Benge Cemetery
Maydelle, Cherokee County, Texas
Marker Inscription
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
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George Clinton Benge moved from Alabama to this part of Cherokee County in 1850 with his wife Nancy and seven of their children, working as a farmer, blacksmith, and gunsmith and serving as a justice of the peace at Old Jacksonville. When Nancy died in 1861 he opened this burial ground on his own property. Family members interred here contributed to Jacksonville and neighboring communities, and a cemetery association tends the grounds today.
Why it matters
The Benge family cemetery reflects the skilled tradesmen and local officials whose everyday work built the towns of early Cherokee County.
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Related people
- · George Clinton Benge
- · Nancy Myers Benge
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Gent Village
Maydelle, TX
Perched atop Gent Mountain between two creeks, the village of Gent was settled in the 1850s by families from Alabama and Tennessee seeking good farmland. They quickly raised churches and schools, and by 1900 the village supported stores, mills, and cotton gins. But when the Texas State Railroad bypassed it and the town of Maydelle was founded nearby in 1910, business drained away, and today not a single structure of Gent remains.
Pleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church
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Rocky Springs Missionary Baptist Church
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George Wahington Slover
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