{History provided from Bonnie Benton Harrison}



Bethel Benton donated the land for the Butcher Cemetery to the community . The land records indicate that Bethel purchased the property from Oliver Whitmore 29 June, 1798 and was sole owner of the property until he sold the surrounding property to his youngest son Chester H. Benton in 1823 while preserving the Church Yard for public use and again included the property in his will upon his decease in 1838.



Land records Liber 43, page 301 dated 7 January, 1823, Bethel Benton sells to Chester H. Benton, 70 acres in Lot 38. This deed mentions the "burial ground." It Reads:"Which was formerly conveyed by Oliver Whitmore to Bethel Benton, the said Bethel Benton reserves for himself, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns the Burial Ground and fences around the Burial Ground which lies within the aforementioned tract of land and preserving for himself, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns a road leading from the South Road to said Burial Ground"



The property had been used as a Church Burial Ground for many years and contains patriots and their families from the Revolutionary War as there are Wilder's there in 1797; Warner's there in 1803; Gates' in 1805; Childs' in 1806; and Belding's in 1807. The Benton's did not bury any family until Sarah R. (wife of Chester) died in Jan 1824.



Bethel Benton's will, Liber B page 128 1828 - 10 Sep 1838 states:

"After the decease of myself and wife, upon paying the foregoing legacies as hereafter mentioned. I give to the public for the use of a Church Yard, the land now occupied as such upon my premises, forever, upon their maintaining a fence where the present one now stands.

Witnessed by John McCleary, Juah Sherwood, Elijah WilderJr.,"