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George BENNETT (c.1821–1882)
His wife Mrs Eliza BENNETT, née Barnett (1819–1869)
Their grandson Rae Durran BENNETT (1878–1904)
St Mary Magdalen section: Row 18, Grave D52

George Bennett was born at Northampton in c.1821, the son of the rope maker Ben Bennett.

Eliza Barnett was born at Penn in Buckinghamshire on 25 April 1819, the daughter of the gardener Ben Barnett (surname also recorded as Barrett).

On 4 August 1846 at St Mary Magdalen Church, George Bennett, described as a dyer, married Eliza Barnett: both were then living in that parish. They had the following children:

• Benjamin Bennett (born at Gloucester Green, Oxford in 1847 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 29 August; registered as Benjamin, but baptised as Ben, the abbreviated forename of both his grandfathers)
• Walter George Bennett (born at Gloucester Green, Oxford in 1848/9 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 28 January 1849)
• Eliza Bennett (born at Gloucester Green, Oxford in 1851 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 23 May)
• Alfred Bennett (born at Gloucester Green Cattle Market, Oxford in 1852 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 14 November)
• Julia Bennett (born at Gloucester Green Cattle Market, Oxford in 1854 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 10 December)
• Frederick Bennett (born at Gloucester Green Cattle Market, Oxford in 1856 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 31 August)
• Ann Lydia Bennett (born at Gloucester Green Cattle Market, Oxford in 1858 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 16 May).

At the time of the 1851 census George (29) was a dyer, living at 29 Gloucester Green in St Mary Magdalen parish with his wife Eliza (31) and their first two children Benjamin (3) and Walter (2).

They were still there in 1861 with all seven of their children: Benjamin (13), Walter (12), Eliza (9), Alfred (7), Julia (6), Frederick (4), and Ann (3).

Mrs Bennett died in 1869:

† Mrs Eliza Bennett née Barnett died at George Street at the age of 49 on 28 January 1869 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 2 February (burial recorded in the parish register of St Mary Magdalen Church).

At the time of the 1871 census George, a widower of 49, was living at 65 George Street with five of his children: Walter (22), who was a music seller's clerk; Eliza (20), who acted as his housekeeper; Alfred (18), who was an ironmonger's clerk; Julia (16), who was a dressmaker; and Annie (13), who was still at school. Anne Hicks (18), described as his cousin and who worked as a servant, had also come to live with them. George's other two children were living next door at 64 George Street: Benjamin (23), who was also a dyer, was the head of the household, and lived there with just his brother Frederick (14), who was an apprentice cook.

Three of George Bennett's sons were married in the 1870s:

• On 28 July 1872 at St Mary Magdalen Church, Alfred Bennett (19), described as an office clerk, married Agnes Eaton (25), the daughter of the cooper George Eaton of the same parish;
• On 17 September 1874 at St Mary Magdalen Church, Walter George Bennett, described as a dyer of that parish, married Penelope Parker of St Peter-le-Bailey parish, the only daughter of the broker & publican Joseph Parker;
• On 24 September 1874 at St Mary Magdalen Church, Benjamin Bennett, described as a dyer, married Sarah Anne Ward, the daughter of the college servant Caleb Ward: both were described as being of that parish.

By the time of the 1881 census George Bennett (59), described as disabled, was living at 33 Walton Crescent with his eldest son Benjamin (33) and his family. His four unmarried children had dispersed: Eliza (30), who was a dyer's assistant, had moved in with her married brother Walter, who lived next door at 34 Walton Crescent, and Julia (26) was the parlourmaid of a magistrate's family in Brackley, Northants; Frederick (24) and Annie (23) are hard to find, but were likely to have been living in Oxford and Banbury respectively.

George Bennett died near the start of 1882:

† George Bennett died at 33 Walton Crescent at the age of 60 on 4 January 1882 and was buried at St Sepulchre’s Cemetery on 7 January (burial recorded in the parish register of St Mary Magdalen Church).

His death notice in Jackson's Oxford Journal read simply: “Jan. 4, at 33, Walton-crescent, Oxford, Mr. George Bennett, aged 60.”

Three more of his children were married over the next ten years:

• On 27 June 1882 at St Mary's parish, Banbury, Ann Lydia Bennett (24), who was then living in that parish, married Charles Hester of St Mary Mary Magdalen parish, the son of the coach painter John Hester;
• On 9 August 1887 at St Nicholas's Church, Marston, Frederick Bennett (32), a cook of St Mary Magdalen parish, married Emily Frances Evans of Marston, the daughter of the hotel-keeper Alfred Evans;
• In 1892 in the Portsea district, Eliza Bennett married Hugh Owen (born in Woolwich in c.1838).

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Rae Durran Bennett, grandson of George & Eliza Bennett

Rae Durran Bennett was born at Friars Entry in 1878 and baptised at St Mary Magdalen Church on 21 December. He was the son of George Bennett's son Benjamin Bennett, who was also a dyer, and his wife Catherine Mary Durran. For more about his background and siblings, see his parents' separate grave.

Rae worked as a commercial clerk. He did not marry, and when he died in 1904 he was placed in his grandparents' grave:

† Rae Durran Bennett died at 33 Walton Crescent at the age of 25 on 23 January 1904 and was buried at St Sepulchre's Cemetery on 27 January (burial recorded in the parish register of St Mary Magdalen Church).

His effects came to £255, and his father was his executor.

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Children of George & Eliza Bennett

• Benjamin Bennett (born 1847): see separate grave
• Walter George Bennett (born 1848/9) and his family: see separate grave
• Eliza Bennett (born 1851) never married. In 1891 Eliza (40) was working as a dyer's shopwoman, probably in Banbury, but on census night she was paying a visit to her married sister Ann at 9 Friar's Entry. In 1901 Eliza had the same occupation and was the head of the household at 44 High Street, Banbury, where she lived with her niece Mary Hester (11). The situation in 1911 was unchanged, except that a second niece, Lizzie Owen (17), was living with her. She may be the Eliza Bennett who died in Banbury in 1922, but the age at death is a few years out.
• Alfred Bennett (born 1852) was a brewer's clerk in 1891, living in Prittlewell, Essex, at 8 St John's Road, with his wife Agnes and their children Arthur (14), Agnes (12), Hilda (7), Walter (5), and Edith (3). He was still there in 1901 with his wife and three of his children. By 1911 he was a 57-year-old widower, still working as a brewer's clerk and lodging with a family at 65 The Grove, Southchurch, Southend-on-Sea.
• Julia Bennett, Mrs Owen (born 1854) was still a parlourmaid in 1891 and was back in Oxford working for William W. Ward who kept a lodging house at 169 & 170 Walton Street. Following her marriage in 1892 she moved to Portsmouth with her husband Hugh Owen. In 1901 Julia (45) was living at 24 Lawson Road, Portsmouth with Hugh (62), who was a retired dockyard blacksmith and their two children, Elizabeth Owen (7) and Marjorie Owen (6). They were at the same address in 1911 with Marjorie (16), who was a dressmaker; Elizabeth (17) was staying in Banbury with her aunt, Eliza Bennett. Julia died in Portsmouth at the age of 78 in 1932.
• Frederick Bennett (born 1856) was a 24-year-old cook in 1891, living at 24 Worcester Street with his wife Emily (27) and their daughters Mabel Lucy (2) and Gladys Frances (six months), plus a general servant. They had three more children: Albert, Alfred, and William, who were all born in Marston. In 1901 all five of their children were being looked after by their maternal grandparents at the White Hart in Marston, implying that their parents had died.
• Ann Lydia Bennett, Mrs Hester (born 1858) was living at 9 Friar's Entry in 1891 with her husband Charles Hester, who was an accountant's clerk, and their children Frederick (7), Rupert (4), and Mary (1). She died in Oxford at the age of 38 near the beginning of 1896: her burial place is uncertain.