Micajah Tippet Bennett
(1820-1882)
also a short biography of his
grandson
Frank McCagie Bennett
with photographs
Micajah
Tippet Bennett, 'Cage', was the third child of William F.
Bennett, Sr., and Eleanor Tippet, both of whom probably
arrived in Tennessee from North Carolina during the first
decade of the 1800s. They married in Wilson County in
1814, but Eleanor, according to later census records was
27 when they wed, and it is possible this was a second
marriage for both. William and Eleanor had five children,
Susannah, William F., Nancy L., Micajah T., and John
Oliver, all of whom were minors when their father died
sometime before March of 1829. But this story is about
Micajah...
Little is known of his childhood in Wilson County, but
he, his siblings and his mother were all there in
the 1840 census, and with the exception of brother, John,
who went to Texas and was killed early in the Civil War,
all are believed to have remained in or near Wilson
County. Cage married Martha Sarah Palmer in 1841 and was
the father of two sons, William H. and Charles
Oliver. Martha, at 26, died in October
of 1848, leaving two small children, one born only three months before her death. In August
of 1849, Micajah married a widow, Nancy Irby Tarver, the
mother of Sophronia Tarver of whom he became legal
guardian. Nancy and Micajah had only one child, J. Irby
Bennett.
Micajah was a grocery merchant in Lebanon, and his name
appears repeatedly in court documents of the time as
guardian, juror, and witness. He is mentioned in a few
slave transactions with family members and in land deeds.
He administrated several estates including that of his
second wife's mother and from the available
documentation, he appears to have possessed the trust of
others.
On the evening of August 12, 1882, 'Cage' closed the door
of his store, turned the key in the lock, and began the
routine evening walk to his home. But this night was
different; his movements were being watched by two
individuals standing on the corner who were to report to
three others waiting in the nearby bar, The Flying Jenny.
[The following
article appeared in the Maryville, Tennessee, East
Tennnessee News, Monday, August 27, 1883 - almost exactly
one year after Micajah's death.]
About
a year ago, M.T. Bennett, a grocery merchant of
Lebanon, was found dead in the street near his home.
A few days ago, a ..man named Beruis [sic]Richardson
admitted to a colored boy that himself and another
..man, Dan Ware, killed Bennett, who was also robbed
of about $400. The murderers were arrested and
jailed."
[In
the Wilson County Archives in Lebanon can be found the
text of the Wilson Co. Grand Jury Minutes for May 1885
regarding the investigation into Micajah's death. That
report is given here.]:
W. H.
Bennett, sworn, states that 'In the month of August -
I think it was the 12th, 1882, my father, M. T.
Bennett was murdered in Lebanon.'
M. W. Brown, sworn, says that on the 18 of May 1885
in his presence, Bernice Richardson confessed to the
murder of M. T. Bennett for which he was willing to
die.
M. W. Brown's testimony follows: [M. W. Brown, though not
stated, is probably the Sheriff.]
"In
his confession, Bernice [sic] Richardson
said that he, Dan Ware (colored), Tom Warren, Tom
Cox, and Jim Halfacre committed the murder. He
said that M. T. Bennett had treated him mean. He
said that he and his accomplices had made an
agreement to meet on the night of the murder of a
blacksmith shop at the mouth of the lane at the
back of A. H. Davis' residence on South
Cumberland for the purpose of murdering Mr.
Bennett.
He explained the manner of Tom Warren getting
into the business.
Warren had overheard a conversation between
Bernice and Dan Ware the same night of the
murder. The conversation took place on the corner
of the Public Square and North Cumberland, the
corner grocery was known at that time as Jenkins'
corner. He said that Dan Ware was to watch for
the closure of Mr. Bennett's store that night.
Dan Ware came to the Flying Jenny and motioned to
Bernice to come on. He said they then went on up
to the blacksmith shop.
Mr. Bennett turned the corner of South Cumberland
and went around by Isom Cox's residence. When
they got to the [blacksmith's] shop, they found
the three other men there. They went on up the
lane to College Street. Bernice said he remarked
that Mr. Bennett had walked by. He said that
James Halfacre and Dan Ware went on ahead.
The next point in Bernice's confession, he
recollected that Jim Halfacre threw the rock. I
asked him where he (Bernice) was at that time. He
said he was at the mouth of the lane near Dr.
Davis'. I asked him how he could see Jim Halfacre
throw a rock at that distance, and he replied
that the moon was shining. I told him I thought
not. I asked him if he heard the lick. He said
that he did. I told him that he could not have
heard it from that distance for it was fully one
hundred yards.
He said he went up there to where those other
parties were where they were dragging Mr. Bennett
out on the side of the road. He said they moved
him again after he got there and he assisted
them.
We asked Bernice who rifled Mr. Bennett's
pockets. I believe he said Jim Halfacre. We then
asked how much money they got. He said they told
him sixteen dollars. We asked him how much he
got. He said two dollars. We asked him what
direction they went. He said he and Dan Ware went
towards the railroad. When they got to the
railroad, they went east and crossed over by Cave
Sprint. He said they went way around and went
home.
I asked him which way the other parties went. He
said he thought Tom Cox went on his pony because
he could hear him running. He did not know which
way the other parties went. He stated that one of
the parties had a piece of meat wrapped up in a
paper. We asked him what kind of meat it was. He
said he did not known but he thought it was fresh
meat.
Someone asked him if he wanted to be hung. He
said he did. We asked him if he wanted to be hung
in the day or night. He said he wanted to be hung
in the day. We asked him what day he wanted to be
hung. He said he would let the judge set the day,
but that next Monday would suit him.
An
obituary for Micajah has not turned up, but his wife and
family buried him in Cedar Grove Cemetery in Lebanon
where his stone remains today. The words, "My
Husband" can be read with the date of his death.
Nancy lived another 13 years and was reported to have
been buried in Cedar Grove although no stone has been
found. Micajah's grave is situated on the edge of the
family plot of his son, William H. Bennett, who was a
respected dentist/surgeon in Wilson County. Buried there
are several of Micajah and Martha's descendants. His
middle son, Charles Oliver 'Ollie', married in nearby
Woodbury, and after the birth of his second or third child, moved
his family to Collin County, Texas. Charles and his wife,
Lavinia Azalean Coleman, are buried there in the Cottage
Hill Cemetery. As of this writing, nothing is known of
his and Nancy's son, J. Irby Bennett.
Frank McCagie Bennett
Grandson of Micajah Tippet Bennett and Martha
Sarah Palmer.
Frank's
middle name, McCagie, was always written with that
spelling although it seems clear that he was named for
his grandfather, Micajah. Why the unique spelling is
unknown ~ Micajah was still alive when Frank was born in
nearby Cannon County, and the Bennett men were literate.
Perhaps the spelling was done intentionally to
distinguish him from his grandfather. Frank was a young
boy of four or five when Ollie moved his family to Texas,
and his name appears on a payment record for services
given during the Confederate Veterans Reunion in 1883 when he was nine.
He earned $8.00 - perhaps tending horses....
Frank
married Dorcie Lee McCoy in McKinney in 1898, and they
farmed near Celina until his death in the summer of 1944.
Dorcie died five years later. Their obituaries and those
of Ollie and Lavinia are available through another link
on the home page. Frank and Dorcie and their son, Leonard
De and his wife, Jane, are buried in the Cottage Hill
Cemetery near Ollie and Lavinia.
 
Frank
and Dorcie on their farm about 1926 and in their
wedding day photo 1898.
A
thank-you to Carol Young, who, among other
courtesies, took the time to find and copy the grand
jury minutes and send them to me.
Family Home Page
|