Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Benedict Arnold and John Lathrop


Ancestry.com thinks I'm related to Benedict Arnold! They say I'm his seventh cousin, four times removed, and they’ve linked me this way:

John Robert Brubaker, Father

Helen McDanel, 1897-1958, Grandmother, m. Joseph Brubaker

Fred McDanel, 1868-1926, Great-Grandfather, m. Frances Effie Braden

Richard Baxter McDanel, 1844-1912, 2nd GG, m. Lydia Ann Marquis

Abraham McDanel 1802-1853, 3rd GG, m. Anna Moore

Mary Richey/ie, 1777-1861,  4th GG, m. William McDanel

Elizabeth Clarke 1754-, 5th GG, m. Abraham Richey/ie

Israel Clarke 1720-1788, 6th GG, m. Deborah Pope

Josiah Clarke 1690-1728, 7th GG, m. Thankful Tupper

Thomas Clarke, 1660-1728, 8th GG, m. Elizabeth Crow

Abigal Lathrop, 1639-1723, 9th GG, m. James Clarke

John Lathrop, 1584-1653, 10th GG, m. Anne Hammond Dimmock (second wife)

Note: Lathrop is sometimes spelled Lothrop or Lathrop. 

John Lathrop’s first wife was Hannah House, and they had a son named Samuel Lathrop (1620-1699) who was therefore Abigal Lathrop’s half brother. Samuel and his wife Elizabeth Scudder had a son also named Samuel Lathrop (1650-1732). He married Hannah Adgate and they had a daughter named Elizabeth (1679-1708). She married John Waterman, and they had a daughter named Hannah Waterman (1708-1759). She married a man named Benedict Arnold (1683-1761), and they had a son named Benedict Arnold V (1741-1801). 

From Wikipedia:

Benedict Arnold (14 January 1741 [O.S. 3 January 1740][1][2] – 14 June 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army, rising to the rank of major general, before defecting to the British side of the conflict in 1780. GeneralGeorge Washington had given him his fullest trust and placed him in command of West Point, New York. Arnold planned to surrender the fort to British forces, but the plot was discovered in September 1780 and he fled to the British lines. Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army, commanding the American Legion in the later part of the conflict. Arnold's name quickly became a byword in the United States for treason and betrayal because he led the British army in battle against the very men whom he had once commanded.[3]

Arnold was born in Connecticut and was a merchant operating ships on the Atlantic Ocean when the war began in 1775. He joined the growing army outside Boston and distinguished himself through acts of intelligence and bravery. His actions included the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga in 1775, defensive and delaying tactics at the Battle of Valcour Island on Lake Champlain in 1776 which allowed American forces time to prepare New York's defenses, the Battle of Ridgefield, Connecticut (after which he was promoted to major general), operations in relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix, and key actions during the pivotal Battles of Saratoga in 1777, in which he suffered leg injuries that halted his combat career for several years.

Arnold repeatedly claimed that he was passed over for promotion by the Continental Congress, while other officers obtained credit for some of his accomplishments.[4] Others in his military and political circles brought charges against him of corruption or other malfeasance, but most often he was acquitted in formal inquiries. Congress investigated his accounts, however, and concluded that he was indebted to Congress, and he borrowed heavily to maintain a lavish lifestyle.

Arnold mingled with Loyalist sympathizers in Philadelphia and married into one such family by marrying Peggy Shippen. She was a close friend of British Major John André and kept in contact with him when he became head of the British espionage system in New York. Many historians point to her as facilitating Arnold's plans to switch sides; he opened secret negotiations with André, and Peggy relayed the messages. The British promised £20,000[a] for the capture of West Point, a major American stronghold; Washington greatly admired Arnold and gave him command of that fort in July 1780. His scheme was to surrender the fort to the British, but it was exposed in September 1780 when Patriot militia captured André carrying papers which revealed the plot. Arnold escaped and André was hanged.

Arnold received a commission as a brigadier general in the British Army, an annual pension of £360,[a] and a lump sum of over £6,000.[a][7] He led British forces in the Raid of Richmond and nearby areas, and they burned much of New London, Connecticut, to the ground and slaughtered surrendering forces after the Battle of Groton Heights—just a few miles downriver from the town where he had grown up. In the winter of 1782, he and Peggy moved to London, England. He was well received by King George III and the Tories but frowned upon by the Whigs and most Army officers. In 1787, he moved to Canada to a merchant business with his sons Richard and Henry. He was extremely unpopular there and returned to London permanently in 1791.


Rev. John Lothropp (1584–1653) — sometimes spelled Lothrop or Lathrop — was an English Anglican clergyman, who became a Congregationalist minister and emigrant to New England. He was among the first settlers of Barnstable, Massachusetts. Perhaps Lothropp's principal claim to fame is that he was a strong proponent of the idea of the Separation of Church and State (also called "Freedom of Religion"). This idea was considered heretical in England during his time, but eventually became the mainstream view of people in the United States of America, because of the efforts of John Lothropp and others. Lothropp left an indelible mark on the culture of New England, and through that, upon the rest of the country. He has had many notable descendants, including at least six US presidents, as well as many other prominent Governors, government leaders, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and business people. 

Early life[edit]

Lothropp was born in Etton, East Riding of Yorkshire. He was baptised on 20 December 1584. He attended Queens' College, Cambridge, where he matriculated in 1601, graduated with a BA in 1605, and with an MA in 1609.[1]

Ministry and incarceration[edit]

He was ordained in the Church of England and appointed curate of a local parish in Egerton, Kent. In 1623 he renounced his orders and joined the cause of the Independents. Lothropp gained prominence in 1624, when he was called to replace Reverend Henry Jacob as the pastor of the First Independent Church in London, a congregation of sixty members which met at Southwark. Church historians sometimes call this church the Jacob-Lathrop-Jessey (JLJ[2]) Church, named for its first three pastors, Henry Jacob, John Lothropp and Henry Jessey.

They were forced to meet in private to avoid the scrutiny of Bishop of London William Laud. Following the group's discovery on 22 April 1632 by officers of the king, forty-two of Lothropp's Independents were arrested. Only eighteen escaped capture. The arrested were prosecuted for failure to take the oath of loyalty to the established church. Evidence gleaned by the historians Burrage and Kiffin and from the Jessey records indicate many were jailed in The Clink prison. As for Reverend John Lothropp, the question is still unresolved. English historian Samuel Rawson Gardiner, whose book Reports of Cases in the Courts of Star Chamber and High Commission, gives an account of the courtroom trial and cites information from the trial record that the convicted dissenters were to be divided up and sent to various prisons. Historian E. B. Huntington suggests Lothropp was incarcerated in either the Clink or Newgate.[3] Further, it may be that Lothropp actually served time in both prisons since it was customary to move prisoners from one prison to another due to space availability. In the end, the precise location of Lothropp's imprisonment is not confirmable from primary documentation.

While Lothropp was in prison, his wife Hannah House became ill and died. His six surviving children were, according to tradition, left to fend for themselves begging for bread on the streets of London. Friends, being unable to care for his children, brought them to the Bishop who had charge of Lothropp. After about a year, all were released on bail except Lothropp, who was deemed too dangerous to be set at liberty. The Bishop ultimately released him on bond in May 1634 with the understanding that he would immediately remove to the New World. Since he did not immediately leave for the New World, a court order was subsequently put out for him. Family tradition and other historical reflections indicate he then "escaped."

Emigration[edit]

Lothropp was told that he would be pardoned upon acceptance of terms to leave England permanently with his family along with as many of his congregation members as he could take who would not accept the authority of the Church of England. Lathrop accepted the terms of the offer and left for Plymouth, Massachusetts. With his group, he sailed on the Griffin and arrived in Boston on 18 September 1634.[4] The record found on page 71 of Governor Winthrop's Journal, quotes John Lothropp, a freeman, rejoicing in finding a "church without a bishop. . .and a state without a king." John Lothropp married Ann (surname unknown) (1616–1687).[5]

Lothropp did not stay in Boston long. Within days, he and his group relocated to Scituate where they "joined in covenaunt together" along with nine others who preceded them to form the "church of Christ collected att Scituate."[6] The Congregation at Scituate was not a success. Dissent on the issue of baptism as well as other unspecified grievances and the lack of good grazing land and fodder for their cattle caused the church in Scituate to split in 1638.

Lothropp petitioned Governor Thomas Prence in Plymouth for a "place for the transplanting of us, to the end that God might have more glory and wee more comfort."[7] Thus as Otis says "Mr. Lothropp and a large company arrived in Barnstable, 11 October 1639 O.S., bringing with them the crops which they had raised in Scituate."[8] There, within three years they had built homes for all the families and then Lothropp began construction on a larger, sturdier meeting house adjacent to Coggin's (or Cooper's) Pond, which was completed in 1644. This building, now part of the Sturgis Library in Barnstable, Massachusetts is one of John Lothrop's original homes and meeting houses, and is now also the oldest building housing a public library in the USA.

Genealogy[edit]

Children[edit]

Lothropp married Hannah House/Howse in England, on 10 October 1610. They had eight children:[5]

  1. Thomas Lothropp, baptised 21 February 1612/3 in Eastwell, Kent, England, by his grandfather Rev. John Howse, parson there. Record from Bishop's Transcript records at Canterbury.
  2. Jane Lothropp, baptised 29 September 1614 in Egerton, Kent, England; married Mayflower passenger Samuel Fuller (1608–1683), son of Mayflower passenger Edward Fuller (1575-1621).
  3. Anne Lothropp, baptised 12 May 1616 in Egerton, England; buried in Egerton 30 April 1617.
  4. John Lothropp, baptised 22 February 1617/8 in Egerton, England
  5. Barbara Lothropp, baptised 31 October 1619 in Egerton, England
  6. Samuel Lothropp, born about 1621 in Egerton, England
  7. Captain Joseph Lothropp, baptised 11 April 1624 in Eastwell, Kent, England
  8. Benjamin Lothropp, born December 1626 in Eastwell, Kent, England

After Hannah's death, Lothropp married again, to Ann (surname unknown) in 1635. They had five children:[5]

  1. Barnabas Lothropp, baptised 6 June 1636 in Scituate, Massachusetts
  2. Unnamed daughter, buried 30 July 1638.
  3. Abigail Lothropp, baptised 2 November 1639 in Barnstable, Massachusetts
  4. Bathsheba Lothropp, baptised 27 February 1641/42 in Barnstable, MA
  5. Elizabeth Lothropp, born about 1643
  6. Captain John Lothropp, baptised 18 May 1645 in Barnstable, MA
  7. Unnamed son, buried 25 January 1649/50 in Barnstable. Died immediately after birth.

Descendants[edit]

Lothropp's direct descendants in America and elsewhere number more than 80,000,[citation needed] including:


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