Jim wrote: > David's parents were Capt. Benjamin SWEETt b. Mar 29, 1690 in East Greenwich< > RI, d. June 16, 1753 in West Greenwich, RI. He married Susannah SPENCER The Benjamin Sweet who died in 1753 was someone else: son of Richard Sweet and husband of Margaret Hammett. His will, made in 1746 and proved in 1753, makes the identity clear. Your Benjamin, on the other hand, is rumored to have moved to Dutchess County, NY, and died there some years later. > The only child I have is David. David was the 12th and last child. The 12 were all duly entered in the vital records of East Greenwich, spanning the years 1718 to 1738: Robert /Sweet/ (M); b. 1718 Jun 28 Ruth /Sweet/ (F); b. 1720 May 8 Benjamin /Sweet/ (M); b. 1721-2 Feb 6 Henry /Sweet/ (M); b. 1723 Nov 10 Francis /Sweet/ (M); b. 1725-6 Mar 8 Theodosia /Sweet/ (F); b. 1727 Oct 30 Susanna /Sweet/ (F); b. 1729 Jul 25 Amey /Sweet/ (F); b. 1731 Apr 22 Welthian /Sweet/ (F); b. 1732-3 Feb 3 Hannah /Sweet/ (F); b. 1734 Nov 19 Theophilus /Sweet/ (M); b. 1736 Dec 16 David /Sweet/ (M); b. 1738 Dec 2 (See Arnold, _Vital Records of Rhode Island_ v.1, p.158) > Benjamin's parents were Henry SWEET, b. Mar 7, 1661/62, Warwick, RI, D. after > Oct 31, 1728 in Attleboro Mass. He married Mary Griffin ANDREWS Henry of Attleborough was someone else entirely, who died in 1704. Also, note that there is a now-discredited theory that Henry's wife was Mary Griffin. If you want to keep "Griffin", you must reject the "Andrew[s]" theory, and vice versa. > Henry's parents were John SWEET, b. 1620 in Devonshire, England, d. Feb 27, > Newport, RI The place of origin of the Rhode Island Sweets is not known. Devon is a popular theory, but evidence is lacking. Wales is another popular theory, but, again, no evidence. There is a possibility that we soon may have some evidence, one way or another, from the Sweet DNA project. There is a participant whose ancestors are documented back to Devon, and, when his results are available, we can compare them against the other participants, including those who descend from the Rhode Island Sweets. If they match, that will be persuasive evidence of Devon origins. Of course, if they don't match, that won't prove they DIDN'T come from Devon, but it will raise some doubts. John Chandler