GGWC Benjamin Sutton

Biography:

Benjamin Sutton, Sr. (ca. 1752-1837) was born in Bucklesberry Pocosin, Old Dobbs (Lenoir) County, NC. He and brothers, John, Jr. and William, were the

three proven sons of John Sutton (ca. 1730-bef. 1773). John was the first in the paternal line from Bertie County, NC to migrate to Bucklesberry in the

mid-1700s.

A strong agricultural today known for its rich, fertile soil derived from reclaimed swamp land, Bucklesberry is located next to the Neuse River. There

Benjamin lived his entire life and flourished with God's hand of blessing. He and beloved wife, Sarah Hardy Sutton (1759-1846) from Bertie County,

nurtured and grew a family of ten children: Elizabeth; Sarah; John; Thomas; William; Nancy; Winifred (Winnie); Mary (Polly); Benjamin, Jr.; and Hardy.

Like his father, Benjamin was a lifelong farmer. By 1850, his five sons and two of his grandsons had amassed 4,200 acres of land in Bucklesberry. Much

of the land is still owned by Benjamin's descendants today.

Other than devotion to his family, the single most important contribution Benjamin made during his lifetime was to his country. He served in the greatest

significant military event in American history that secured the nation's freedom, liberty, and independence.

Many fathers and sons from rural communities, including Bucklesberry, bravely served in the Revolutionary War. Although his father, John, died before

1773, prior to the start of the War, Benjamin enlisted as a Private on May 26, 1780 and served in Capt. John Creel's company under the command of Col.

James Glasgow. Along with 46 other men from then-Dobbs County, Benjamin signed the following resolution:

"State of North Carolina - We the Subscribers belonging to the Dobbs Regiment of Militia Do acknowledge that we have Severally Voluntarily enlisted into

the Service of our Country to Serve in the state of South Carolina for the Space of Three Months after Passing the Limits of the State Agreeable to the late

Aud. Bill, and that we have received from the Colonel of the said Regiment the Bounty of Three Hundred dollars each. Witness our hands the 26th day of

May, 1780." (State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh)

Under the leadership of Lt. Col. Richard Caswell, Jr., a unit from Dobbs Militia joined the War effort in the Battle of Camden, SC on August 16, 1780 during

the three-month period in which Benjamin committed to serve. There is no evidence that Benjamin fought in the Battle. His name is not included in the

registry of participants (http://battleofcamden.org/verif_amer.htm#s).

Untold numbers of descendants honor the life and service of Benjamin Sutton, Sr. in the War of Independence, including 4th great-grandson and

compatriot, Joe P. Sutton, PhD, who proudly prepared this biographical. Joe's paternal line: Wesley Allen Sutton (1929-1992), father; Wesley Bryan Sutton

(1897-1957), grandfather; William "Billy" Sutton (1847-1926), great-grandfather; Josiah Sutton, Sr. (1810-1898), 2nd great-grandfather; John Sutton (ca.

1779-ca. 1858), 3rd great-grandfather; and Benjamin Sutton, Sr. (ca. 1752-1837).