Elder William Wentworth was living at Exeter, New Hampshire, by 1639, and at Wells, Maine, from 1642-1649. In 1649, he moved to Dover, New Hampshire, where he lived most of the rest of his life. He was the father of at least eleven children. He died at Dover ca. 1696/7. Descendants lived in New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusettes, New York, Vermont, Illinois, and elsewhere.
Ancestry is traced to Dederick Storm who was born ca. 1390 and lived at Wyck, Holland. His descendant, Dirck Storm, son of Dirck Storm and Alida van Cortenbosch, was born in Leyden, South Holland in 1630 and married Maria van Montfoort of Delft in 1655. They came to New York in 1662. He died at Tarrytown in 1716. Descendants lived in New York, New Jersey, and elsewhere.
Thomas Sayre came with his family from England to Lynn, Massachusetts in the early 1630's. Among descendants of Thomas were clergymen, surgeons, attorneys, ambassadors, and representatives of almost every profession. Francis B., cowboy, professor of law, and ambassador, was son-in-law of former President Woodrow Wilson. Zelda was the wife of American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and subject of one of his books. David A. was a silversmith, banker, and founder of Lexington's Sayre School. Many Sayre descendants were taken by wars in service to America and never had the chance to win recognition for their inherent abilities. SAYRE FAMILY another 100-years, in a large part, focuses on the early pioneers who came to or passed through the Ohio Valley of West Virginia and Ohio. At least three direct descendants of Thomas had made settlements in the area by the Nineteenth Century. One, David Sayre, came from New Jersey about 1778, and left many descendants who still lived in that area at the beginning of the Twenty-first Century. The bulk of this genealogy covers those, while other Sayre families whose ancestral links were not discovered are also included. The three generations of ancestors above each family block makes tracing easier.
John Lewis Benson, born in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, was an 8th generation descendant of John Benson, who arrived in America at Plymouth Colony on 11 April 1638 on the ship "Confidence." After being reared in Chautauqua County, New York, John Lewis Benson's father, William, took him to Rock Island County, Illinois, following his daughters who had already made the migration. Shortly after reaching his majority, John Lewis Benson went to "Bleeding Kansas" as part of the wave of Abolitionists who sought to "keep Kansas free," which action reflected the devout Puritan Calvinism of his Benson forebears. He enlisted in the 5th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry two months after the first canon was fired on Fort Sumter, and served until the end of the War of Rebellion, being mustered out on 22 June 1865. He then returned to Kansas where he prospered, married, and fathered 5 children. He lost all his worldly possessions due to drought and the economic collapse following The Panic of 1873, and then moved about Kansas seeking a new start. During this difficult period, his wife died, leaving him a widower with 4 children ages 6 to 11. He soon married a divorcee who brought her 3 children, ages 1 to 3, to the marriage. In his second marriage, John Lewis fathered three more children. After the Unassigned Lands of Oklahoma Territory were opened for settlement in 1899, John Lewis and his blended family moved there and share-cropped 40 acres southeast of Guthrie, Oklahoma, which he eventually bought. He died on this farm on 23 March 1906. This book by one of his great-grandsons tells the story of his life, the lives of his five sisters and one brother, and their ancestry back to 16th century Oxfordshire, England.
