Biography of Benjamin Hancock Benjamin Hancock was born in Madison County, Alabama in 1820. His parents were Anne and Clement Hancock. There were 10 children in the family, 5 sons and 5 daughters. On February 21, 1844, at the age of 24, Benjamin married Balsora Andrews. They then had three children, Benjamin, and 2 daughters, Nancy G., and Mary D. (I'll add something about the three additional children by another marriage) Benjamin was a farmer, like his father, Clement, and his grandfather, Robert had been. Benjamin inherited land from his father in the northwestern corner of Madison County, near the Limestone County line. The family lived in Alabama until 1856, when they then migrated to the Crockett area of Houston County, Texas. Houston County is in eastern Texas where cheap land was still available. Prior to Texas becoming a state, in 1845, the Mexican government invited settlers into Texas with free land offers. As a result, there was very cheap land available in Texas. The family moved there to take advantage of better opportunities, and also possibly because of a family dispute over a lawsuit. In 18??, Balsora, her brother-in-law John R. Hancock and her son Richard Clem filed a lawsuit in Madison County, Alabama against Benjamin to prevent him from any further financial dealings with the family farm acreage. The reason charged in the lawsuit was Benjamin's excessive drinking. Apparently when Benjamin was drunk, he tried to sell parts of the family farm, and other possessions. . As a result, their land became isolated within other landowners with no access into their land. As a result the Judge voided some of the land sales so as to provide access to the farm. Benjamin was 36 years old when the family arrived in East Texas. They lived on a family farm in eastern Houston County located between Kennard and Crockett. The location of the farm is not known but Benjamin and Balsora are both buried in the "Old Shady Grove Cemetery". The cememtery is located a little southwest of Kennard and only accessible with assistance by someone who knows where it is. It is adjacent to an access lane for a power line. The cemetery is very badly grown over with few grave markers left. The Shady Grove School was also located there at one time but is no longer in excistence. Compiled by Bill Felknor