Benjamin Barnes

Benjamin Barnes was baptized at Farmington, Connecticut Colony. The church records state that the baptism occurred on "about" 26 July 1653, so he probably (but not certainly) would have been born before that.[1] He was the son of Thomas Barnes and his first wife, Mary [Brockett] [SIC - no] .[2] The controversy concerning Benjamin's mother (who was executed for witchcraft) was probably the reason that Barbour listed him as a child of Thomas and an unnamed spouse.[3]

Benjamin moved to Waterbury, New Haven, CT, where he served as a selectman in 1700, was moderator of proprietors meeting in 1694/95, "grave digger" in 1699, fence viewer, townsman, school committee, lister, hayward, collector and grand juror, at different times; deputy to the General Court, in 1703. Benjamin and Joseph took part in King Philips War and later received Land Grants for their service.

Benjamin Barnes married Sarah ( ______ ) (possibly born Ingersoll, although this is debatable, according to Torrey) before 1684, possibly in Farmington, Connecticut Colony.[4][5]

Their son, Thomas Barnes, was born on 11 May 1690,[6] possibly in Farmington.[7]

Sarah (Ingersol ?) Barnes died in Hartford, Connecticut Colony, on 21 Dec 1712.[8]

Benjamin Barnes died in Waterbury at about the age of 80, on 24 Apr 1731.[9]

Origins

From Grandma's Cabin, Genealogy by Nancy Hazen (Selander) Machuga[1]

... On January 25, 1663/4 both of the Greensmiths and Mary Barnes were found guilty. They were hanged that very day. No chance for an appeal was given. “Justice” was swift in those days. The so-called witches had the distinction of being the last 3 persons executed in Connecticut for this crime. Thomas and Mary Barnes were the parents of 3 children: Sarah, Benjamin and Joseph. Their daughter Sarah married John Scoville and this couple was among the first to settle in Mattatuck, now Waterbury, CT. in 1674. In 1686 they moved and, again, were among the early settlers of a new town called Haddam, CT. John and Sarah Barnes Scoville were the parents of John Jr., William, Edward and Benjamin. ...”

Source:

• 1. Genealogical Dictionary of New England, Little, Brown and Co.,March, 1860, pp 122 and 123.
• 2. Barnes Family Yr Bk, Vol. I, 1907, p 9.
• 3. The Ancestry of Fanny Barnes and Thomas Knight, Prestige Printers, 1989, pp 27 and 28.
• 4. Hale, House & Related Families, 1952, p 671.
• 5. CT Church Records, Farmington 1st Comg. (bp - Vol. 1, p 44; Vol. 2, p 20).
• 6. Barnes and Related Families, Past and Present, R.C. Barnes, 1966, NF 0450472, pp 76 and 77