The New Canaan Men’s Club’s meeting Friday, December 3, will hear from one of its members, Tim Bentall, as he discusses his book Portraits of a Merchant Family, a history of the commercial and familial ties that bound two 18th century families that led to a merchant dynasty in Great Britain.
Benthall, a descendant of the interconnected families described in the book, traces the history through public and private documents to bring the combined family to life and show how, for better or worse, they lived through the political and social developments of the 19th and 20th centuries, as described on the Amazon synopsis of the book published by Mill City Press.
The Men’s Club meets Fridays at Morrill Hall in St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 111 Oenoke Ridge, beginning at 10 a.m.
After a career in management consulting and computer software, Benthall began studying genealogical history, focusing on his family’s centuries of involvement in British merchant commerce. He was born in Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta in West Bengal, and educated in England. After graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in Mathematics, he spent over fifty years working with computers, as an operations research analyst, management consultant and executive at a computer software company, before being coaxed into becoming a genealogist and amateur social historian.
The Men’s Club has openings for new members. New Canaan men 55-years old and above interested in joining may email the club at ncmens@ncmens.org.