The identity of Benjamin Gould who married Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Robinson of Guilford, Conn., cannot possibly be as represented in the literature and in web-based family genealogies. The claim he was b. Aug. 26, 1669 at Salem, Mass., the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould, is contradicted by common sense and his will on file in the New Haven Probate District.
The only direct reference made concerning Benjamin Gould in Steiner's 1897 published History of the Plantation of Menunkatuck is "Benjamin Gould settled at Guilford about 1707, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Robinson, Sr., and died May, 1718." Assuming Steiner's statement to be true that Benjamin did not appear in Guilford until 1707, this is at least four years after the birth of all eleven of Benjamin Gould's claimed children. The Benjamin Gould family's whereabouts prior to 1707 cannot be found in any readily available colonial record.
Thereafter in 1902, according to Steiner in Mr. Thomas Robinson of Guilford (Conn.) and His Descendants, compiled by Hon. R.D. Smyth and communicated by Dr. Bernard C. Steiner [NEHGR 56 (1902):57]:
• vii. Elizabeth [Robinson], d. Sept. 30, 1745; m. Benjamin Gould of Guilford, who d. May 17, 1718. Their children were: 1. Benjamin; 2. Mary; 3. Ann; 4. Thomas; 5. Nathaniel; 6. Sarah; 7. ---; 8. John; 9. David; 10. Ebenezer, b. 1703, A.B. Yale, 1723, d. 1777; 11. Elizabeth.
Dr. Alvan Talcott (1804-1891) resided in Guilford from 1841 until his death, was a practicing physician, and served as Guilford's town registrar. His manuscript of Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, in two volumes, was published in 1984 from the manuscript owned by the New Haven Colony Historical Society, in New Haven, Conn. Talcott's rendition of the Benjamin Gould family lists only four children: sons Lieut. Thomas, John, David and Ebenezer, of whom only Thomas and John are carried forward.
On Mar. 24, 1715/16 in Guilford, Conn. in the New Haven Probate District, Packet No. 4466 (which does not include the estate inventory found elsewhere), Benjamin Gould wrote his will. He willed "to my eleven children a "legacie of twenty shillings a piece provided they come to my Executrix within one year of my decease and demand it. And two of my said Children being deceased my will is that their Children enjoy their said legacie. And I do also Confirm to each of them what I have given to them and put them in possession of in the time of my life." He made wife Elizabeth sole executrix and willed to her all his real and personal property of whatever kind (land, buildings, household goods, chattel, cattle, movables and immovables, etc.) during her widowhood, but if she died before Benjamin, remarried or died as his widow, the real and personal property bequeathed to her was willed to "my four youngest children, viz. my sons John, David, Ebenezer and my daughter Elizabeth alias Betty" to be equally divided between them. John and David were to have all of his out-lands, Ebenezer the homestead, and Betty her portion in movables. The will was exhibited at New Haven July 7, 1718 with a one-page inventory, sworn to by the executrix, dated July 6, 1718.
The known gravestone of the widow Elizabeth, who died Sept. 30, 1745, dates her birth to on or after Oct. 1, 1662. In 1600s New England, a husband was generally older than his wife, often many years older, and it is unlikely that Elizabeth Robinson was, as inferred in the literature, seven years older than her husband.
As noted, Benjamin claimed nine of his eleven children were living in March 1715/16, but only five of the eleven are known by name - Thomas, Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer, each who survived their father. As also noted, Benjamin called Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer "my four youngest children."
Of the five named children, Thomas, Elizabeth, John and David have extant gravestones. Thomas' gravestone places his date of birth on or after June 18, 1689; Elizabeth on or after Nov. 22, 1692; John on or after May 26, 1694; and based on the correct reading of David's gravestone on or after Mar. 25, 1699. Ebenezer was b. circa 1703 and d. at Granville, Mass. in 1779, but has no known burial location or gravestone.
That son Thomas was born circa 1689 means six older children are unidentified, two who were dead by March 1715/16, but had married and left children. Given Benjamin's own words that Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer were his four youngest children, for Benjamin Gould to be the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould, born of record in Salem, Mass. on Aug. 26, 1669, Benjamin would have had to marry before age 20 and have had seven living children by the age of 20. This is neither probable nor believable.
The only reasonable conclusion is that Benjamin Gould was a much older person than claimed, was not the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould of Salem, Mass., and Elizabeth Robinson was his 2nd wife. Elizabeth may have been the mother only of Benjamin's following five known named children:
• i. Lieut. Thomas Gould, b. on or after June 18, 1689, d. testate in Guilford, Conn. June 17, 1746, Æ. 57 (g.s.); m. May 16, 1715 of record in Guilford, Mary Cruttenden, dau. of Abraham Cruttenden and Susanna Kirby, b. Dec. 15, 1690 in Guilford. She d. intestate May 9, 1776 in Guilford, Æ. 86 (g.s.) Seven children of the family.
• ii. Elizabeth "Betty" Gould, b. on or after Nov. 22, 1692; was left £50 in her brother David's 1756 will; never married and d. intestate Nov. 21, 1775 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 83 (g.s.)
• iii. John Gould, b. on or after May 26, 1694, d. intestate in Middletown, Conn. May 25, 1763, Æ. 69 (g.s.); m. 1) June 27, 1719 of record in Guilford, Mehitable Cook(e), dau. of Thomas Cook(e) and Sarah Mason, b. of record Mar 7, 1692/93 in Guilford. She d. May 9, 1776 in Middletown, Conn., Æ. 86 (g.s.) John m. 2) July 5, 1761 in Middletown as her 4th husband, the widow Prudence (Sage)(Stow)(Savage) Gilbert, who survived him. Five children of the family.
• iv. David Gould, b. on or after Mar. 25, 1699; d. intestate and unmarried Mar. 24, 1756 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 57 (g.s.) In his will he bequeathed £50 to his sister Elizabeth Gould, named his brother Rev. Ebenezer Gould executor, and left Ebenezer all the rest and residue of his estate including land in Granville, Mass.
• v. Rev. Ebenezer Gould, b. circa 1703, d. intestate in 1779 in Granville, Mass.; a 1723 graduate of Yale College, a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey and Congregational pastor in Conn.; gave up the ministry when he relocated to Granville, Mass.; was twice married and had an undefined number of children, three who died in infancy and are buried in Middlefield, Conn. near the grave of Ebenezer's brother David. See The American Genealogist [TAG 73 (Apr. 1993):123] for a detailed review of Ebenezer and discovery of several of his children.
Benjamin was undoubtedly interred in Guilford's original Cemetery on the Green, whose gravestones, but not the interred remains, were relocated in 1818 to other Guilford cemeteries. His death does not appear in the Guilford town records, but is known to have died in Guilford May 17, 1718. While his widow Elizabeth, son Thomas and Thomas' wife are interred with gravestones in the North Guilford Cemetery (started not earlier than 1727), in 1818 Benjamin apparently had no surviving gravestone to relocate to North Guilford, if he had one to begin with.
Edited 10/3/2016
The only direct reference made concerning Benjamin Gould in Steiner's 1897 published History of the Plantation of Menunkatuck is "Benjamin Gould settled at Guilford about 1707, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Robinson, Sr., and died May, 1718." Assuming Steiner's statement to be true that Benjamin did not appear in Guilford until 1707, this is at least four years after the birth of all eleven of Benjamin Gould's claimed children. The Benjamin Gould family's whereabouts prior to 1707 cannot be found in any readily available colonial record.
Thereafter in 1902, according to Steiner in Mr. Thomas Robinson of Guilford (Conn.) and His Descendants, compiled by Hon. R.D. Smyth and communicated by Dr. Bernard C. Steiner [NEHGR 56 (1902):57]:
• vii. Elizabeth [Robinson], d. Sept. 30, 1745; m. Benjamin Gould of Guilford, who d. May 17, 1718. Their children were: 1. Benjamin; 2. Mary; 3. Ann; 4. Thomas; 5. Nathaniel; 6. Sarah; 7. ---; 8. John; 9. David; 10. Ebenezer, b. 1703, A.B. Yale, 1723, d. 1777; 11. Elizabeth.
Dr. Alvan Talcott (1804-1891) resided in Guilford from 1841 until his death, was a practicing physician, and served as Guilford's town registrar. His manuscript of Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, in two volumes, was published in 1984 from the manuscript owned by the New Haven Colony Historical Society, in New Haven, Conn. Talcott's rendition of the Benjamin Gould family lists only four children: sons Lieut. Thomas, John, David and Ebenezer, of whom only Thomas and John are carried forward.
On Mar. 24, 1715/16 in Guilford, Conn. in the New Haven Probate District, Packet No. 4466 (which does not include the estate inventory found elsewhere), Benjamin Gould wrote his will. He willed "to my eleven children a "legacie of twenty shillings a piece provided they come to my Executrix within one year of my decease and demand it. And two of my said Children being deceased my will is that their Children enjoy their said legacie. And I do also Confirm to each of them what I have given to them and put them in possession of in the time of my life." He made wife Elizabeth sole executrix and willed to her all his real and personal property of whatever kind (land, buildings, household goods, chattel, cattle, movables and immovables, etc.) during her widowhood, but if she died before Benjamin, remarried or died as his widow, the real and personal property bequeathed to her was willed to "my four youngest children, viz. my sons John, David, Ebenezer and my daughter Elizabeth alias Betty" to be equally divided between them. John and David were to have all of his out-lands, Ebenezer the homestead, and Betty her portion in movables. The will was exhibited at New Haven July 7, 1718 with a one-page inventory, sworn to by the executrix, dated July 6, 1718.
The known gravestone of the widow Elizabeth, who died Sept. 30, 1745, dates her birth to on or after Oct. 1, 1662. In 1600s New England, a husband was generally older than his wife, often many years older, and it is unlikely that Elizabeth Robinson was, as inferred in the literature, seven years older than her husband.
As noted, Benjamin claimed nine of his eleven children were living in March 1715/16, but only five of the eleven are known by name - Thomas, Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer, each who survived their father. As also noted, Benjamin called Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer "my four youngest children."
Of the five named children, Thomas, Elizabeth, John and David have extant gravestones. Thomas' gravestone places his date of birth on or after June 18, 1689; Elizabeth on or after Nov. 22, 1692; John on or after May 26, 1694; and based on the correct reading of David's gravestone on or after Mar. 25, 1699. Ebenezer was b. circa 1703 and d. at Granville, Mass. in 1779, but has no known burial location or gravestone.
That son Thomas was born circa 1689 means six older children are unidentified, two who were dead by March 1715/16, but had married and left children. Given Benjamin's own words that Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer were his four youngest children, for Benjamin Gould to be the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould, born of record in Salem, Mass. on Aug. 26, 1669, Benjamin would have had to marry before age 20 and have had seven living children by the age of 20. This is neither probable nor believable.
The only reasonable conclusion is that Benjamin Gould was a much older person than claimed, was not the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould of Salem, Mass., and Elizabeth Robinson was his 2nd wife. Elizabeth may have been the mother only of Benjamin's following five known named children:
• i. Lieut. Thomas Gould, b. on or after June 18, 1689, d. testate in Guilford, Conn. June 17, 1746, Æ. 57 (g.s.); m. May 16, 1715 of record in Guilford, Mary Cruttenden, dau. of Abraham Cruttenden and Susanna Kirby, b. Dec. 15, 1690 in Guilford. She d. intestate May 9, 1776 in Guilford, Æ. 86 (g.s.) Seven children of the family.
• ii. Elizabeth "Betty" Gould, b. on or after Nov. 22, 1692; was left £50 in her brother David's 1756 will; never married and d. intestate Nov. 21, 1775 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 83 (g.s.)
• iii. John Gould, b. on or after May 26, 1694, d. intestate in Middletown, Conn. May 25, 1763, Æ. 69 (g.s.); m. 1) June 27, 1719 of record in Guilford, Mehitable Cook(e), dau. of Thomas Cook(e) and Sarah Mason, b. of record Mar 7, 1692/93 in Guilford. She d. May 9, 1776 in Middletown, Conn., Æ. 86 (g.s.) John m. 2) July 5, 1761 in Middletown as her 4th husband, the widow Prudence (Sage)(Stow)(Savage) Gilbert, who survived him. Five children of the family.
• iv. David Gould, b. on or after Mar. 25, 1699; d. intestate and unmarried Mar. 24, 1756 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 57 (g.s.) In his will he bequeathed £50 to his sister Elizabeth Gould, named his brother Rev. Ebenezer Gould executor, and left Ebenezer all the rest and residue of his estate including land in Granville, Mass.
• v. Rev. Ebenezer Gould, b. circa 1703, d. intestate in 1779 in Granville, Mass.; a 1723 graduate of Yale College, a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey and Congregational pastor in Conn.; gave up the ministry when he relocated to Granville, Mass.; was twice married and had an undefined number of children, three who died in infancy and are buried in Middlefield, Conn. near the grave of Ebenezer's brother David. See The American Genealogist [TAG 73 (Apr. 1993):123] for a detailed review of Ebenezer and discovery of several of his children.
Benjamin was undoubtedly interred in Guilford's original Cemetery on the Green, whose gravestones, but not the interred remains, were relocated in 1818 to other Guilford cemeteries. His death does not appear in the Guilford town records, but is known to have died in Guilford May 17, 1718. While his widow Elizabeth, son Thomas and Thomas' wife are interred with gravestones in the North Guilford Cemetery (started not earlier than 1727), in 1818 Benjamin apparently had no surviving gravestone to relocate to North Guilford, if he had one to begin with.
Edited 10/3/2016
The identity of Benjamin Gould who married Elizabeth, dau. of Thomas Robinson of Guilford, Conn., cannot possibly be as represented in the literature and in web-based family genealogies. The claim he was b. Aug. 26, 1669 at Salem, Mass., the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould, is contradicted by common sense and his will on file in the New Haven Probate District.
The only direct reference made concerning Benjamin Gould in Steiner's 1897 published History of the Plantation of Menunkatuck is "Benjamin Gould settled at Guilford about 1707, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Robinson, Sr., and died May, 1718." Assuming Steiner's statement to be true that Benjamin did not appear in Guilford until 1707, this is at least four years after the birth of all eleven of Benjamin Gould's claimed children. The Benjamin Gould family's whereabouts prior to 1707 cannot be found in any readily available colonial record.
Thereafter in 1902, according to Steiner in Mr. Thomas Robinson of Guilford (Conn.) and His Descendants, compiled by Hon. R.D. Smyth and communicated by Dr. Bernard C. Steiner [NEHGR 56 (1902):57]:
• vii. Elizabeth [Robinson], d. Sept. 30, 1745; m. Benjamin Gould of Guilford, who d. May 17, 1718. Their children were: 1. Benjamin; 2. Mary; 3. Ann; 4. Thomas; 5. Nathaniel; 6. Sarah; 7. ---; 8. John; 9. David; 10. Ebenezer, b. 1703, A.B. Yale, 1723, d. 1777; 11. Elizabeth.
Dr. Alvan Talcott (1804-1891) resided in Guilford from 1841 until his death, was a practicing physician, and served as Guilford's town registrar. His manuscript of Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, in two volumes, was published in 1984 from the manuscript owned by the New Haven Colony Historical Society, in New Haven, Conn. Talcott's rendition of the Benjamin Gould family lists only four children: sons Lieut. Thomas, John, David and Ebenezer, of whom only Thomas and John are carried forward.
On Mar. 24, 1715/16 in Guilford, Conn. in the New Haven Probate District, Packet No. 4466 (which does not include the estate inventory found elsewhere), Benjamin Gould wrote his will. He willed "to my eleven children a "legacie of twenty shillings a piece provided they come to my Executrix within one year of my decease and demand it. And two of my said Children being deceased my will is that their Children enjoy their said legacie. And I do also Confirm to each of them what I have given to them and put them in possession of in the time of my life." He made wife Elizabeth sole executrix and willed to her all his real and personal property of whatever kind (land, buildings, household goods, chattel, cattle, movables and immovables, etc.) during her widowhood, but if she died before Benjamin, remarried or died as his widow, the real and personal property bequeathed to her was willed to "my four youngest children, viz. my sons John, David, Ebenezer and my daughter Elizabeth alias Betty" to be equally divided between them. John and David were to have all of his out-lands, Ebenezer the homestead, and Betty her portion in movables. The will was exhibited at New Haven July 7, 1718 with a one-page inventory, sworn to by the executrix, dated July 6, 1718.
The known gravestone of the widow Elizabeth, who died Sept. 30, 1745, dates her birth to on or after Oct. 1, 1662. In 1600s New England, a husband was generally older than his wife, often many years older, and it is unlikely that Elizabeth Robinson was, as inferred in the literature, seven years older than her husband.
As noted, Benjamin claimed nine of his eleven children were living in March 1715/16, but only five of the eleven are known by name - Thomas, Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer, each who survived their father. As also noted, Benjamin called Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer "my four youngest children."
Of the five named children, Thomas, Elizabeth, John and David have extant gravestones. Thomas' gravestone places his date of birth on or after June 18, 1689; Elizabeth on or after Nov. 22, 1692; John on or after May 26, 1694; and based on the correct reading of David's gravestone on or after Mar. 25, 1699. Ebenezer was b. circa 1703 and d. at Granville, Mass. in 1779, but has no known burial location or gravestone.
That son Thomas was born circa 1689 means six older children are unidentified, two who were dead by March 1715/16, but had married and left children. Given Benjamin's own words that Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer were his four youngest children, for Benjamin Gould to be the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould, born of record in Salem, Mass. on Aug. 26, 1669, Benjamin would have had to marry before age 20 and have had seven living children by the age of 20. This is neither probable nor believable.
The only reasonable conclusion is that Benjamin Gould was a much older person than claimed, was not the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould of Salem, Mass., and Elizabeth Robinson was his 2nd wife. Elizabeth may have been the mother only of Benjamin's following five known named children:
• i. Lieut. Thomas Gould, b. on or after June 18, 1689, d. testate in Guilford, Conn. June 17, 1746, Æ. 57 (g.s.); m. May 16, 1715 of record in Guilford, Mary Cruttenden, dau. of Abraham Cruttenden and Susanna Kirby, b. Dec. 15, 1690 in Guilford. She d. intestate May 9, 1776 in Guilford, Æ. 86 (g.s.) Seven children of the family.
• ii. Elizabeth "Betty" Gould, b. on or after Nov. 22, 1692; was left £50 in her brother David's 1756 will; never married and d. intestate Nov. 21, 1775 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 83 (g.s.)
• iii. John Gould, b. on or after May 26, 1694, d. intestate in Middletown, Conn. May 25, 1763, Æ. 69 (g.s.); m. 1) June 27, 1719 of record in Guilford, Mehitable Cook(e), dau. of Thomas Cook(e) and Sarah Mason, b. of record Mar 7, 1692/93 in Guilford. She d. May 9, 1776 in Middletown, Conn., Æ. 86 (g.s.) John m. 2) July 5, 1761 in Middletown as her 4th husband, the widow Prudence (Sage)(Stow)(Savage) Gilbert, who survived him. Five children of the family.
• iv. David Gould, b. on or after Mar. 25, 1699; d. intestate and unmarried Mar. 24, 1756 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 57 (g.s.) In his will he bequeathed £50 to his sister Elizabeth Gould, named his brother Rev. Ebenezer Gould executor, and left Ebenezer all the rest and residue of his estate including land in Granville, Mass.
• v. Rev. Ebenezer Gould, b. circa 1703, d. intestate in 1779 in Granville, Mass.; a 1723 graduate of Yale College, a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey and Congregational pastor in Conn.; gave up the ministry when he relocated to Granville, Mass.; was twice married and had an undefined number of children, three who died in infancy and are buried in Middlefield, Conn. near the grave of Ebenezer's brother David. See The American Genealogist [TAG 73 (Apr. 1993):123] for a detailed review of Ebenezer and discovery of several of his children.
Benjamin was undoubtedly interred in Guilford's original Cemetery on the Green, whose gravestones, but not the interred remains, were relocated in 1818 to other Guilford cemeteries. His death does not appear in the Guilford town records, but is known to have died in Guilford May 17, 1718. While his widow Elizabeth, son Thomas and Thomas' wife are interred with gravestones in the North Guilford Cemetery (started not earlier than 1727), in 1818 Benjamin apparently had no surviving gravestone to relocate to North Guilford, if he had one to begin with.
Edited 10/3/2016
The only direct reference made concerning Benjamin Gould in Steiner's 1897 published History of the Plantation of Menunkatuck is "Benjamin Gould settled at Guilford about 1707, married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Robinson, Sr., and died May, 1718." Assuming Steiner's statement to be true that Benjamin did not appear in Guilford until 1707, this is at least four years after the birth of all eleven of Benjamin Gould's claimed children. The Benjamin Gould family's whereabouts prior to 1707 cannot be found in any readily available colonial record.
Thereafter in 1902, according to Steiner in Mr. Thomas Robinson of Guilford (Conn.) and His Descendants, compiled by Hon. R.D. Smyth and communicated by Dr. Bernard C. Steiner [NEHGR 56 (1902):57]:
• vii. Elizabeth [Robinson], d. Sept. 30, 1745; m. Benjamin Gould of Guilford, who d. May 17, 1718. Their children were: 1. Benjamin; 2. Mary; 3. Ann; 4. Thomas; 5. Nathaniel; 6. Sarah; 7. ---; 8. John; 9. David; 10. Ebenezer, b. 1703, A.B. Yale, 1723, d. 1777; 11. Elizabeth.
Dr. Alvan Talcott (1804-1891) resided in Guilford from 1841 until his death, was a practicing physician, and served as Guilford's town registrar. His manuscript of Families of Early Guilford, Connecticut, in two volumes, was published in 1984 from the manuscript owned by the New Haven Colony Historical Society, in New Haven, Conn. Talcott's rendition of the Benjamin Gould family lists only four children: sons Lieut. Thomas, John, David and Ebenezer, of whom only Thomas and John are carried forward.
On Mar. 24, 1715/16 in Guilford, Conn. in the New Haven Probate District, Packet No. 4466 (which does not include the estate inventory found elsewhere), Benjamin Gould wrote his will. He willed "to my eleven children a "legacie of twenty shillings a piece provided they come to my Executrix within one year of my decease and demand it. And two of my said Children being deceased my will is that their Children enjoy their said legacie. And I do also Confirm to each of them what I have given to them and put them in possession of in the time of my life." He made wife Elizabeth sole executrix and willed to her all his real and personal property of whatever kind (land, buildings, household goods, chattel, cattle, movables and immovables, etc.) during her widowhood, but if she died before Benjamin, remarried or died as his widow, the real and personal property bequeathed to her was willed to "my four youngest children, viz. my sons John, David, Ebenezer and my daughter Elizabeth alias Betty" to be equally divided between them. John and David were to have all of his out-lands, Ebenezer the homestead, and Betty her portion in movables. The will was exhibited at New Haven July 7, 1718 with a one-page inventory, sworn to by the executrix, dated July 6, 1718.
The known gravestone of the widow Elizabeth, who died Sept. 30, 1745, dates her birth to on or after Oct. 1, 1662. In 1600s New England, a husband was generally older than his wife, often many years older, and it is unlikely that Elizabeth Robinson was, as inferred in the literature, seven years older than her husband.
As noted, Benjamin claimed nine of his eleven children were living in March 1715/16, but only five of the eleven are known by name - Thomas, Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer, each who survived their father. As also noted, Benjamin called Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer "my four youngest children."
Of the five named children, Thomas, Elizabeth, John and David have extant gravestones. Thomas' gravestone places his date of birth on or after June 18, 1689; Elizabeth on or after Nov. 22, 1692; John on or after May 26, 1694; and based on the correct reading of David's gravestone on or after Mar. 25, 1699. Ebenezer was b. circa 1703 and d. at Granville, Mass. in 1779, but has no known burial location or gravestone.
That son Thomas was born circa 1689 means six older children are unidentified, two who were dead by March 1715/16, but had married and left children. Given Benjamin's own words that Elizabeth, John, David and Ebenezer were his four youngest children, for Benjamin Gould to be the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould, born of record in Salem, Mass. on Aug. 26, 1669, Benjamin would have had to marry before age 20 and have had seven living children by the age of 20. This is neither probable nor believable.
The only reasonable conclusion is that Benjamin Gould was a much older person than claimed, was not the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Gould of Salem, Mass., and Elizabeth Robinson was his 2nd wife. Elizabeth may have been the mother only of Benjamin's following five known named children:
• i. Lieut. Thomas Gould, b. on or after June 18, 1689, d. testate in Guilford, Conn. June 17, 1746, Æ. 57 (g.s.); m. May 16, 1715 of record in Guilford, Mary Cruttenden, dau. of Abraham Cruttenden and Susanna Kirby, b. Dec. 15, 1690 in Guilford. She d. intestate May 9, 1776 in Guilford, Æ. 86 (g.s.) Seven children of the family.
• ii. Elizabeth "Betty" Gould, b. on or after Nov. 22, 1692; was left £50 in her brother David's 1756 will; never married and d. intestate Nov. 21, 1775 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 83 (g.s.)
• iii. John Gould, b. on or after May 26, 1694, d. intestate in Middletown, Conn. May 25, 1763, Æ. 69 (g.s.); m. 1) June 27, 1719 of record in Guilford, Mehitable Cook(e), dau. of Thomas Cook(e) and Sarah Mason, b. of record Mar 7, 1692/93 in Guilford. She d. May 9, 1776 in Middletown, Conn., Æ. 86 (g.s.) John m. 2) July 5, 1761 in Middletown as her 4th husband, the widow Prudence (Sage)(Stow)(Savage) Gilbert, who survived him. Five children of the family.
• iv. David Gould, b. on or after Mar. 25, 1699; d. intestate and unmarried Mar. 24, 1756 in present-day Middlefield, Conn, Æ 57 (g.s.) In his will he bequeathed £50 to his sister Elizabeth Gould, named his brother Rev. Ebenezer Gould executor, and left Ebenezer all the rest and residue of his estate including land in Granville, Mass.
• v. Rev. Ebenezer Gould, b. circa 1703, d. intestate in 1779 in Granville, Mass.; a 1723 graduate of Yale College, a Presbyterian minister in New Jersey and Congregational pastor in Conn.; gave up the ministry when he relocated to Granville, Mass.; was twice married and had an undefined number of children, three who died in infancy and are buried in Middlefield, Conn. near the grave of Ebenezer's brother David. See The American Genealogist [TAG 73 (Apr. 1993):123] for a detailed review of Ebenezer and discovery of several of his children.
Benjamin was undoubtedly interred in Guilford's original Cemetery on the Green, whose gravestones, but not the interred remains, were relocated in 1818 to other Guilford cemeteries. His death does not appear in the Guilford town records, but is known to have died in Guilford May 17, 1718. While his widow Elizabeth, son Thomas and Thomas' wife are interred with gravestones in the North Guilford Cemetery (started not earlier than 1727), in 1818 Benjamin apparently had no surviving gravestone to relocate to North Guilford, if he had one to begin with.
Edited 10/3/2016
Inscription
(no known relocated gravestone)
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