Benbrook Family Genealogy Home Page

BENBROOK

1739 - 2000

FIRST EDITION

BY

BERT P. HIGHET

PREFACE

The intention of this book is to plow some real fresh ground in an effort to successfully combine genealogy with history.  Traditionally genealogy has established a reputation that has portrayed itself as a research vehicle exercised in compiling dead people as the lifeless existence of ancestors.  This book is designed to discover a new audience that can be challenged to enjoy their ancestry in a unique point of view.  It allows the most disinterested bystander to take a perspective at his/her heritage for the first time as a living experience.  In essence, a viewpoint that provides the audience the opportunity to momentarily raise their ancestors from their cool sleepy graves with a personality and existence as though they were in your very presence.

To accomplish this goal a new approach of interpreting research and properly portraying its discoveries had to be established.  It has required a uniqueness in evaluating events old and new as one -- that even with the transformation of change, contemporary people have the same qualities of work ethic, pride, moral values and courage that catapulted their ancestral generations into a successful existence throughout time -- in effect what their ancestors did or didn't do, made them in one way or another.

An equal perspective and appreciation for the past as well as the present had to be adapted in order to project an attitude that would properly flow from one generation to another.  The audience must be allowed to see change over time in a pace slowed down below the traditional momentum of reading history yet fast enough to keep their interest.  This required a vision and an extended effort to assume the reigns of each and every segment of time to be properly understood as though being temporarily removed and examined as special against all other segments of history.  This attitude was adopted to bring to the audience each year of American history over the past 260 years to the forefront as though it is a visual interpretation on the silver screen or the modern television.

To accomplish this objective a canvas of American history was painted as a backdrop against the history of one selected American family called Benbrook.  This book breaks down each segment of American history and compares them year by year with the history of the Benbrooks that ventured from the early days of British colonization through its trial and tribulation of independence, onward to the Civil War and eventually as the dominant leader in the arena of international trade and world affairs.

© Copyright 2000 Bert Phillip Highet

Again, this is a truly wonderful book that was great reading, with hundreds of photos, and more than 8,000 descendants of Ezekiel Gould Benbrook (as of today, Bert says now there are more than 12,000).  Unfortunately,  all of the first editions have been sold out.  Not to despair, Bert is working on the second edition.  If you would like additional information, or you would like your family photos and family tree included in the second edition, please contact Bert at bhighet@aol.com.  You can also contact me, and I will forward any and all information to Bert that you request.

18 Sep 01 - *Update*  Bert has informed me that the second printing of the 1st Edition is due to be printed in the late fall.  He is printing an additional 50 books, and they will be priced at $85.00 each.  Remember, the book contains well over 450 photos, 19 maps, and more than 330 pages of detailed history, all bound in an unusual 10" x 15" format on quality heavy ivory bond stock.