David Benton - Tennessee Militia - Camden, TN
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 36° 03.483 W 088° 05.837
16S E 401175 N 3990944
Originally from South Carolina, became name sake of county after Thomas hart Benton fell out of favor....
Waymark Code: WMX6M6
Location: Tennessee, United States
Date Posted: 12/04/2017
Views: 1
County of memorial: Benton County
Location of memorial: E. Main St., SW corner of courthouse lawn, Camden
Memorial erected: 1986
Memorial erected by: James D. Langdon
Memorial text:
DAVID BENTON
Born 1779, South Carolina
Died 1860, Benton County, Tenn.
Citizen soldier War of 1812
Member of Benton County's
First Quarterly Court
February 1836
PATRIOT
For whom Benton County
was named.
Presented to the
Citizens of Benton
County by James D. Langdon
In memory of His Parents
Calvin and Georgia McGill
"David Benton (1779-1860), a native of South Carolina, moved
as a young man to Middle Tennessee where he enlisted in a
militia company during the War of 1812. He served against the
Creek Indians, and he was then honorably discharged. Following
this war, Benton lived in Jackson County, Alabama, but shordy
before February of 1825, he and his family settled on a Harmon
Creek farm in western Humphreys County. His brother, Samuel,
had lived at this location for several years. Benton was active in promoting the division of Humphreys County, served as a
magistrate on the new county's first quarterly court, and remained a respected yeoman farmer for many years. Beside a
small clear stream where Methodist camp meetings were held for
years, Benton and other members of his family are buried. In
September of 1974, a commemorative monument for David
Benton was erected on the southwest corner of the courthouse
lawn in Camden. It was a gift of the late James D. Langdon of
Boston, Massachusetts, to the people of Benton County." ~ Tennessee County History
"Benton County was originally named for Thomas Hart Benton who was born in Orange County, North Carolina, in 1782. Benton was a conservative who concluded that slavery was economically and morally wrong. He subsequently fell out of favor with most southerners who regretted having named their county after him. The state legislature voted on February 4, 1852, "That the county of Benton retain its original name in honor of David Benton, an old and respected citizen of said county".' ~ Benton County, Tennessee Genealogy