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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Dorset => Topic started by: jonwicken on Wednesday 18 January 17 23:19 GMT (UK)
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My ancestor James Benfield married Mary Case in 1766 at Broadwinsor and died and was buried in Swanage in 1813 aged 82.
His baptism is therefore presumably that of the James Benfield in 1730 at Swanage, son of John and Elizabeth Benfield.
Then are Benfields and Bonfields in Swanage before this time but I can't find John and Elizabeth's marriage and so can't get any further back with this line.
If anyone can offer anything to help try and to break down this wall, I would be most grateful.
Thanks,
Jon
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There is a marriage on both the Dorset opc site and FreeReg2 for John Benfield (alternative names given are Benvall Benville and Benavold) to an Elizabeth Plowman at Melcombe Horsey in 1727. His parish is given as Corfe Castle and hers as either Zinfrute or Vinefrute. Corfe Castle is not that far from Swanage but I can't find her parish at all.
Emeltom
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Goodness me that is brilliant!
I know Corfe Castle is just up the road so that must indeed be it.
Thank you so very much!
Jon
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The parish register is available on Ancestry but I can't work out her parish either!
A bad attempt at Winfrith perhaps. :-\
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Thank you.
If neither were of the parish then I assume they married by license?
I am not sure how marriages worked then.
Might there be a marriage license somewhere?
Thanks,
Jon
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A good place to ask would be the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester:
https://www.dorsetforyou.gov.uk/dorsethistorycentre
I've used them a few times and always found them to be very helpful.
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Thanks very much. I have emailed them to ask if they might hold a marriage bond.
Also I have been looking at the Winfrith registers as I think 'Vinfrute' can only be this as you kindly suggested.
And in Winfrith there is the baptism of an Elizabeth Plowman in 1708.
She was the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Plowman who had the following children baptised in Winfrith:
William Plowman 1698 (assumed to be be the William Plowman buried in Winfrith 1701)
unnamed son Plowman 1700
Vine Plowman 1703
Elizabeth Plowman 1708
A Thomas Plowman who is presumably the father was buried in Winfrith in 1722/3.
I decided to have a look for Vine Plowman given the unusal name and found that a Vine Plowman son of Edward and Mary was baptised in Broadwinsor in 1739.
This couple had children baptised there from 1731 to 1742.
Interestingly an Edward and Mary Plowman had a son named Thomas baptised in Winfrith in 1727.
So it seems that the son baptised in Winfrith in 1700 with an unreadable name must be Edward who married a Mary and had a child in Winfrith in 1727 before moving to Broadwinsor before 1731.
Interestingly my ancestor James Benfield of Swanage, seemingly now the nephew of Edward Plowman of Broadwinsor, married his wife Mary Case in 1766 at Broadwinsor.
Could it be he came to meet Mary due to his family links to the Plowmans in Broadwinsor?
I have yet to find the marriage of Thomas Plowman to an Elizabeth before 1698 (was she Elizabeth Vine?) and also Edward Plowman to Mary before 1727.
The Benfield families are very difficult to unravel as there were so many of the in the area and the name is found spelt so many different ways.
The 1628 will (proved 1634) of Thomas Bondfield of Corfe Castle also has his name written as Bonvyle.
Also Elias & Christabel of Corfe Castle had children baptised with surnames Benfell and Benfield in the 1650s and 1660s.
There are therefore a lot of variants of the name including Benfield, Bendfield, Bonfield, Bondfield, Bonefield, Banfield, Benville, Benfell and Benvall.
A lot more digging to be done.
Thanks all,
Jon
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And thanks to the Dorset wills on ancestry and this website http://www.opcdorset.org/Miscellaneous/DorsetNavalAdmons1696-1750.htm, I now know Thomas Plowman had another son.
Thomas Plowman junior was killed in a huge naval disaster on the Isles of Scilly on 22 October 1707 when four ships were wrecked due to a navigational error. 1,400 to 2,000 men were lost.
Thomas Plowman senior is here shown to be a Collar Maker and could sign his name.
What is very interesting about the link above is it shows the Plowmans in other naval administrations as well:
Surname of Deceased
WINDSOR Alexander
HMS "Eagle"
home parish: Winfrith Newburgh
Administra-tor/trix: Elizabeth, wife of Thomas PLOWMAN, mother
Sureties: Thomas PLOWMAN, collar maker of Winfrith Newburgh + William PLOWMAN senior, collar maker of Brianston
23 Jan 1705/6
DA/A/1705 20
PLOWMAN Thomas, junior
HMS "Eagle"
home parish: Winfrith Newburgh
Administra-tor/trix: Thomas PLOWMAN, collar maker of Winfrith Newburgh, father
Sureties: Administrator + Thomas HOMER, fellmonger of Wareham
18 Nov 1707
DA/A/1707 90
HOMER Thomas, junior
HMS "Eagle"
home parish: Wareham
Administra-tor/trix: Thomas HOMER, felmonger of Wareham, father
Sureties: Administrator + Thomas PLOWMAN, collar maker of Winfrith Newburgh
18 Nov 1707
DA/A/1707 73
So it would appear that Thomas Ploughman's wife Elizabeth had a child before her marriage presumably to a first husband and that he died in 1705/6 and was on the same ship HMS Eagle.
Then Thomas and Elizabeth's son was killed at sea in 1707 along with the son of Thomas Homer who was presumably a family friend or relative.
More digging to do...
Jon
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Lots of details there.....your spade must be red-hot with all that digging! :)
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You may be interested in the following:
Bastardy Papers
9 Apr 1690 • Puddletown, Dorset, England
Reference: PE/BER/OV 7/1/2 Description: Thomas Plowman of Puddletown, collarmaker, Charles Biffe of Puddletown, and William Plowman of Blandford St Mary, collarmaker; Edith Sexey of Bere Regis
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/2a3b02db-aa74-4f90-a3c3-80787a0710fa
http://dcc.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=PE-BER%2fOV%2f7%2f1%2f2