WWW.THERANCHBROKER.COM
  • Home Page
  • Properties
    • Search Properties
    • Exclusive Properties >
      • Live Water >
        • Real County, TX Lot 8 -frio river
        • Real County, TX 43 +/- Acres
        • Real County, TX 196 +/- Acres
        • Pinion Springs - 900 Acres
        • Pinion Springs - 1660 Acres
      • Ranches For Sale >
        • Coryell County >
          • Coryell County -103 Acres
        • Comal County >
          • Comal County -13 Acres
        • Real County >
          • Under 500 Acres >
            • Real County, TX Lot 8 -frio river
            • Real County, TX 43 +/- Acres
            • Real County, TX 196 +/- Acres
            • Real County, TX 255 +/- Acres
            • Real County - 400 +/- Acres
          • Above 500 Acres >
            • Real County - 885 Acres
            • Real County- 520 +/- Acres
            • Real County - 525 Acres
            • Real County - 600 Acres
            • Real County- 800 +/- Acres
            • Pinion Springs - 900 Acres
            • Real County - 1140 Acres
            • Pinion Springs - 1650 Acres
        • Williamson County >
          • Williamson County - 65 Acres
        • Edwards County
    • Sold Ranches >
      • Blanco County - 17 Acres
      • Blanco County - 18 Acres
      • Real County, TX 500 +/- Acres
      • Blanco County - 35 acres
      • Uvalde County - Frio 180
      • Uvalde County - Frio 203
      • Uvalde County - Nueces River 173
      • Real County - Creek 463
      • Real County - Frio - 1.44 Acres
      • Real County - 21.5 Acres
      • Sutton County - 519 acres
      • Real County - Frio - 2.4 Acres
  • ABOUT
    • About - Lem Lewis
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Ranch Services

By Lem Lewis

My Kinsman Fought Alongside Daniel Boone and in the American Revolution

4/8/2018

16 Comments

 
Picture
Cornelius Roberts Courtesy of Ancestry.com
​Cornelius “Neal” Alexander Roberts married Mary Benton about 1767. I am a descendant of theirs.
The mid- and late-1700s was a dangerous time for habitants in Southwest Virginia, near Chilhowie and the Clinch River.
A mixture of long hunters, British colonists, and American Indians all contended for their piece of the tree-covered mountains and clean water. Constant violence, and successive attacks by Indian hunting and war bands, laid unrest upon the settlers.  
​Against this backdrop, Cornelius and Mary began their life together in Henry County. The couple lived contently for a few years, and in 1769 they were granted a Right of Settlement in Grayson County, Virginia, and a plot of land to go with it.  
Cornelius, being a man to stand up for what he had and what he believed, enlisted in the militia in 1774, and fought during Lord Dunmore’s War against the Shawnee Indians. He was a member of Capt. David Looney’s Company, one of the seven companies from Fincastle County.  
Daniel Boone, who is famous for exploring and settling much of Kentucky, was one of Capt. Looney’s Lieutenants and became a good friend and comrade to Cornelius. 
As was standard for that unsettled time in American history, many members of the militia who fought in prior skirmishes found themselves playing a role as patriots. This is how it was for Cornelius in 1780 when he fought against the British in the militia of the Elk Creek District during the America Revolutionary War.  
Finally, in and around 1783, Cornelius settled down for good with his family in Russell County, in what is now Virginia, not far from Cedar Creek – a branch of the Clinch River. Cornelius and Mary lived happily for many years and had a total of 12 children, six boys and six girls.
Picture
Bob Benge Axe Courtesy http://www.houston-texas-online.com
​As was too common for most people in those days, however, peace was not to last.
In June of 1788, several men, including Cornelius’s son Daniel – who he named for his friend Daniel Boone – as well as his sons-in-law, set out on an expedition to the Black Mountain. This trip was intended to collect the valuable herb, ginseng, used at the time for medicinal purposes.  
They unknowingly set up camp within five miles of Cherokee Chief Robert Benge and his tribe. Daniel, the young son of Cornelius, had spotted the Indians nearby as he was gathering firewood and he told his father about them. Daniel said that if the Indians should attack, he planned to hide under the trunk of an old tree, near the creek, where the water had washed the dirt from around it.
Cornelius had plenty of experience with Indians, and knew how they fought, so as the sun grew heavy in the West, Cornelius gathered his family for battle. 
As expected, the Indians attacked at night. It was reported and written that Cornelius yelled, “why don’t you wait until daylight and fight like white men?” Young Daniel stuck to his plan and hid under the trunk of the tree near the water. Daniel’s dog attacked an Indian and pulled him over the tree trunk where the boy was hiding, but as luck would have it, the Indian did not see Daniel.   
Cornelius, unfortunately, was scalped and killed in the attack. He was 42 years old when he died.
Picture
Historical Marker Benge's Gap, Courtesy Markerhistory.com
​His family buried him under a large chestnut tree near the creek, cutting the tree and scattering chestnut burrs, so the Indians would think they had cut it to harvest chestnuts, and would not disturb his grave.
Cornelius never knew his youngest daughter and 12th child as she was born a few months after his death. Mary named her Mourning in his memory. 
Twenty-five years later Cornelius’ son, Daniel, and a party of men hunted down and killed Dick Benge, the son of Chief Robert Benge (who was killed in an ambush on April 6, 1794). 
The account of their death was recorded in the “Calendar of State Papers” of Virginia.
Mary, widowed with so many children, including her new baby Mourning, soon married the Reverend John Frost, a Baptist Minister, in about 1790, and they moved to Clark County, Kentucky. They lived together four decades, until Reverend Frost died in 1830. No one knows whether Mary subsequently moved to Tennessee with other members of the Frost Family or stayed in Kentucky with some of her children.
Cornelius and Mary left a legacy of 117 known grandchildren and more than 660 known great-grandchildren. 
Their daughter, Mourning Roberts Tally, was my fourth-great-grandmother.
Picture
Mourning Roberts Courtesy Ancestry.com
[Note: I’m a deep believer in the power of legacy to help us better understand our role in the world and how we got here. That applies not just to people, but to land and ranch properties that often have their own tales to tell. Capturing and sharing our legacies helps preserve the ranching culture and traditions.]

Picture
Lem Lewis
​Be Sure to Read These Other Lewis Family Legacy Blog Posts:
 
 
  • This Legend About My Great-Great-Great Grandfather Bears Repeating

  • Spending My Thanksgivings on the H.W. Lewis Ranch: Grandma Always Made the Turkey Dressing
16 Comments
Linda Kirkpatrick
4/8/2018 02:30:05 pm

Great story, Lem!

Reply
Norman Campbell link
4/1/2019 05:04:13 pm

Awesome post!

Reply
Stacy Ryan link
12/27/2019 10:56:42 am

Great post! Daniel and Cornelius Roberts are my 5th and 6th great-grandfathers, and I love seeing them recognized!

Reply
Lem Lewis
1/3/2020 01:55:10 pm

Stacy,
Thanks for the compliment. I love family history. That is really cool you are related to them. Are you on Ancestry.com? If so, we should connect. Shoot me an email if you like.

Cheers,
Lem

Reply
Willis B Roberts
10/8/2022 08:47:45 pm

My 3rd great grandfather is Jesse Roberts. Born in Virginia in 1763. I have see where Cornelius was Jesse's uncle. I've also seen where Jesse's father is James Roberts, a brother to Cornelius.

Reply
Penny Lois Holmes link
3/9/2020 08:49:31 pm

That cannot be a picture of Cornelius Roberts. He died before pictures are photos were made.

Cornelius Roberts1746–1788
BIRTH BEF 1746 • Pittsylvania, Henry County, Virginia
DEATH 24 JUN 1788 • Glade Hollow, Black Mountain, Russell County, Virginia
great-grandfather of wife of 1st cousin 3x removed Add MyTreeTags™

Reply
Liz
9/16/2020 10:43:07 am

The photograph is of Cornelius Benton “Bent” Roberts, grandson of Cornelius Alexander “Neel” Roberts through Neel’s son Nathan. Bent was one of the original settlers of Bell County, Texas.

Reply
Penny Lois Holmes link
3/9/2020 10:44:55 pm

Born as Bob Benge about 1762 in the Overhill Cherokee town of Toqua. He was the redheaded mixed-blood son of a Cherokee woman and a Scots-Irish trader named John Benge, who lived full-time among the Cherokee. He had a sister Lucy. The available sources strongly imply, but do not prove, that young Benge and his sister Lucy were also half-siblings with George Guess, better known as Sequoyah. Both Sequoyah and Benge were great-nephews of Old Tassel and Doublehead. Under the Cherokee matrilineal kinship and clan system, children were considered born into their mother's clans, and their mother's brothers were very important figures, especially for boys.

When Dragging Canoe and his party moved to the southwest in 1777, John Benge moved his family to a new home in Running Water, one of the Chickamauga Lower Towns. When Bob, who became known as "Captain Bench," his half-brother The Tail, and cousin Tahlonteeskee got old enough, they joined with their maternal uncle John Watts in fighting the Cherokee–American wars. During the Cherokee Removal of 1838, the fourth wagon train of a thousand Cherokees from Alabama was conducted by Captain John Benge, son of the Chickamauga warrior.

Reply
Traci Roberts Thomas
3/29/2021 05:13:38 pm

great story. I guess he was my 7th Great grandfather?

Reply
Kevin Roberts
4/27/2021 10:14:06 am

Very good... Daniel and Cornelius are ancestors of mine as well. Any evidence ever found as to how Cornelius emigrated? I have a story but consider it questionable.

Reply
Stacy Ryan link
4/27/2021 03:56:25 pm

I wouldn’t mind learning the unsubstantiated story. There’s often a grain of truth that can lead to clues that lead to an answer.

As another descendant of Cornelius and Daniel, I also wouldn’t mind knowing if there’s a family Bible in existence with proof of Daniel’s 1st wife and children…either in a library/archive or a personal collection.

Reply
Willis Roberts
11/29/2021 07:33:14 pm

My third great grandfather was Jesse Roberts who I believe was the son of a Cornelius Roberts. Jesse was born in 1763 in Virginia. Would love to learn more.

Reply
Jason Roberts
10/5/2022 07:35:46 pm

My 6th Great Grandfather, proud to carry on the Roberts surname. Cornelius > James > Cornelius > Owen > Maston > James > Junior > Jackson > Jason (Me)

Reply
Cindy Pruett
10/8/2022 07:08:09 pm

That’s my 6th Great Grandfather. What an amazing story. Thank you. Cindy Clark-Pruett

Reply
Anthony Benge
12/22/2022 05:19:45 pm

I appreciate the history. I swear my dad looks just like Captain Benge, save the red hair.

Reply
Katherine Teresa Smith
1/20/2023 05:02:24 pm

I am wondering how you know this story? We surely are related as Cornelius is my great great great grandfather.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2019
    April 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Picture
TREC Information About Brokerage Services form to prospective clients.
Texas Real Estate Commission Consumer Protection Notice

Mailing Address​

1761 East R.R. 473
Blanco, Texas 78606

​Lem Lewis - Broker
210-275-3551

lem@theranchbroker.com
© 2016  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - The Ranch Broker

Connect with Us​

Keep up with new listings​

Join our mailing list to receive information
​about new listings.
Subscribe
  • Home Page
  • Properties
    • Search Properties
    • Exclusive Properties >
      • Live Water >
        • Real County, TX Lot 8 -frio river
        • Real County, TX 43 +/- Acres
        • Real County, TX 196 +/- Acres
        • Pinion Springs - 900 Acres
        • Pinion Springs - 1660 Acres
      • Ranches For Sale >
        • Coryell County >
          • Coryell County -103 Acres
        • Comal County >
          • Comal County -13 Acres
        • Real County >
          • Under 500 Acres >
            • Real County, TX Lot 8 -frio river
            • Real County, TX 43 +/- Acres
            • Real County, TX 196 +/- Acres
            • Real County, TX 255 +/- Acres
            • Real County - 400 +/- Acres
          • Above 500 Acres >
            • Real County - 885 Acres
            • Real County- 520 +/- Acres
            • Real County - 525 Acres
            • Real County - 600 Acres
            • Real County- 800 +/- Acres
            • Pinion Springs - 900 Acres
            • Real County - 1140 Acres
            • Pinion Springs - 1650 Acres
        • Williamson County >
          • Williamson County - 65 Acres
        • Edwards County
    • Sold Ranches >
      • Blanco County - 17 Acres
      • Blanco County - 18 Acres
      • Real County, TX 500 +/- Acres
      • Blanco County - 35 acres
      • Uvalde County - Frio 180
      • Uvalde County - Frio 203
      • Uvalde County - Nueces River 173
      • Real County - Creek 463
      • Real County - Frio - 1.44 Acres
      • Real County - 21.5 Acres
      • Sutton County - 519 acres
      • Real County - Frio - 2.4 Acres
  • ABOUT
    • About - Lem Lewis
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Ranch Services