Jeremy Bentley of Elland Hall was the son of George Bentley.
On 20th May 1646, he married Dorothy, daughter of Abraham Dyson, at Almondbury.
Children:
In 1651, he was a member of the Commission for Pious Uses.
On 12th July 1654, he was elected to Oliver Cromwell's parliament, the first MP for Halifax. At that time, franchise was only available to 59 men who qualified by having property worth more than £200. These included:
On 14th August 1654, he and a group of friends made an unsuccessful attempt to establish a Corporation for Halifax. This would have made the parish a borough.
He was returned as MP again in 1656. At the Restoration, Halifax was deprived of the honour of returning a Member of Parliament. The next MP was returned after the Reform Bill in 1832
He was buried at Elland Parish Church.
Of his death, Heywood writes
Yesterday being 17th January 1664/5, Mr Jeremiah Bentley of Elland, being in good health, ate his breakfast, put on his boots to go to a dinner at Halifax about ten o'clock, lost speech, and died the same day. He was a middle aged man, very witty, thriving in the world, and 'tis said he hath left an estate worth well towards £20,000. He lay about the space of four hours drawing away, that they could scarce tell whether he was alive or no. He had bought a wood that cost him £10,000, he had built very stately malt houses at Halifax, had taken a lease of four mills and the two Halls and intended to pull them down and build them up new, with shops under and dwelling houses above, and to make great alterations in the Corn Market, but in that day did all his thoughts perish
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