Benjamin Ellis
- Born: Abt 1700, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA 5,37,65,209
- Christened: 12 Jun 1700, Sandwich, Barnstable, MA 37,65
- Marriage: Hannah Gibbs on 25 Mar 1724 in Sandwich, Barnstable, MA 5,37,65,66,314
- Died: Bef 6 Jun 1755, Lebanon, New London, CT 5,37,65,66,314
General Notes:
BENJAMIN3 ELLIS (Lt. Mordecai,2 Lt. John1), born about 1699, baptized in the Sandwich Church 12 June 1700, died before 6 June 1755.
He married in Sandwich, 25 March 1724, HANNAH4 GIBBS, born in Plymouth 24 Feb. 1701, died probably in Lebanon, Conn., after 7 June 1770, daughter of John3 and Esther (Swift) Gibbs of Plymouth. The will of his mother-in-law, Esther (Swift) Gibbs, dated 15 Oct. 1736, refers to her four daughters and names her granddaughter, Hannah Ellis.
He was a minor under 14 and one of the "five other chil-dren" not named in the settlement of his father's estate in 1710. In 1720 he signed, with his siblings, the receipt which they gave to their brother John3 Ellis. In July 1722 he and his brother Samuel Ellis jointly purchased from John Thomas of Duxbury one half of a 300-acre tract of Plymouth lands which are described as lying at a place called Monument Ponds, near Indian Brook (PLCD, vol. 16, p. 67). In this deed he is called "Benjamin Ellis of Sandwich, labourer." He may have re-mained in Sandwich until his marriage to Hannah Gibbs, but soon afterwards he was certainly living on his land in Plym-outh as we find that "Hannah wife of Benjamin Ellis" was ad-mitted to the church there 21 Oct. 1725, where his daughter Hannah was baptized 5 June 1726 (Plymouth Church Records, 1630-1859 (1920), vol. 1, p, 229, 232). He evidently was not himself a church member, although his brother Samuel was, as we find that when the residents of Monument Ponds peti-tioned the Plymouth Church for leave to establish the Second Church of Plymouth in Monument, Hannah Ellis was among members in full communion who received permission to do so. A nephew, the Rev. Jonathan Ellis, was ordained pastor 1738 (ibid., p. 293, 298).
Plymouth deeds show that, 14 Jan. 1725/6, Benjamin Ellis and his brother Samuel, then both called "of Plymouth, yeo-men," agreed to divide the 300-acre tract which they had previously bought from John Thomas. A deed, dated 26 April 1746, relates that "Benjamin Ellis and Samuel Ellis, both of Plymouth, are co-partners in a certain tract of land being at a place called Indian Brook in Plymouth, the one half being settled upon Samuel as part of the estate left him by Will from his Honoured father, deceased, and whereas no dividing line has hitherto been settled between us" (PLCD, vol. 38, p. 51). The division was made necessary by the death of Samuel some months before.
Soon after this, perhaps partly because of the death of his brother and partly because of the removal of his wife's brother to Lebanon, Conn., Benjamin Ellis must also have decided to move southwards and we find: "Daniel Lee of Lebanon in the County of Windham and Colony of Connecticutt ... for £600. paid by Benjamin Ellis of Plymouth, in the County of Plym-outh in the Province of Massachusetts Bay" conveyed a tract of land in the North Parish of Lebanon, by deed, dated 14 May 1748 (Lebanon deeds, vol. 7, p. 181). And: "Benjamin Ellis of Plymouth ... husbandman ... for £400. paid by Joseph Law-rence of Sandwich" sold his entire farm, including the dwell-ing house, at Indian Brook (PLCD, vol. 39, p. 150).
The will of "Benjamin Ellis of Lebanon in the County of Windham ... being sick and weak of body," dated 20 June 1750, gives to "Hannah Ellis my dearly beloved wife, all my Estate, both Real and Personal to be her own property for ever, she paying out the following bequests and all my just debts … unto my beloved son Benjamin Ellis, £5. in bills & credits, old tenour to be pd within two years after my decease … unto my beloved son Joseph Ellis, £5. ... unto my beloved son Freeman Ellis, £5. ... unto my beloved daughters; Hannah Ellis, Sarah. Daggit & Susanna Ellis £5. … each … to be paid within two years after my decease … I constitute Hannah Ellis my dearly beloved wife to be my sole Executrix." Wit-nesses: Joseph Clark, James Wright, Isaac Thap [?], Jr. The will was pre-sented 6 June 1755 by Joseph Clark and Isaac Thain [James Wright being deceased]. Recorded 19 Jan. 1756 (Windham County Probate, vol. 5, p. 22).
Some later deeds, of which the last is dated 7 June 1770, show that the widow "Hannah Ellis of Lebanon" signed her mark to various conveyances, of which one was to her nephews, Samuel and William Ellis, Jr., of Plymouth and to Ichabod Holmes (who had married her niece, Rebecca4 Ellis), all of Plymouth, in which she sold 34 acres of her Lebanon farm (Lebanon deeds, vol. 10, p. 321, 432; vol. 11, p. 251).
[Lt. John & Elizabeth (Freeman) Ellis of Sandwich, Mass by Lydia B. (Phinney) Brownson, of Duxbury, Mass & Maclean W. Mclean, of Pittsburg, PA]
Noted events in his life were:
• Will, 20 Jun 1750, Lebanon, New London, CT. 65
Benjamin married Hannah Gibbs, daughter of Lt. John Gibbs and Esther Swift, on 25 Mar 1724 in Sandwich, Barnstable, MA 5,37,65,66.,314 (Hannah Gibbs was born on 24 Feb 1700/01 in Plymouth, Plymouth, MA 5,37,65,66,314,627 and died after 7 Jun 1770 in Lebanon, New London, CT 5,37,65,66,314.)
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