HACKENBERGER HACKENBERGER HACKENBURG HACKENBURGER HAFFLEY HAGER HAINES HAKALA HAKE HALE HALL HALL HALL HALLER HAMILTON HAMMAKER HAMMER HAMMERMEISTER HARKER HARKINSON HARMON HARRIS HARRIS HARSHBARGER HART HART HARTZ HASSENFLUG HASSINGER HAUCK HAVICE HAVICE HAYES HAYS HAZLETT HEARN HECKERT HECKLER HEERMANS HEETER HEIMBACH HEIMBACH HEIMBAUGH HEINBAUGH HENRY HENRY HENRY HENRY HENRY
HENRY HENRY HEPNER HERMES HERNANDEZ HERTO HESKETH HETRICK HETRICK HETRICK HICKMAN HICKS HICKS HICKS HIGH HILE HILEMAN HIMES HINDELITER HITCHCOCK HITZ HOAR HOAR HOBAUGH HOCKENBERRY HOCKENBERRY HOCKENBROCK HOFFMAN HOFFMAN HOFFMAN HOLLIHAN HOLLOMAN HOMER HOSLER HOSLER HOSTETLER HOUSER HUBLER HUGHES HUMMEL HURLEY HURLOCK HURST HUTCHINSON HUTH
I