Bartholomew Owen was as connected in a familial sense to the Bennett family as the Harris and Vinsons (also Vincent in registers) of Wiveliscombe. His father was almost certainly William Owen (nephew of Robert Owen, merchant of Bristol, as follows), who m. Elizabeth Knight, on Nov. 19, 1619, in Wiveliscombe, granddau. of Alice Bearde, sister of John Bearde, great-grandfather of Agnes Bearde, who m. Thomas Bennett, July 17, 1623, in Wiveliscombe, as also follows. A contemporay of Alice and John Bearde was George Vincent (also Vinson per register), who m. Elenor Edney, May 13, 1563, dau. of Robert Edney and sister of Robert Edney and Elizabeth Edney, wife of Robert Bennett, having issue Elenor Bennett, who m. Richard Harris; she the sister of Edward Bennett, business partner of Edward Robins (whose attorney was Thomas Joyner, whose son was the guardian of an orphan of Thomas Harris, d. 1688), and father of Silvestra Bennett, who m. Nicholas Hill, who (with Edward Brantley) witnessed the Will of Thomas Harris, d. 1672. Elenor Bennett was the aunt of (1) the aforesaid Thomas Bennett, who m. Agnes Bearde; (2) Richard Bennett, Governor of Virginia, whose dau., Ann Bennett, m. Theoderick Bland, br. of Elizabeth Bland, wife of William Bearde; and John Bland, trading partner (in tobacco) of Thomas Harris, d. 1677 in Virginia. (3) Richard Bennett, whose first wife was (most pertinently) Ann Barham, as given hereinafter. According to some Harris researchers, Elenor Bennett was the mother of (1) Thomas Harris, d. 1672, the father of Thomas Harris, d. 1677, and Edward Harris, the father of Edward Harris, d. 1677, and Thomas Harris, d. 1688. However the case may be, the Vincent/Vinson family of Wiveliscombe were their kin.

ROBERT OWEN’S LINK TO A FAMILY OF ROSE

Rice (Rees) Davis, of Carmarthenshire, Wales, and Tickenham, Somerset, an eminent lawyer of the Middle Temple, m. the relict of Robert Owen, merchant of Bristol (also of Abergwili, Carmarthenshire); the sister of William Pitt, the father of Robert Pitt of Virginia. Thus, he was the stepfather of Robert Owen, Esquire, of Tickenham, and the step-grandfather of his son, Robert Owen, who was admitted to St John’s College, Oxford (as his father), on June 30, 1626, aged 19. He was admitted to the Middle Temple on November 10, 1628, and was buried in the Temple Church on January 3, 1636. His Will leaves a single bequest to an unmarried sister. The Will of Robert Owen, merchant of Bristol, named two brothers, George and Griffith; a son of either, William, was party to the disputes between the claimants to his estate. Through his previous marriage to Dorothy Rodney, Rice Davis held land in Wedmore, Somerset, the estate of the Hodges family, who were also intermarried with Rodneys, and a family of Rosse (Rose).

1. George Rodney.
1.1. Maurice Rodney, Esq., m. Joan, dau. of Sir Thomas Dyer of Somerford, Co., Wilts.
1.1.1. Dorothy Rodney, m. Rice Davis of the Middle Temple, and of Tickenham, Esq. He m. (2) Isabel, da. of Henry Lygon of Colne, Gloucestershire, widow of Edward Basset. (3) Mary Pitt, sister of William Pitt, and widow of Robert Owen of Bristol, merchant, by whom a da. who married Nicholas Poyntz.
1.2. Agatha Rodney, m. Captain Thomas Hodges, d. 1583, of Wedmore; from which family Hodges Council, of Virginia.
1.2.1. Thomas Hodges, m. Eleanor, da. of John Rosse (Rose) of Shepton Beauchamp, Somerset.

THE (VARIOUS) VINSON CONNECTIONS

(The registers are not complete, and the first John Vinson, of Virginia, may have descended from such as Peter Vincent, bapt. April 14, 1562).

1.
1.1. John Vincent.
1.1.1. Richard Vincent, bapt. Aug 15 1559.
1.1.2. Mary Vincent, bapt. Feb. 19, 1562, m. George Dyer, Feb. 1, 1588. (The early Harris family were tenants of a family of Dyers).
1.1.3. Henry Vincent, bapt. March 30, 1568.
1.1.3.1. Joan Vincent, bapt. April 11, 1599.

1.2. George Vincent, m. Elenor Edney, May 13, 1563, dau. of Robert Edney and sister of Robert Edney and Elizabeth Edney, wife of Robert Bennett, having issue Elenor Bennett, who m. Richard Harris, etc., as given.
1.2.1. Peter Vincent, bapt. April 14, 1562.
1.2.2. Daniel Vincent, bapt. Oct. 10, 1568, m. Elizabeth White, Sept. 25, 1596.
1.2.3. Joan Vincent, m. Roger Hole, May 31, 1584. (The Fulghams were intermarried with a family of Hole).

1.3. David Vincent.
1.3.1. David Vincent, bapt April 20, 1578.
1.3.1.1. John Vincent, bapt. Feb. 15, 1602, d. 1638.
1.3.2. John Vincent.
1.3.2.1. William Vincent, m. Dorothy Benson, Oct. 9, 1634
1.3.2.1.1. Elenor Vinson, m. John Thorne, May 4, 1667 (baptised Dec. 25, 1636; son of Gilbert Thorne and Mary Bearde, m. Nov. 28, 1607, she bapt. May 12, 1585, dau. of John Bearde; great-grandfather of Agnes Bearde, who m. Thomas Bennett, as given.
1.3.2.2. John Vincent, bapt. Jan. 25, 1611.
1.3.2.3. George Vincent, bapt. June 9, 1613; m. Fortune Richards, Nov. 30, 1639.
1.3.2.4. Dorothy Vincent.
1.3.2.4.1. John Vincent (out of wedlock), bapt. Sept. 13, 1638.

John Vinson’s Will, dated Oct. 20, 1698 and probated July 7, 1699, leaves all his property to his wife Katherine, relict of Francis Sowerby (p. 171), whose estate he was surety for (1680). Her Will was probated Nov. 6, 1705 (p. 339). It makes bequests to Thomas Rose son of Richard Rose, to her dau. Elizabeth Rose, her granddau. Ann Rose, wife of John Watkins. The said Thomas Rose m. Elizabeth Seward (of a family with strong Bennett connections). John Vinson deposed to be about 40 years of age on Jan. 25, 1675 during the probate of William Tooke’s Will, witnessed by Joseph Vinson, p. 104. William Tooke’s son, John, d. 1720; the executor of his estate being William Ezell, p. 308. William Tooke’s dau., Elizabeth, m. Michael Ezell, father of William, and son of Timothy Ezell. Elizabeth Tooke and Michael Ezell had issue, Elizabeth Ezell, who m. John Atkinson Jr., son of a namesake and Ann Holman. Their son, Amos Atkinson, m. a dau. of Charles Judkins Jr., son of a namesake, whose Will (1709) was witnessed by Michael Harris (son of Robert Harris, son of Thomas Harris, d. 1688), nephew of Jane Harris/Jones/Judkins. William Tooke was the br. of Thomas Tooke: A Bennett/Harris cousin was Richard Bennett, d. 1709, whose first wife was (circumstantially) Anne, who was Charles Barham’s sister (see Douglas Richardson, ‘Plantagenet Ancestry’). Mr. Charles Barham Ex., Thomas Harris (d. 1672) and Thomas Tooke overseers, were officers of the Will of William Ridley, who was probably the br. of Elizabeth Ridley, Charles Barham’s wife.
1.3.2.4.1.1. John Vinson, of Prince George Co.
1.3.2.4.2. Thomas Vinson, Surry Co., Jan. 21, 1716: “action of debt between John Allen, plt., and Sarah Vincent, executrix of the Last Will & Testament of Thomas Vincent, decd.”, p. 75.
1.3.2.4.2.1. Thomas Vinson’s, m. Isabel. His Will (probated 1764 Northampton Co., p. 15) – my daughter Charity Vinson Carter 6 ac. on the south side of Bear swamp, my daus. Susannah Vinson Morgan, Sarah Vinson Fuller, and Isabel Vinson Duke 5 pounds VA money each.
1.3.2.4.2.1.1. Isabel Vinson, m. Robert Duke. His will of 1766 names sons Robert, William, Samuel, Benjamin, Joseph, and James, and daus. Rachel and Lucrese. The real connection between Robert Duke and the William Duke, the father of Thamar Duke (her name taken from the river which rises 4 miles from the Bristol Channel, before its westward flow between Devon and Cornwall), wife of Peter Green, was the Bennetts; as Peter Green was the great-grandson of Elizabeth Filmer, niece of Katherine (Filmer) Barham, mother of Charles Barham, who arrived on the “John and Ambrose” in 1653, and who married Elizabeth Ridley in Virginia, as heretofore given. Charles Barham was the cousin of Mary, wife of Thomas Duke. (Charles’ father was Robert Barham, whose father was Robert Barham, br. of Thomas Barham, father of Mary Duke. Ergo, within the framework of the English kinship system, Robert and William Duke were descendants of either Thomas Duke or a very close relation of his.
I suggest that it is not feasible to plot this path, as there are evidently different families of Duke involved in the usual plotting, and a family, as the Harris, split into cousinships. Thomas Duke may have swam in the Tamar as a member of the Dukes of Poer-Hayes (Duke’s-Hayes), but only as a junior one, for the children of their first-sons are accounted for.

THE COOKE CONNECTION

1. Charles Judkins was the son of Samuel Judkins, who m. Lydia (“Lidie”) Gray; a da. of Thomas Gray Sr.
2. Lydia m. Thomas Pitman, the relict of Samuel Judkins, bef. Sept. 10, 1672.
3. Thomas Pitman had first m. the relict of Thomas Atkinson.
4. Thomas Atkinson was the father of John Atkinson, who m. Ann Holman.
5. Their da. Hanna Atkinson m. Reuben Cooke, who d. bef. August 1, 1751 in IOW Co., grandson of William Cooke, born March 27, 1613 in Bristol, d. bef. Nov. 10, 1679 in Surry Co. Hannah’s br. was James Atkinson, as follows.
6. Reuben Cooke was the father of John Cooke, who d. bef. January 2, 1777. Will of John Cooke, Leg: nephew Dempsey Cooke: nephew Mathews Harris, son of Michael and Sarah (Matthewes) Harris. Executor brother Nathan Cooke, dated April 18, 1762. Witnesses: Peter Woodward, Benjamin Lancaster (son of Elizabeth Harris, of the Harris family under discussion, and Samuel Lancaster); William Harris, and Benjamin Bailey (who witnessed the Will of John Matthewes, 1762; p. 432). R. Jan. 2, 1777. Benjamin Bailey also (1) appraised the estate of James Kitchen (of a Bristol family), 1765, p. 140; (2) witnessed the Will of Elenor Calthorpe, 1775, p. 118; (3) witnessed the Will of John Smith, with Micajah Holman, 1780, p. 296. He was a son of Anselme Bailey, and half-brother of Martha Hargrave. Matthew(s) Harris, witnessed the Will of John Jones (1770, p. 38), with Benjamin Bailey, the executor. If William Harris was not the William, br. of Mathewes, then, perhaps a cousin.

1. William Cooke Sr. (b. 1613), of St. Augustine The Less Parish, Bristol, m. (1632) Mary Blackborne, of Bristol.
1.1. William Cooke Jr., d. 1698, m. Joan Roper, dau. of Hugh Roper, of Burnham, Somerset (20 miles from Wiveliscombe), witnessed here: Sir John Thorowgood, knight, Wm. Steele, Recorder of the City of London, and others, viz., Henry Danvers, Richd. Read, Richd. Young, John Brown, Wm. Skinner, John Pocock, Geo. Cooper. v. Richd. Moore, John Moore, Henry Moore, Hugh Roper, William Roper, Thos. Mulford, Thos. Wride, Thos. Syme (held land in Pitminster, landlord of the Fulghams), John Petheram, Wm. Petheram, Nichs. Adams: Parsonage of Burneham, in the county of Somerset, 1654-55 (E 134/1654-55/H). William Cooke Jr. pat. 360 ac. in IOW in 1664, selling this to Thomas Woodward in 1665. His Will was witnessed by Peter Vasser and James Atkinson, aforesaid. Peter Vasser was the husband of Mildred Cripps, dau. of George Cripps. To borrow from a previous note: “Thomas Moore Jr. (of Bristol) was possibly the father of (1) Thomas Moore (great-uncle of Avis White. who m. John Harris), (2) George Moore, grandfather of Avis, stated to be “age 78 years” when he made his will in 1710 (Chapman, IOW Wills, p. 54), and who m. Jane Barcroft, dau. of Charles Barcroft, whose family held land in Chard, Somerset. Administration on Charles Barcroft’s estate granted to his son-in-law George Moore. (Anthony Fulgham, of Pitminster, Somerset, transported Charles Barcroft, IOW, 1650). (3) Katherine Moore, who m. (2) Robert Flake, a tobacco factor for Bristol merchants. By her first husband, she had issue: Joyce, who m. (1) Francis England, (2) George Cripps”.
1.1.1. William Cooke, d. 1740, m. Rebecca Jones, dau. of James Jones, of Surry Co; his Will pr. May 12, 1719. William Cooke’s Will left bequests to his daus., Mary, wife of William Briggs, and Amy, wife of John Maclin. It was witnessed by Thomas Lanier (who m. Amy’s sister, Ann Maclin); br. of Sampson Lanier Jr., whose dau., Rebecca, m. Walton Harris; great-grandson, it is believed, of Thomas Harris, d. 1688. Sampson Lanier Jr. was the br. of James Lanier, who m. Mary Cooke, dau. of Henry Cooke, who was certainly of this family of Cooke.

William Cooke held land in 1693 in the Upper Parish of IOW, adj. Thomas Moore (to repeat, grandfather of Avis White, who m. John Harris, son of Robert Harris, son of Thomas Harris, d. 1688); and Edward Boykin, which had previously been owned by John Proctor. In 1727, he patented 190 ac. on the south of Blackwater Swamp, next to Josiah Barker (connected to the family of Elizabeth Harris, wife of Samuel Lancaster). His son was probably the William Cooke who m. Elizabeth Rives, dau. of William Rives and Elizabeth Foster.

1.1.1.1. William Cooke, patented land in Brunswick, south of the Meherrin River, adj. John Vinson. (B. 13, pp. 55, 138).

1.1.2. John Cooke, d. 1711, m. (1) Hannah Jones, dau. of James Jones, (2) Avis Killingworth, widow of William Killingsworth. John Cook was a tenant of John Watkins; who was perhaps descended from the John Watkins (of Bristol), whose widow, Elizabeth. is mentioned in Surry records as making a marriage contract (April, 1655) with Sackeford Brewster. License signed by Nicholas Meriwether, Cl. C., and Rev. Mr. Lake married them in the presence of John Corker, who ‘gave her away’ (W. & M. Quarterly, iv., 42.). Sackeford Brewster and Richard Bland made a voyage in 1650 on the Appomattox River.
1.1.3. Reuben Cooke, d. ca. 1750, m. Hannah Atkinson.
1.1.4. Thomas Cooke, d. 1736, m. Mary Jones, dau. of Arthur Jones (headright of William Cooke Sr.), and Susanna King, dau. of Henry King. Thomas Cooke’s Will was witnessed by John Brantley, who m. the widow of Thomas Harris, d. 1730. (The Brantleys circled the Harris. kin of the Bennetts).
1.1.5. Elizabeth Cooke, m. John Weaver.
1.1.6. Sarah Cooke, m. Samuel Cornwall Jr, his br.-in-law, Samuel Hargrave, being mentioned in his Will, probated Aug. 20, 1718. In 1683, William Foreman was ordered to pay Samuel Cornwall Jr. a part of his father’s estate. In October 1674, Bartholomew Owen and Joanna, his wife, sold 150 acres to William Foreman, a neighbor, who was to pay Quit Rents.
1.1.7. … Cooke, m. Samuel Hargrave.

Albemarle Parish Records:
Children of Francis Sowerby and Katherine:
(1) Francis Sowerby, d. 1717, m. Mary Jordan.
(2) John Sowerby, m. Lydia Norwood, dau. of William Norwood and Lydia Jordan, having issue: Jane Sowerby, who m. John Deberry.
(3) Elizabeth Sowerby, m. Richard Rose, having issue:
(a) Richard Rose, who m. Ann Horton, dau. of Thomas Horton, p. 91, having issue:
(1) Sarah Rose, who m. Thomas Harris; she was a Godparent of William Ezell (b. 1749), son of Thomas Ezell, Jr. and Anne, with William Harris, and William Rowland, whose dau., Lucy, b. June 25, 1763, was the Godchild of Anne Ezell, David Owen, and Sarah Rowland. Thomas Ezell’s son, William Ezell, b. May 21, 1749, had Godparents Sarah Rose, William Rowland, and William Harris. William Rowland m. Elizabeth Proctor, dau. of Joshua Proctor and Katherine Owen, dau. of Bartholomew Owen, and sister of Robert Owen (d. 1717); William Owen (d. 1752); and Thomas Owen (d. 1744).
(2) Faith Rose, m. Michael Withers. (interesting family).
(3) William Rose, d. 1792, Sussex, m. Mary Ezell, bef. 1754, Surry.

These Harris must be of interest, unless upsetting the delicate Harris applecart, that is.

The central dynamic of what appears to be a never-ending merry-go-round of associations was the Bennett family, around which families orbited, plotting intermarriage – the lesser to the stronger so as to become ‘less lesser’; the centuries old imperative of the English kinship system. This dynamic was not static, for, as other families of influence joined the kinship group, they gradually became the sun, around which others danced; a game of thrones.

None proven in a politically correct way, but compliant with the rigid dictates of the English kinship system, as certain as can be.

Somerset, Gloucestershire/Bristol/Tobacco.
copyright m stanhope 2018