vital records sources
The Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island says that Benjamin was the son of John Congdon of St. David's, Pembrokeshire, England, and that he was the grandson of the Earl of Pembroke. I have found no evidence of this. He was not a legitimate grandchild of an Earl of Pembroke, and this likely was one of many attempts in the world of 19th century genealogy to connect United States families to European nobility based on heresay and wishful thinking. Congdons appear often in parish records in Cornwall.
Benjamin supposedly is on a freeman list, probably of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, in 1677. Described as formerly from Portsmouth, he bought 200 acres of land in Narragansett, later known as Kingstown, Rhode Island, in 1679, and 200 more in 1685. He supposedly is described as a planter in Kingstown, late of Portsmouth, in 1683.
His will, written on 2 July 1715, was probated on 10 December 1718, making the above death date plausible, but the actual record of his death, if there is one, hasn't been found.(2)
children of Benjamin Congdon and Elizabeth Albro:
William
John
James, b. 19 April 1686?
Elizabeth
Susannah
vital records sources: The earliest appearance of his death date may be a printed sheet of genealogy, undated (but thought to have been printed about 1870) and by an unnamed author, that was re-printed in Boston in 1918 by Frank J. Wilder as Congdon Family of Rhode Island. This is a compilation including information from the will of Benjamin and vital record dates that may have been taken from the North Kingstown records before they were damaged by a fire in 1869. Others were likely taken from a family Bible, given the personal detail (for instance, the time of death of one family member). This document follows only one line of descent, including siblings, from Benjamin (1), through Benjamin (2), John (3), John (4), Thomas Rose Congdon (5) and ending with his children, further indicating private records were at least partially used.
1. Florence P. Simister, Streets of the City: An Anecdotal History of North Kingstown.
2.
all text and photographs © 1998-2010 by Doug Sinclair unless where otherwise noted