~~~
John Bennett Boddie was an excellent genealogist and researcher as is reflected in his popular two-part volume, Seventeenth Century Isle of Wight County, Virginia. It's a favorite among researchers looking into early Virginia Bennetts because he writes a great deal about the Bennetts of Wiveliscombe, Somerset, England. Edward Bennett was a highly successful businessman, Puritan leader, and planter. His nephew, Richard Bennett, became a Parliamentarian governor, the first to become governor after Cromwell's grab for power in England.1
The relative fame of these Bennetts has attracted a large number of "pretenders," persons who try to tie their Bennett lineage into the Wiveliscombe Bennetts. Unfortunately, and although clear about it, Boddie often speculated. Untrained researchers continue to take the speculation as fact. Thus was born a tortured genealogy having not a single documented record attached to it. This has led to several stubborn myths. The Bennett of Somerset, England DNA Project was created to try to straighten out the mess. To that end, we've had a great deal of progress.2
The Y chromosome passes intact from father to all sons. It comes to men straight through the paternal lineage without any mixing from a single mother along the way. It's a clone. Every man's Y-DNA holds a perfect archive of markers that specifically define his lineage. In this way, we can genetically sort out the various Bennett patrilineages.
We have two groups that are specifically implicated in the Wiveliscombe Bennett myth. The Blackwater Bennetts and the Christchurch (VA) Bennetts. However, the Y-DNA analysis has proven that they were patrilineally related going back about 4,000 years. In other words, they weren't related at all.3
Boddie, as his full name suggests, was descended from the Northampton (NC) Bennetts. He speculated that the first William of the lineage was a scion of the Blackwater Bennetts. However, he provides no proof for it and records have yet to be found that do proof it. However, there is one record that might very well exist -- the genetic record. We would need, however, a living male Bennett representative to Y-DNA test.4
The earliest known ancestor of this lineage is William Bennett Sr. He patented 504 acres of land in Northampton, Virginia in 1723. This is the first record found for him. He later served as a Captain on the Roanoke Company during the War of Jenkins' Ear. He returned home and lived out his residency in Northampton until his death in 1767. His will mentions wife Grace and children Anne Ruffin, Grace Hills, and several Boddie grandchildren (Mary married William Boddie). His son, William, was deceased and not mentioned in the will. He appears to have been the only son of Captain William.
We know little about William Bennett Jr. In the Order of First Families of North Carolina, John Anderson Brayton states that he was born in Northampton in about 1717, married Mary Kearney in 1747, and died in St George's Parish, South Carolina.5 There appears to be no such place, however. The closest I find is Saint George, Dorchester, South Carolina. Indeed, this work isn't cited and should be used with caution. Another uncited source on the web states his wife, William and Mary had one son who died young. Mary left a will in Surry County, Virginia in 1804. It names nieces and nephews.6
With this, we appear to be at a dead end. Still, another William Bennett had been attached to this family at Familysearch.org. Although the suggestion was later withdrawn, this William was also born in Northampton and left a will there in 1805. He might not have been William Jr's son, but he might have been of the same family. I believe it's worth looking into him.
Remember, John Boddie believed his family was of the Blackwater Bennetts, proven several times over to be of Y-DNA haplogroup, R1b-BY172987. We can reliably trace the lineage in Northampton, North Carolina, but only through two generations, William Sr and William Jr. Was this third William a scion of the broader family? Or was he of another family altogether? Whether or not that question remains open, it's worth finding a living male Bennett representative. Y chromosomal sequencing will tell them just what family they belong to.
I can't vouch for the accuracy of this tree. It's purpose is only to find a living representative.