John Bent, of Sudbury

From "The New England Historic & Genealogical Register", DPL 929.1, N44h, vol. 48 - pages 288-289:

"The Bent Family" by Allen H. Bent, esq. of Roxbury, MA

John Bent, who sailed from Southhampton, England in 1638, and became one of the first settlers of Sudbury, MA, was born to the parish of Penton-Grafton, some 70 miles SW of London, in the county of Hants. The ship's list gives his age as 35, but according to the parish records he was baptized on the last day of November 1596, his father being Robert Bent (1566-1631).

In 1639, John's sister, Agnes Blanchard, and mother started for New England, but both died during the passage.

John Bent's house lot, about 6 acres, was on the NE side of the old road that runs from what is now Wayland Center to Sudbury Center, about 1/4 mile from the former, and here he lived, a farmer, until his death 9/27/1672, aged nearly 76. His will is dated 13 days before his death, his wife, Martha, and oldest son, Peter, being named as executors. His widow lived until 5/15/1679.

Children of John and Martha, the first 5 being born in England, the last 2 in Sudbury, MA:

• 1. Robert, baptized 1/10/1624-5; died at Newbury, MA, 1/30/1648, age 23
• 2. William, baptized 10/24/1626; died probably young
• 3. Peter, baptized 4/14/1629
• 4. Agnes, married about 1646 Edward Rice of Sudbury (MA), and was the mother of all his children, for she is mentioned in her father's will of 1672, which is sufficient proof that she did not die, as Barry and others say, soon after her marriage. She died in Marlboro (MA) 6/4/1718, aged 83.
• 5. John, born about 1634
• 6. Joseph, born 5/16/1641
• 7. Martha, born about 1643; married 6/5/1668 Samuel How of Sudbury (MA), where they had 7 children, the youngest being David, the 1st proprietor of the Wayside Inn, made famous by Longfellow.

  ---

Disputed Wife

Was Martha, wife of John Bent, of the Blanchard family? Helen Schavett Ullmann says no in 1999:

"John1 Bent of Sudbury, Massachusetts, was married during a period for which there is a gap in the Weyhill [parish] registers. The surname of his wife Martha is unknown. Some have claimed that she was a Blanchard, but this seems to have been based on a misinterpretation of documents in which Thomas Blanchard is identified as John's brother-in-law. Blanchard was married to John's sister Agnes. Given that John and Martha accompanied Peter Noyes to America and that they named a son Peter, it seems possible that Martha was connected with the Noyes family." [1]

Therefore, there is no proof that Martha who married John Bent was the daughter of Pierre Jean Blanchard. See (document attached).

---

From John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72):

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=5784

WEYHILL, or Penton-Grafton, a parish, with a village, in Andover district, Hants; 3 miles W by N of Andover r. station. It has a post-office under Andover, and a great annual fair, beginning on 10 Oct., and continuing for several days. Acres, 1,888. Rated property, £3,698. Pop., 444. Houses, 95. The manor belonged anciently to Grestein abbey in France; was held by the poet Chaucer; and passed to Ewelme hospital, in Oxfordshire. The living is a rectory in the diocese of Winchester. Value, £476.* Patron, Queen s College, Oxford. The church is early Norman, and was recently. restored. There are a national school, and charities £10.

---

FROM WHENCE WE CAME, p. 94/

"John Bent of Penton, Hants, England, sailed on the ship Confidence from Southampton in April, 1638, and settled in Sudbury. With him he brought Mrs. Martha Bent, Robert 10, Agnes 8, William 6, Peter 5, and John Bent, 2."

D. age nearly 76.

Freeman 1640.

COMPLETE BOOK OF EMIGRANTS, 1607-1660, Coldham, p. 195 - 24 April 1638, List of passengers from Southampton for New England by the Confidence of London, Mr.

John Jobson: John Bent of Penton, Hants, husbandman 35, Martha his wife, and children Robert, William, Peter, John and Ann under 12 (PRO:CO1/9/99)

(Bent Family in America, Bent, 1900, pp. 11-13)

Ship "Confidence", John Jobson, master, the whole number of passengers, "greate and little," being 110 souls. John Bent owned land in Salisbury, MA, now Wayland, about sixteen miles directly west of Boston. One of the original settlers of the town, inc. in 1639 with 54 inhabitants. Made a freeman in 1640; because he had become a member of the Puritan Church, he was allowed to take part in town affairs. His house lot, about six acres, was about a quarter of a mile north of the present RR station in Wayland, and the same distance from the river. Ancestor of John Calvin Coolidge.

---

John BENT was born on 30 Nov 1596 in Penton Grafton, England. (199)(200) (201) He died on 27 Sep 1672 in Sudbury, Middlesex, MA. (202) Nellie Palmer George Genealogy: p. 13:

John came on the ship Confidence, as did John How. His mother came somewhat later on the Jonathan, together with her son Richard Barnes, from her marriage. She died in Boston Harbour. The son Richard was raised by his Uncle John.

Not all children are herein listed. Peter, his oldest son lived upon the land granted to him by John his father. In King Philip's war his houses were burned and Peter's son, Zacheus was killed and scalped by the Indians. Peter then went back to England were he died. Parents: Robert BENT and Agnes GOSLIN(G).

He was married to Martha UNKNOWN in Penton Grafton, England ?. (203)(204) According to the Bent genealogy, all but two of their children were born in England. Children were: Martha BENT.

---

In the latter part of 1638 when john Bent was about 42 years old; he sailed with his wife and 5 children from Southampton to New England in the ship "Confidence". He settled in Sudbury, MA and remained there until his death in 9/27/1672.

---

Find-a-Grave: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=94598948

---

John Bent came to New England on the "Confidence" from South Hampton, ENG, on 24 Apr 1638, and became one of the early settlers of Sudbury. His sister Agnes Blanchard and his mother departed for New England in 1639 but died during the passage. On the ship's manifest, he was declared a husbandman, age 35 (incorrect), with wife Martha; and children Robert, William, Peter, John, and Ann, their children all under 12. Vital statistics on them can be found in the Registers of the Parish of Wayhill, Penton-Grove, Southampton, ENG. He settled on about six acres for his house lot and there he died.

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1895, pp. 65-67. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1894, pp. 288-296, a genealogy of the early generations of the New England family of Bent by Allen H. Bent, Esq.

---

Event: History The name Bent derives from the tough, wiry bent grass that covered some of the moors.

John Bent came to New England on the "Confidence" from South Hampton, ENG, on 24 Apr 1638, and became one of the early settlers of Sudbury. His sister Agnes Blanchard and his mother departed for New England in 1639 but died during the passage. On the ship's manifest, he was declared a husbandman, age 35 (incorrect), with wife Martha; and children Robert, William, Peter, John, and Ann, their children all under 12. Vital statistics on them can be found in the Registers of the Parish of Wayhill, Penton-Grove, Southampton, ENG. He settled on about six acres for his house lot and there he died.

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1895, pp. 65-67. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1894, pp. 288-296, a genealogy of the early generations of the New England family of Bent by Allen H. Bent, Esq.

---

John Bent BIRTH 25 Nov 1596 Penton Grafton, Test Valley Borough, Hampshire, England DEATH 27 Sep 1672 (aged 75) Sudbury, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA BURIAL Unknown MEMORIAL ID 80496372 ·

John Bent came to New England on the "Confidence" from South Hampton, England, on April 24, 1638, and became one of the early settlers of Sudbury. His mother Agnes (Annis) Gosling Blanchard departed for New England in 1639 but died during the passage. On the ship's manifest, he was declared a husbandman, age 35 (incorrect), with wife Martha; and children Robert, William, Peter, John, and Ann, their children all under 12. Vital statistics on them can be found in the Registers of the Parish of Wayhill, Penton-Grove, Southampton, England.

Bio by: Kat

Family Members

Parents

Robert Bent 1566–1631

Agnes Gosling Bent 1570–1639

Spouse Martha Blanchard Bent 1598–1676 (m. 1624)

Siblings Jane Bent Plympton 1590–1631

Children Martha Bent Howe 1643–1680

References

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bent-12 Cites
   1. Bent, Gilbert Oliver. Who Begot Thee? Some Genealogical and Historical Notes (Press of D. Clapp & Son, 1903) Page 7. (warning: contains some inaccurate information about which wife emigrated with him.
   2. Bent Family in America, (1902):p 11.
   3. Allen H. Bent, The Bent Family The New England Historical & Genealogical Register (NEHGS, Boston, Mass., 1894) v.48 #3, pp.288-289; contains inaccurate claim that wife Agnes died on way over.
   4. Some Notes on John Bent of Sudbury, Massachusetts, vol 153, page 219-220 of NEHGR
   5. Bent Family in America, (1902): p. 257-258.
   6. Some Notes on John1 Bent of Sudbury, Massachusetts... by Helen Schavett Ullmann. The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, Vol 153 (1999), pages 219-220. NEHGS Member link. < link > See also:
   7. Felton, Edgar C. The English Ancestors of John Bent, of Sudbury. Place of publication not identified: publisher not identified, 1895. Pages p.45-46 (About a hundred years old, this source is still considered accurate in all but two instances - see NEHGR vol 153, pages 219-220.)
   8. Bent, Allen H. The Bent Family in America (David Clapp & Son., Boston, 1900) pp. 11-13.
   9. Find A Grave: Memorial #80496372 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80496372
   10. "Massachusetts Land Records, 1620-1986," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89Z7-PCMX?cc=2106411&w... : 22 May 2014), Middlesex > Deeds 1706-1716 vol 14-15 > image 167 of 720; county courthouses and offices, Massachusetts.