General Pere G. Ladd came to Pittsford at an early date and subsequently removed to Benson, locating where Eugene Potter now lives. He was one of the early blacksmiths of the town and followed that occupation for many years ; he died in this town March 23. 1838.

Captain Joel Dickinson moved to this town from Westhaven, and located on the farm now occupied by William Dickinson. John Ouincy Dickinson, whose fate is connected in a tragic way with the Southern Rebellion, was a son of Isaac and grandson of Captain Joel. He was a graduate of Middlebury College and went into the service as second lieutenant of Company C, Seventh Regiment, serving honorably through the war. He afterward removed to Florida, where he was made assistant secretary of the Senate, and was assassinated on account of political feeling, on the 3d of April, 1871. His remains were returned to Benson, where they were buried in the presence of the largest funeral procession ever gathered in the town.

One of the earliest settlers in east part of the town was Benoni Gleason, already mentioned. His father was Jacob Gleason, one of the earliest settlers in Pittsfield, Mass., and a Revolutionary soldier. Benoni was also in the army, as before stated. James Gleason was born in the house long occupied by him in this town, on the 27th of April, 1799, and became a prominent citizen, holding most of the town offices.

James Noble came to Benson from Pittsfield, Mass., in 1786; he was a son of Captain James, and died in Benson in 1843. James Noble, jr., born in Pittsfield in 1784, settled on the farm subsequently owned by his son, Loren S.  Noble.

Philo Wilcox, born in Goshen, Conn., in 1783, came to Benson among the early settlers and settled on the farm owned by his son, Philo ; he died there, much respected, August, 1865.

Asahel Smith was a native of Suffield, Conn., and removed to Benson in 1785. He was moderator of the town meeting at which the town of Benson was organized, in March, 1786 ; the first of the board of selectmen elected at that meeting, and the first representative of the town in the General Assembly (1788), an office which he held continuously until his death ; he was the first justice of the peace of the town and reappointed until his death, and was dele-gate to the State Constitutional Conventions of 1786, 1793 and to the Convention of 1791, at which the constitution of the United States was adopted. He died in Benson June 26, 1794, at the age of fifty-five. His widow married Captain James Noble, already alluded to as one of the first settlers. 

Asa Farnam (spelled Farnham in later years), who has been mentioned as one of the pioneers of 1784, was a surveyor and merchant, and also a farmer.  He represented the town in 1795 ; was appointed justice of the peace in the same year, and died June 13, 1811, aged forty-eight years. 

Chauncey Smith, son of Asahcl, was the first physician in the town and prominent in other respects; was elected representative in 1794 and re-elected fifteen times, exclusive of that of 1812, which was successfully contested; was appointed justice in 1794 and was delegate to the State Constitutional Convention of 1828 ; he held the office of justice thirty-five years, and in 1814 was appointed one of the assistant judges of the Rutland County Court. He kept a tavern in Benson for many years on the site now occupied by A. G. Sherman, and was an active and influential citizen during most of his life. He removed to Granville, N. Y., in 1833 and died in Leroy, N. Y., at the residence of his son, in 1836.

The name of Reuben Nash has been mentioned. He was but twelve years old when his name was inserted in the charter of Benson and he removed to the town in 1787, and followed inn-keeping, mercantile business and farming.  He married a daughter of Deacon Jonathan Woodward, and for his second wife, Lois (Moore), widow of Aaron Rising, of Dorset. He was representative of the town five terms and justice of the peace about fifteen years. In the summer of 1836 he removed to Silver Creek, N. Y., and died there July 14, 1845, aged seventy-eight years.

Deacon Jonathan Woodward, whose settlement in 1785 has been mentioned, died in 1802, in his seventy-sixth year.

Deacon Joseph Clark was an early settler and located in 1788 on the farm where Mrs. Meacham (widow of Smith Meacham) now lives. He came from Pittsfield, Mass., was a deacon, with Jonathan Woodward, of the Congregational Church of Benson on its organization in 1790, and died April 28, 1813. 

Deacon Stephen Crofoot came to Benson in 1786, from Pittsfield, and settled where Edwin Walker lives. He died in Benson March 17, 1812, in his eighty-fifth year.

Reuben Parsons, whose arrival in the town in 1788 has been mentioned, was town clerk of the town for about fifteen years, and justice of the peace from 1808 to 1812. He died in March, 1813, from the epidemic disease that then spread over this region.

Calvin Manley settled where Arunah Walker now resides and was the second and last clerk of the proprietors of the town, and was also town clerk from 1799 to 1803. He added surveying to his occupation as a farmer, and died in 1831.

Lieutenant Solomon Martin, who came to the town in 1784, from Pittsfield, Mass., attained prominence in the Revolutionary War. He marched to Cambridge in April, 1775, when the alarm came from Lexington, with Captain David Noble's company of "minute men," and was second corporal of that company. During the year 1776 he was lieutenant under the same captain. He died at Benson July 10, 1845, aged over ninety-three years. 

Dr. Perez Chapin was a conspicuous figure in the town in early years and came originally from Granby, Mass., removing to Benson in 1797, it is believed from Whately, Mass., locating where William N. Skeels now lives. He practiced his profession about ten years in Benson. He died at Benson April 26, 1839, aged eighty-six years, having, as written by another, led a blameless life. Two of his sons became Congregational clergymen. Alpheus, another son, was a portrait painter and father of Rev. E. H. Chapin, well known as the pastor of the Universalist  Church of the Divine Paternity, Fifth avenue.  New York, and one of the most eloquent orators of the country. 

Colonel Oliver Root came to Benson in 1781, from Pittsfield, Mass. He was a justice of the peace about twenty years, and town clerk from   1813 to l 815.  He removed to Castleton in 1837, where he died April 5, 1847, at the age of eighty. His settlement was made where the widow of Edward Howard now lives.

Captain Joel Dickinson, who removed from Westhaven to Benson in 1809, was originally from Pittsfield, Mass., where he had been a prominent citizen.  He located where William Dickinson lives. He was conspicuous in the Revolutionary War; marched with the "minute men " to Cambridge and arose to the office of lieutenant and captain ; was almost continuously in the service until the defeat of Burgoyne ; was present at the assault on Quebec, in December, 1775, and at Bemis's Heights, Saratoga, in October, 1777. He was made a justice in 1812 and died in January, 1813, aged sixty-three. 

Samuel Howard settled in the town in 1785, from Hartford, Conn. He was selectman from 1791 to 1795 inclusive, in 1800 and from 1806 to 1816 inclusive and represented the town in 1815 and 1823. He died April 18, 1831, at the age of seventy. His brothers, James and Daniel, have been mentioned as settlers on " Howard Hill;" James was a deacon in the Congregational Church from 1797 to his death in 1831. Major Edward S. Howard, son of Samuel, was an active and successful business man of the town, and was sent to the Assembly in 1842. He died June 7, 1863, aged nearly seventy-two years.

The settlement and descendants of Lemuel Standish have been mentioned.  He was a prominent citizen for many years; was elected constable each year from 1798 to 1815 inclusive, excepting 1799, and one of the selectmen from 1809 to 1815 inclusive; was justice of the peace from 1814 to 1821 inclusive, and in 1823 and  1826.    He removed to Illinois in 1838. 

Allen Goodrich, of Wethersfield and Glastenbury, Conn., came to this town ill 1784 ; was elected town clerk at the organization of the town and held the office until 1793; was selectman in 1791 and constable in 1793-94; from 1804 to 1814 inclusive he was annually elected the first selectman ; was justice of the peace about ten years at different periods, and represented the town in 1814. He was one of the thirteen organizers of the Congregational Church, and died March 15, 1842, aged eighty-one.

Simeon Goodrich, also from Wethersfield, Conn., was one of the selectmen selected on the organization of the town, and representative in 1798-99. He died February 7, 1852, the last survivor of the thirteen organizers of the Congregational Church, aged ninety-two years. From 1806 to the time of his death he was a deacon in that church.  He served in Colonel Baldwin's regiment of artificers, in the Revolutionary War, until January, 1781, when he was severely wounded in the knee by a blow from a broad axe, while working on a block-house. We have mentioned the locality of settlement of these pioneers.

Samuel Higgins came to Benson in 1788, and settled in the southwest part of the town. He died June 30, 1811. Their son William occupied the homestead for many years.

Amos Root came from Pittsfield, Mass., in 1787, making the long journey with an ox team and his wife riding on horseback, carrying her little son, Sheldon. He located in the eastern part of the town and died in 1813, as did also his son Stephen, in the epidemic of that period.

Amos King settled in Benson in 1797, coming from Cheshire, Mass., with his wife and two children. He located on the farm now occupied by his grandson, M. F. King, one of the prominent citizens of the town. 

Joseph Bascom came to Benson in 1815, originally from Newport, N. H.; represented the town in 1832-33, and was deacon of the Congregational Church many years. He died in 1852; the farm where he located is now occupied by Benjamin Bascom.

Isaac Griswold came to Benson, from Norwich, Conn., about 1797, and located where his son Joseph recently lived and died. He became a leading farmer in this town and an influential citizen. He was made justice of the peace in each year from 1826 to the time of his death, excepting the years 1834 and 1835.   He died in Michigan in 1844, while on a visit to his son. 

James Parkhill has been mentioned as one of the original proprietors. Jesse Parkhill was his son and removed to Benson from Williamstown, Mass., with his father's family in 1786. He was constable from 1817 to 1827 inclusive, and for twenty-five years justice of the peace (1811 to 1845). He died August 22, 1847, at the age of sixty-nine years.

Isaac Norton was one of the early successful merchants of this town. He settled on the place now occupied by Mrs. Jonas Gibbs in 1815, having studied medicine at Castleton, and practiced a brief period at Lisbon, N. Y., but abandoned the profession when he came to Benson. Here he engaged in mercantile business which he continued for about twenty-five years.    He represented the town in the General Assembly in 1826 and 1839, and was a senator for the county in 1840-41.    He died in June, 1852, at the age of sixty-two. 

Simeon Aiken (son of John) was born May 1, 1808, and died March 6, 1865. He lived on the place now occupied by his son, James Aiken. He was an influential and respected citizen; was first selectman from 1860 to 1864.