The Benton Family of Plaistow, West Ham, Essex

John Laybank Benton - Cabinetmaker

                                                             John BENTON
                                                                 |
 William STENNER===v===Elizabeth TAME                     Benjamin BENTON=====v=====Elizabeth LAYBANK                  
                   |                                                          |
                   |                                                          |
              Mary STENNER===================================v============John Laybank========v======Sarah GODRIDGE
                1836-1863                                    |              1826-1913         |       
                                                           m:1856                           m:1867
                                                             |                                -
       |-----------------------------------------------------|----------------|
  John William                                         Benjamin James  Frederick Laybank 
  1857-1938                                              1859-1926         1862-1863  
       |                                                     |                -
     m:1886                                                m:1908
    Mary HOWE                                          Isabel MORRISON
       |----------|------------|-------|------------|        |
      John  Reginald James  Cecile  Dorothy  Cyril Frederick ?
   1888-1888  1889-1970    1891-   1893-1929   1896-
                  |            |       _            |
                m:1915       m:1918               m:1926
              Elizabeth      George                Alma
                KEITH        PEARCE               SPENCE
                  |            |                    |
     
 

John Laybank BENTON was born 22 April 1826 at Plaistow, Essex. He was apprenticed to carpenter John Hollywell FISHER of Plaistow, Essex on 9th June 1840, for the wage of one shilling per week in the first year.

John Laybank Benton's Indenture paper

The next we know about John Laybank was his departure for Adelaide on 12 April 1848 on the ship the Forfarshire. He was 10 days short of his 21st birthday and his departure was 7 months after his mother died. He left behind his father, three brothers and a sister.

Little is known of John Laybank's early life in Australia. He arrived in Adelaide but there was little work available. Although a cabinetmaker, there is a family story of him pulling nails out of packing crates, being the only work available. The next record we have is his signature (indexed as BONTON) on the Goldfields Petition, organised in Bendigo in 1863. (see the list of names here). We can be reasonably sure that it was John as Laybank is given as his middle name.

Marriage to Mary Stenner

John Laybank married Mary STENNER on 20 December 1856 at the residence of the Bride in Flinders St, Melbourne. Mary had been born in London on 17 September 1836. He was aged 30 and she 20. (More information about Mary and her family is here).

They had three children:

Death of Mary

Mary died on 19 November 1863 at Martyn Street, South Yarra, Melbourne. Her death came two months after that of her youngest son Frederick:

Marriage to Sarah GODRIDGE

John Laybank remarried in Emerald Hill on 10 October 1867 to Sarah CLARK (nee GODRIDGE). He was aged 41 and she 39 according to the marriage record (born 1828 - although her death certificate gives her birth in 1825). They did not have any children. Her marriage and death records give her parents as Thomas GODRIDGE adn Ann HOUGH. There is a marriage between these two in Dalbury, Derbyshire on 7 March 1814 and the baptism for Sarah Godridge in Dalbury on 20 February 1825 to parents Thomas and Ann Godridge. Sarah married George CLARK, probably in London (St Mary, Islington) on 10 February 1852. She and George had four children before George died. All four children were deceased by the time Sarah died in 1907.

Sarah died on 12 August 1907 in Carrington Road, Randwick, NSW.

John Laybank died six years later, on 9 October 1913:

Follow these links for more information about the children of John Laybank BENTON:

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Last updated: 16/05/2010