Etheldred Benett was an early English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 geologist

Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using...

, the eldest daughter of Thomas Benett (1729–1797) of Wiltshire

Wiltshire

Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 and Catherine née Darell (d. 1790); her brother, John (1773–1852), was a member of Parliament for Wiltshire

Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Wiltshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of England from 1290 to 1707, of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Members of Parliament , elected by the bloc vote...

 and later South Wiltshire

South Wiltshire (UK Parliament constituency)

South Wiltshire, formally known as the Southern division of Wiltshire or Wiltshire Southern was a county constituency in the county of Wiltshire in South West England...

 from 1819 to 1852. Independently well-off, she never married and devoted herself to geology which her relative, the botanist Aylmer Bourke Lambert

Aylmer Bourke Lambert

Aylmer Bourke Lambert was a British botanist, one of the first fellows of the Linnean Society.He is best known for his work A description of the genus Pinus, issued in several parts 1803-1824, a sumptuously illustrated folio volume detailing all of the conifers then known...

, encouraged.

Biography

From 1802 she resided at Norton House in Norton Bavant

Norton Bavant

Norton Bavant is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England.-Location:The village is southeast of the market town of Warminster, just off the A36 road to Salisbury, and at the edge of Salisbury Plain...

, near Warminster

Warminster

Warminster is a town in western Wiltshire, England, by-passed by the A36, and near Frome and Westbury. It has a population of about 17,000. The River Were runs through the town and can be seen running through the middle of the town park. The Minster Church of St Denys sits on the River Were...

, in Wiltshire, and from at least 1809 until her death devoted herself to collecting and studying the fossils of her native county

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

. Her speciality was in the Middle Cretaceous Upper Greenland in the Vale of Wardour

Wardour

Wardour may refer to:* Wardour, Wiltshire, a former parish in Wiltshire, England** Wardour Castle, a ruined castle in Wiltshire** New Wardour Castle, a country house in Wiltshire* Wardour Street, a street in Westminster...

 and she was well known for her collection. She wrote and privately published a monograph, A Catalogue of the Organic Remains of the County of Wiltshire (1831) which was widely distributed. Most of her fossil collection is currently housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences

Academy of Natural Sciences

The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...

 of Philadelphia after purchase by Thomas Bellerby Wilson

Thomas Bellerby Wilson

Thomas Bellerby Wilson was an American naturalist.Wilson was educated first at a Quaker school in Philadelphia , then in Darlington, England, and then at the University of Paris, France and Trinity College in Ireland...

 though small parts are in many British museums, in particular Leeds City Museum

Leeds City Museum

Leeds City Museum, originally established in 1819, re-opened on 13 September 2008 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is housed in the former Mechanics' Institute built by Cuthbert Brodrick, in Millennium Square, which has been redeveloped to a design by Austin-Smith:Lord architects and Buro...

 and possibly even in St. Petersburgh; it contains many type specimens and some of the first fossils found (and recognized though shortly after her death) with the soft tissues preserved.

She corresponded extensively with fellow geologists such as George Bellas Greenough

George Bellas Greenough

George Bellas Greenough FRS , an English geologist, was born in London.-Biography:Greenough was born George Bellas, named after his father, George Bellas, who had a profitable business in the legal profession as a proctor in Doctor's Commons, St Paul's Churchyard Doctors' Commons and some real...

, first president of the Geological Society, Gideon Mantell

Gideon Mantell

Gideon Algernon Mantell MRCS FRS was an English obstetrician, geologist and palaeontologist...

, William Buckland

William Buckland

The Very Rev. Dr William Buckland DD FRS was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus...

, and Samuel Woodward

Samuel Woodward

Samuel Woodward , English geologist and antiquary, was born at Norwich.He was for the most part self-educated. Apprenticed in 1804 to a manufacturer of camlets and bombazines, a taste for serious study was stimulated by his master, Alderman John Herring and by Joseph John Gurney...

. In addition to her own collection she made many donations to other collections such as the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

. In 1836 she was made a member of the Imperial Natural History Society of Moscow though it is suspected they didn't realize she was female.

Works

A catalogue of the organic remains of the county of Wiltshire, 1831.

A brief enquiry into the antiquity, honour and estate of the name and family of Wake, 1833 (written by her great grandfather William Wake

William Wake

William Wake was a priest in the Church of England and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1716 until his death in 1737.-Life:...

, Archbishop of Canterbury, but prepared for publication and footnoted by Etheldred Benett)