18. BENJAMIN5 ALMY (John4, William3, Christopher2, William1),b. Newport, RI, 16 Dec 1724; d. Newport, RI, 20 Feb 1818.
He. m.(1) Newport, RI, 22 May 1751, SARAH COGGESHALL, b. Newport, RI, Jan 1720/1; d. Newport, RI, 22 Feb 1756; dau. of Thomas and Sarah (Lancaster) Coggeshall. He m.(2) Newport, RI, MARY GOULD, d. 23 Apr 1808; dau. of James and Mary (Rathbun) Gould.
Children of Benjamin and Sarah, born Newport, RI:
| 40 | i | JOHN COGGESHALL6, b. 2 Mar 1752; d. Dartmouth, MA, 1815; m.(1) Dartmouth, 7 Dec 1777, CATHERINE TUCKER, b. 1762; d. 16 Oct 1788. He m.(2) 17 Jan 1797, SARAH DUNHAM, b. 18 Nov 1762. |
| ii | SARAH, b. 26 May 1754; d. 17 Apr 1755. | |
| iii | SARAH, b. 22 Feb 1756; m. Newport, RI, 30 May 1782, WILLIAM EDWARD TILLINGHAST. |
Children of Benjamin and Mary, born Newport, RI:
| iv | BENJAMIN, b. 31 Aug 1763; d. Newport, RI, 12 Sep 1781. | |
| v | SUSANNAH, b. 2 Jan 1765; d. 24 Dec 1825; m. 24 Jan 1797, Capt. BENJAMIN LIGHTBURN. | |
| 41 | vi | SAMUEL, b. 9 Dec 1766; d. 1797; m. wife unknown. |
| vii | WALTER, b. 9 Dec 1766; d. Newport, RI, 28 Sep 1782. | |
| viii | ANSTICE ELLERY, b. 21 Oct 1769; m. Newport, RI, 29 Mar 1800, MATTHEW ROBINSON JOHNSON. | |
| ix | KATHERINE, b. 7 Apr 1771; d. Providence, RI, 8 Dec 1863; m. Newport, RI, 13 Oct 1792, EDMUND TROWBRIDGE ELLERY, b. Newport, 2 Nov 1763; d. Providence, RI, 12 Mar 1847; son of William and Ann (Remington) Ellery. | |
| 42 | x | JAMES GOULD, b. 14 Mar 1772; d. at Matanzas, 23 Nov 1827; m.(1) 4 Aug 1792, MARTHA MATILDA BOWLES, 1776; d. Newport, 14 May 1799. He m.(2) New Bedford, MA, 29 Mar 1801, MYRA ELLIOT; d. Dartmouth, 1809. |
| xi | WILLIAM BARNETT, b. 30 May 1776; d. 1795. |
Benjamin, his two wives, and five of their children are buried in the Newport Common Burial Ground. The Sloop Adventure belonged to Benjamin Almy & Co., and he made voyages to the West Indies in 1788. Mary, wife of Benjamin, kept a diary at the time of the Revolution and she describes the siege of Newport in 1778. The diary was written while her husband was with Sullivan's besieging army before Newport, while his wife and children were in the city. Mary (Gould) Almy was the granddaughter of James Gould and Catherine Clark, and a great granddaughter of Governor Walter Clarke. Mary Almy, during and after the Revolution, was well known as the landlady of a prominent boarding house in Newport, and General Washington was once her guest. A very elegant silk spread under which Washington slept was preserved for some time as a sacred relic. It was made by Miss Anstice Ellery who married John Almy and was the mother of Benjamin. The whereabouts of this quilt is presently (1985) unknown.
REFERENCES: HISTORIC FAM pp. 23, 29, 45; LAWTON pp. 9-10;NYGBRVol.34,p.33;RIVR,Newport, Friend