Martin on 21 Jan 2007  •  Link

Mr. Benson: a "Dutchman" who supped with Pepys on 18 January 1664 and whose singing Pepys was not pleased with. If Pepys has the name right, it is unlikely this fellow is actually a Dutchman. Benson is certainly not a Dutch name, nor are Bensen or other possible homophones. It is possible Pepys confused Dutch and Danish, something that happens frequently in our day as well. In Denmark there is a common name, Bentsen. In the 17th C. in Denmark most people employed patronyms ("son of Bent") rather than surnames that remained constant over the generations. Note also that Pepys referred to another Mr. Benson on June 2, 1663, as the presumably pseudonymous author of a letter delivered to the home of Sir Thomas Tomkins.

Pedro on 23 Jan 2007  •  Link

Benson

The link for the Benson mentioned by Martin above is...

http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive…

"It seems one Sir Thomas Tomkins of the House, that makes many mad motions, did bring it into the House, saying that a letter was left at his lodgings, subscribed by one Benson (which is a feigned name, for there is no such man in the Navy), telling him how many places in the Navy have been sold."

L&M say...

A Dutchman: possibly the Benjamin Benson who appears in the records of the Dutch church.