Thomas Bennet (lawyer)
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- Charlotte Harrison
- Thomasine Dethick
Thomas Bennet | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 December 1592 |
| Died | 27 June 1670 (aged 77) |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | Mary and another daughter (by first marriage) Thomas (by second marriage) |
| Parent(s) | Sir John Bennet Anne Weeks/Bennet |
Thomas Bennet (5 December 1592 – 27 June 1670) was a successful civil lawyer. [1]
Thomas Bennet was born in York, but the Bennet family appears to have come from the south of England. His father was Sir John Bennet, a wealthy politician and judge whose career had ended prematurely when he was found guilty of taking bribes. John Bennett had ten children and forty grandchildren. One of Thomas's nephews was the first Earl of Arlington. Thomas was the judge's second son, but on the evidence of his own wealth at the time of his death, he was more successful than his elder brother. Thomas Bennet's mother was Anne Weeks/Bennet, the first of his father's two wives.[1] Although both his father and his son [2] sat as members of the English Parliament, Thomas Bennet did not.
Legal education and career
Bennet entered All Souls College, Oxford in 1613, and emerging with a qualification in Law in 1615. He received his Doctorate of Law on 3 July 1624.[3] By that time he was a member of Gray's Inn, to which he "may have been admitted in 1617".[1] He joined the Doctors' Commons (lawyers' society) in 1624, becoming a full member of it in 1626.[1] He gained admission to the College of Advocates on 26 January 1626. While he was making his career in advocacy, he also found time to serve as a Commissioner for Piracy in London in 1633, 1635 and again in 1638.[1]
On 8 June 1635 Thomas Bennet became a Master in Chancery, which post he held until his death.[3]