If anyone on the SWVA List is related to William Dorton (Dorton's Fort near Nickelsville, Virginia) and Elizabeth Dorton, there is a good chance that you are related to Benge. My line is William Dorton, Jr., the son through the Meades. The story goes like this: Elizabeth Dorton was married first to a Benge and had a son named Benge. Elizabeth was suppose to be of Cherokee descent. She and William Dorton lived near the Indians in Rowan County, N.C. from 1761 to 1772 before coming to Russell County, Virginia. Benge was a noted Cherokee Chief and raider of the upper Holston settlements. Chief Benge's father was John Benge, a white trader who lived with the Indians for most of his adult life. LDS records gives an Elizabeth Lewis as a wife of a John Benge. Benge's birth place given as Albermarle Co., Va and year of birth as 1760. It was Benge's half brother William Dorton, Jr. who was a scout with the party commanded by Col. Andrew Lewis that pursued Benge in 1794, when Benge was killed by a Lt. Hobbs. William, Jr. when questioned about why he did not shoot Benge, replied, "I couldn't. He was my brother." I have ordered my Benge book and am waiting to see if there is any of this information in there. Truth or fiction???? It does make for an interesting story. Mary Lou Meade Newman in Cincinnati