Nat Gould

William Bennett 1797-1879

William Bennett was born in 1797 in Liverpool. He was a solicitor and attorney.

He married Ernestina Mary von Schultz 1801-1865.

They had the following children, all born at Chapel-en-le Frith :

Ernestina Bennett. She was born in 1821.

Eliza Ann Bennett. She was born in 1827.

Ada Bennett. She was born in 1828.

Norman Bennett. He was born in 1829. He qualified as a solicitor in 1865. In 1867 he married Caroline Ferns at Congleton in Cheshire. She was born in 1839, the daughter of Thomas Morten Ferns, a solicitor in Stockport, Cheshire. He died in 1879.

Francis Grey Bennett. He was born on 7 November 1830. He was a solicitor's articled clerk by 1851, and by 1861 had qualified as a solicitor and been appointed Coroner and Clerk for the Glossop Division of Derbyshire. He married Jane Wilkie on 16 August 1861 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and their only child William Wilkie Bennett was born in September 1862. Francis Grey Bennett 1830-1863 died on 23 March 1863 at Glossop in Derbyshire, leaving his estate to his widow. His wife's sister Joanna Bathia Wilkie was married to his brother Charles Bennett.

Robert Ottiwell Gifford Bennett 1834-1902. He was born in 1834. He did not follow him into the legal profession, but instead became a doctor, qualifying MD (Edinburgh) 1857 and MRCS (England) 1856. He was a general practitioner in Buxton in Derbyshire, where he was a major benefactor to the town.

Charles Bennett. He was born on 5 June 1835. He studied medicine at Edinburgh University, and married Joanna Bathia Wilkie in Edinburgh on 22 February 1865. Charles John Bennett became a general proactioner in Buxton in Derbyshire, and died there in 1917. His brother Francis Grey Bennett 1830-1863) married his wife's sister Jane Wilkie.

In 1841 the family were living at West Street in Chapel-en-le-Frith, but by 1851 they had moved to Market Street there. William Bennett then described himself at length as being "Clerk to the Magistrates, Clerk to the Chapel-en-le-Frith Union, Assistant Clerk to the County Court, Attorney and Solicitor, Superintendent Registrar". Their eldest daughter Ernestina was not then recorded and had presumably married or died. With them were three granddaughters, Ernestina Mary Green, Ann Green and Ada Green, all born at Everton in Lancashire and probably sisters

When the 1861 Census was taken, William and Ernestina Bennett were still at Market Street with their daughter Eliza Ann Bennett and sons Norman and Francis, all unmarried. With them was a granddaughter Ernestina C. Bennett born in Manchester in 1859.

In 1871 their address was given as Well Close in Market Street, which may have been the same address as in previous years. Eliza and Charles were still with them, and also their son Norman and his wife Caroline and their infant son Norman.

William Bennett died in 1879 (1).

Information about the Bennett family was kindly supplied by Ian Metcalfe of Melbourne, Australia.
(1) "Mr. Norman Bennett, the son and partner of the late Mr. William Bennett, died on the same day and under the same roof as his father. He was in his fiftieth year, having been born in 1829. He was admitted solicitor in Hilary Term 1865". The Law Times volume 67 page 70.