Martha 1/2 Cherokee Benge (Martin) - Parentage

There is no record of a Cherokee child named Joseph, son of John Benge, the white trader. He fathered two Cherokee children, Bob “The Bench” and Lucy. There is no “Moytoy” family.

John Benge and Thomas Benge may well have been brothers, but their parents are unknown. John and Thomas married two sisters, Elizabeth and Susannah Lewis. John abandoned Elizabeth when their children were small and went to the Cherokee Nation where he remained for the rest of his life. Elizabeth remarried to a man named Fielder. I finally found some documentation that confirmed that the Virginia husband of Elizabeth and the man in the Cherokee Nation were the same person

John Benge's documented children with Elizabeth are:
an unnamed son who died in the Revolutionary War (later mentioned by Obediah)
Obediah Benge (two of Obediah's sons married Cherokee women)
Sally Benge

His children with his Cherokee wife or wives:
Bob (the Bench) Benge
Lucy Benge
Martin (the Tail)

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Benge-104
He has parents attached but I don't think there's any evidence for them.

John Strange claims that he also fathered Edmond Benge (son of Dorcas Duncan) and someone named "Tashliske" who only seems to exist in Strange's chapter on Bob Benge in "Upon Our Ruins."

From what I have read and researched, there were two Thomases—father and son. The son Thomss married one Lewis sister, and John “Old Trader” married the other—Sarah Elizabeth Lewis. Much has been written about the two wives of John. Elizabeth Lewis remarried a Fielder and also had children from that marriage.

I have been trying to figure this out for years, but records poor. I am not at home and have none of my research and records.. My 4th great grandfather was James Elliot Robbins, b. In Wales, 1750; died in a shipwreck off of the N.C. Coast—Randolph, N.C. The Robbins family gradually moved to Bell County, KY. My g-grandparents were John Calvin Robbins, b. 1843, and Judah Margaret Barnett, Bell County, KY, Their son was my grandfather, William M. Robbins. Judah Margaret Barnett was the daughter of James Silas Barnett, b. 1795, and Elizabeth Talitha Benge—my relatives referred to her as Betty Benge. Elizabeth Talitha was the daughter of Joseph Benge and Elizabeth Rollins. After research and family lore, I feel that Joseph was the son of John “Old Trader” Bengey/Benge and Elizabeth Lewis. The Lewis family was from Albemarle County, VA—near Charlottesville. John Benge, and his family were from that area as well. I have read some information on the Leeis family who was distraught when when they discovered that John Benge had two families. Joseph was born about 1761 in Montgomery County, VA—near wher VA, KY, and TN meet; however, he is connected with the Benge family of Albemarle. When Joseph was born, John Benge was 27 and his mother, Elizabeth Lewis was 21. Joseph died in Harlan, Kentucky, in 1842, at the age of 81.

Joseph Benjey has no connection to the John Benge who married Elizabeth Lewis. Joseph Bengey/Benjay was born about 1761-63, location unknown. [1] Joseph's name was apparently difficult for record keepers. Almost every record connected to him or his children has a different spelling or transcription for the name including Bengey, Benjay, Benjah, Bangor, Benger, Baney, and Begley. No record has the name spelled “Benge.”

Joseph married Elizabeth Rollins/Rawlings 8 October 1786 in Montgomery County, Virginia [2] He was listed as a tithable in Montgomery County, VA in 1787 and 1790, [3] and in 1793 he witnessed the will of a man named George Fry, Sr in Montgomery County. [4]

Some accounts suggest that he may have lived in Lee County, VA (on the Kentucky border), but Joseph appears in no Virginia records found to date after 1793.

The following are possibly/probably his children:

Nancy Benjay married in Knox County, KY in 1808
Sarah married Samuel Mark in 1811, Samuel is on the 1820 Harlan census
Betsey/Elizabeth married James Barnett 1819 - (Joseph Benjay signed the bond for Betsey's marriage in 1819)
William married Peggy Mark 1 July 1825
There is a younger Joseph Benjay living in Harlan County after 1842, a son or grandson?
Joseph obtained a land grant in Harlan County, KY in 1821, [5] His son William also received a land grant in KY in 1821.

Joseph appears in a variety of court records in Harlan County in the 1820's [6]

The 1830 U.S. Census in Harlan County shows a couple aged 60-69 living with William. [7]

In 1837 Joseph signed an affidavit for the Revolutionary War pension of Vachel Davis of Harlan County. It appears to be an actual signature by him and looks like he spelled his name "Benjey".

In 1840 Joseph "Baney" and wife, ages 70-79 were living next to James and Betsey Barnett. [8]

Joseph apparently died in 1842.

Research Notes
The following was recently posted to Facebook by a descendant of Joseph: Here are the documents that show who the mother of Joseph Benjey is. Her name is Sarah Benjey. This proves that he is not a Benge. here is some more information from Bill Benjey....

The case in 1784 in Fauquier Co [see attached images] was Sarah Benjey vs Jonas Garner. Sarah claimed that Garner owed Joseph money for his past services. This would indicate that Joseph was a minor when the services were provided, giving a birth date between 1760 and 1765. Not many records on Sarah. In 1773 she received a lifetime lease of 40 acres from Richard Covington. Her husband was not mentioned so she may have been a widow at that time. In 1759 a John Benjey was a tithable in Richard Covington's household. John is the only known Benjey/Bengey in the area to have been Sarah's husband. However, he is not in the reccords after 1759. There may have been other children of Sarah's about whom he have no information. There may have been Benjey/Benger/Bangers in adjoining Stafford County that lost many records. There was an Armistead Banger in Fauquier who was bound to James Thompson, a tailor, from 1774 to 1778. In 1783, a Jacob Benger paid taxes on 80 acres on land. in 1797, a Charles Banger was identified as a patroller (some sort of security person). In 1794 Richard Covington "for love and affection' and 20 pounds convey to George Benjay his (Richard's) home farm, which was known as "the Wolf PIt" along with household items livestock, and a slave named Ben. In return George was to provide for Richard in his old age. There a strong suspicion that there is a connection with the Covington family, although we haven't discovered it. It may have happened when the families lived in Essex and Richmond Counties. Of course there were Benjey families living in northeastern Virginia in the late 1600s (William, John, Richard). We haven't been able to connect them to Joseph's line. Much remains to do! Bill Benjey

Sources
↑ 1837 affidavit supporting Rev War pension of Vachel Davis said he was 76 or 77; affidavit
↑ "Virginia Marriages, 1785-1940," database, FamilySearch : 11 February 2018 marriage Joseph Benjah and Elizabeth Rollins, 02 Oct 1786; citing Montgomery County, Virginia, reference p 13; FHL microfilm 32,633.
↑ Montgomery County, Virginia Personal Tax list digitized at FamilySearch at 1787
↑ will/court record transcript at Fry
↑ Ancestry.com. Kentucky, Land Grants, 1782-1924 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1997.
↑ "Harlan Co KY deed abstracts...1820 - 1822.... Dated; 26 June 1820.... Joseph Benjey & Elizabeth Benjey, power of Atty. to Benjamin Hall Sr. of Giles Co VA. to convey all our right title and interest as heirs of Benjamin Rollins deceased, heir at law of Anthony Rollins deceased...land on Manly Creek, a branch of Falling River, Campbell Co VA.
↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGP-3YS : 24 August 2017), William Bngey, Harlan, Kentucky, United States; citing 116, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 37; FHL microfilm 7,816.
↑ "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRK-V2T : 15 August 2017), Joseph Baney, Harlan, Kentucky, United States; citing p. 112, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 113; FHL microfilm 7,827.