The Bensons of Grant &
Pendleton Co., KY
by
Ben N. Benson, M.D.
The Benson family of Grant and Pendleton Co., KY most likely has its
origin in Virginia in the marriage of Robert Benson b. ca. 1685 in King
George Co., VA and Frances Prou b. 1689 in Lancaster Co., VA. Robert's
family origin is not known but Frances' family was from Middlesex,
England. They had seven known children, the second being Prou, b. ca.
1720/25 in VA and d. ca. 1792/99 in SC. Prou married Elizabeth ____
(possibly Thomison or Thomason) b. 1729 in SC, d. 1813 in SC. Tax and
other records show that much of Prou's adult life was spent in Orange,
Culpeper, and Fauquier Co., VA . Prou and Elizabeth had fourteen known
children, four of whom apparently migrated to Kentucky as young adults
while most of the rest of the children migrated to SC along with their
parents. Those ending up in Kentucky were: 1) Sarah b. 1754/55 married
William Hume, 2) William b. ca. 1759, 3) Zachariah b. 1764 in Fauquier
Co., VA married Sarah Partlow on 11 May 1785 in Fauquier Co., VA (this
is the line I will follow), and 4) George b. 1768.
As mentioned above, Sarah and William Hume (and his brothers ?) along
with their sons figured into Pendleton, Grant, Harrison, and Bourbon
Co. history. William, George, and Zachariah Benson are listed in
Pendleton Co. court records (wills) in Pendleton Co. which tie together
the close relationship of Sarah and William Hume, William Benson,
George Benson, and Zachariah Benson, suggesting that they are all of
one family, along with others (James Benson, Thomas Benson, Gabriel
Hume, and Stripling B. Hume).
As far as Grant Co. history is concerned, the Benson family stems from
Zachariah Benson, b. 1764, d. before June 1838 and his son, Reuben.
Zachariah and his family lived on the Main Licking River on land that
included Indian Spring (Campbell Co.?). There were at least seven known
children: 1) Reuben b. ca. 1791 in VA and d. ca. Sep 1860 in Pendleton
Co. (?), 2) Martin K. d. ca. 1829 in Pendleton Co. (?), 3) Judy, 4)
Mima, 5) Nancy, 6) Matthew, and 7) possibly Jane.
Reuben Benson and his family lived at various times in Campbell Co.,
Kenton Co., and apparently lastly in Pendleton Co. He is listed as a
farmer in the 1860 census. Reuben first married Winney McCollum (b.
VA., d. before 1839) on 23 May 1817 in Campbell Co. They had seven
known children: 1) James M., b. ca. 1818 and d. ca. 1884, 2) John b.
ca. 1820, 3) Margaret b. ca. 1820, wife of Zachariah Kleete, 4) Martin
b. ca. 1824 and d. 16 Apr 1857, 5) Zachary (Zachariah) b. 30 Apr 1826
and d. 7 Mar 1895, 6) William Grant, and 7) Sarah, married a Bradley.
After Winney's death, Reuben married Margaret Mardis on 18 Feb 1836 in
Campbell Co., KY. They had six known children: 1) Mary b. ca. 1839 in
Kenton Co., married James E. Spegle/Speigle/Spegal b. Grant Co., in
Pendleton Co., 2) Catherine b. ca. 1844, 3) Lucy b. ca. 1846, 4) Mathew
b. ca 1848, 5) Thomas b. ca. 1851, and 6) Juliann b. ca. 1854. Reuben's
will was written 3 Sep 1860 and probated 1 Oct 1860 in Pendleton Co. He
lists all his children, and appointed his son Zachariah as executor. Of
those children whose records are known, they were farmers or married
farmers, most residing in Kenton or Pendleton counties.
Zachariah was born in Kenton Co., but resided most of his life in Grant
Co., KY. He was a farmer all of his life. In 1856, he lived in
Crittenden where he also had a tavern license. He lived in the Cordova
area in 1870, in Williamstown in 1880, and was living at the time of
his death at the age 70 in 1895 on the Knoxville Rd., about 3 miles
east of Williamstown. He was known later in life as 'Mr. Zach' by
family and friends. While there are Grant Co. records of a Zachariah
Benson and Manerva (Minerva) Northcutt, daughter of Henry Northcutt,
marrying on 26 Feb 1852, family history and records show that he was a
bachelor when he married Catherine Rennecker Bennett (b. 3 Jan 1832 in
Grant Co.), widow of Loyd Bennett on 12 Sep 1855 in Grant Co., KY.
Catherine brought one child into the marriage, William Henry Bennett,
b. 1854, d. Oct 1862. Catherine and Zachary had eight children, all
born in Grant Co.: 1) James H., b. 1856, d. Oct 1862, 2) Susan F., b.
1858, d. Nov 1862, 3) Christenia J., b. 1860, d. Oct 1862, 4) Forest
B., b. 24 May 1863, d. 23 Dec 1950, 5) John Thomas, b. 28 Jan 1866, 6)
Nancy E., b. 1868, d. 1869, 7) Edwin W. (Eddy), b. 30 Jun 1870, and 8)
Matthew Fleming, b. 6 May 1874, d. Feb 1920. Due a diphtheria epidemic
(?) in 1862, all of the children died. Only the four boys born after
1862 lived into adulthood. Catherine was known to be a Baptist most of
her life and it is assumed that Zachary was also.
Forest was born in Williamstown, where he grew up, raised his family,
and in retirement, lived in Erlanger, Kenton Co., but died at his
daughter's home outside of Maysville, Mason Co., KY. He was a master
carpenter, and a general contractor, building many homes, barns, and
some commercial buildings in the area, as well as the Williamstown
Christian Church. Many of these structures are still in use today. In
the early 1890's, brothers John and Matthew worked as carpenter helpers
with Forest. In 1900, he was in business with G.M. Shields as 'Shields
& Benson, Contractors, Architects, and Builders'. Apparently,
starting from 1912, possibly continuously through at least 1921, he was
a member of the Board of Trustees of Williamstown, serving in 1921 as
Chairman, a position equivalent to mayor. Forest married Jennie Norton,
(b. 31 Jul 1867 in Dry Ridge, Grant Co., KY, and d. 8 Feb 1958 in
Washington, Mason Co., KY), daughter of George Hanan Norton and
Elizabeth M. Hutchison on 15 Dec 1897 in Dry Ridge. Forest and Jennie
were Methodists most of their lives. They had three children (all
graduates of the Univ. of KY), all born in Williamstown: 1) George
Wesley b. 27 Oct 1898 and d. 26 Jan 1985 in Macon, Bibb Co., GA, degree
in civil engineering, worked for Central of Georgia RR as chief bridge
engineer most of his life. He married Inez Elizabeth Davis on 6 Aug
1927 in Vincent, AL. 2) Thomas b. 18 Dec 1900 and d. 13 Apr 1984 in
Granbury, Hood Co., TX, degree in civil engineering, worked for
Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, TN as head of drafting
services. He married Nellie Virginia Jahnke of Chattanooga, TN on 22
Dec 1928. 3) Lucy Catherine b. 16 Oct 1904 and died 31 Oct 1999 in
Maysville, Mason Co., KY, degree in Home Economics. She taught school
in Erlanger from 1928-30, and she was appointed postmistress of Dry
Ridge in 1937 for two years. Lucy first married Robert O'Hara Blaine
(d. 1940), son of Dr. A.D. Blaine, a prominent local physician, on 14
Jul 1930. They had no children. She later married John Wallingford
Clarke of Mason Co. on 23 Oct 1943. All three children moved away from
the Grant Co. area when they married and raised one child each.
John Thomas was born in KY, probably in Grant Co. He was a carpenter by
trade. He first married Elizabeth Katie Lafferty, (b. Aug 1872, d. 10
May 1901), daughter of Mrs. James D. Lafferty of Dry Ridge on 7 Apr
1897. They had one child who died at about one year of age. They
resided in Covington, in Kenton Co. After Katie's death, he moved to
California, where he married a German widow with two young girls whom
he adopted and gave the Benson name.
Edwin W. (Eddy) was probably born in Grant Co., KY. He worked at
several trades: teacher in the early 1890's to early 1900's in
Williamstown; a photographer in Williamstown; and later, he resided in
Cincinnati, OH where he worked as a carpenter. He later may have lived
with a daughter in Hutchinson, KS. He died in St. Augustine, FL. He
married Effie J. Kennedy, (b. 1872 in IL, on 11 Oct 1893), daughter of
Joseph C. Kannady, in Verona, Boone Co., KY. They had six known
children, five born in KY, most probably in Grant Co., and the last in
OH. All apparently lived their adult lives outside of Grant Co. area.
Matthew Fleming was born in Grant Co., KY. He worked both as a
carpenter's helper and as a farmer from known records. He first married
Minnie B. Northcutt (b. Nov 1870, d. 17 Sep 1902), daughter of James
Northcutt of Grant Co. about 1896. They had four children: Thelma,
Lillian, Marie, and Roy. Only the first two girls lived to maturity,
apparently in the Cincinnati, OH area. After Minnie's death, Matthew
remarried at least once, possibly twice, and lived in the Covington
area. His last known marriage was to Katherine Ehmet on 21 Sep 1918 in
Washington, D.C. He died in late Feb 1920 in Chickasaw, Mobile Co., AL
of smallpox contracted while working in New Orleans, LA.
19 Oct 1998
Updated: 27 Apr 2000
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