Benjamin CRANSTON, II

Notes:

Benjamin & Elizabeth moved from Newport to the part of Swansea, MA, which later became Warren, RI. All his children are believed to have been born there, and he lived the rest of his life there.

According to "Descendants of Gov. John Cranston of Rhode Island," Benjamin was married first to a Miss Thurber, but had no children by her. However, in looking at the birth date of Benjamin III and the marriage date of his father to Elizabeth Estabrook, it seems that Benjamin might have been born to the first wife.

Benjamin married Elizabeth ESTABROOK 5 Mar 1728/29. Elizabeth (daughter of Thomas ESTABROOK, Jr. and Elizabeth THURBER) was born Nov 1703. [Group Sheet]

1. Benjamin CRANSTON, III was born 18 Jan 1726/27, Warren, RI; died Aft 1778.
2. Caleb Cranston was born 24 Jan 1730/31, Warren, RI.
3. Samuel Cranston was born 17 Sep 1737, Warren, RI.

Notes:

Ben Cranston is ancestor of the Cranstons of Warren and Bristol, RI, many of whom were mariners.

Benjamin — Sarah GODFREY. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

The following notes are excerpted from "Descendants of Gov. John Cranston of Rhode Island" by Charles Albert Dubosq and William Jones; printed in Genealogies of Rhode Island Families, Vol. I, p. 277ff:

John Cranston came to America about 1637, as stated in a letter written by his Gov. Samuel Cranston. He became an inhabitant of Aquidneck Island in 1638. In 1644, at the General Court of Elections at Newport, he was chosen to be drummer of the Portsmouth Militia. At the very same Court, his guardian and future father-in-law, Jeremy/Jeremiah Clarke, was chosen Treasurer of Newport. Not long after this time, John moved to Newport, where he lived for the rest of his life.

On 1 Mar 1663/64 John Cranston was "licensed to administer physic and practice chirugery throughout the whole colony." This was roughly equivalent to granting an MD. He was known as a "doctor of physik" and a "physition." Thoughout his life he played a prominent role in the affairs of the colony, including Attorney General, Commissioner, Deputy, Assistant, and Deputy Governor, and Governor. During King Philip's War he was appointed "Major and chief Captain of all the Colony forces . . . for the safety and defense of the Colony."

John Cranston was elected Governor of the Colony on 8 Nov 1678.

Gov. John Cranston died in Newport at age 55 while serving as Governor of the Colony of RI.

Information on John's life and his gravesite can be found at findagrave.com.

John married Mary CLARKE 3 Jun 1658, Newport, RI. Mary (daughter of Jeremy CLARKE and Frances LATHAM) was born 1641, Newport, RI; died 7 Apr 1711, Newport, RI; was buried , Common Burial Ground, Newport, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

When Mary (Clarke) Cranston married John Stanton, she was the widow of Gov. John Cranston (b. 1626).

Her will identifies her as "Mary Stanton, of Newport, now wife of Capt. John Stanton of Newport, Physician." It mentions her brothers Walter and J. Clarke; and sons (surname Cranston) Caleb (dec'd.), Samuel, John, Benjamin and Henry; daughter Elizabeth (Cranston) Brown; and son Henry Stanton. Based on Henry's date of birth (1688), Mary would have been about 47 years of age when he was born. The will also mentions son-in-law John Brown, grandsons John & Robert Brown; grandson John Cranston, son of Samuel; and granddaughter Mary Cranston.

Her epitaph reads as follows: "Here lyeth interred the body of Mary Stanton alias Cranston who departed this life ye 7th day of April 1711 in ye 70th year of her age late wife of Capt John Stanton & was ye only wife of Major John Cranston & ye virtuous & worthy mother of ye family here."

John — Sarah Unknown. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Rev. James Cranstoun was a chaplain to King Charles I.

Notes:

His name is often spelled Jeremy. Jeremiah and Frances came to America about 1638 and settled at Newport, RI.

He signed the Portsmouth Compact in 1639.

Jeremy, one of the original settlers of Newport, RI, is a direct descendant of King Edward I of England and his wife Eleanor of Castile, through their daughter Joan Plantagenet, who died in 1307.

Jeremy Clarke, son of Mary Weston, was a nephew of Sir Richard Weston, Earl of Portland and Lord Treasurer of England.

Jeremy was a captain (according to his wife's tombstone inscription), in 1648 was President Regent of Aquidneck Island, and held other public offices. His death in 1651 was later recorded in the Quaker records.

His son Walter Clarke later became Governor of RI, and was one of the original proprietors of the Monmouth Patent, NJ.

Jeremy married Frances LATHAM Abt 1637. Frances (daughter of Lewis LATHAM and Elizabeth Unknown) was born 15 Feb 1609/10, Kempston, Bedford, England; died Sep 1677, Newport, RI; was buried , Governor's Lot, Newport, RI. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

When Frances died in 1677, she left 86 grandchildren.

The following note is from a website: "The writer can state definitely that the Dungan family, of whom were the Earls of Limerick, was the only manorial family into which Frances Latham could have married, her father being the King's Sergeant Falconer, and a member of his household. There is no doubt in the writer's mind after an extended search, that William Dungan was a grandson of Sir John Dungan by his wife Margaret Forster, and this conclusion was arrived at by Mr. Howard O. Folker and an Irish genealogist in Dublin, who conducted their investigations without consultation with the writer." (source: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~mylines/dungan108_09.htm)

The following information is from another website: http://pages.prodigy.net/reed_wurts/heraldry/latham.htm

Frances Latham now generally called "The Mother of Governors," because no less than fourteen of her direct descendants, and many sons-in-law in succeeding generations, became Governors or Lieut. Governors. Baptized 15 February 1609/10, she was the eldest of nine children of Lewis Latham whose portrait is in the collection of the late George W. Elkins, a descendant of Lewis Latham.

He who was of Elston, co. Bedford, England, was born about, 1584 and buried 15 May 1655, aged about 71 years. He was a member of the King's household, and Falconer to Prince Henry in 1612, and later was Sergeant Falconer to King Charles I.

ARMS-Or, on a chief indented azure, three bezants
CREST-An eagle standing on an empty cradle with wings displayed, reguardant or.

(NEHGR, Roll of Arms, Vol. LXXXII, p. 156; A.R. Justice, ANCESTRY OF JEREMY CLARKE..., p. 72)

We can imagine Frances as a young girl on the moors in companionship with her father as he attended the Royal Princes, Henry and Charlie, in their hunting with falcons, ever a favorite royal sport, the birds being highly trained to search out and pounce upon rabbit, grouse and other small game and bring them to their master.

Frances Latham was married in 1627 at age 17 to William Dungan, Gentleman, who was born about 1606, a London Merchant and Perfumer. His wares were in great demand and quite necessary to offset the obnoxious odors arising from the gutters in a thickly settled district subject to heavy fog and having surface drainage.

They made their home at St. Martins-in-the-Fields where later he died and was buried 20 September 1636, leaving her a widow at age 26 with four little children between the ages of 2 and 8 years. By his Will dated 13 September 1636 he gave all his property to his wife Frances, after bequeathing