PoliticalGraveyard.com
The Political Graveyard: A Database of American History
Benton family

Note: This is just one of 1,162 family groupings listed on The Political Graveyard web site. These families each have three or more politician members, all linked together by blood, marriage or adoption.

This specific family group is a subset of the much larger Three Thousand Related Politicians group. An individual may be listed with more than one subset.

These groupings — even the names of the groupings, and the areas of main activity — are the result of a computer algorithm working with the data I have, not the choices of any historian or genealogist.

Thomas Hart Benton Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858) — also known as "Old Bullion" — of Franklin, Williamson County, Tenn.; St. Louis, Mo. Born near Hillsborough, Orange County, N.C., March 14, 1782. Lawyer; newspaper editor; member of Tennessee state senate, 1809; U.S. Senator from Missouri, 1821-51; U.S. Representative from Missouri 1st District, 1853-55; Benton Democrat candidate for Governor of Missouri, 1856. Fought a duel with Andrew Jackson, who later became a political ally. In April, 1850, he caused a scandal with his attempt to assault Sen. Henry Stuart Foote, of Mississippi, during debate on the Senate floor; he was restrained by other senators. Foote had a cocked pistol in his hand and undoubtedly would have shot him. Slaveowner. Died in Washington, D.C., April 10, 1858 (age 76 years, 27 days). Interment at Bellefontaine Cemetery, St. Louis, Mo.
  Relatives: Son of Jesse Benton and Ann (Gooch) Benton; married 1821 to Elizabeth McDowell (1794-1854; sister of James McDowell); father of Jessie Benton (who married John Charles Frémont); uncle of Thomas Hart Benton Jr. (1816-1879); granduncle of Maecenas Eason Benton.
  Political family: Benton family (subset of the Three Thousand Related Politicians).
  Benton counties in Ark., Ind., Iowa, Minn., Ore. and Wash. are named for him.
  Coins and currency: His portrait appeared on the U.S. $100 gold certificate in the 1880s to 1920s.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial — OurCampaigns candidate detail
  Image source: The South in the Building of the Nation (1909)
  James McDowell (1795-1851) — of Rockbridge County, Va. Born in Rockbridge County, Va., October 13, 1795. Democrat. Member of Virginia state house of delegates, 1831-35, 1838; Governor of Virginia, 1843-46; U.S. Representative from Virginia 11th District, 1846-51. Slaveowner. Died in Rockbridge County, Va., August 24, 1851 (age 55 years, 315 days). Interment at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, Va.
  Relatives: Son of Sarah (Preston) McDowell (1767-1841) and James McDowell (1770-1835); brother of Elizabeth McDowell (1794-1854; who married Thomas Hart Benton); married to Susan Preston (1800-1847); father of Sally McDowell (who married Francis Thomas); nephew of Francis Smith Preston and James Patton Preston (1774-1853); grandson of William Preston; first cousin of William Campbell Preston, John Buchanan Floyd, John Smith Preston and George Rogers Clark Floyd; first cousin once removed of John Breckinridge, Robert Jefferson Breckinridge Jr. and William Campbell Preston Breckinridge; first cousin twice removed of Levin Irving Handy, Desha Breckinridge and Henry Skillman Breckinridge; second cousin of Joseph Cabell Breckinridge and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge; second cousin once removed of John Cabell Breckinridge and Peter Augustus Porter (1827-1864); second cousin twice removed of Clifton Rodes Breckinridge, Peter Augustus Porter (1853-1925) and William Henry Prague; third cousin of James Douglas Breckinridge.
  Political families: Breckinridge-Preston-Cabell family of Virginia; Kellogg-Adams-Seymour-Chapin family of Connecticut and New York (subsets of the Three Thousand Related Politicians).
  McDowell County, W.Va. is named for him.
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — National Governors Association biography — Wikipedia article — Find-A-Grave memorial
John C. Fremont John Charles Frémont (1813-1890) — also known as "The Pathfinder"; "The Champion of Freedom" — of San Francisco, Calif. Born in Savannah, Chatham County, Ga., January 21, 1813. Republican. Explorer; Military Governor of California, 1847; arrested for mutiny, 1847; court-martialed; found guilty of mutiny, disobedience, and conduct prejudicial to order; penalty remitted by Pres. James K. Polk; U.S. Senator from California, 1850-51; candidate for President of the United States, 1856; general in the Union Army during the Civil War; Governor of Arizona Territory, 1878-81; speaker, Republican National Convention, 1888. Episcopalian. French ancestry. Died, of peritonitis, in a hotel room at New York, New York County, N.Y., July 13, 1890 (age 77 years, 173 days). Original interment at Trinity Cemetery, Manhattan, N.Y.; reinterment in 1891 at Rockland Cemetery, Nyack, N.Y.
  Relatives: Son of Jean Charles Frémont and Ann Whiting (Pryor) Frémont; married, October 19, 1841, to Jessie Benton (daughter of Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858)).
  Political families: Benton family; Breckinridge-Preston-Cabell family of Virginia (subsets of the Three Thousand Related Politicians).
  Cross-reference: Selah Hill
  Fremont County, Colo., Fremont County, Idaho, Fremont County, Iowa and Fremont County, Wyo. are named for him.
  Fremont Peak, in Monterey County and San Benito County, California, is named for him.  — Fremont Peak, in Coconino County, Arizona, is named for him.  — The city of Fremont, California, is named for him.  — The city of Fremont, Ohio, is named for him.  — The city of Fremont, Nebraska, is named for him.  — The World War II Liberty ship SS John C. Fremont (built 1941 at Terminal Island, California; mined and wrecked in Manila Bay, Philippines, 1945) was named for him.
  Politician named for him: John F. Hill
  Campaign slogan (1856): "Free Soil, Free Men, Fremont."
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Wikipedia article — NNDB dossier — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Books by John C. Fremont: Memoirs of My Life and Times
  Books about John C. Fremont: Tom Chaffin, Pathfinder: John Charles Fremont and the Course of American Empire — David Roberts, A Newer World : Kit Carson, John C. Fremont and the Claiming of the American West — Andrew Rolle, John Charles Fremont: Character As Destiny
  Image source: Life and Work of James G. Blaine (1893)
  Thomas Hart Benton Jr. (1816-1879) — also known as Thomas H. Benton, Jr. — of Dubuque County, Iowa. Born in Williamson County, Tenn., September 5, 1816. Member of Iowa state senate, 1846-48; Iowa superintendent of public instruction, 1848-54; general in the Union Army during the Civil War. Died in St. Louis, Mo., April 10, 1879 (age 62 years, 217 days). Interment somewhere in Marshalltown, Iowa.
  Relatives: Son of Samuel L. Benton (1786-1846) and Mary (Hunter) Benton; father of Maria C. Benton (1852-1934; who married Ben Taylor Cable (1853-1923)); nephew of Thomas Hart Benton; first cousin once removed of Maecenas Eason Benton.
  Political family: Benton family (subset of the Three Thousand Related Politicians).
  Maecenas Eason Benton (1848-1924) — also known as Maecenas E. Benton — of Neosho, Newton County, Mo. Born near Dyersburg, Dyer County, Tenn., January 29, 1848. Democrat. Served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; Newton County Prosecuting Attorney, 1878-82; U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, 1885-89; delegate to Democratic National Convention from Missouri, 1896; U.S. Representative from Missouri 15th District, 1897-1905; defeated, 1904; candidate for Presidential Elector for Missouri, 1908; delegate to Missouri state constitutional convention 18th District, 1922-23. Died, from carcinoma of larynx, in Springfield, Greene County, Mo., April 27, 1924 (age 76 years, 89 days). Interment at Odd Fellows Cemetery, Neosho, Mo.
  Relatives: Son of Thomas Hart Benton (1824-1879) and Mary Ellen (Eason) Benton (1831-1880); married, June 24, 1888, to Elizabeth Wise (1866-1952); grandnephew of Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858); first cousin once removed of Thomas Hart Benton Jr. (1816-1879).
  Political family: Benton family (subset of the Three Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
Benjamin T. Cable Ben Taylor Cable (1853-1923) — also known as Ben T. Cable — of Rock Island, Rock Island County, Ill. Born in Georgetown, Scott County, Ky., August 11, 1853. Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1884, 1892, 1900, 1904 (member, Platform and Resolutions Committee), 1908; U.S. Representative from Illinois 11th District, 1891-93; delegate to Gold Democrat National Convention from Illinois, 1896. Died in Rock Island, Rock Island County, Ill., December 13, 1923 (age 70 years, 124 days). Interment at Chippiannock Cemetery, Rock Island, Ill.
  Relatives: Son of Philander Lathrop Cable (1817-1886) and Mary Jane (Taylor) Cable (1820-1895); married, June 7, 1882, to Maria C. Benton (1852-1934; daughter of Thomas Hart Benton Jr. (1816-1879)).
  Political family: Benton family (subset of the Three Thousand Related Politicians).
  See also congressional biography — Govtrack.us page — Find-A-Grave memorial
  Image source: The Parties and The Men (1896)
"Enjoy the hospitable entertainment of a political graveyard."
Henry L. Clinton, Apollo Hall, New York City, February 3, 1872
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