Family of Henry FREEMAN and Elizabeth PETIT

Husband:	Henry FREEMAN (1671-1763)
Wife:	Elizabeth PETIT (1673-1760)
Children:	Ann Elizabeth FREEMAN (1695-1763)
	John FREEMAN (1698-1761)
	Jonathan FREEMAN (1700- )
	Mary FREEMAN (1702-1784)
	Sarah FREEMAN (1703- )
	Rachael FREEMAN (1705- )
	Samuel FREEMAN (1708-1778)
	Joseph FREEMAN (1709- )
	Hannah FREEMAN (1711- )
	Benjamin FREEMAN (1713- )
	Isaac FREEMAN (1715- )
	Henry FREEMAN Jr. (1717-1784)
	James FREEMAN (1719- )
Marriage	16 May 1695	Woodbridge NJ

Husband: Henry FREEMAN

Name:	Henry FREEMAN 1
Sex:	Male
Name Suffix:	Esq.
Father:	John FREEMAN (bef1650-1682)
Mother:	Ann UNKNOWN (1636-bef1720)
Birth	7 Aug 1671	London, England 1
Title		Judge
Occupation		Judge, Farmer 2
Religion		Presbytarian
Arrival	1682 (age 10-11)	Philadelphia, PA
Title (Facts Pg)		Militia Sergeant, Judge
Death (1)	10 Oct 1763 (age 92)	Woodbridge NJ 1
Death (2)	10 Oct 1763 (age 92)
Death (3)	10 Oct 1763 (age 92)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA 1
Burial	1763 (age 91-92)	1st Presbyterian Church Cemetery 3
Record Change	5 Apr 2001 (age 329)

Additional Information

Burial

600 Rahway Ave., Woodbridge, NJ

Wife: Elizabeth PETIT

Name:	Elizabeth PETIT 1,4
Sex:	Female
Father:	Jean PETIT (bef1650-1692)
Mother:	Elizabeth HALL (1650- )
Birth (1)	1673	New Amsterdam 1,4
Birth (2)	1673	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey 1
Religion		Presbytarian
Death (1)	5 Dec 1760 (age 86-87)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA 1,4
Death (2)	5 Dec 1760 (age 86-87)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey 1
Burial	1760 (age 86-87)	1st Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Record Change	5 Apr 2001 (age 327-328)

Additional Information

Burial

600 Rahway Ave., Woodbridge, NJ

Child 1: Ann Elizabeth FREEMAN

Name:	Ann Elizabeth FREEMAN 1
Sex:	Female
Spouse:	John RUNYON (1695-1748)
Birth	16 Feb 1695	Woodbridge NJ 1
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 306)
Death	1763 (age 67-68)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA 1

Child 2: John FREEMAN

Name:	John FREEMAN 1,5
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Martha MOORE (1700?-1775)
Birth	5 Nov 1698	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA 1
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	5 Apr 2001 (age 302)
Title (Facts Pg)		Militiaman
Death	1761 (age 62-63)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA 1

Child 3: Jonathan FREEMAN

Name:	Jonathan FREEMAN
Sex:	Male
Birth	11 Jul 1700	Woodbridge NJ
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 300)

Child 4: Mary FREEMAN

Name:	Mary FREEMAN 6
Sex:	Female
Spouse:	David DUNHAM Jr (1705-1758)
Birth (1)	5 Jun 1702	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey 7
Birth (2)	5 Jun 1702	Woodbridge NJ
Religion		Presbytarian
Death	1784 (age 81-82)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey 7
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 298)

Child 5: Sarah FREEMAN

Name:	Sarah FREEMAN
Sex:	Female
Birth	1 Feb 1703	Woodbridge NJ
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 298)

Child 6: Rachael FREEMAN

Name:	Rachael FREEMAN
Sex:	Female
Spouse:	Vincent RUNYON (1702-1749)
Birth	18 Jan 1705	Woodbridge NJ
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 296)

Child 7: Samuel FREEMAN

Name:	Samuel FREEMAN
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Mary UNKNOWN (1710-1778)
Birth	30 Mar 1708	Woodbridge NJ
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Death	1 Jan 1778 (age 69)	Woodbridge NJ
Burial	1778 (age 69-70)	1st Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Record Change	19 Mar 2001 (age 292)

Additional Information

Burial

600 Rahway Ave., Woodbridge, NJ

Child 8: Joseph FREEMAN

Name:	Joseph FREEMAN
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Susanna UNKNOWN (1710?- )
Birth	21 Dec 1709	Woodbridge NJ
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 291)

Child 9: Hannah FREEMAN

Name:	Hannah FREEMAN
Sex:	Female
Birth	21 Oct 1711	Woodbridge NJ
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 289)

Child 10: Benjamin FREEMAN

Name:	Benjamin FREEMAN
Sex:	Male
Birth	3 Jun 1713	Woodbridge NJ
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 287)

Child 11: Isaac FREEMAN

Name:	Isaac FREEMAN
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Ellinor RIDDEN ( - )
Birth	25 May 1715	Woodbridge NJ
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 285)

Child 12: Henry FREEMAN Jr.

	Henry FREEMAN Jr., "Musketman8"

Name:	Henry FREEMAN Jr. 1
Sex:	Male
Name Prefix:	Patriot Sergeant
Name Suffix:	Esq.
Nickname:	First Squire
Spouse 1:	Mary READ (1724-1796)
Spouse 2:	Abigail CARMAN (1722-1740)
Birth	23 Mar 1717	Woodbridge NJ 1
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Death	16 Jul 1784 (age 67)	Woodbridge, Middlesex, New Jersey, USA 1
Burial	1784 (age 66-67)	1st Presbyterian Church Cemetery, (5-6; A-B) 3
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 283)

Additional Information

Burial

600 Rahway Ave,, Woodbridge, NJ

Child 13: James FREEMAN

Name:	James FREEMAN
Sex:	Male
Spouse:	Mary REED ( - )
Birth	1 Nov 1719	Woodbridge NJ
Occupation		Farmer
Religion		Presbytarian
Record Change	18 Mar 2001 (age 281)

Note on Husband: Henry FREEMAN - shared note

from Ancestors and Descendants Of Lewis Ross Freeman p. 5

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/FH12,35923

 

Henry2 (Ann1) b England c1669/70; d. Woodbridge N.J., 10 Oct yr 1763, in his 94th year (gravestone); m. Woodbridge 16 May 1695 ElIzabeth Benue, d. Woodbridge 5 Dec 1760. Henry2 and Elizabeth are buried in the Woodbridge Presby.Cem., where there are some 50 Freemans interred.

 

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Birth: 1670

Death: Oct. 10, 1763

 

Inscription: Here Lies Interr'd the Body of HENRY FREEMAN who Departed this life Octr 10, 1763 in the 94 year of his age Here let him Sleep in undisturbed Dust. Until the Resurrection of the Just.

 

Note: NOTE: He was Judge Henry Freeman -- this info was found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~njmiddle/WoodbridgePresby.html

 

Burial:

First Presbyterian Churchyard

Woodbridge

Middlesex County

New Jersey, USA

 

Record added: May 28 2005

By: Nancy Wojcik

h t t p : / / w w w . f i n d a grave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=201&GScid=1592339&GRid=11050724&

Note on Wife: Elizabeth PETIT - shared note

 

Birth: 1673

Death: Dec. 5, 1760

 

Inscription: Here lies Interr'd the Body of ELIZABETH wife of HENRY FREEMAN who Departed this Life Decr 5, 1760 in the 87 yer of her age. Our days began with Trouble here Our life is but a Span And Cruel Death is always ner So frail a thing is Man.

 

Note: She was Elizabeth Benue/ Baignoux, a French Huguenot. - I found this info at http://www.rootsweb.com/~njmiddle/WoodbridgePresby.html

 

Burial:

First Presbyterian Churchyard

Woodbridge

Middlesex County

New Jersey, USA

 

Record added: May 28 2005

By: Nancy Wojcik

h t t p : / / w w w . f i n d a grave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSsr=201&GScid=1592339&GRid=11050741&

 

=========================================================

from Ancestors and Descendants Of Lewis Ross Freeman p. 5-8

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/FH12,35923

 

Monnette in his FIrst Settlers of Piscataway and Woodbridge, insisted that Elizabeth, wife of Henry2 Freeman, was a daughter of Judge James Bowne and Mary Stout. Monnette concluded this on the flimsy evidence that a brother of James Bowne was a neighbor of Henry Freeman. There is no record that James Bowne and Mary Stout had a daughter ElIzabeth.

 

It has been suggested that Elizabeth may have been a member of the Bonney family. Thomas1 Bonney came on the Hercules 1634 and settled in Duxbury, Mass. He did not have a daughter named Elizabeth. Thomas2 Bonney (1663- ) of Duxbury had a daughter Elizabeth, who m. Ephraim Norcut. John2 Bonney 1745 1664 had a daughter named Elizabeth 1777 1694 who m Samuel Delano of Duxbury. The progenitor of the Woodbridge Bonneys was Joseph3 Bonney (John2, Thomas1), b 1696 , m. in New Jersey, Tryal Conger. (Charles LeverettBonney, The Bonney Family pp 5, 7,31, 39, 71, 73.) From the preceding it is obvious that Elizabeth, wife of Judge Henry Freeman, could not have been a Bonney.

 

In 1875 Nathaniel Fitz Randolph, Town Clerk, copied the original Woodbridge records. These supposedly were the only extant records and are included in the Appendix of Dally's Woodbridge and Vicinity and also in Monnette's First Settlers of Piscataway and Woodbridge. These records have been used for years and show that Henry Freeman m. Elizabeth Bonne.

 

In the Willis Freeman Collection is a letter from Comdr. Albert N. Connett, dated 28 Feb. 1944, as follows:

I have always been intrigued by all the dIscussion in Monnette as to the maiden name of Elizabeth, wife of the Judge. One day I went to Woodbridge to have a look for myself. I found the original original of the old Woodbridge Liber A had been destroyed many years ago.

The book on file was a copy made by Nathaniel FitzRandolph, for many years town clerk. The name, in the marriage record, is as plain as day Bonne, but the way he wrote, it might be Bonue or Boune or Bonne.

 

In a letter dated 2 Dec 1947 from Willis Freeman to Oliver D Drake, which is In Rutgers Univ. Special Collections. Oliver D Drake Folder. is the following:

So my guess was right and Mr. Fitz Randolph was in error when he copIed Elizabeth's name as "Bonne." But are you sure that there was not a slight dash or dot in the letter "o" that would make it an "e"? I can not prove it, but I am sure that she was named "Anne Elizabeth Baignoux," whIch would of course be pronounced pronounced "Benyou." In fact some of her descendants were given the fIrst name of Bennew, Benhu, and Benyew. Her father was so called by the Dutch as having having come from the little hamlet of Baignoux, in the Cote d'Or, in Bourgogne; his real patronymIc seems to have been Petit. One of the more nearly literate of the early Dutch writers terms him Jean Petit a' Baignoux. However his neighbors could not be so much troubled and termed him merely "Klyn Jan."

 

Willis Freeman figured Elizabeth Baignoux was daughter of Jean Baignoux and Anna Hoedt. The following is in the Willis Freeman collection:

Henry Freeman was m. 16 May 1695 in Woodbridge by Samuel Hale, J.P., to ElIzabeth (possibly Ann Elizabeth) Baignoux, a daughter of Jean Baignoux, of Hoorn's Hoek, in New Harlem (now Yorkville), by his wife Anna Hoedt (Hoede/Oedt(. It is quite likely that she was the woman who was baptized In the Reformed Dutch Church in New York as Anna, daughter of Jean Bejonge and Anna Hodde on 8 Dec 1675. WItnesses were

Nicolaes de Lapleine and Anna Renouts. In view of the old traditIon of the drowning of Henry Freeman's father, it is quite interesting to note that Elizabeth's father, Jean Petit, called Baignoux, was drowned on Nantucket Shoals in the fall of 1692.

 

Willis Freeman was so sure she was nee Baignoux that her name appears as such on all his family group sheets relating to descendants of Judge Henry Freeman. Mary Freeman, d/o Henry and Elizabeth, named a son "Benew" or "Benyu." Benjamin, son of Henry and Elizabeth, named a son "Bennui," which is not a diminutive of Benjamin as there was another son by that name. Elizabeth Freeman, d/o James3 Freeman (Henry2, Ann1) and Ephaemea Reynolds, m. James Rock and named a son Andrew Bennew Rock. "Baignoux" is definitely French and would confirm the tradition that Henry Freeman married a daughter of a French Huguenot.

 

Evidently, George M. Bloodgood, author of Desc. of John Bloodgood, Youngest Son of Capt. Frans J. Bloctgoct, thought Elizabeth's name was not Bonne, as the following appears on page 94 of his book:

Gage Bloodgood married about 1808 his second wife, Mary Freeman, b. c1781, d/o Israel and Louisa (Reed) or (Miller) Freeman, whose uncle, "Young Squire" Henry Freeman m. Mary Bloodgood. Israel Freeman and Henry Freeman were sons of Squire Henry Freeman of Woodbridge fame and grandsons of the progenitor Henry Freeman and hIs French wife, Boignoux or Bonue, who came fIrst to Philadelphia then

Woodbridge, NJ.

 

The proof that Elizabeth, wife of Henry Freeman, was nee Benue (possibly Baignoux) was recently found by Joe Klett, editor of the Newsletter of the Gen. Soc. of New Jersey, who checked the original vital records of Woodbridge, which have been reported as lost or destroyed. These original records are in the Special Collections and University Archives, Alexander Library, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and they show that Henry Freeman m. Elizabeth Benue. In a letter to compiler from Joe Klett, dated 19 Mar 1995, is the following:

 

I have carefully examined the Woodbridge records held by Special CollectIons and University Archives, Rutgers. I personally would interpret her surname as BENUE, considering the following:

First of all, the original book is not missing as WIllis Freeman reported, as you wIll see from the enclosed photograph. The volume is lIsted as the original in Rutgers' inventory and from the style of penmanshIp, the variation in inking and handwriting throughout, and the appearance of the paper, It was clear to me (as a professional archivist) and to the Rutgers staff that this is the original record. Nathaniel Fitz Randolph's copy is a separate volume; it may or may not include the vital records. Since it was obvious that the original had survived, I did not spend time examining FitzRandolph's copy.

You will see at fIrst glance why Dally (and perhaps FitzRandolph) read the name as Bonne. However, the fIrst two letters are very similar to the writing in "Benjamin" in the next column. The next two letters, in my opinion, are not "nn" but "nu." For one, they are dIfferent from each other, the fIrst having more of a point in the fIrst downward stroke.

 

Joe Klett also checked baptismal and land records in New York for Baignoux and PetIt and sent the following to compiler:

Marriage license granted in New York for Jean Baignoux ["Baignouix"] and Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Hall, 6 Dec 1670.

(New York Historical Manuscripts, English: Books of General Entries of the Colony of New York, 1664-1673 {Baltimore, 1982), p. 385.

 

Joe did not think this Jean Baignoux was related to Jean Bejonge, cited by WIllis Freeman as possible father of Elizabeth, wife of Judge Henry Freeman.

Survey of 30 acres of land on the river on the southeast side of Manhattan Island laid out for John Benew by Robert Ryder, surveyor, on 20 Jul 1677. The same was patented and confIrmed to Benew on 29 Sept. (Calendar of N.Y. Colonial Manuscripts: Indorsed Land Papers in the Office of the Secretary of State of New York, 1643-1803 (1987 reprint), pp. 16 and 309.)

 

Joe thought Jean Baignoux and John Benew were one and the same person, but noted that the above patent on the southeast side of Manhattan Island was not in the area of New Harlem, where Willis Freeman stated the family was from.

 

While the above records do not prove that Elizabeth, wife of Henry Freeman was nee Baignoux, there are some important indications that she was: 1) The coincidence of the name, also supported by later generations of the Freeman family. 2) The tradition that Elizabeth Freeman was the daughter of a Huguenot. 3) The fact that she named her daughter "Ann Elizabeth" (double given names being more common in French families than in English families at that time). However, there's no documentation connecting Judge Henry or his wife to New York City, and there's no documentation connecting Jean Baignoux/Benew or anyone else of that surname to New Jersey or Philadelphia. If Elizabeth did in fact have her own inheritance (mentioned in her will), there must be a record of it somewhere in New York or possibly France. Perhaps Ralph Hall, her hypothetical maternal grandfather, is the key. This all needs further study.

Sources

1	Ancestry.com, "One World Tree (sm)" (Name: Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., n.d.;). Text From Source: Online publication - Ancestry.com. OneWorldTree [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc.
	www.ancestry.com.

2	"RootsWeb". http://www.rootsweb.com/~njmiddle/WoodbridgePresby.html.
	http://www.rootsweb.com/.

3	"Headstone".

4	Edmund West, comp, "Family Data Collection - Individual Records" (Name: Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000;). Text From Source: Online publication - Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Individual Records [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2000.
	www.ancestry.com.

5	Edmund West, comp, "Family Data Collection - Births" (Name: Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001;). Text From Source: Online publication - Edmund West, comp.. Family Data Collection - Births [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.
	www.ancestry.com.

6

Patty Barthell Myers, "Ancestors and Descendants of Lewis Ross Freeman" (Name: 1995;). pp. 18-19. Text From Source: 8 MARY3 FREEMAN (Henry,2 Ann1), b. Whitewood Hill, Woodbridge 5 Jun 1702 (VR); d. Woodbridge 1784; bur. in the cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church at Woodbridge; m. David Dunham, Jr., b. Woodbridge 1705; d. intestate at Woodbridge 13 May 1758, age 53 years (gravestone) bur. Presby. Cem., Woodbridge. His tombstone reads: "Here lies the Body of/ David Donham Juner/ who died May 13 1758/ Aged 53 years./ My heart dissolves with Pangs unknown/ In grons I waste my Breath/ Thy havy Hand has brought me down/ Low as the Dust of death/ Father I give my spirit up/ And trust it in thy Hand/ My dying Flesh shall rest in Hope/ And life at thy Command." His estate was administered 5 Jun 1758 by Mary Dunham, widow. Bondsman, Isaac Freeman of Woodbridge. Inventory, £303.12.6, incl. 3 Bibles and other Books, 18 s.; 2 silver spoons, 16s., made 13 Jun 1758. On 23 Jun 1761 an account by Adm'x, Mary Dunham, who charges against it as the widow's third, and £30 as a legacy left me by my mother," in all £253.10.7. (N.J. Arch., 32:95.) David was s/o of David Dunham and Mary Ilsley and grandson of Jonathan Dunham, alias Singletary, and Mary3 Bloomfield Thomas2,1). See Bloomfield. Mary was called "daughter Mary Dunham" in her father's and mother's wills. She was called sister Mary Donham in the will of her brother Jonathan Freeman, dated 15 Apr 1760. October 26, 1774, she signed her name to an agreement in connectIon with her brother Jonathan's estate. David and Mary Dunham were witnesses to the will of Mary's brother John Freeman. David Dunham was a charter member of the First Presbyterian Church of Woodbridge, N.J. The Dunham family is very confusing and there are a lot of conflicting data on this name. There was a Dunham family of Piscataway, most of whom were descended from Deacon John Dunham of Plymouth, Mass. There was another Dunham family of Woodbridge most of whom were descended from Jonathan Dunham, alias Singletary, son of Richard Singletary and Susannah Cooke of Salem, Newbury, Salisbury and Haverhill, Mass. The two families were not related. Isaac W. Dunham in his Deacon John Dunham of Plymouth, Mass., and His Descendants, pp. 48-9, lists five children for David Dunham, Jr., and Mary Freeman -- Amos, b. c1730; Benyew, b. May 1732; m. 20 Aug 1757 Mary Eliza Heath; Elizabeth (1783-1806) m. John Marsh, d. 17 Nov 1795; Joseph (1739-17 Aug 1801) m. Sarah ____; Isaac b. c1737; m. 22 Sept 1759 Ann Gach. Willis Freeman listed the same five children and same spouses. Freeman Worth Gardner, quoted Mr. Oliver B. Leonard's lIst of children of David Dunham, Jr. and Mary Freeman, saying: "Because of the writer's confidence in Mr. Leonard's researches into the Dunham families of Woodbridge and Piscataway, the following has been included in this paper. Freeman Worth Gardner then went on to list the children as -- James, b. 1721; m. Mrs. Sarah Hedges; David, b. 1725; m. Esther Crane; Amos; AbIgail; Elisha, m. his cousin Elizabeth Freeman; John (Deacon), b. 1731, m. Keziah Marsh; Bunjaw (Benew-Benyu), b. May 1732, m. Mary Heath; Sarah, b. 1733, m. David Little; Joseph, b. 1734, m. Hannah ____; Elizabeth, b. 1735, m. John Marsh; Isaac, b. 1737, m. Ann Gach. David Dunham, who m. Esther Crane, was b. c1704 and prob. was s/o Nathaniel3 Dunham (Jonathan2 alias Singletary, Richard1 Singletary) and Joannah Thornall. John Dunham, who m. Keziah Marsh, was prob. s/o David Dunham and Esther Crane. Elisha Dunham, who m. Elizabeth Freeman was s/o Joseph (David,3 Jonathan2 alias Singletary, Richard1 Singletary). Since DavId Dunham, Jr. died intestate, the true list of his children is unknown.

http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/u?/FH12,35923.

7	Ibid. pp. 18-19.