Jon Trondson Benkestok was reported to be a direct descendant of Harald Gille, King of Norway.
The common ancestral of the Benkestok family was Gaut at Ænes in Hardanger, born c. 1100.
[2] After his father died on 14 February 1558, in Vanse, Jon inherited large estates in Nordland.
[4][5] Jon Trondson Benkestok was a signatory when King Christian IV was hailed by the Norwegian nobility at Akershus Castle in 1591.
Jon Benkestok married a so-called "unfree" woman, Birgitte Nilsdotter, and their children lost their noble status and was commoners.