Sarah, daughter of Lewis McNaughton and Eleanor (Nelly) Burney McNaughton, married William Henry Benson in 1858. Sarah was the mother of Elizabeth Ann Benson (1856-1864), Lewis Robert Benson (1858-1926), Sarah Eleanor Benson Burney (1860-1949), John Greenwood Benson (1862-1864), and William Daniel Benson (1864-1932).
Her husband William was a telegrapher. During the Civil War he was assigned to CSA's Camp Pollard in Pollard, Alabama (just north of Pensacola, FL). Her daughter Elizabeth and son John died in Pollard in 1864. William died of dengue fever in 1866, leaving Sarah a widow with three children under age eight. Sarah and the children, with an oxcart, walked back from southern Alabama to Bladen County, NC, during the chaotic, dangerous, post-war period. Her ordeal is chronicled in the book "Some Benson Kinsmen with Memoirs" by Norman Benson, and she is known as the "Oxcart Mother" to succeeding generations of her family. Upon returning to Bladen County she reestablished the family farm, the ownership of which continues with descendants.
Sarah never remarried and lived until the robust age of 88. To her descendants she is an inspiring heroine.
Her husband William was a telegrapher. During the Civil War he was assigned to CSA's Camp Pollard in Pollard, Alabama (just north of Pensacola, FL). Her daughter Elizabeth and son John died in Pollard in 1864. William died of dengue fever in 1866, leaving Sarah a widow with three children under age eight. Sarah and the children, with an oxcart, walked back from southern Alabama to Bladen County, NC, during the chaotic, dangerous, post-war period. Her ordeal is chronicled in the book "Some Benson Kinsmen with Memoirs" by Norman Benson, and she is known as the "Oxcart Mother" to succeeding generations of her family. Upon returning to Bladen County she reestablished the family farm, the ownership of which continues with descendants.
Sarah never remarried and lived until the robust age of 88. To her descendants she is an inspiring heroine.
Sarah, daughter of Lewis McNaughton and Eleanor (Nelly) Burney McNaughton, married William Henry Benson in 1858. Sarah was the mother of Elizabeth Ann Benson (1856-1864), Lewis Robert Benson (1858-1926), Sarah Eleanor Benson Burney (1860-1949), John Greenwood Benson (1862-1864), and William Daniel Benson (1864-1932).
Her husband William was a telegrapher. During the Civil War he was assigned to CSA's Camp Pollard in Pollard, Alabama (just north of Pensacola, FL). Her daughter Elizabeth and son John died in Pollard in 1864. William died of dengue fever in 1866, leaving Sarah a widow with three children under age eight. Sarah and the children, with an oxcart, walked back from southern Alabama to Bladen County, NC, during the chaotic, dangerous, post-war period. Her ordeal is chronicled in the book "Some Benson Kinsmen with Memoirs" by Norman Benson, and she is known as the "Oxcart Mother" to succeeding generations of her family. Upon returning to Bladen County she reestablished the family farm, the ownership of which continues with descendants.
Sarah never remarried and lived until the robust age of 88. To her descendants she is an inspiring heroine.
Her husband William was a telegrapher. During the Civil War he was assigned to CSA's Camp Pollard in Pollard, Alabama (just north of Pensacola, FL). Her daughter Elizabeth and son John died in Pollard in 1864. William died of dengue fever in 1866, leaving Sarah a widow with three children under age eight. Sarah and the children, with an oxcart, walked back from southern Alabama to Bladen County, NC, during the chaotic, dangerous, post-war period. Her ordeal is chronicled in the book "Some Benson Kinsmen with Memoirs" by Norman Benson, and she is known as the "Oxcart Mother" to succeeding generations of her family. Upon returning to Bladen County she reestablished the family farm, the ownership of which continues with descendants.
Sarah never remarried and lived until the robust age of 88. To her descendants she is an inspiring heroine.
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Wife of William Henry Benson
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See more Benson or McNaughton memorials in:
- White Plains Presbyterian Church Cemetery Benson or McNaughton
- Council Benson or McNaughton
- Bladen County Benson or McNaughton
- North Carolina Benson or McNaughton
- USA Benson or McNaughton
- Find a Grave Benson or McNaughton
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