Archibald T. Benson, first president of the town of Marion and organizer of several churches in Williamson County, Illinois area, was born in December 10, 1816 in Springfield, Tennessee. He was the son of William Carroll and Bethany Spiller Benson, early settlers and donors of the land for the city of Marion. Bethany was the daughter of Warrington King and Leannah Nichols/Nicholson Spiller. He married Julia Ann Bower on December 17, 1844. Julia Ann was born in 1824 and died in 1901 in Marion. She appears to be the daughter of George P. Bowyer and Mary “Polly” Harrell. I have found no documentation for this.
In 1839 A.T. and several others helped survey the town lots in Marion. He received $2 for his work. When the lots were sold in November of 1839 Archibald was one of the first buyers. He bought the lot where the Bank of Marion stands on the north side of the square for $150.00.
When an institution of higher learning called Marion Academy was attempted in 1841, Benson was among the charter members, unfortunately, the plans never manifested and the charter was eventually cancelled.
In 1846 A.T. and Ulysses Heap organized the 8 Mile Prairie church with 60 members. Archibald and Julia were living in Williamson County in 1850 with their children Joseph and Bethany M. He was a merchant. In 1860 they were living in Marion with five children and a domestic. At this time he was a preacher. He helped organize Hickory Hill church and served as its first pastor. He also served as minister at the Christian Church at Marion.
When the First Christian Church in Marion was formed in 1856, it was organized by the Rev. H. T. Banta and Rev. A. T. Benson.
Benson served as Worshipful Master of Masonic Lodge #89 in 1857-59,1861,1864.
When the Civil War broke out in 1861, a group of southern sympathizers met in a saloon on the public square and prepared to write out a proclamation of secession from the Union, A.T. Benson was the one dissenting voice.
With the coming of the Civil War A.T. helped organize the infamous 128th Illinois Regiment for the Union and served as chaplain for the unit for a period of 4 months although he signed up for a three year period. The 128th was in service for less than 5 months due to “an utter want of discipline in it” and Archibald was one of the four officers discharged from the service of the United States. Due to lack of discipline and large scale desertion the regiment was disbanded and the remainder of the unit was absorbed into other units.
In 1865 elections were held after Marion received its charter. A.T. was elected president for one year along with 6 trustees. In 1866 thru 1868, he served as trustee under Robert M. Hundley. In 1867 or 68 he moved his family to Saline county where he was a miller in 1870. While living in Saline County their oldest son, Joseph Horace Benson, died at the age of 23. Joseph was listed as a lawyer living in Stonefort. Archibald and Julia had living with them in the 1870 census: William Lumb, Andrew Jackson, Emma E. and George E. Sarah E. who would be 12 years old is not living with them. Bethany M. had married Thomas Dunaway in 1868 in Saline County.
In 1879 Archibald applied for a pension as an invalid. By 1880 A.T. and Julia moved back to Marion and he was working as a clerk in a drugstore. Their son William L. was working as a clerk in a dry goods store.
Archibald died March 20, 1894 in Marion, Illinois. Julia applied for his pension when he died. In 1900 Julia was living in the household of Ben and Elizzie Ellis as a boarder. She died in 1904. Both she and A.T. and sons Joseph and William are buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Marion.
Editor’s Notes:
William Lumb Benson was born in 1852 and died in 1900. He married Mary Delilah Pope in 1885. She was born in 1863 and died in 1892. They had four children: Lois, b 1886; Celeste, b. 1887; Joseph Pope, b. 1889; and Gladys P, b. 1891. William Lumb owned a drugstore with his brother Andrew Jackson Benson in Crab Orchard in 1870.
Sarah E. Benson, their daughter, was born in 1858 and is listed as having died in 1888. However, she was not included with the family in the 1870 or 1880 census and was not found in the Illinois index of marriages through 1900. It is possible that the 1888 death date may be an error.
Thomas Dunaway married two of Archibald and Julia’s daughters. He and Bethany Benson were married in 1868. They had two daughters, Ethel and Julia, and Bethany died in 1883. In 1884 Thomas married Emma Benson and had the following children: Mabel, Cleo, Bessie and Samuel.
Andrew Jackson Benson, born in 1855, moved back from Saline County to Marion in 1871. He attended college and in 1874 opened a drugstore in Marion. He married Addie L. Fellows who was from Livonia, New York in 1881. In 1900, he and Addie were living in Chicago with two children, Fannie L. and Bernice, and her mother Fannie Fellows. The girls had left home by 1910 and A.J. and Addie were living alone. In 1920, 1925, and 1930 they were living in Des Moines, Iowa.
The only mention of George E. Benson was in the 1870 and 1880 censuses. I have not been able to find him anywhere else.
(Sources: Illinois and Iowa Census Records, Illinois Muster rolls, Illinois Regimental Histories, History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois; Compiled by Colleen Norman, January 16, 2014)