Spencer Benson Sr (1755 - abt. 1834)

Born 4 Dec 1755 in Sussex, Delaware

Ancestors

Husband of Comfort (Short) Benson — married 18 Feb 1779 in Lewes, Sussex, Delaware

Descendants

Died about 1834 at about age 78 in McMinn, Tennessee, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Benson Name Study.

Comfort Short, born about 1755 in Delaware, married Spencer Benson on 18 February 1779 in Sussex, Delaware ^[1] and ^[2]

Wills for both Comfort and her husband Spencer were written in Delaware. ^[3]

Spencer was born in December 1755 in Sussex County, Delaware. He is the son of William Benson and Tabitha Kennedy. He passed away in September 1840 in McMinn County, Tennessee.

Spencer is named in the will of his father William Benson dated 22 October 1774 and proved on 20 March 1775 in Worcester County, Province of Maryland. William names as heirs:

• Son Robert Benson
• Son John Benson
• Son Spencer Benson
• "my loving wife", also named executor
• "my three youngest children"
• Wits: James Windsor, John (X) Messick, Elesabeth (+) Short^[4] In 1774 Spencer was still a minor, born after 1753.

Spencer married Comfort Short on 18 February 1779 in Sussex County, Delaware. A marriage record has not yet been located. Their oldest son, John Benson, was born about 1781.

On 25 September 1788 Spencer Benson purchased 75 acres of land in Sussex County, Delaware for the amount of "... one hundred pounds specie..." from Salathiel and Anney Smith.^[5]

Spencer and family left Delaware for Tennessee about 1789 and settled in Sevier County, Tennessee. In 1813 Spencer was signatory to a petition of residents of Sevier County to the State of Tennessee requesting relief from debt which burdened residents and threatened to cost them their homes and farm lands.^[6]

In 1825 they were living in Rhea County, Tennessee.^[7]

In 1830 Spencer and family are listed on the census in Rhea County, Tennessee. In his household are one male under 5 years, one male age 60-70 and one female age 70-80. It appears Spencer is in the wrong age bracket, should be 70-80, the same as his wife.^[8]

In 1840 Spencer Benson is listed as a Revolutionary War Pensioner, age 76, living in the household of his son, John Benson in McMinn County, Tennessee.^[9]

Birth

Military records show that Spencer was born on 4 December 1755 in Delaware. For some reason he is shown as about 10 years younger than he should be on the 1830 and 1840 census. He is listed as age 76 on the 1840 roster of Revolutionary War Pensioners and should have been about age 85. He stated he was age 77 in September 1833 when he applied for military pension for his Revolutionary War Service. This would give a birth year of about 1756.

Revolutionary War Service

Spencer Benson applied for revolutionary pension while living in Rhea County, Tennessee. He enlisted in Sussex County, Delaware, April 1, 1776 under Col. Simon Rollick, Maj. John Mitchell, Capt. Robert Houston, Lieut. John Craton and Ensign James Bronton. He served three months and volunteered again in August for the purpose of guarding Sussex and adjoining counties from acts of depredation and incursions by British seamen on the Chesapeake Bay. He volunteered a third time. He was born December 4, 1755, in Sussex County, Delaware. After the war he removed to Raleigh, North Carolina, then to Sevier County, Tennessee and finally to McMinn County, Tennessee.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900 [1]
2. ↑ Ancestry Family Data Collection - Marriages [2]
3. ↑ Ancestry Delaware, Wills and Probate Records, 1676-1971[3]
4. ↑ Will of William E Benson
5. ↑ Delaware, Land Records, 1677-1947 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Delaware, Land Records, 1677–1947. Recorder of Deeds, Sussex County, RG 4555, Subgroup 000, Series 030. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware.
6. ↑ Smoky Mountain Historical Society Journal, February, 1983 as cited on1813 Petition, Sevier County, Tennessee
7. ↑ Tennessee, Early Tax List Records, 1783-1895 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Early Tax Lists of Tennessee. Microfilm, 12 rolls. The Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, Tennessee.
8. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPM-LS2 : 17 August 2017), Spence Bowen, Rhea, Tennessee, United States; citing 381, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 175; FHL microfilm 24,533. Note: this link goes to the following page. Need to click back twice to get to the correct image.
9. ↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYG-3D9 : 18 August 2017), Spencer Benson, McMinn, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 89, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 527; FHL microfilm 24,547.
10. ↑ Spencer Benson Pension Application

• Family records

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ruth Parker for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Ruth and others.

Thank you to Betty Tindle for creating Benton-1067 on 16 Oct 13. Click the Changes tab for the details on contributions by Betty and others.

• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYG-766 : 18 August 2017), "Pensioners for Revolutionary or Military Service; Spencer Benson, McMinn, Tennessee, United States; citing p. 140, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 527; FHL microfilm 24,547.

• U.S., Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, 1800-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files (NARA microfilm publication M804, 2,670 rolls). Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  • Name: Spencer Benson
  • Pension Year: 1833
  • Application State: Tennessee
  • Archive Publication Number: M804
  • Archive Roll Number: 222
  • Total Pages in Packet: 13

U. S. Pensioners, 1818-1872 Payments Records payments from Mar 1833 to Sep 1840

See also:

• The Reilly Family-Spencer Benson 1755-1834 Contains copies of documents from Spencer's Pension Application file.

• Ancestry.com