Encyclopedia of Connecticut biography, genealogical-memorial ...

BENNETT, Edwin B.,
Mannfactarer, Fnblic-Spirited Citixen.
The name we have just written is
familiar as that of president of the Bennett
Wire Company, not only to Mr. Ben-
nett's fellow-citizens of Norwalk, but also
to the manufacturing world of the United
States and Canada. As a citizen who ever
studies the best interests of his commun-
ity, Mr. Bennett is numbered among the
most highly respected residents of Nor-
walk.
The name of Bennett is of Latin origin,
signifying blessed, and is derived from
the personal name Benedict. In the
reigns of Edwards Second and Third, of
England, it is found under the forms of
Fitz-Benedict, Benediscite, Bendiste, Benedick
and Bennett. It is also said to mean
a place overgrown with bennet or bent
grass, and hence, a dweller at such a
place.
(I) James Bennett, founder of the Fair-
field and Compo branch of the family,
was born in England, in 1616. He emi-
grated to the Massachusetts Colony, set-
tled in Concord, and in 1637 was made a
freeman. In 1639 he married Hannah
Wheeler, daughter of Lieutenant Thomas
Wheeler, of Concord, and in 1644, in company
with his father-in-law and many
other residents of that place, he removed
to the Connecticut Colony. This migration
was called the Concord Exodus. The
settlers found homes in what is now Fair-
field, and James Bennett, with nine
others, founded what is now the city of
Bridgeport, but which then received the
name of Stratfield. He became a man of
prominence in the colony, and for many
years was deputy to the Colonial Assembly.
He was lieutenant of the Train
Band, and one of the founders of what
later became the First Congregational
Church of Bridgeport. He was buried in
the old Stratfield burying-ground.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY
310
(II) Thomas Bennett, son of James
and Hannah (Wheeler) Bennett, was
born in 1642, and lived with his father
until 1664, when he was made a freeman.
He purchased land in Sasco (Southport),
and in 1668 married Elizabeth Thompson,
daughter of John Thompson, of Strat-
field. Later he bought the rights of
Emma, widow of the Rev. John Jones, in
her husband's parsonage, which faced the
common, southeast of the town hall, Fair-
field. In his latter years he removed to
Compo, where he died in 1704.
(III) Thomas (2) Bennett, son of
Thomas (i) and Elizabeth (Thompson)
Bennett, married Sarah Hubbell.
(IV) Thomas (3) Bennett, son of
Thomas (2) and Sarah (Hubbell) Ben-
nett, was born in 1694. He married (first)
Mary Rowland, and (second) Mercy
Schofield.
(V) Nathan Bennett, son of Thomas
(3) and Mary (Rowland) Bennett, was
born March 4, 1725, in Compo, now West-
port, and married Hannah Sturges,
daughter of John Sturges, of Fairfield.
Nathan Bennett died October 5, 1792.
(VI) Elias Bennett, son of Nathan and
Hannah (Sturges) Bennett, was born
May 10, 1752, in Compo, and in 1773 was
made a freeman. During the War of the
Revolution he served first as a member of
the Coast Guard, and participated in the
battle of Ridgefield in which General
Wooster was killed. Later he was a musician
in Captain Lemuel Clift's company,
1st Regiment, Connecticut Line, and in
1840 was a war pensioner. He married
(first) Anna Grossman, born November
25, 1756, daughter of John and Annie
(Allen) Grossman, and (second) Eliza-
beth Squires. About the time of his first
marriage he removed to Weston, where
he died in 1842, and was buried in the
Kettle Creek burying-ground.