A LISTING OF THE DESCENDANTS OF

BENJAMIN AND MARY CHASE WEEKS

OF FALMOUTH, MA.

AND

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C.

TABLE OF LINKS

BENJAMIN WEEKS A Biography of Our Patriarch
THEOPHILUS & SWANSBORO The Founding of Swansboro, N. C.
HATCH OR ROBINSON Who was Benjamin's Mother?
JONATHAN HATCH Man of Action
CHASE HERITAGE The Ancestry of Mary Chase Weeks
THE GRAVES OF MARY & LT. CHASE A Quaker Life
THE PHILBRICK LINE More Ancestors
ALIAS FYLBRIGGE A Philbrick Link
INDEX & SURNAMES 941 Surnames - 4400+ Individuals in Index
CONTRIBUTORS E-mail Our Contributors
WORLD WYKES WEB Weeks=Wykes?
ROWLEY FAMILY Sarah's Folks
GUEST BOOK Sign/Read Our Guest Book

VISIT WEEKS COUNTRY

PLYMOUTH BARNSTABLE FALMOUTH
CARTERET COUNTY ONSLOW COUNTY SWANSBORO

BENJAMIN WEEKS

HIS LIFE, HIS ANCESTORS & HIS DESCENDANTS

Benjamin Weeks was born on 4 April 1685 in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and as an adult operated the ferry between Falmouth and Martha's Vineyard. He married Mary Chase at Martha's Vineyard on 14 January 1704. Mary was born in Tisbury, Ma., on 17 January 1687. The ancestry of Benjamin and Mary is still open to question though it is certain that they count among their forebears the early Pilgrim and Puritan settlers of Massachusetts Bay Colony. As more settlers flocked to the Bay area good arable land grew scarcer, forcing the children and grandchildren of the original colonists to seek elsewhere for the means with which to support their families. The newly-established Carolinas answered this need with the promise of plentiful land and a gentler climate to those of an ambitious and pioneering spirit. Benjamin and Mary were among such a group of kinsmen and neighbors from the Falmouth region who migrated together to the White Oak River area of eastern North Carolina. Court records first indicate the presence of Benjamin and Mary in the area in 1741 though it is thought they had arrived as early as 1730. The Weeks family obtained land in Carteret County on Hadnots Creek at its confluence with White Oak River and set up housekeeping. Their grown children and other relatives and former Falmouth neighbors were soon established on lands of their own on both sides of the river. Benjamin died in 1744 and left the following will. All the children named in the will were born in Falmouth.

BENJAMIN WEEKS' WILL

In the Name of God Amen, ys. Ninth Day of November in the Year of our Lord, One thousand, seven hundred & Forty Four. I, Benjamin Weeks, of Cartwright County, in North Carolina, being of sick and weak Body, but of Perfect Mind & Memory, Thanks be given unto almighty God for it, & Knowing it is appointed for all Men Once to Die, do make & ordain this to be my last Will & Testament, that is to say; First of all I give my Sole into the Hands of God that gave it; & for my body, I recommend to the Earth to be buried in a Christian like manner at the Discretion of my Executors, Nothing Doubting but at the General Resurrection I shal receive the same again by the mighty Power of God that gave it; And as for Touching such Worldly Estate wherewith if has pleased God to bless me with, I give & Dispose of the same in the Manner & form following.

Item, I give and bequeath unto my two sons, Isaac Weeks & Jabas Weeks, the Tract of Land that I now dwell on with the March thereunto belonging, to be Equally divided between them and their Heirs & Assigns for Ever. That is to say, my son Jabas to have that Part of the Land that the Plantation & Houses is on, and Isaac to have the other Part with half the Marsh.

Item, I give to my Son, Theoflis Weaks, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Son, Archelas, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Son, Bingman, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Daughter, Lidde Witton, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Dafter, Mary Williams, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Dafter, Christian Weake, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Dafter, Thankful Hicks, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, I give to my Dafter, Elizabeth Weake, One Shilling, Sterling.

Item, my Will & Desire is for my Wife to have the Plantation in her Lifetime.

Item, my Will and Desire is that my two Sons, Isaac & Jabas, do Each of them pay unto my Grand Son Edward Weaks, the Sum of Ten Pounds, current money of Carolina, & upon Failure thereof to be Dispossessed of the Land before given.

Item, I give unto my well beloved wife, Mary Weake, Two Beds & Furniture, Two Cows & Horses, and all other Household Goods & all the Remaining Part of my Estate that is not yet given During her Widowhood, She Paying all my Lawful Debts.

I also Depute and apoint my sd. Wife to be my whole & sole Executor of this my last Will and Testament, Ratifying and alowing this & no other to be my last Will & Testament, Disanulling all other Wills formarly by me made.

In Testimony hereunto I have Set my Hand & Seal the year and date written above.

His Mark

Signed: BENJAMIN (B) WEEKS

SWANSBORO, N.C. BOGUE INLET TO THE LEFT

Among the Falmouth neighbors who participated in the move to North Carolina were Jonathan and Grace Green who established a plantation on the Onslow County side of the White Oak River not far from Bogue Inlet. Jonathan Green died a premature death and Benjamin Weeks' son, Theophilus, then married Grace, gaining in the bargain ownership of the riverside plantation. His proximity to Bogue Inlet and, doubtless, his demonstrated ability and honesty, earned Theophilus the appointment as Customs Inspector, a responsibility that entailed inspecting the cargoes of ships entering and leaving the inlet. To perform these duties, Theophilus constructed a wharf at his plantation and later a tavern nearby to slake the thirst of the transient seamen. The bustle of activity surrounding the wharf inspired Theophilus to subdivide his plantation into town lots which he sold to those of his neighbors who preferred the urban life. First called Weeks Wharf, the community was eventually renamed Swansboro. A plaque in Swansboro park honors Theophilus for his roll in founding the town. In time Weeks descendants would own most of the land bordering the White Oak River.

The end of the French and Indian Wars in 1763 would have a profound effect on the lives and fortunes of the Weeks family. At the ensuing peace conference France ceded Canada and Florida to the victorious English who immediately took steps to populate and control the new territories. The Crown offered generous land grants to veterans of the recent war and to eastern seaboard residents who were willing to homestead in British West Florida as the recent acquisition was called. It comprised parts of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. On the White Oak River history repeated itself as Weeks family members and neighbors responded to the call by trekking off to East Florida and British West Florida to seek their fortunes, no doubt spurred on by the same population pressures that had influenced their Falmouth forebears. Those so far identified as homesteading in British West Florida were Christian Weeks and her husband Abel Goffigon, Theophilus Weeks (thought to be the son of Silas and Zillar Weeks) and his wife Ann Osteen and John Hewitt, a cousin of Christian. No doubt there were others. Theophilus would later move to East Florida. As a result of these migrations both Florida and Louisiana possess well-populated branches of the Weeks family. After the Revolutionary War the migration of Weeks descendants followed the pattern established by other southern Americans as they spread westward across the gulf states into Texas and beyond so that today descendants of Benjamin and Mary Chase Weeks reside from coast to coast.

THE REGISTRY

This registry is the product of the independent research efforts of a group of Weeks descendants who have agreed to pool and share their data. It contains more than 3,500 names in 1,100 family groups, the majority of whom are lineal descendants of Benjamin and Mary Chase Weeks and their children, Theophilus, Lydia Weeks Witton, Thankful Weeks Hicks, Isaac, Elizabeth, Jabez, Christian Weeks Goffigon, Mary Weeks Williams and Benjamin. We are providing this data base for the benefit of other Weeks researchers in the hope that those who avail themselves of the information will join us in expanding the Registry by contributing additional unrecorded branches of the family. We will happily supply a GEDCOM of any portion of this data base in exchange for a GEDCOM that expands the Registry. Contributors will also be listed on this site as contact persons if they wish. At the present time no sources are provided to support the accuracy of the data. Researchers are urged to consult with the listed contact persons or to independently confirm the authenticity of the information themselves. You will no doubt find some errors in the data base; please be gentle in calling them to our attention. We hope in time to add a greater degree of accuracy and uniformity to the data base as well as some other interesting features. In the meantime, please bear with us. And Good Luck! (Please note: Fnu = First Name Unknown)

CONTACT INFORMATION

NAME

ADDRESS

RESEARCH INTEREST

Judy Anderson

Andersonjb@aol.com

Thankful Weeks Hicks

Jim McLoughlin

mclou@hal-pc.org

Christian Weeks Goffigon

Eric Harvester

flconfed@GTE.net

Theophilus Weeks

Judy Roberts

J2ROBERTS@aol.com

Ada Weeks Osteen

Keith Rabb, Jr.

Krabb@Prodigy.com

Ada Weeks Osteen

Ann H. McWhirter

riverrat939@mchsi.com

Jabez Weeks

Doug Hanke

DHanke@prodigy.net

Phoebe Weeks Osteen

Connie Owens

ceo@flash.net

Tamar Weeks Sanders

John Palmer

Palmerjo@SONOMA.EDU

Henry Lee Mangum

Alice Bruce

Bruce1013@aol.com

Rhodes Weeks

Thank you for dropping in. We would really appreciate your sharing your Weeks data with us. Please send us a GEDCOM, post an inquiry or just let us know what you think of our page.

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This Website was created on 2-26-97. All rights reserved.

Jim Mc Loughlin last tinkered with this page on 9-7-2009. E-mail to: mclou@hal-pc.org

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