Benge Cemetery

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Out in Cherokee County, there's a piece of ground that holds a family's whole story, roots and all. It's called the Benge Cemetery, and it starts with one man making a hard decision in a hard year.

George Clinton Benge established this family burial ground on his own property in 1861, when his wife, Nancy, born a Myers, passed away. That's the kind of thing that turns a patch of land into something permanent. Something sacred.

George needed a place to lay her down, and so he made one. Now, George and Nancy had come a long way to get here. Back in 1850, the two of them had pulled up from Alabama and moved to Cherokee County, bringing seven of their eight children along with them.

You think about that journey, a family that size, hauling everything they owned into East Texas, and you start to understand the kind of people they were. George was not a man who sat still. He worked as a farmer, a blacksmith, and a gunsmith, and he served as a justice of the peace in Old Jacksonville.

That is a man who kept a community running with his hands and his word both. The Benges who came after him kept that spirit going. Members of the family buried in this cemetery made vital contributions to Jacksonville and to other nearby communities, and among those interred are a number of military veterans as well.

Today, the Benge Cemetery Association maintains this ground, keeping faith with a noted Cherokee County family. The marker calls it a testament. I'd say that's exactly right.

What the marker says

George Clinton Benge (d. 1883) established this family burial ground on his property in 1861 when his wife, Nancy (Myers), died. In 1850, George and Nancy moved here from Alabama with seven of their eight children. George worked as a farmer, blacksmith and gunsmith, and served as a justice of the peace in Old Jacksonville. Members of the Benge family buried here made vital contributions to Jacksonville and other nearby communities. Among those interred are also a number of military veterans. Today, the Benge Cemetery Association maintains this burial ground, which remains a testament to a noted Cherokee County family. Historic Texas Cemetery - 2006