The Washington times., 1903-12-27
TRACE THEIR LINEAGE
TO OLD JOHN BUAYAN
Claim Descent From Author
of Pilgrims Progress"
MEN OF RELIGIOUS EENT
One Was Missionary in the Mountains
of Alabama and Is Now a
Hotel Chaplain.
MEN OF RELIGIOUS EENT

CHICAGO, ILL.,. Dec. 26.-There are two
men in Chicago vino can go back 200
years and say "Our ancestor was not
mere nameless churl. nor yet a rob-
Der chief nor a viking. He was John
Bunyan, and beyond him we do not
trouble to go. We are satisfied with
that lineage"
John Bunyan was a sort of miracle.
Some one has said that he was no
more a common man than Niagara is a
common waterfall. And IL is a sort OF
miracle-at any rate. a problem for the
student of heredity to investigate-that
so little has been heard of his descen-
dants. OF these there are a number liv-
ing today, most OF them in America.
They are all descended from Sarah
Bunyan, the fifth OF John Bunyan's six
children. She married William
Browne. at Bedford. England. in 1886
Eight descendants from this couple are
now living in England and one In To-
ronto. Canada. The America branch
of the family comes from the marriage
OF Sarah Brown With a Stephen Ben
brook. Ezekiel BerOrook the first
American of the name. was an only
child. born about twenty years before
the breaking out of the American Revo-
luton. His birthplace was on an Eng
lish ship in mid-Atlantic, and both his
parents died before the ship reached
Charleston. whittier she was bound. The
orphan was reared by kind strangers.
and at the beginning of the Revolution
joined the patriot army After the war
he followed mercantile pursuits I'm
South Carolina. and it is in the South
wher. nearly all the Benbrooks still re-
side
1t is a remarkable fact that. although
The Pilgrim's Progress has been the
most widely circulated OF all books
other than the Bible. many of the
known descendants OF Bunyan have
taken little interest in It or their rela-
tionship TO the author. The book has
been translated into over eighty Ian
guages and dialects. One of the watch
men in bower overlooking an Oriental
vineyard said not long ago:
Such a book was not made for you
men who live in cities. but I, who live
in this tree three months in the year. l
have need of such a took. 1 can under
stand it
Yet one OF Bunyan's own kinfolk adj
mitted recently that. though he knew
he was descended from its author. he had
explaining the curious literary fact by
saying he was ''neve- much given TO
books"
But the Chicago Samuel
p. Benbrook and his cousin, Monroe
Benbrook. direct descendants OF Ezekiel
have read the book, both, however.
withous knowing at the time Of their
relationship to Bunyan. The life of
Samuel more nearly resembles that of
his famous ancestor than does his cou-l
sins. John Bunyan was called tinker
Strange to say, Samuel Benbrook, in
his youth, served an apprenticeship
with an uncle by marriage who was
timer, but worked at the bench only
few months Then he began 70 think of
becoming a minister and worked his way
through college The first lecture he
ever attempted to give after his gr ldu-
alton was upon the life and times OF
John Bunyan. And yet il was only a
few months ago that he became aware
of the fact. through his cousin. that he
was a descendant of Bunyan.
Another coincidence is that both cou-
sins are strongly religious men. and
both hold TO that doctrine for which
BuDyan fought and Observation-Disclosures
Monroe is a member of
the Baptist. while Stephen has been a
pastor of the Christian Church. The
latter was at one time a missionary
among the mountaineers OF Alabama
In Chicago he became chaplain TO the
hotels. work that was first undertaken
by the Rev. Henry Marsh Warren, OF |
New York city, who is head OF this |
that is being launched on |
Ia scala in he ITDffan States