The Stories and History of the Bentley Families By H Ross Glover and Robert H Glover

---Bentley History of Patriotism ---Documentation: Bentley Fact and Fiction ---Abbreviations ---Team Bentley: Key Bentley Researchers and Advisors PART I: THE EARLY BENTLEYS OF ENGLAND

10/5/07 edition still in draft form and not fully accurate More info and

documentation to come This is a work in progress

Note: Sources are noted conservatively to allow the text to be more readable as this

is a family story and not a pure research project Information is documented as accurately as currently possible, but in some cases the information is probable or possible—or sometimes theoretical Sources are noted within the book chapters and referenced at the end of the book The information is only as good as the sources

In cases where researchers differ on their acceptance of information, debate is included and the reader can decide for themselves This is a work in progress which will be further researched as generation chapters develop There may be some typosand some misinformation due to invalid sources Please send comments,

corrections, and adds to CoachBob@CoachGlover.com

THE STORIES AND HISTORY OF

THE BENTLEY FAMILIES

by H Ross Glover and Robert H Glover

FOURTEEN PLUS GENERATIONS OF BENTLEYS FROM 16th CENTURY

AMPTHILL/ELSTOW, BEDFORDSHIRE CO., ENG.; TO KINGSTOWN, WASHINGTON CO., RI; TO MILLPORT, CHEMUNG CO., NY; TO SOUTH DANSVILLE, STEUBEN CO., NY; TO DANSVILLE, LIVINGSTON CO., NY

Including the Thornton, Burger, Smalt, and Glover Families

Dedicated to ADELIA MARTHA BENTLEY BURGER, grandmother of Robert H Glover; and to CORINNE HARRIET BURGER GLOVER, wife of H Ross Glover, mother of Robert H Glover

****************************************

Copyright Robert H Glover, 2007 All rights reserved Permission granted to use allinformation for family genealogy with (thank you!) appropriate credits No part of this document may be used for commercial use without express consent from Robert

-Migrations of the Bentley Families

-Starting “The Stories and History of the Bentley Families”

-“Bentley” or “Bently”

-Bentley History of Patriotism

-Documentation: Bentley Fact and Fiction

-Abbreviations

-Team Bentley: Key Bentley Researchers and Advisors

PART I: THE EARLY BENTLEYS OF ENGLAND—GENERATION 1 & 2

Introduction

Theory of Captain James Bentley as the father of William Bentley (G1)

Theory of Robert and Mary Bentley (died 1613 a widow) as the parents of

William Bentley (G1)

Chapter 1: WILLIAM BENTLEY (GENERATION 1): THE PROGENITOR OF OUR

BENTLEY FAMILY BRANCH

Born prob betw 1578-1581 in prob Ampthill, Bedfordshire Co, Eng; died before June

27, 1632, poss 1628, in prob Elstow, Bedfordshire Co., Eng.; prob buried in the churchyard at Elstow Prob the son of Mary Bentley (died a widow in 1613 in Elstow); poss the son of Robert Bentley (poss christened Mar 24, 1560 in

Dunstable, Bedfordshire Co.; poss died in 1605 in Elstow)

Married Mary Goodwin (born prob 1580 or 1584 in prob Bedford; buried a widow July 1, 1632 in the churchyard in Elstow) on May 18 or 20, Bedford, Bedfordshire Co.Parents of 7 children christened in Elstow:

1 Mary Bentley (born poss 1602)

2 Margaret Bentley Bunyan (christened Nov 13, 1603; died June 10, 1644 in

Elstow), who was the mother of famous author John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress)

3 Elizabeth Bentley (christened Oct 23, 1605)

4 Thomas Bentley (christened July 12, 1607)

5 JOHN BENTLEY

6 Rose Bentley Bunyan (christened July 12, 1612)

7 Emma (or Annie) (christened Feb 8, 1617)

Chapter 2: JOHN BENTLEY (GENERATION 2)

Christened Nov 5, 1608, Elstow church; buried at Ampthill on Mar 26, 1666

Married Mary Betts (poss born Aug 2, 1607 in Ampthill; poss died 1673 in Ampthill)

on Oct 3, 1630 in the Ampthill church

Parents of 6 children baptized in Ampthill:

1.Robert Bentley (bapt Mar 25, 1631)

2 Mary Bentley Chad (bapt Nov 11, 1632)

3 John Bentley (bapt July 20, 1634; buried July 22, 1686 in Ampthill)

4 Thomas Bentley (bapt Apr 10, 1636; buried Jan 11, 1667 in Ampthill)

5 James Bentley (bapt May 6, 1638; buried Jan 28, 1696/7 in Ampthill)

6 WILLIAM BENTLEY

PART II: THE EARLY BENTLEYS OF RHODE ISLAND—GENERATION 3 & 4

Chapter 3: WILLIAM BENTLEY, SR (GENERATION 3): FIRST BENTLEY TO MIGRATE

TO COLONIAL AMERICA in abt 1671

Prob born Aug 29, 1640 (perhaps in 1637) in Ampthill, was christened Sep 13, 1640

in Ampthill; died prob July 9, 1720 in Kingstown, RI

Married Sarah (Eldred?) (poss born abt Oct 10/19, 1650 in Yarmouth, MA; died Dec 28, 1731) in abt 1674

Parents of 5 children born in Kingstown, RI (not yet fully researched)

1 WILLIAM BENTLEY, JR

2 James Bentley (born May 26, 1679; poss died 1768)

3 Jane Bentley Wightman (born abt 1674-1681; died prob 1729)

4 Thomas Bentley (born June 19, 1685; died Mar 8, 1778, Exeter, RI)

5 Benjamin Bentley (born Mar 27, 1690)

Chapter 4: WILLIAM BENTLEY, JR (GENERATION 4): FIRST BENTLEY BORN IN AMERICA; FATHER OF 13 CHILDREN

Born July 8, 1677 in Kingstown, RI; died before Mar 21, 1760 in prob Richmond, RI

Married Elizabeth (Gardiner?) (born prob May 22, 1673; died prob 1723) in abt 1702

Married Bathsheba (Noyes? Greene?) Lewis (born abt 1699 in prob Westerly, RI; died after Oct 1785 in prob Richmond, RI) on Aug 1, 1734 in Westerly, King Co., RI.Parents with Elizabeth of 8 children born in prob Kingstown or Westerly, RI (not yet fully researched):

1 John Bentley (born poss June 22, 1700 in Kingstown or poss Aug 12, 1703 in Richmond, RI)

2 George Bentley (born poss abt 1701 in prob Westerly, RI; poss died in 1802)

3 Elizabeth Bentley (born poss abt 1703 in prob Kingstown, RI)

4 Tabitha Bentley (born poss abt 1705)

5 Caleb Bentley (born poss abt 1707; died poss 1793) Possibly the father of 20 children

6 Ezekiel Bentley (born poss abt 1710)

7 Ruhamah Bentley James (born poss abt 1715)

8 Mary Bentley James (born poss abt 1717)

Parents with Bathsheba of 5 children (not yet fully researched):

1 William Bentley III (born May 29, 1735, Westerly, RI; died Sep 20, 1800, Troy City, NY) Apparently murdered his second wife with an ax

2 Thomas Bentley (born Apr 9, 1737, Westerly)

3 James Bentley (born June 6, 1739, Richmond, RI; poss died 1822)

4 GREENE M BENTLEY, SR

5 Benjamin Bentley (born Jan 11, 1744 in Richmond, RI; died poss June 1830)

PART III: THE GREEN BENTLEYS OF RHODE ISLAND AND MILLPORT, VETERAN, NY—GENERATION 5 & 6

Chapter 5: GREENE M BENTLEY, SR (GENERATION 5): FRENCH & INDIAN WAR, AND REVOLUTIONARY WAR SOLDIER; FIRST BENTLEY TO MIGRATE TO NEW YORK

Born Mar 23, 1741 in Westerly/Richmond, RI; died prob 1823 in Millport or Havana, NY; buried in the old Bentley Cemetery, Millport A state marker honors him there.Migrated to North Kingston, Washington Co, RI in abt 1766; to Kent, Litchfield Co,

CT in abt 1770; to Warwick, Orange Co, NY in 1775; to Northumberland Co, PA in abt 1784; to the Village of Wellsburg, Chemung Twp, Chemung Co, NY in abt 1788;

to what is now the Village of Millport, Town of Veteran, Chemung Co, NY in abt

1798 He was the first settler of Wellsburg and Veteran

Married Dinah (Diana) Straight (Strait) (born abt 1737-1742; died prob after 1810) in abt 1759/1760

Parents of prob 8 children: (not yet fully researched):

1.Sheba Eunice Bentley Bennett (born Jan 19, 1762 in prob Richmond, RI; died Dec

21, 1799 in Chemung, Chemung Co., NY) Sheba and sister Hannah married

Bennett brothers Thaddeus and Ephraim

2 Diana Bentley (born poss abt 1763 in prob Richmond RI) poss a daughter of Greene

3 Hannah Humility Bentley Bennett (born Jan 2, 1765 in prob Richmond, RI; died Mar 1, 1836, Willardsburg, Tioga Co, PA; buried Montour Falls, NY)

4 Elizabeth Bentley (born abt 1767 in prob Kingstown, RI)—poss a daughter of Greene

5 Sarah Bentley Coryell (born abt 1770 in prob ???Warwick, NY; died 1818; prob buried in Montour Falls, NY)

6 Benjamin Bentley (born Sept 24, 1771 in Kent, Litchfield Co, CT; died Sep 7, 1854

in Tioga Co, PA)

7 Rhoda (Herodias) Bentley Teeples (born Jan 2, 1774 in Kent, Litchfield Co CT; died Jan 2, 1837 in Oakland, MI) Mother of George Bentley Teeples who was born

in Dansville, Livingston Co., NY and became a Mormon and migrated to Utah

8 GREEN BENTLEY, JR

Chapter 6: GREEN M BENTLEY, JR (GENERATION 6)

Born in Warwick, Orange Co., NY Jan 8, 1778; died Nov 10, 1820 in Millport,

Chemung Co., NY; buried at the Millport Cemetery

Married Olive Hopper (born July 25, 1778 in Orange Co., NY; died Nov 14, 1862 in

Millport, NY; buried at the Millport Cemetery with second husband Oliver Greeno) in prob 1797 in prob Millport, NY.

Parents of prob 8 children (not yet fully researched):

1 James Bentley (born Dec 21, 1798 in prob Veteran, NY)

2 GEORGE CARGILL BENTLEY

3 Ezekiel S Bentley (born June 9, 1803, Millport/Veteran; died May 20, 1826; buried at Millport Cemetery)

4 William C Bentley (born Jan 20, 1806, Warwick, NY; died Aug 24, 1883, Taylor, Shelby Co., MO.) He married his step-father’s daughter Experience

Greeno/Greenough

5 Esther Bentley Greeno (born abt 1811/1813 /Greenough in prob Veteran, NY; died Jan 25, 1894, Benton, Nebraska) She married her step-father’s son David Greeno/Greenough

6 Elisha M Bentley (born Mar 21, 1813, Warwick, NY; died abt 1895, Iowa)

7 Eunice Bentley Lane Page (born abt 1812 or 1815)

8 Margaret Bentley Thiers Craig (born Mar 14, 1818, Millport; died Dec 8, 1912, Clay Center, Kansas)

PART IV: THE GEORGE BENTLEYS OF SOUTH DANSVILLE, NY—GENERATION 7 & 8

Chapter 7: GEORGE CARGILL BENTLEY (GENERATION 7): FIRST BENTLEY TO MIGRATE TO SOUTH DANSVILLE; FATHER OF 14 CHILDREN AND 2 STEP-CHILDREN

Born Apr 27, 1801, Bentley Creek, Bradford Co., PA; died Dec 26, 1861, South Dansville, Steuben Co., NY; buried Lakeside Cemetery at Loon Lake, Wayland, Steuben Co., NY

Married Lucinda Cleveland (born July 15, 1802, Sugar Creek, Bradford Co., PA; died July 14, 1856, South Dansville; buried Lakeside Cemetery, Wayland) on Sep 9, 1821

in Millport, NY

George married Phebe (Phoebe) Ann Welcher Thomas (born abt 1817 in New York)

in 1859

Parents with Lucinda of 13 children (not yet fully researched):

1 Green Bentley (born Oct or Dec 27, 1822, Millport, NY; died Mar 19, 1846, Millport; prob buried Lakeside Cemetery, Wayland, NY)

2 Mary Bentley Tripp (born Mar 6 or 26, 1824, Millport, NY; died 1902; buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville, NY)

3 Loretta Bentley Bullock (born Feb 8, 1826/7, Dix, NY; died Sep 13, 1908, in prob Wayne Co., Iowa)

4 Almira Bentley (born Aug 25, 1828, Dix, NY)

5 Charrie (Cherry, Charry) Bentley (born poss June 5 or July 4, 1830 in Catlin, Chemung Co., NY)

6 Ephraim Cleveland Bentley (Born May 12, 1832, Dix, NY; died prob 1860 in prob South Dansville, NY)

7 Isaac Swartwood Bentley (born May 19, 1834, Millport, NY; died Aug 8 or 25,

1925, Sargent, Nebraska; buried Mount Hope Cemetery, Sargent, Nebraska) Twin ofHannah Married Lucinda M Pinchin, a cousin of Martha Pinchin, who married Nelson Cobin, the father of Addie Cobin, who married Burt Gelser, the father of Daphne Gelser, the wife of A Ross Glover, the father of H Ross Glover, the husband of Corinne Burger Glover

8 Hannah Swartwood Bentley (born May 19, 1834, Millport, NY; died July 10,

1834, Dix, NY

9 John Wixom Bentley (born Sep 12, 1836/7, Dix, NY)

10 Eliza Cleveland Bentley Root (born Oct 1, 1832; died June 1, 1878; buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville, NY)

11 Adelia Bentley Smith (born June 4, 1839, Catlin, NY; died Apr 21, 1911 in prob Fresno, CA)

12 Lucia Octavia Bentley (born May 27, 1841, Dix, NY; died Apr 10, 1843 in prob South Dansville, NY; buried at Lakeside Cemetery, Wayland, NY)

13 GEORGE EUGENE BENTLEY

Parents with Phebe of:

1 Ernest Cargill Bentley (born Mar 4, 1860, South Dansville, Steuben Co., NY; died, Chicago, Cook Co., Ill Dec 21, 1931; buried Oakside Cemetery, Hillside, Ill.)

Chapter 8: GEORGE EUGENE BENTLEY (GENERATION 8): CIVIL WAR SOLDIER

Born Sep 12,1843 in Dix, Chemung Co., NY; died May 5, 1907 in South Dansville,

Steuben Co., NY; buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville.

Married Susan A (born abt 1845 in Ohio; died betw 1880-1888) in abt 1869

Parents with Susan of 2 children:

1 Clarance D Bentley (born Apr 1870; died June 5, 1870; buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville);

2 WILBUR DUVILLO BENTLEY

George married Christine (born July 1841 in New York; died after 1910) in abt 1888

PART V: THE WILBUR BENTLEY FAMILY -GENERATION 9

Chapter 9: WILBUR DUVILLO BENTLEY (GENERATION 9):

Born May 10, 1871 in prob South Dansville, Steuben Co., NY; died in 1949 prior to March 17th in prob Rochester, Monroe Co., NY; buried at Mt Hope Cemetery, Rochester

He lived in South Dansville, Auburn, and Rochester, NY

Married Harriet M Thornton (born May 29, 1873 in England; died in 1905 in prob Rochester; buried at Mt Hope Cemetery, Rochester)

Parents with Harriet of 3 children:

1 Ethel Bentley (1900-1910; buried at Mt Hope Cemetery);

2 ADELIA BENTLEY BURGER;

3 George Henry Bentley (born Mar 28, 1904 in NY; died Feb 16, 1977 in San Luis Obispo Co., CA; married Ilo Erbe Wikle (born May 28, 1912 in Milo, Iowa; died Nov

19, 1992 in Palmdale, CA) in Nov 1942 They are buried at Arroyo Grande District Cemetery, CA They are the parents of Carolyne Sue Bentley Gibson (born 1944) Wilbur married Edna Smith Rice (1875-1947; buried at Mt Hope Cemetery in Rochester) in abt 1906

Parents with Edna of 2 children:

1 Dorothy Bentley Kleehammer (Born May 23, 1907; married Elmer Kleehammer Sept 18, 1930; died Nov 26, 1933; buried at Mt Hope);

2 Vera L Bentley Baldwin (born Aug 4,1910 ; married Floyd Baldwin in abt 1930;died Feb 10, 1991, Lacey, WA.)

PART VI: THE ADELIA BENTLEY BURGER FAMILY -GENERATION 10

Chapter 10: ADELIA MARTHA BENTLEY BURGER (GENERATION 10)

Born May 22, 1902 in Auburn, NY; died Nov 20, 1980, Noyes Memorial Hospital, Dansville, Livingston Co., NY; buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville, Steuben Co., NY

Moved with her parents to Rochester, NY by 1905 Married Carl Leo Burger (born Mar 26, 1897, South Dansville, NY; died July 13, 1989 at the Hornell, NY Nursing Home; buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville, NY) on Mar 25, 1922 in Rochester, NY, and moved to South Dansville, Steuben Co, NY where she lived the rest of her life

Parents of 5 children:

1 Hollis William Burger (born Dec 14, 1923 in South Dansville and died prob that same die or shortly after)

2 CORINNE HARRIET BURGER GLOVER

3 Doris Mae Burger Smalt (born Feb 1,1927, Hornell, NY) She married Larry Norbert Smalt (born Oct 15, 1928 in Wayland, NY) on July 31, 1948 at the United Methodist Church, Dansville They lived for two years in Wayland and thereafter in Dansville, NY

They are the parents of 6 children, the first born in Wayland and the rest in

Dansville, NY:

1, Linda Kay Smalt Weiler (born 1949)

2 Jean Marie Smalt Glover (born 1953)

3 Dianne Louise Smalt Daniel (born 1955)

4 Dan Martin Smalt (born 1957)

5 Jon Eric Smalt (born 1961)

6 Lorraine Sue Smalt Wilson (born 1965)

Doris’ children, grandchildren and great grandchildren are 12th, 13th and 14th generation Bentleys

4 Wilbur Charles Burger (born Mar 14, 1928, Hornell, NY; died Jan 27, 2004, South Dansville, NY; buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville, NY) He married Anita Lemen (born 1929) on July 30, 1955

They are the parents of 5 children:

1 Maureen Burger Cornell (born 1956)

2 Roy Burger (born 1958)

3 Janice Burger Layton (born 1960)

4 Bonnie Burger (born 1964)

5 Nancy Burger Hepburn (born 1965)

Wilbur’s children and grandchildren are 12th and13th generation Bentleys

5 Lyle George Burger (born June 24, 1929 in Hornell, NY; died June 21, 2002, Noyes Memorial Hospital, Dansville, NY; buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, South

Dansville, NY)

PART VII: THE CORINNE BURGER GLOVER FAMILY GENERATION 11

Chapter 11: CORINNE HARRIET BURGER GLOVER (GENERATION 11)

Born April 4, 1925, Bethesda Hospital, Hornell, Steuben Co., NY; died Sept 11, 2006,Highland Hospital, Rochester, Monroe Co., NY; buried Forest Lawn Cemetery, South Dansville, NY)

Married Harold Ross Glover (born Dec 2, 1924, Canaseraga, Allegany Co., NY) on Dec 31, 1945 in Dansville, Livingston Co., NY They lived in Dansville for their entiremarried life and celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary there at the Sunrise Restaurant on Dec 26, 2005

H Ross Glover is a WWII army veteran who earned the Bronze Star and three purplehearts He lives in Dansville, NY, and North Port, Sarasota Co., Florida

They are the parents of two children:

1 ROBERT HAROLD GLOVER

2 Donald Carl Glover (born 1949)

He is the parent of 4 children (13th generation Bentleys):

1 Matthew James Glover (born 1978)

2 Mark Francis Glover (born 1978)

3 Michael Paul Glover (born1981)

4 Daniel Joseph Glover (born 1988)

PART VIII: THE ROBERT HAROLD GLOVER FAMILY GENERATION 12 & 13

Chapter 12: ROBERT HAROLD GLOVER (GENERATION 12)

Born Nov 17, 1946, Dansville Memorial Hospital, Dansville, Livingston Co., NY He moved to Rome, Oneida Co., NY in 1972; to New York City in 1975; and to Sleepy Hollow, Westchester Co, NY in 1994 to present

He is the parent of 1 child with first wife Virginia Long:

1 CHRISTOPHER ROSS GLOVER

Married Shelly-lynn Florence in Sleepy Hollow, Westchester Co., NY in 1995

Chapter 13: CHRISTOPHER ROSS GLOVER (GENERATION 13)

Born in 1981 in New York City, NY He lives in Washington Heights, New York City

PART IX: BENTLEY REFERENCE SOURCES AND KEY RESEARCHERS

****************

INTRODUCTION

MIGRATIONS OF THE BENTLEY FAMILIES

Bedfordshire Co, Eng to RI (Narragansett, Kingston, Westerly, Richmond); to

Litchfield Co, CT; to Orange Co., NY; to Northumberland Co, PA; to Chemung Co/Tioga Co, NY.; to South Dansville, Steuben Co, NY; to Rochester, Monroe Co., NY; to South Dansville, Steuben Co, NY; to Dansville, Livingston Co, NY; to New YorkCity; to Sleepy Hollow, Westchester Co., NY

STARTING “THE STORIES AND HISTORY OF THE BENTLEY FAMILIES”

This project started in the summer of 2006 with limited resources Bob Glover (G12)was working with his father H Ross Glover on the genealogy of his Glover, Gelser, and Cobin families and inquired of his mother, Corinne Burger Glover (G11), about her Bentley and Burger family history She provided a list of family birth, marriage, and death dates going back to her grandparents Wilbur Bentley (G9) and Harriet Thornton Bentley It listed Wilbur’s children, including their spouses and children, with his first wife and second wife (Edna) The list had been handwritten by

Corinne’s mother Adelia Bentley Burger (G10) and then retyped by H Ross Glover for his wife Corinne So then we had some information on generations G9-G13, but who came before them was unknown

We contacted Carolyne Bentley Gibson, the niece of Adelia and daughter of George Henry Bentley She recalled that when she was 13 years old in 1957 she visited the Forest Lawn Cemetery in South Dansville with her father and saw a tombstone for a George E Bentley who was a Civil War veteran She was told by her father that he was an ancestor, but couldn’t recall exactly the relationship At that point neither ofthe daughters of Adelia Bentley Burger Corinne Burger Glover and Doris Burger Smalt knew anything of the man who was their mother’s grandfather This

despite having spent many hours as children working with their father Carl Burger at the South Dansville Cemetery where George E Bentley is buried H Ross Glover located that old tombstone which noted that George E died in 1907 at age 63 Thus he would be the right age to be the father of Wilbur, but no family member recalled Wilbur having been from South Dansville, rather than from Rochester, NY

In the 1880 Census for South Dansville, Bob Glover found George E Bentley as the father of 9 year old Wilbur Bentley Both were the right age A Civil War record for George E Bentley matched the information on the South Dansville tombstone G9 was now established as George E Bentley But who was his father? The Census noted that his father was born in PA

After the death of Corinne Burger Glover on Sept 11, 2006, among her possessions was found a wooden box passed on to her from her mother Corinne was very proudand protective of that box, made by Wilbur Bentley for his daughter Adelia‘s

keepsakes In it was a list of family history, and several photos of the Burgers and Bentleys Also found in the box was a book of notes written to Harriet Thornton Bentley by her husband Wilbur in 1899 in Auburn, NY, and notes from her brother Harry, sister Clara (dated 1883, Montreal) and friends from Canada and England This was our first clue for the Thornton family research We also were able to

research from this starting point the descendants of Wilbur Bentley, his first wife Harriet, and his second wife Edna The box also included the only known photo of Harriet Thornton Bentley, from whom Corinne Harriet Burger Glover got her middle name but never met as Harriet died young in 1905

Among the photos in the box was a labeled one of George Eugene Bentley Now we knew his middle name and that he for sure was connected to Wilbur and Adelia Bentley Also in the photo were Ephiram Bentley, Mary Tripp Bentley, Eliza Bentley Root, and Catherine Adelia Bentley Mehlenbacher Were they the brother and sisters

of George E.? Was Adelia Bentley Burger named after the sister of her grandfather George E Bentley? The photo seemed to list the married names of the sisters and this helped open more doors to the past

An Internet search revealed a George Cargill Bentley, born in PA, listed by Ellen Bates (9) in her research for the Church of Latter Day Saints as the father of a George E Bentley Also listed were the other names in the photo as some of the 14 children of George C An 1860 Census showed George C Bentley of South

Dansville, born in PA, as the father of George E Bentley G7 was now established asGeorge Cargill Bentley More Internet research found that George C was the son of Green Bentley, Jr (G6), who was the son of Green Bentley, Sr (G5), who was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and the Revolutionary War From there the research became more confusing as the information was often in conflict But it all indicated that the Bentleys migrated from England to Rhode Island before coming to New York State

Unfortunately, one of the key sources of our Bentley branch has disappeared According to Carolyne Bentley Gibson, Adelia Bentley Burger once had a handwritten Bentley family history –which Carolyne witnessed -going back to the original

immigrants from England (we believe that being William Bentley, Sr (G3) in the mid-17th Century) Adelia sent a mimeographed copy to Carolyne’s mother, Ilo Bentley, the wife of George Henry Bentley, the brother of Adelia At one point Ilo told Carolyne that she discarded the information The handwritten history that was the possession of Adelia has also disappeared

H Ross Glover researched and photographed tombstones of Wilbur, Harriet and Edna Bentley at Mt Hope Cemetery in Rochester; Wilbur’s father George E Bentley

at Forest Lawn Cemetery in South Dansville; and his father George C Bentley at Lakeside Cemetery, Loon Lake, Wayland, NY Internet research located a

transcription of Green Bentley, Jr ‘s (father of George C.) tombstone at Millport Cemetery, NY as well as a state marker for his father Greene Bentley, Sr at the Bentley Cemetery in Millport

But prior to the Green Bentleys still remained muddled

Then a comprehensive Internet search by Bob Glover found a wealth of Bentley information Research by and communication with Bentley descendants Elaine Cowan (6) and Marlin Criddle (7,8) -who Bob Glover contacted after discovering their Bentley genealogy online were key to the earlier Bentley history as were books by professional genealogists Emilie Sarter (pub 1953) (12), and Bentley descendant Cameron Stewart (pub 1986) (11) In particular, Elaine Cowan’s

comprehensive web site postings and email communication helped unravel many of the mysteries of our Bentley genealogy These sources established the first four generations of our Bentley branch as: William (G1) and John (G2) of England; William (G3) of England migrated to Rhode Island; and William (G4), first born in America, of Rhode Island

In July 2007, Bob Glover posted a note in the guestbook for a website by Bentley

descendant Scott Rode (5) which started a dialog that led to the coordination of this book with his Bentley website Further, Scott put me in contact with Sean Bentley (27) who had traveled in 2005 to the ancestral homeland in England of the early Bentleys and photographed the 1632 will of Mary Goodwin Bentley, wife of William Bentley (G1) This opened up more doors to the past, as did the discovery by Sean

at the John Bunyan (the famous author of “Pilgrim’s Progress” and grandson of William and Mary) Museum of a biography of Bunyan which noted the name of William’s (G1) mother, Mary

Also, Bob Glover in July 2007 found a year 2000 message board posting by Kathy Popovich who was searching for information on George Cargill Bentley (G7) and his son (her g grandfather) Ernest Cargill Bentley Bob Glover had thus found his

“closest” Bentley researcher “cousin, ” who contributed to the more recent history of our Bentleys

In July 2007, Scott Rode posted this “Stories and History of the Bentley Family” on his family history websites (5) to enable other Bentley researches access to our work Team Bentley was formed as an advisory group to provide concerned

feedback on the development of these “Stories” and the websites This team consists

of H Ross, Bob, and Shelly Glover; Scott Rode; Elaine Cowan; Sean Bentley; and Kathy Popovich

AUG 20 START ANCESTRY SITE

We hope this research matches the handwritten family history that was passed on to Adelia Bentley Burger by her father Wilbur

BENTLEY OR BENTLY?

One of the challenges of researching the Bentley ancestors is the spelling of the family name In modern times, since George Cargill Bentley’s birth in 1801, our branch of the family name has consistently been spelled “Bentley.” Prior to that, however, it was often spelled “Bently,” and many times the same person is listed in various documents as both “Bently” and “Bentley.” In some instances it was listed as

"Bantley." Some theorize that going back to 1100-1400 in England, the name was

“De Bentley” or “De Benthall.” We can only substantiate that for our branch the name has been “Bentley” and “Bently” back to 16th Century England

Perhaps at one point the family name was “Bently” and it was “Americanized” over time to “Bentley?” This similar to our Gelser family name which was Americanized from Goltzer and Goelzer Perhaps some of it was simply due to the fact that those writing the names, whether family members or census takers/record keepers, were not literate and “Bently” seemed correct to them?

Cameron Stewart’s genealogy book on the Bentleys uses “Bentley” but where the oldspelling appears in research notes as “Bentl(e)y.” Most of our family researchers simply keep it consistent and use “Bentley” in their listings Since that is how our family branch has spelled our surname for the last 200 years, we will use that

spelling throughout other than when directly quoting from sources that used

“Bently.”

Green Bently state marker for Green, Sr

Green Bently, Jr.—transcription of tombstone

George C Bentley—actual photo

George E Bentley—actual photo

Wilbur D Bentley -actual photo

BENTLEY HISTORY OF PATRIOTISM

William Bentley (G3) migrated to Colonial America in about 1671, and thus is

considered to be a colonist founder of America

Greene Bentley, Sr (G5) served in the French & Indian War, and the Revolutionary War (4th Regiment of the Orange County, NY Militia)

Green Bentley, Jr (G6) served in the New York Militia with the 79th Infantry

Austria, and Germany He received many combat medals and three Purple Hearts

He has been a member of Dansville’s Daniel Goho Post 87 since 1945, and in 1970 was the first World War II member of the post to receive the prestigious Life

Membership Award He is a past commander of the post

Robert H Glover (G12) served in the Vietnam War in Phu Bai with the XXIV Corps Artillery

Adelia Bentley Burger (G10) and Corinne Burger Glover were eligible to become members of the National Society of Colonial Dames (William Bentley G3 an approvedcolonist), the Daughters of the American Revolution (Green Bentley, Sr G5 an

approved Revolutionary War soldier), and the National Association of the Daughters

of Founders and Patriots (William Bentley G1 a Colonial America founder and Greene,

Sr a Revolutionary War Patriot)

DOCUMENTATION: BENTLEY FACT AND FICTION

We will quote professional genealogist Cameron Ralph Stewart (11) as his thoughts

in his book pertain here as well:

“A strong attempt has been made to authenticate the known existence of named relatives of the past and present by introducing available evidence from many different sources The information utilized has been in appearance both valid and

reliable The material is believed suitable for publication at this time.

Perhaps the best proverb to follow is: “Don’t believe anything that you hear

Believe only one-half of what you see; and then doubt that.” Some of the most tempting sources of documentary evidence may prove to be neither valid or reliable Some of the “evidence” can be found to be in conflict with other delectable “facts.” The sincere genealogist continually faces the challenging task of decision-making—whether to accept, to reserve comment on, or to reject “evidence” from whatever source it may come He has an obligation to the reader, however, in identifying thesevarious sources

The reader is not asked to accept all that he reads in blind faith Wherever he is able, the reader is asked to carefully weigh the evidence on the basis of the indicatedsources Appropriate credit has been given to the known sources

Primary-source documentation is desired for most of the links between the direct-linedescendants of a common ancestor Some minor errors would be expected.”

We make no claim to be as professional as Cameron Stewart Much of the early Bentley history in our work is based on his fine work Our sources are noted

conservatively and listed at the end of the book to allow the text to be more

readable as this is a family story and not a pure research project Surely the purist genealogist would prefer precise footnoting and a more thorough attempt to find primary sources rather than depending at times on secondary sources, but to

do so would mean this book would never get done

One of the biggest difficulties in writing the “Stories and History of the Bentley Families” is the lack of consistency between information gleaned from various

sources Add to that the lack of accuracy that sometimes exists with what should be accurate primary and secondary sources, as well as innocent typing mistakes

(including our own) that come with such massive volumes of work There are

instances where tombstone dates, family trees and records, census records,

cemetery and death index records, birth and death certificates, obituaries, wedding announcements, military reports, genealogy website info and more have been

proven to be in conflict and/or in error Old, handwritten records are hard to read which adds to the dilemma Even the recollections of our closest relatives have sometimes proven to be less than accurate Unfortunately, one of the obstacles we face is erroneous information that spreads and spreads from researcher to

researcher until it appears to many to be fact Some researchers are rather sloppy with their work, but even the most careful can err Surely with the huge volume of this book there will be some innocent errors Surely over the years some will find errors in this work that will horrify us when brought to our attention Some will havebeen by accident, others simply because we were mislead

The best we can do is attempt to verify accuracy from several sources When

feasible, we will note sources (but, again, this is a story and not a book of data) In some cases we will note inconsistencies and other times we will note unsubstantiated

“theories.” We will at times offer debate over data that are acceptable by some researchers but not others Primary sources are noted when possible, and other times we note secondary sources that sometimes note primary sources

Unfortunately, many times in order to keep the story going we have to note

undocumented secondary (and often well beyond that as the info spreads over the

Internet) sources We attempt to cover these situations by noting that these are

“claims,” “theories,” etc Or, we go with what researcher Elaine Cowan calls “the researchers best friend: “about,” “probably,” and “possibly.”

Bob Glover has found that the only thing about the Bentley family genealogy he knows for sure is the date of his wedding, his son’s birth, and his mother’s death

documented and thus the progenitor of our Bentleys

There has been a lot of confusion concerning the early William Bentleys prior to William (G3), who immigrated from England to Rhode Island Bentley researcher Elaine Cowan states that this was due “ mainly to errors appearing first in turn of thecentury genealogists which are still being perpetuated today Having discovered the existence of several William Bentleys in colonial records, early searchers tried to

classify them as grandfather, father and son However, closer examination of the data does not support this idea.”

**THE WILLIAM-WILLIAM-WILLIAM THEORY

Many Internet listings show William (G1)-William (G3)-William (G4) as the family lineage Sounds good, but the numbers don’t fit Indeed, there are several

conflicting listings of William Bentley, Sr (G3) with differing dates of birth and death,wife, children etc as researchers “tried to make it fit.” The Cameron Stewart research documents the lineage as: William (G1)-John (G2)-William (G3) –William (G4)-Greene (G5)-Green (G6) From there Bob Glover was able to connect to George C (G7), George E (G8), Wilbur (G9), and Adelia Bentley Burger (G10) -and

on to Corinne Burger Glover (G11), Robert Harold Glover (G12), and Christopher Ross Glover (G13)

**THE CAPTAIN JAMES BENTLEY AS FATHER OF WILLIAM (G1) THEORY - GOING BACK TO DE BENTLEY IN YEAR 1100

Adding to the confusion are the various theories for the Bentley family line prior to William (G1), most starting with Captain James Bentley as the father of William (G1) (b abt 1560 in High Bentley, Eng.) and going back to abt 1100-1400 in England when the name was “De Bentley” or “De Benthall.” See Ancestry.com’s One World Tree for the Bentleys (18) as an example This is a community tree where anyone can add or delete and no documentation is provided, and since it has huge exposure,misinformation can spread wildly

This theory makes “our” William Bentley (G1) the 17th generation Bentley Wouldn’tthat be nice!

All these theories are seemingly guesses and there are many holes in the

undocumented listings Genealogist Emilie Sarter (12) stated in 1949 after a carefulinvestigation of this theory: “Bentley descendants in this country are inclined to connect William Bentley (G3) of Rhode Island with Thomas, a half-brother of Dr Richard Bentley (a noted classical scholar) Such search as has been made here has revealed nothing in the nature of proof It may be possible, however, to find the connecting link in English records.” Indeed, the various sites list as half-brothers and sons of Captain James Bentley a William and Thomas Bentley—with Thomas the father of the scholar Dr Richard Bentley

Cameron Stewart (11) reprinted Sarter’s remarks, and begins with William (G1), not following the path of Captain James

It is our opinion that Captain James Bentley was the father of a different William Bentley who was a contemporary of our William G1, and that this other William was the uncle of Dr Richard Bentley the scholar, that this William migrated to America well before our William G3, and spread his family to the south in Virginia and North Carolina And that some sources mistakenly paired “our” Mary Goodwin Bentley withthe wrong William It is possible, perhaps even likely, that this other William Bentleyand Dr Richard Bentley and Captain James Bentley are some sort of relatives to our branch

Interestingly, Doris Burger Smalt, daughter of Adelia Bentley Burger and aunt of BobGlover, told Bob in 2007 (without any knowledge of this research) that she recalls

being told by her mother that they were related to a Doctor Reverend Richard

Bentley and a Captain James Bentley So does this mean that our family received this misinformation half a century ago or that we are barking up the wrong Bentley tree? We will follow the lead of professional genealogists Emilie Sarter and Cameron Stewart unless at some point this position is proven wrong

***THE MYSTERIOUS ROBERT AND MARY BENTLEY AS PARENTS OF WIILLIAM THEORY

We perhaps can extend our family another generation to Robert and Mary Bentley of Elstow, Bedfordshire, England Or at least we can do so with some confidence with the mother of William (G1), if not the father

The mother of William Bentley (G1) was Mary Bentley This seems to be proven by the biography of John Bunyan, although professional genealogists would prefer to find a primary source Sean Bentley (27), a 13th generation Bentley (maybe we canclaim 14th generation for him?), posted on his family history website:

“In August 2005 I visited the Ancestral Home of the Bentleys (at least as far back

as I've been able to trace somewhat definitively so far) in Bedfordshire, England Aside from prowling around Elstow and Ampthill I visited the John Bunyan Museum inBedford (his mother was Margaret Bentley).”

Sean wrote to family researcher George Nelson Bentley in Sept 2001:

“I was at the Bunyan Museum in August; they showed me a biography of Bunyan that listed William and Mary Goodwin and GAVE WILLIAM’S MOTHER”S NAME AS MARY AS WELL, SURNAME UNKNOWN.”

The biography Sean viewed most likely was the highly respected work of John

Brown In “John Bunyan: His Life, Times, and Work” by John Brown (28),

published first in 1887, the author notes on page 35 in reference to Margaret BentleyBunyan, the wife of Thomas Bunyan and mother of the famous author John Bunyan (“Pilgrim’s Progress”):

“Margaret Bunyan, the tinker’s wife, and the Dreamer’s mother, like her husband, was a native of Elstow, being born there in the same year in which he was born, as the following entry from the Transcript Register shows:-

1603 “Margarett Bentley, daughter of Wm Bentley, was C (christened) the xiij

of November.” (NOTE: The Bedfordshire Records show she was christened Nov

13, 1603 per letter from the Senior Clerk to Cameron Stewart).(11)

“Though her parents, William Bentley and Mary Goodwin were married, in 1601,

at St Paul’s Church, in Bedford, we may infer that since MARY BENTLEY, HER

GRANDMOTHER, DIED IN ELSTOW, AS A WIDOW, IN 1613, the Bentleys, like the Bunyans, had been long resident in the Parish Their names do not occur in the Court Roll of Elstow between 1542 and 1550, but are found in the earliest Transcript

Abounding,” and Bunyan’s complete works for the Cambridge University Press Some 100+ years ago and being connected so closely with the Bunyan Church near Elstow, he certainly had access to records that we are less likely to find now His position that Mary Bentley was the mother of William Bentley (G1) should be highly respected and we have accepted this position as most likely and thus refer to her in this book as the mother of William (G1) Thus our first Bentley mothers were Mary (unknown surname) Bentley, Mary Goodwin Bentley, and Mary Betts Bentley William Bentley (G1) had as his mother, wife and daughter-in-law Mary Bentley, and

he had as his grandson and great grandson William Bentley Got that? And there were a whole bunch more of William and Mary Bentleys over the years causing a lot

of confusion (and errors) among Bentley researchers

But who was this earliest Mary Bentley’s husband, the father of William (G1)? John Brown made no mention of the grandfather of John Bunyan in his biography, nor did Cameron Stewart in his massive 1986 Bentley history Seems they would have if they had evidence But he did state that Mary died a widow in 1613, thus we know her husband (Robert or otherwise) died prior her death

Cameron Stewart wrote to Lawrence H Bentley (29) on Sep 18, 2002: “that Robert Bentley, buried June 30, 1605 in Elstow Churchyard, Bedfordshire, England may have possibly been the father of William Bentley This has not been proved.”

Sean Bentley notes:

“In 2005 George Nelson Bentley sent me some photocopies from a correspondence with Cameron Stewart from 2002

In a footnote with this document it says "Apparently the only other Bentleys buried there [Elstow Churchyard] in this time frame were Robert Bentl[e]y, bur 30 June

1605 and wife Mercy, bur 7 Apr 1612 " Cameron just theorizes that these might

be William's parents.”

Sean responded to George Nelson Bentley in regard to the John Brown statement that Mary Bentley died in 1613 but Stewart found a Mercy, husband of Robert, bur 7 Apr 1612:

"Of course, perhaps Mercy/Mary is an error one way or the other - between illegible handwriting and bad spelling I've run across a lot of discrepancies here and there For example, one of William's children I've seen listed as Annie, Amie, and Arnie! One interesting thing is that I've seen the transcribed parish records for

Ampthill/Elstow going back to 1602… and didn't see an entry for Robert's death,

so I'm wondering where Stewart's data comes from A frustrating mystery!”

George Nelson Bentley to Sean Bentley in 2005:

“I assume that you consider Robert to be the father of William as a Robert Bentley

is buried in the same graveyard as this Mary or Mercy No one I know has confirmedthat, however it is logical Unfortunately, according to Cameron Stewart, Bunyan’s paternal line is well documented, but his maternal line ends at Mary Perhaps some day the John Bunyan Museum in Bedford woud help find a connection.”

So Mary could have died and was buried in 1612 or 1613 -or the Mercy/Mary buriedwith Robert in the Elstow courtyard is the wrong family Although they are common names, the fact remains that a Mary Bentley was the mother of William (G1) and shedied abt 1613 a widow and that is a close match to the Mercy (which might be Mary) And her husband, Robert, died in 1605 and William’s (G1) father died before his mother So it is a highly possible fit!

Sean wrote Bob Glover in July 2007:

As far as I know Cameron did not find an actual tombstone for a Mary or Mercy or Robert! Frankly it would be miraculous if he did, given the older stones' condition I don't know where he got his data but presumably from a church record

Bob Glover found this listing at familysearch.org which may be a match for Robert Bentley, father of William (G1):

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/search/frameset_search.asp?

PAGE=ancestorsearchresults.asp

Robert Benteley

Christening 24 MAR 1560

Dunstable, Bedford, England

-right name, right age range, right county Could this then be the same Robert Bentley buried 30 June 1605 at the Elstow, Bedford, England courtyard and is

he the father of William (G1)?

SUMMARY OF THE ROBERT AND MARY THERORY:

The "Mercy" Bentley that Cameron Stewart found either in the cemetery at the Elstow Churchyard or in records as buried the wife of Robert and with burial date of Apr 7, 1612 is likely the same Mary Bentley as noted in the Bunyan bio The bio could have been off a year or the burial date off a year Further, the Robert Bentley buried there died in 1605 The Bunyan bio notes Mary died a widow in 1613

Thus Mary Bentley is very probably the mother of William G1, died abt 1613 or poss.died prior to burial April 7, 1612, was buried a widow, poss the wife of the Robert Bentley buried in the Elstow courtyard Mary Bentley likely was age 18-21 when William (G1) was born and thus was probably born in about 1560 or so

Robert Bentley (Benteley, Bently) was poss christened Mar 24, 1560, Dunstable, Bedford, Eng He was poss buried in the Elstow churchyard June 30, 1605 and was

poss the husband of Mary Bentley, and thus poss the father of William G1.

We are of the opinion that the listing of Mary Bentley as grandmother of John

Bunyan (and thus the mother of William (G1) in his bio is HIGHLY LIKELY, and that the "theory" of Cameron Stewart in regard to Robert and Mary Bentley buried in the Elstow courtyard as the parents of William (G1) is VERY POSSIBLE

Although we shall list Mary Bentley as the mother of William (G1), genealogists follow the family line through the documented Bentley men So for now, our

Bentleys begin in the late 16th Century England with the proven William (G1), ratherthan his unproven father Robert Bentley

**************************

Chapter 1: WILLIAM BENTLEY (G1) (b prob betw 1578-1581; d bef June 27,1632, poss 1628); husband of MARY GOODWIN BENTLEY (b prob 1580 or 1584; d 1632); father of John Bentley; grandfather of William Bentley, Sr.; g grandfather of William Bentley, Jr.; gg grandfather of Greene Bentley, Sr.; ggg grandfather of Green

Bentley, Jr.; ggg g grandfather of George C Bentley; ggg gg grandfather of George

E Bentley; ggg ggg grandfather of Wilbur D Bentley; ggg ggg g grandfather of Adelia Bentley Burger; ggg ggg gg grandfather of Corinne Burger Glover; ggg ggg ggg grandfather of Robert H Glover

THE PROGENITOR OF OUR BENTLEY FAMILY

William Bentley key data:

BORN: prob 1578-1581, poss 1573, in prob Ampthill, Bedfordshire Co, Eng

MARRIED: May 18 or 20, 1601, St Paul’s Church, Bedford to Mary Goodwin

DIED: before June 27, 1632, poss in 1628 in prob Elstow

Genealogist Cameron Stewart (11) documents the key links for the early generations

of our Bentleys He wrote to the Records Department of Bedfordshire Co., Eng on Feb 12, 1978 inquiring as to the Bedfordshire Bentleys He received a response dated Feb 20, 1978 from A F Cirket, Senior Records Officer, Bedfordshire Council, County Hall, Bedford, Eng which reads in part (11—page 1631):

“Wm Bentley (G3) was baptized in Ampthill church on 13 Sep 1640 He was the son of Jn Bentley (John—G2) who married Mary Betts, also in Ampthill church on 3 Oct 1630………Jn Bentley above….was the son of William Bentley (G1) who married Mary Goodwin in St Paul’s church, Bedford on the 18 or 20 May 1601 (parish

register and transcript do not agree on the day)

…….I enclose a list of persons who do professional searches in our County, as

requested, as we cannot undertake further research on the subject I also enclose a rough outline pedigree of the Bentley family of Elstow and Ampthill.”

Stewart then lists from the pedigree:

“THE BENTLEYS OF BEDFORDSHIRE

Bedfordshire progenitor William Bentley, m May 18/20, 1601, Bedford, St Paul’s, to Mary Goodwin, bur July 1, 1632 (widow)………….”

-This letter thus establishes William (G1) as the father of John (G2) and the

grandfather of William, Sr (G3), as well as the husband of Mary Goodwin Further,

it documents that Mary was buried in Bedfordshire Co as a widow on July 1, 1632 Thus, it establishes that William died prior to that date

BIRTH AND DEATH DATES OF WILLIAM BENTLEY AND MARY GOODWIN

William Bentley (G1), all seem to agree, was born in Bedfordshire Co., Eng, but there

is no agreement or documentation as to what town Bedford is the choice of Cowan (6); Elstow is the choice in several LDS files Allan Bentley (23) lists Dorchester, but

he likely has the wrong William, son of Captain James

Stewart wrote in 1986 (p 1552): “Contrary to the statements of most family genealogists and most of the so-called “knowledgeable descendants,” this searcher INSISTS that the home in England, where the progenitor was born, was AMPTHILL, BEDFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND Corroborating evidence in Bedfordshire is being examined.” Both Ampthill and Elstow are presently smaller towns a bit to thesouth of the large town of Bedford in eastern England, and their boundaries are very close - and may have changed over the years Likely Mary Goodwin was also born

Bentley-in this area of Bedfordshire Co She may, Bentley-in fact, have been christened at St Paul’s Church in Elstow

Sean Bentley (27) wrote at genforum.genealogy.com in 2005:

“I recently visited the Ancestral Home of the Bentleys (at least as far back as I've been able to trace somewhat definitively so far) in Bedfordshire, England

The county records had much peripheral documentation of local Bentley descendents(birth, marriage, death, and tax records) transcribed from Elstow and Ampthill parishand legal records, but these only went back to about 1602

I walked around Elstow, where William was born (Stewart notes as nearby Ampthill),

as well as John Bunyan A pretty little suburb of Bedford with much Bunyaniana in it.The actual "Slough of Despond" still runs through it! And we visited Ampthill, also a charming village Graveyards in both places had no Bentley stones in evidence, and any stones older than about 1790 were eroded and illegible.”

But when were William and Mary born?

William Bentley was b abt 1581 according to Cowan; Marlin Criddle (7) lists his birth

as abt 1578; the Gayle King Repository with LDS lists 1580 as does Allan Bentley (23) LDS files note he was born in 1573 The problem is that none of these birth dates are documented

Scott Rode wrote Bob Glover: “My date of William of 1578 are taken originally from the documented pages I got from George and Violet Bentley, they lived in

Clearwater, MN and they did all of this with the help of Betty Sonnek of Waldorf, MN

in May of 1999 I got it from my mom who got it from her mom who was Merle Viola

Bentley and a direct descendent of William Bentley of 1578.

There were no sources sited.”

A 1573 birth would mean he was age 28 when married in 1601, which is possible butunlikely Most men in those days married abt age 20-22 William’s son John (G2) married at age 22 Birth dates of abt 1578 and abt 1581 would yield a marriage agefor William of abt 20-23 So it is most likely that the various birth dates noted in family histories is based on the “assumed” age of William upon his marriage But what if it was his second marriage at age 28?

What of Mary? Criddle lists Mary as born abt 1581; Cowan as abt 1583; Dreyer (22)lists Sep 1580 The Gayle King Repository has Aug 2, 1573 as born to John

Goodwyne (b 1510) and Alice (b 1512) How did Stewart handle it in his book? For birth dates for both William and Mary he notes: “?”

The transcription of Mary’s will (below) was preceded by this note, indicating that Stewart uncovered key information well after his book was published:

“Correspondence from Cameron R Stewart dated Sept 18, 2002

From the Bedfordshire Archives Record Office, Bedford, England Transcript of the Will

of Mary Goodwin

`Mary Goodwin Bentley Widow Will ABP/W1632/52 6 Apr 2001 4cc”

This seems to indicate that Mary died at age 52, meaning she was born abt 1580 If

it can be verified that this was her age in 1632 then this would solve the puzzle But wait, this Stewart note followed the transcription of the will:

“See St Paul’s Church records, Bedford, for Mary’s baptism in 1584.”

So was Mary born in abt 1580, born and baptized in 1584, or perhaps born in abt

1580 and baptized in 1584? At this point we lean toward 1584

***************************

When did William die and where were William and Mary buried?

It seems some researchers misunderstood Stewart’s note on the death date for Mary, confusing it to be that of William Some list 1632 as the death date for

William On page 1632 of his book Stewart notes: “Mary Goodwin, bur Jul 1, 1632 (widow).” But since it follows text about William it seems some misunderstood this

as the burial date for him It certainly was confusing But on page 1062 Stewart listsMary’s burial date and widow status on a separate line from William so this was clearly his ruling Some LDS files list his death date as 1628 but provide no

documentation

According to Mary’s will (below), she instructed that she be buried in the churchyard

of Elvestoe (Elstow) According to LDS files, Mary was buried July 1, 1632 at the Elnestae Church Yard, Bedfordshire, Eng The will did not mention that she was to

be buried with William but it was likely Since William was not listed in the will, we assume he died prior to the date of the will (June 27, 1632)

Elstow, Elvestoe and Elnestae are likely the same as the handwriting of records was

hard to read As Mary noted that she was from Elstow in the will dated a few days before her death then most likely she died in Elstow.

********************************

SUMMARY ON BIRTH, DEATH OF WILLIAM AND MARY

For now, we will go with:

William: “b prob betw 1578-1581 in prob Ampthill; d before June 27, 1632, poss 1628, in prob Elstow; prob bur in the churchyard at Elstow.”

Mary: “b prob 1580 or 1584 in prob Elstow; died betw June 27, 1632 after reading of her will and before July 1, 1632 burial in the churchyard at Elstow.”

****************

WHO WERE THE PARENTS OF WILLIAM BENTLEY: ROBERT AND MARY?

As noted in the introduction, the Captain James Bentley as the father of William theory was not accepted by genealogists Emilie Sarter and Cameron Stewart Sean Bentley notes on his site (27): “William's father may have been Robert Bentley (d 1605); his mother was Mary (surname unknown) d 1613.”

Sean visited Bedfordshire in 2005 and noted at genforum.genealogy.com: “Visiting the John Bunyan Museum in Bedford (his mother was Mary Bentley's daughter Margaret) afforded one hitherto factoid unknown to me, that William's mother was also named Mary (surname unknown as well as husband's name) This data came from a John Bunyan family tree they had.” Sean thus did not find a Robert Bentley

as the father of William from this source

The fact that William Bentley’s (G1) wife was named Mary (Goodwin) and that his son John’s (G2) wife was named Mary (Betts) leaves us to wonder if three straight generations of our Bentley’s married a Mary Perhaps there was some confusion in the records?

As noted in the introduction to this section, Cameron Stewart wrote to Lawrence H Bentley (28) on Sep 18, 2002: “that Robert Bentley, buried June 30, 1605 in Elstow Churchyard, Bedfordshire, England may have possibly been the father of William Bentley This has not been proved.”

***********************

MARY GOODWIN BENTLEY’S WILL

The will of Mary Goodwin Bentley is described in “Dictionary of National Biography,” London: Smith, Elder, & Co.,1886:

http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bbunyan.html

“The will of John Bunyan's maternal grandmother, Mary Bentley (d 1632), with its

"Dutch-like picture of an Elstow cottage interior two hundred and fifty years ago,"

proves (J Brown, Biography of John Bunyan, to which we are indebted for all these family details) that his mother "came not of the very squalid poor, but of people who, though humble in station, were yet decent and worthy in their ways."

Sean Bentley notes at genforum.genealogy com:

“I visited Elstow and Bedford England last month (2005) and looked at the

Bedfordshire county records When you get back as far as William and Mary of Ampthill, there's nothing in the transcribed church records - too early! EXCEPT: incredibly they had the Will of Mary Goodwin Bentley (d 1632), which they

photocopied for me Here’s a copy:

I had communication only from Larry Bentley after I'd returned and posted the graphic.”

Sean wrote to Scott Rode: “So, here`s what I have re: the transcribed will of Mary Bentley, from Larry Bentley It looks pretty close to me, but yeah, that original is practically unintelligible! “ Scott posted the below transcription at:

http://scottrode.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?

userid=scottrode&view=0&pid=4251&rand=83461#moreinfo_

The transcription of the 1632 Will of Mary Goodwin Bentley:

Correspondence from Cameron R Stewart to Lawrence H Bentley, dated Sept 18, 2002:

From the Bedfordshire Archives Record Office, Bedford, England Transcript of the Will

of Mary Goodwin

`Mary Goodwin Bentley Widow Will ABP/W1632/52 6 Apr 2001 4cc

(1) In the name of God, Amen This 27th day of June 1632 I, Mary Bentley,

(2) of Elvestoe (Elstow) in the county of Bedford, widow but being sick in body but ofperfect mind and memory I thank my heavenly father

(3) I do make this my last will and testament in manner and form following that is tosay first I bequeathe

(4) my soul unto almighty God my Maker in whom I hope to be saved through Jesus Christ my Savior and my

(5) Body be buried in the churchyard of Elstow aforesaid Item, I give and bequeath

to John Bentley, my son

(6) one brass pot, one little table, and all painted cloths about the house and the standing bed in the

(7) loft Item, I give to my daughter Margaret the joined stool in the chamber and

my little Item, I give to

(8) my daughter Rosse the joined form in the chamber and a hogshead and the tumblestole Item, I give to my daughter Elizabeth

(9) the little kettle and the big platter, a flaxin sheet and a flaxin pillowbeare, a trundle bed and a

(10) copper in the chamber and the Item, I give to my daughter Annie my best , my best cuffe, my gowne, my best

(11) petticoat, the presse in the chamber, the best bolster and blanket and the cofferabove

(12) and the kettle, the mortar and pestle, platter, and the other trundle bed, a harden sheet and pillow beare Item, all my other goods

(13) and chattels whatsoever I unbequeathed I give and bequeath to my daughter Mary whom I appointed

(14) to be soul executrix of this my last Will and testament whom I will se honestly buried and my

(15) burial discharged in witness whereof I have hereunto set my and and seal the day and year

(16) above written

In presence of John Welle, Clerk The Mark of Mary Bentley The Mark of Margerie Jaques, widow (Latin) The Will proved Oct 6, 1632`”

Cameron Stewart:

“See St Paul’s Church records, Bedford, for Mary’s baptism in 1584, Mary’s marriage

to William in 1603 Mary also the maternal grandmother of John Bonionn or

Bon(n)ion(n) known more popularly as John Bunyan, author of “The Pilgrim’s

Progress” b 1628, d 1688 Margaret Bentley, chr Nov 13, 1603 married Thomas Bunnion, May 23, 1627.”

NOTE: The will was written June 27, 1632 and Mary was buried 4 days later on July lst, so likely she knew that she was close to death The Will proved Oct 6, 1632 Mary signed the will with her mark, an “X,” indicating that she was likely illiterate (although she could have been too weak to sign) Interesting that her son John Bunyan, the famous writer, had a mother that could not write But then his

biography indicates that he had little formal education and educated himself by reading books, including those passed on to him by his first wife after her death

And what of William Bentley’s will and the tombstones of William and Mary? Sean Bentley wrote:

“If the records office in Bedford didn't pull out William's will when I asked them

to look up him and Mary, I must assume that his is not in existence there.

My understanding is that the local church records have all been collected in

Bedford, so his probably either is nonexistent after half a millennium or

is stuffed in someone's trunk somewhere! The gravestones I saw in

Elstow/Ampthill from that period were so weathered that they were

indecipherable, alas

That said, it's fascinating to prowl around the old homestead.”

-THE 7 CHILDREN OF WILLIAM BENTLEY AND MARY GOODWIN BENTLEY

The number of children of William and Mary and their names is somewhat of a mystery, but then going back 400 years one must expect that

Children from the Bedfordshire Records

The Feb 20, 1978 letter from the Senior Records Clerk of Bedfordshire Co to

Cameron Stewart noted in regard to William Bentley and Mary Goodwin:

Their seven children appeared on the chart in this order:

1 MARGARET, baptized November 13, 1603, at Elstow;

2 Elizabeth, baptized October 23, 1605, at Elstow;

3 Thomas, baptized July 12, 1607, at Elstow;

4 JOHN, baptized November 5, 1608, at Elstow;

5 Rose, baptized July 12, 1612 at Elstow;

6 Emma, baptized February 8, 1617, at Elstow;

7 Mary, executor of mother's Will Note: Is Mary the eldest (no birth date)?

Stewart assumes that the mother would choose the oldest child as the executrix of the will, but perhaps she was chosen because she cared for her mother to the end?

Children from Mary’s will of 1632

Mary’s will lists 6 children in this order: John, Margaret, Rosse (Rose), Elizabeth, Annie, and Mary It seems she listed the women after the men, and Thomas is missing So did he die by 1632 or did Mary leave him out of the will? Margaret, Elizabeth and Rose are next in the same order as the baptisms Named last in the will is Annie, but it was Emma in the will Likely she either went by both names or the handwriting of the will was misread

What then of Mary, the last daughter listed in the will? In both the Parish Records and the will she is listed as the executrix Is Mary the eldest child, as usually the executrix would be? If so she would have probably been born abt 1602 as her mother married in 1601 and had Margaret in 1603 Emma (or Annie) would have been but abt 15 yrs old when her mother died, leaving her parentless So Mary, the daughter, listed last in the will could not have been the youngest child -as she is

listed on some websites Most likely then Mary was the oldest and born in abt 1602.

Thus it seems that William and Mary had 7 children, two boys and five girls Note that the dates of the christening prove only that the children were born prior to thosedates -we don’t know their exact dates of birth but it was likely in those times within a week

1 MARY BENTLEY was prob born in 1602

2 MARGARET BENTLEY BUNYAN was c Nov 13, 1603 See below for more

3 ELIZABETH BENTLEY was c Oct 23, 1605

4 THOMAS BENTLEY was c July 12, 1607 and presumed to have died prior to his mother’s death in 1632 as he is not listed in her will

He may have married Priscilla Weathers (b abt 1609) in abt 1625 and had child John Bentley (abt 1627) (22)

5 JOHN BENTLEY was c Nov 5, 1608 The Bedfordshire pedigree also states in regard to William’s son John: “m Oct 3, 1630, Mary Betts at Ampthill; John was bur March 26, 1666, at Ampthill.” See Chapter 2 for more on John Bentley (G2)

6 ROSE BENTLEY BUNYAN was c July 12, 1612 According to the letter from the Senior Records Officer: “Their third daughter, Rose, married Edward Bonnionn, born before 1602, brother of Thos and uncle of John the writer.” They married Aug

31, 1629 in Elstow (22, 23) That is, the Bentley sisters Rose and Margaret married the Bunyan brothers Edward and Thomas Rose and Edward had children Rose (1633) and Anne (1634) (22)

7 EMMA (or Annie) BENTLEY was c Feb 8, 1617

MARGARET (MARY) BENTLEY BUNYAN, DAUGHTER OF WILLIAM AND MARY, MOTHER

OF FAMOUS AUTHOR JOHN BUNYAN

The letter from the Senior Records clerk also noted: “Margt married Thomas

Bunnion, jun (himself baptized at Elstow on 24 Feb 1602), on 23 May 1627 (she being his second wife) Their eldest son, John (baptized on 30 Nov 1628), was the author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress.”

Margaret Bentley and Thomas Bunyan, Jr had two children other than John, the first-born: (22, 23)

1 Margaret (c Mar 7, 1630 in Elstow; bur July 24, 1644 at age 14 in Elstow) Note: Stewart had the same dates

2 William (c Dec 1, 1633 in Elstow)

Thomas married his first wife, Anne Pinney (b abt 1605) on Jan 10, 1623 at the Elstow Church (28) She died Apr 13, 1626 in Elstow (22) Died 1627 childless (28)Margaret died June 10, 1644 in Elstow (11, 22); Thomas was bur Feb 7, 1676 in Elstow (22, 23)

Thomas Bunyan, Jr.’s father was Thomas Bunyan, Sr (b abt 1575 in Elstow; d

1641 in Elstow) Thomas, Sr first married abt 1600? (wife unknown.,b abt 1583)and had 3 children including Thomas, Jr and Edward (who married Margaret

Bentley’s sister Rose); she died perhaps abt 1603 after birth of John as Thomas Sr married later in 1603

and then married Elizabeth Leigh Nov 18, 1603 and had 7 children (22)?????? B abt 1585?

Had 3d wife Anne named in will

See John Brown

Allan Bentley (23) notes of Thomas, Jr.:

Edmund Venables writes of Margaret in “The Life of John Bunyan” (23):

“The mother of the immortal Dreamer was one Margaret Bentley, who, like her husband, was a native of Elstow and only a few months his junior The details of her mother's will, which is still extant, drawn up by the vicar of Elstow, prove that, like her husband, she did no t, in the words of Bunyan's latest and most complete biographer, the Rev Dr Brown, "come of the very squalid poor, but of people who, though humble in station, were yet decent and worthy in their ways."

John Bunyan's mother was his father's second wife The Bunyans were given to marrying early, and speedily consoled themselves on the loss of one wife with the companionship of a successor Bunyan's grandmother cannot have died before February 24, 1603, the date of his father's baptism But before the year was out his grandfather had married again His father, too, had not completed his twentieth year

when he married his first wife, Anne Pinney, January 10, 1623 She died in 1627, apparently without any surviving children, and before the year was half-way through,

on the 23 rd of the following May, he was married a second time to Margaret

Bentley At the end of seventeen years Thomas Bunyan was again left a widower, and within two months, with grossly indecent haste, he filled the vacant place with a third wife Bunyan himself cannot have been much more than twenty when he married We have no particulars of the death of his first wife But he had been married two years to his noble-minded second wife at the time of the assizes in

1661, and the ages of his children by his first wife would indicate that no long

interval elapsed between his being left a widower and his second marriage.”

“Dictionary of National Biography,” London: Smith, Elder, & Co,, 1886:

http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bbunyan.html

Thomas, Jr …later had a third wife, Ann, after Margaret died in 1644 Thomas, Jr was buried at Elstow on Feb 7, 1676 “In his will, while leaving a shilling apiece to his famous son and his three other children, he bequeathed all he had to his third wife, Ann, who survived him four years, and was buried in the same churchyard as her husband on 25 Sept 1680.”

“John Bunyan's father, Thomas Bunyan, Jr., was what we should now call a

whitesmith, a maker and mender of pots and kettles In his will he designates

himself a "brasier;" his son, who carried on the same trade and adopted the same designation when describing himself, is more usually styled a "tinker." Neither of them, however, belonged to the vagrant tribe, but had a settled home at Elstow, where their forge and workshop were, though they doubtless travelled the country round in search of jobs.”

Note that “Bunyan” has been found spelled no fewer than 34 ways various ways according to the Wholesome Words bio, including “Bunnion,” “Bonnionn,” and

“Boynon.”

*************

JOHN BUNYAN, AUTHOR OF PILGRIM’S PROGRESS, SON OF MARGARET BENTLEY, GRANDSON OF WILLIAM BENTLEY (G1)

C Nov 30, 1628, Elstow d Aug 31, 1688, London

Cameron Stewart concluded from the Bedfordshire Records that both William Bentley(G3), the Rhode Island progenitor, and John Bunyan, the famous author, were grandsons of William Bentley (G1) and thus first cousins (11—p 1067)

John Bunyan was c Nov 30, 1628 in Elstow according to the Bedfordshire Records His bio at Wholesome Words notes his death in 1688:

“In the spring of that year he had been enfeebled by an attack of "sweating

sickness." He caught a severe cold on a ride through heavy rain to London from

Reading, whither he had gone to effect a reconciliation between a father and a son Afever ensued, and he died on 31 Aug at the house of his friend John Strudwick He continued his literary activity to the last Four books from his pen had been published

in the first half of the year, and he partly revised the sheets of a short treatise entitled "The Acceptable Sacrifice" on his deathbed He was buried in Mr Stradwick'svault in the burial-ground in Bunhill Fields, Finsbury.”

View his tombstone at the London cemetery:

http://www.thecemeteryproject.com/Graves/bunyan-john.htm which reads: “John Bunyan, Author of The Pilgrim’s Progress, OBI 31st Aug 1688, Age 60”

His book is the second best-seller of any book in history, second only to the Bible, and well ahead of the one million best-selling books on running sold thus far by Robert H Glover

A detailed bio of John and a review of his ancestors can be viewed at the WholesomeWords site, which copied it from “Dictionary of National Biography,” London: Smith, Elder, & Co,, 1886 http://www.wholesomewords.org/biography/bbunyan.html

“Dreyer Roots and Many Branches” (22) includes a significant amount of informationabout the Bunyans, including the wives, children, and grandchildren of John Bunyan, the author The website does not offer documentation, however much of it is

corroborated in the John Bunyan bio at Wholesome Words and the John Bunyan bio

at wikipedia.org

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?

op=REG&db=cathys_clan&id=I03839

Dreyer Roots:

John Bunyan, the author, married Mary (b abt 1627 in Elstow; d abt 1658 in

Elstow) in 1648 in Elstow John and Mary are listed as having 4 ch.: Mary (1650, blind from birth), Elizabeth (1654), John (1654, twin of Elizabeth),Thomas (1656) John the author married Elizabeth (b 1641; d 1691) in 1659 in Elstow John was imprisoned just after the marriage, leaving Elizabeth to care for his four ch by his first wife John and Elizabeth had 2 ch.: Sarah (1665), and Joseph (1672)

Dictionary of National Biography:

“In his sixteenth year (June 1644) Bunyan suffered the irreparable misfortune of the loss of his mother, which was aggravated by his father marrying within two months

of her decease The arrival of a stepmother seems to have estranged Bunyan from his home, and to have led to his enlisting as a soldier.”

“He and his wife were "as poor as poor might be," without "so much household stuff

as a dish or spoon between them." But his wife came of godly parents, and brought two pious books of her father's to her new home, the reading of which awakened theslumbering sense of religion in Bunyan's heart, and produced an external change of habits Up to this time, though by no means what would be called "a bad character" for he was no drunkard, nor licentious Bunyan was a gay, daring young fellow, whose chief delight was in dancing, bell-ringing, and in all kinds of rural sports and pastimes, the ringleader of the village youth at wake or merrymaking or in the Sunday sports after service time on the green As a boy he had acquired the habit of profane swearing, in which he became such an adept as to shock those who were farfrom scrupulous in their language as "the ungodliest fellow for swearing they ever heard." All this the influence of his young wife and her good books gradually

changed.”

Of his preachings in 1675: “He frequently visited London to preach, always getting large congregations Twelve hundred would come together to hear him at seven o'clock on a weekday morning in winter.”

Bunyan's schooling was of brief duration, and it wasn't long before he was assisting his father and learning the tinker trade himself On his sixteenth birthday Bunyan joined Cromwell's New Model Army, introducing him to the Puritan movement After this military stint, he settled down as a tinker ("brazier") and married at the age of twenty

In 1653 Bunyan joined the Puritan Free Church in Bedford, and in 1657 he took on his first assignment as a "field preacher." At this time there were scores of men, most with little education, who were preaching to Nonconformist audiences

throughout England With the restoration of Charles II to the throne, these preacherswere suspect and subject to arrest Refusing to refrain from preaching, Bunyan was arrested in 1660 and imprisoned-for more than eleven years

“Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners,” written during this imprisonment, is the spiritual autobiography of Bunyan, the traveling tinker who became the eminent preacher and author It is not a detailed account of Bunyan's early life, for it tells us very little of his youth, education, military experiences, and marriages

Written in 1666, “Grace Abounding” chronicles Bunyan's spiritual journey from a profane life filled with cursing, blasphemy, and Sabbath desecration to a new

creation in Christ Jesus.”

**************

Information on John Bunyan from wikipedia.org:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bunyan (including a copy of the painting of him bySadler, National Portrait Gallery (also 11 p 1272)

John Bunyan , a Christian writer and preacher, was born at Harrowden wrote The Pilgrim's Progress, arguably the most famous published Christian allegory.

Bunyan had very little schooling (about 2-4 years) In his autobiographical book, Grace Abounding, Bunyan describes himself as having led an abandoned life in his youth; but there appears to be no evidence that he was, outwardly at any rate, worse than the average of his neighbours: the only serious fault which he specifies isprofanity, others being dancing and bell-ringing He followed his father in the Tarish Tinker's trade, and served in the parliamentary army at Newport Pagnell (1644 - 1647); in 1649 he married a pious young woman, whose only dowry appears to havebeen two books, Arthur Dent's Plain Man's Pathway to Heaven and Lewis Bayly's Practice of Piety, by which he was influenced towards a religious life He was

received into the Baptist church in Bedford by immersion in the River Great Ouse in

1653 In 1655 he became a deacon and began preaching, with marked success from the start He lived in Elstow till 1655 (when his wife died) and then moved to

Bedford He married again in 1659 John converted to Puritan after his first wife died Bunyan became a popular preacher as well as a prolific author (who penned about 60 books), though most of his works consist of expanded sermons In theology

he was a Puritan, but there was nothing gloomy about him

The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come, an allegorical novel, was published in 1678 after being written in 1675 while Bunyan was

imprisoned for conducting unauthorised religious services outside of the Church of England He was jailed for nearly 12 years for attacking the teaching of the Quakers and “preaching without a license.” An expanded edition appeared in 1679, and the Second Part appeared in 1684 This work is regarded as one of the greatest classics

of literature Bunyan has the distinction of having written, in The Pilgrim's Progress, probably the most widely read book in the English language, and one which has beentranslated into more tongues than any book except the Bible The charm of the work,which gives it wide appeal, lies in the interest of a story in which the intense

imagination of the writer makes characters, incidents, and scenes alike live in that ofhis readers as things actually known and remembered by themselves, in its touches

of tenderness and quaint humour, its bursts of heart-moving eloquence, and its pure,idiomatic English The novel was made into a film in 1912 Another film version wasmade in 1977 starring Liam Neeson in the title role

Review the “Pilgrim’s Progress” online at at

http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress

Article and photo of the book cover at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim

%27s_Progress

**************

Chapter 2: JOHN BENTLEY (G2) (1608-1666), son of WILLIAM BENTLEY and MARY GOODWIN BENTLEY ; husband of MARY BETTS BENTLEY (b 1607); father of WILLIAMBENTLEY, SR.; grandfather of William Bentley, Jr.; g grandfather of Greene Bentley, Sr.; gg grandfather of Green Bentley, Jr.; ggg grandfather of George C Bentley; ggg

g grandfather of George E Bentley; ggg gg grandfather of Wilbur D Bentley; ggg ggg grandfather of Adelia Bentley Burger; ggg ggg g grandfather of Corinne Burger Glover; ggg ggg gg grandfather of Robert H Glover

BORN: chr Nov 5, 1608, Elstow church

MARRIED: Oct 3, 1630 in Ampthill church to Mary Betts

DIED: buried at St Andrews Church, Ampthill on March 26, 1666

The 1978 letter and pedigree (11-p.1631) from the Senior Records Officer of

Bedfordshire documents John (G2) as the son of William (G1), husband of Mary Betts, and father of William (G3):

“William Bentley G3) was baptizes in Ampthill church on Sep 13, 1640 He was the son of Jn Bentley who married Mary Betts, in the Ampthill church on 3 Oct 1630

Jn Bentley….was buried was buried at Ampthill on 26 Mar 1666……Jn Bentley above(who married Mary Betts) was the son of William Bentley who married Mary

Goodwin… ”

The Bedfordshire letter also noted that John Bentley was chr Nov 5, 1608 in Elstow church

Lawrence Bentley (28) notes that John was buried at St Andrews Church in Ampthill

MARY BETTS BENTLEY

Stewart lists her date of birth (p 1817) as “?” and also lists no date of death

Cowan and Criddle and several others list: Mary Betts Bentley was b Aug 2, 1607 inprob Ampthill ,Bedfordshire Co., England; and d in prob Ampthill But they offer nodocumentation Some list her as dying in abt 1673 in Ampthill

Ancestry Family Trees lists 1607-1673 and 1613-1674

Allan Bentley notes that she was chr Aug 2, 1607 in Ampthill and “place of

christening and date were obtained from the LDS IGI files of Bedfordshire, England which also showed her father was Robert Betts.”

THE CHILDREN OF JOHN BENTLEY AND MARY BETTS BENTLEY

John and Mary had 6 children born in Ampthill according to the Senior Records Officer of Bedfordshire and Parish Records of Ampthill: Robert, Mary, John, Thomas, James and William (11)

bap below indicates dates of baptism for children of Jn both from the Parish

Records of Ampthill (11-p 1045), and the Pedigree Chart from the Bedfordshire Records (11-p 1632) According to Lawrence Bentley the baptisms took place at St.Andrews Church in Ampthill

bur below indicates burial dates from the Bedfordshire Records

m below indicates marriage dates (11-p 1046) from the Parish Records of Ampthill

1 ROBERT BENTLEY was bap Mar 25, 1631, at Ampthill We have located no

additional info on him, he may have died young

2 MARY BENTLEY was bap November 11, 1632, at Ampthill She m Hen (or

Henry) Chad or Chadd Sep 28, 1674 in Ampthill

3 JOHN BENTLEY was bap July 20, 1634, at Ampthill; bur at Ampthill, July 22,

1686 He married Margaratt (Margaret) Bowth Nov 3, 1656 in Ampthill Ancestry Family Trees lit as 1636-1675 The Parish Records show that Margaret Bowth Bentleywas bur Aug 18, 1675 in Ampthill

The Ampthill Parish records listed the following as the children of a Jn., which are likely the grandchildren of John (G2): Mary, chr Aug 6, 1657; Elizabeth, chr Aug 8,1664; Thomas chr Jan 18, 1668 Criddle (7) also lists the same as the children of John and Margaret

Stewart’s list from the Parish Records seems to show that John Bentley then married Rebecca Michell (or Mitchell) on Nov 15, 1678 in Ampthill, and they had a daughter Rebecca christened there Oct 18, 1679 Rebecca, the mother, apparently remarriedafter the death of husband John:

Bently m 9.28.1687 Rebecca h Wm Holis

And John’s daughter Rebecca Bentley, may have twice married:

Bently m 5.19.1694 Ann h Jn Neale??????????????????

Bently m 10.11.1707 Rebecca h Thos Harbor (Harbour)

4 THOMAS BENTLEY was bap April 10, 1636, at Ampthill; bur at Ampthill, Jan 11,

1667 (Thomas died just 9 ½ months after his father) He m Mary Abes Oct 8, 1655

in Ampthill Stewart notes the Ampthill Parish Records listed the following as ch of a Thos., (which are likely the grandchildren of John (G2): Ann chr Sep 27, 1650; Marychr Jan 19, 1654; Jn chr July 20, 1656 However, Allan Bentley lists Ann as c Sep

27, 1660 Since Thomas didn’t marry until 1655 most likely the 1660 date is

correct Allan Bentley listed only Ann as a child of Thomas and Mary.

5 JAMES BENTLEY was bap May 06, 1638, at Ampthill; bur at Ampthill, Jan 28, 1696/7 The Ampthill Parish Records listed the following as ch of a Jas., which are likely the grandchildren of John (G2): Francis chr Sep 29, 1661; Elizabeth chr Aug 13, 1663; Jas chr Sep 23, 1664; Elizabeth chr June 24, 1667 Also listed as dau of Jas Bentley and Mary: Ann chr Apr 8, 1670 Criddle (7) lists Mary as the mother of these 5 children with James

Note that two daughters named Elizabeth are listed Perhaps one died and the next took her name, or it could have been an error in listing one of the names? Both would fit in the time frame Dryer and Allan Bentley list the first Elizabeth and not the second, and do not list James

Also listed as dau of Jas Bentley (or Benkley): Frances b June 13, 1698, chr June

24, 1698

6 WILLIAM BENTLEY (G3) was bap Sep 13, 1640, at Ampthill His burial and

marriage dates are not listed by Stewart with these records He d prob, July 9,

1720 in Kingstown, RI (6, 7,11, 23); and m Sarah (Eldred?) in abt 1675 (7, 12, 13) Children of William and Sarah: William (1667), James (1679), Jane (1681), Thomas (1685), Benjamin (1690) See Chapter 3 for more info

Scott Rode (24) added Elizabeth (b abt 1637) and Jasper (b abt 1643) to bring his list to 8 children, and placed them in a different order than the Rhode Island Records(which most likely would be correct)

Also birth records Rob Bunyan -Eliz, Jn., Thos 1665-1667-1654

Also listed by Stewart from the marriage records of the Parish in Ampthill:

-FOLLOWING SECTIONS STILL IN DRAFT FORM—MORE INFO AND DOCUMENTATIO

TO COME

***************

PART II: THE EARLY BENTLEYS OF RHODE ISLAND—GENERATION 3 & 4

Chapter 3: WILLIAM BENTLEY, SR (G3)(1640-1720); son of JOHN BENTLEY and

MARY BETTS BENTLEY ; husband of SARAH ELDRED BENTLEY (1650-1731); father ofWilliam Bentley, Jr.; grandfather of Greene Bentley, Sr.; g grandfather of Green Bentley, Jr,; gg grandfather of George C Bentley; ggg grandfather of George E Bentley; ggg g grandfather of Wilbur Bentley; ggg gg grandfather of Adelia Bentley Burger; ggg ggg grandfather of Corinne Burger Glover; ggg ggg g grandfather of Robert H Glover -FIRST BENTLEY TO IMMIGRATE TO COLONIAL AMERICA

William Bentley, Sr (#2) was christened Sep 13, 1640 in Ampthill, Bedfordshire Co.,Eng; and died July 9/11,1720 in Kingstown, RI (6, 7,11) Davidson notes he was born Aug 29, 1640 in Gravesend, England Rode lists him as b Aug 29 as well, but inAmpthill *****Most likely he was b Aug 29, 1640 in Ampthill, and christened there

Since his father was born and died in England and William (#3) was born in England and died in Rhode Island, we know that he was the first Bentley in our part of the family to migrate to America The date when William migrated to the colonies is not known for sure The “New England Genealogical and Historical Register” gives, “Wm.Bentley came to New England on the “Arabella,” May, 1671.” (10) Samuel Gardiner Drake wrote in “Founders of New England”, 1860: “William Bentley was probably theWilliam who sailed from Gravesend, England, May 27, 1671 in the ship, “Arabelle.” (13) Davidson states the vessel landed at Boston, Mass It seems that William either landed in Boston and then went to Narragansett, RI (formerly part of South Kingstown), or he in fact landed in Narragansett We know that he arrived in

Kingstown, RI by July 8,1677 as that is when William, Jr was born there

Cowan:

///Various records show:

-a William Bentley arriving in Virginia in 1624 He received land in

Elizabeth City, Virginia the same year ( Perhaps early searchers

confused Elizabeth, New Jersey with Elizabeth City, Virginia )

-a John Bentley to Virginia July, 1635 age 34 years

-a Mary Bentley to New England July, 1635 age 20 years

-a William Bentley to New England September, 1635 age 47 years **

-a John Bentley same ship age 17 years

- Alice Bentley same ship age 15 years

-a William Bentley to New England May, 1671 no age given (Tepper's

"Ships Passenger Lists")///

After the end of the 1675-1676, King Phillip’s War, which pitted the English colonists

of New England against the Indians, there was a lot of unrest in the Narragansett area Connecticut and Rhode Island both claimed the area “Bentley Gleanings” lists

a note from the Narragansett Historical Register in regard to the 1700 wedding of Jane Bentley to John Wightman, which states “her father, Wm Bentley, was a resident of Narragansett, 29 July, 1679.” A note dated July 26, 1679 from

“Ancestors of the Bentley’s of Chautauqua County, N,Y.” by Eleanor Trisman reads:

“William Bentley and forty-one others of Narragansett sent a petition to the King, praying that “he would put an end to those differences about the government

thereof, which has been so fatal to the prosperity of the place; animosity still arising

in the people’s minds, as they stand affected to this or that government.” (13)

In 1696, William was a freeman He was a currier (one that prepares tanned hides for use) in North Kingstown “When in 1705 the town granted him liberty to erect his tan hose (a tannery for the making of leather), the land allotted for the purpose was not apparently other occupied However, when the “vacant lands” were in 1709

“platted” and “laid out” to Captain John Eldred from whom on December 14, 1716 William Bentley bought eight acres which included the tan house and “garding” on which he continued to live until his death in 1720 when if fell to his youngest son Benjamin as his inheritance.” (11)

WILLIAM AND SARAH

William’s wife Sarah was poss born Oct 10 or 19, 1650 in Yarmouth, Mass (7); married William abt 1674 (6), and died Dec 28, 1731

July 10, 1978, Davidson took a photo copy of the handwritten, frail, old Bible

transcriptions from the Rhode Island Record that Stewart notes in his research It stated:

“Sarah Bently She the Wife of ye above William Departed this Life December ye 28 1731.”

Various sources list Sarah’s maiden name as Leithfield , Litchfield, and Eldred Eleanor L Trishman’s “Ancestors of the Bentleys of Chautauqua County, N.Y.” seems to clear up why some list Leithfield as Sarah’s maiden name: Stating it was the name of her first husband:

”Sarah Eldred by her first husband (Leithfield) had two sons Sarah’s mother was Ann Lumpkin who was the daughter of Tamazine amd William Lumpkin from

Norwich, England Ann Lumpkin married William Eldred in 1647.” Lobdell adds:

“William Bentley whose wife was Sarah Leithfield was at Kingston, R.I July 1679

“(10)

Criddle (7) has Sarah the daughter of William Eldred (abt 1622, Suffolk Co., Eng-abt

1679, Yarmouth, Mass., and Anne Lumpkin (abt 1624, Lincolnshire Co, Eng-Nov 1,

1676, Yarmouth)

Criddle doesn’t list a Leithfeld as a first husband but lists as the husband of Sarah after William died as Henry Brightman, married in North Kingstown, RI Mar 16,

1721 (7, 14) He died in 1728 in Freetown, Bristol, Mass (7, 12)

Others, including Cowan, aren’t convinced that Sarah Bentley was Sarah Eldred

Seems most logical that Eldred was her last name as several records show the sale

of land involving Bentleys (including her sons William, Jr and Thomas) which were witnessed by Eldreds ; and a 1696 list of freemen in Kingstown includes several Eldreds along with Thomas Bentley (who would likely be Sarah’s son), and records show that in 1716 William bought land from a Captain John Eldred Davidson refers

to a document stating: “Aug 1,1718 His wife, Sarah testified that Samuel Eldred, father of her cousin John Eldred, did dwell upon the land where John now dwells, fiftyyears ago.” So likely then that Sarah was also an Eldred like her cousin?

So for now we will go with Eldred (?) as Sarah’s maiden name

Dolores Davidson on William, Sr.: “In 1720 he died and his wife Sarah and son Benjamin were appointed executors under his will There were bequests to his eldestson William, an also to sons James, and Thomas, and Benjamin, and to his daughter Jane Whitmore.”

The Rhode Island Record notes the birth dates of the sons of William and Sarah below but doesn’t mention daughter Jane Instead, it is noted: “Mary Austen Born in

ye year 1670.” This perhaps could have been a daughter born in England who died? Or more likely the same as the Jane mentioned as William’s daugher in his will?

1) William Bently Born in Amphill in Bedfordshire

2) England and Departed this Life in Kingstown

3) 83 yrs and 11 days of His age and Sarah Bently She

4) the Wife of ye above William Departed this Life

5) December ye 28 1731

6) Mary Austen Born in ye year 1670

[' a William Bentley to New England May, 1671 no age given (Tepper's "Ships Passenger Lists") IF this is OUR WIlliam then he was not in this country when Mary Austen was born in 1670 ]

7) William Bently Son of William Born July ye 8 day 1677 (note-Mr Stewart says the month could be Jan or June)

8)James Bently Son of William Born May ye 26 dy _ 1679

9) Thomas Bently Son of William Born June ye 19 dy _1685

10) Benjamin Bently Son of William Born March ye 27 dy _ 1690"////

****

CHILDREN OF WILLIAM AND SARAH: William, Jr., James, Jane, Thomas, Benjamin

1 WILLIAM BENTLEY, JR (#2) was born July 8, 1677 in Kingstown and died before Mar 21, 1760 (7, 11) Davidson lists as born in 1674 See Chapter XX for more info