Reuben Bingham (β 1738-04-09 – 1828×31) was my likely 6th-great-grandfather, being the probable father of Horatio, and a Revolutionary War soldier who nevertheless later removed to Canada. His wife is recorded as Mary in 1767 and in 1821; these are presumed to be the same woman and the mother of his children, but she has not been identified beyond this name.
Reuben was the great-grandson of immigrant Thomas Bingham; see Bingham origins. He is a distant descendant of medieval English kings; see Royal descent below.
Reuben was baptized in 1738 at Windham, Connecticut, the fourth child of at least five of Abisha (or Abishai) Bingham and Mary Tubbs. Baptisms were done on Sunday, so he could’ve been born in the week or so before. The family’s baptisms are detailed on Abisha’s Find a Grave page.⟮1⟯Find a Grave memorial for Abisha Reuben was in Windham as late as 1767 (see below), although his military service moved him often.
In 1776 he was recorded in the census of Lempster, New Hampshire and was on a committee to lay out part of the town⟮2⟯FamilySearch⟮3⟯FamilySearch. Thereafter, he was in Vermont for a time, appearing in 1781 in Bellows Falls (part of Rockingham), in 1787 in Rockingham, in 1790 in Weathersfield⟮4⟯FamilySearch, and in 1800 in Springfield⟮5⟯FamilySearch. The latter two are from the censuses, which show him living only with one woman, presumably Mary.
Reuben’s military career began when he mustered in 1756-04-06, perhaps right around when he turned 18. He fought in both the French and Indian War and the American Revolution.
His last military record was from 1777.
Despite his service fighting for American independence, he later moved to Canada, to a Loyalist hotbed. In 1804 he swore an oath of allegiance to the monarchy. On 1810-11-01, he was granted 105 acres in Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick.⟮6⟯FamilySearch (restricted) His son Abner received 310 acres there.
He is recorded on the 1821 census of Grand Manan with wife Mary.⟮7⟯ Abner and his wife Lucy (see below) are also recorded. No other household members are shown with either, nor other Binghams, so it is highly improbable that records of any Reuben or Abner in Grand Manan could be any other relation.
On 1828-07-02, Reuben sold land in Grand Manan,⟮8⟯FamilySearch relying on witnesses (including Abner) rather than filing the deed himself. He would have been 90 at the time and may have been in poor health. The deed was filed on the 14th.
Neither Reuben nor Mary appear in the 1831 census. Given their age, it is likely they had died by then. An 1842 deposition by a Grand Manan resident stated that Reuben “died in this Island”.⟮9⟯Abner’s pension application. Fold3$ However, I have been unable to find record of their deaths.
In 1840, Abner started selling pieces of Reuben’s land grant, presumably inherited (Reuben would have been 102 if alive).
Reuben and Mary Bingham were admitted to the church at Windham, CT on 1767-07-17. It is supposed she is the mother of his children, and the same Mary he is living with in Grand Manan 54 years later. We have little information about her; the 1800 census states that Reuben’s wife was at least 45 years old, but that is obvious from the church record.
The following are their believed children, birth order uncertain, all but Horatio also listed by Munger:
Munger also lists as a possible child Thomas who married Sally Rumrill in Weathersfield in 1811, but an examination of town records shows that Bingham in the marriage record is a mistranscription of Brigham⟮18⟯FamilySearch, and indeed there are records of Thomas Brigham and wife Sarah/Sally⟮19⟯E.g., Find a Grave memorial. and none of a “Thomas Bingham”.
In 2019, a royal descent for Reuben’s ancestor Joanna (Quarles) Smith was published by Robert Battle in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.⟮20⟯
Per the pedigree below, Reuben descends from Ursula (Hall) Woodgate. Her great-great-grandparents were Robert Hall and Anne Dudley. Anne was the sister of Edmund Dudley and is descended from British noble families. Particularly, her grandfather was John Sutton, the 1st Baron Dudley, whose wife was Elizabeth Berkeley, and both descend from English kings.
Example descent:
This makes the king Reuben’s 17th-great-grandfather and my 25th-great-grandfather, assuming all requisite generations are correct.
Richard FitzRoy was an illegitimate son of King John, and thus this descent would qualify me for the Royal Bastards, except that they would likely find the evidence for Reuben being Horatio’s father not to their standards.
There is a widely published descent of the 1st Baron Dudley from King Edward I, of the same number of generations, but one generation has some dispute⟮21⟯, and other descents are much longer.