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Joseph Benenhaley

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Birth	:	1753 Turkey
Death	:	1823 Dalzell, Sumter County, South Carolina, USA
Burial	:	Long Branch Baptist Church Cemetery, Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate	:	33.9952740, -80.4940580
Description	:	Long Branch Baptist Church Cemetery in Dalzell is a Turkish people cemetery Joseph Benenhaley (Jusef Ben Ali): I grew up in Sumter & was well aware of these folks as a third local ethnicity (white, black, and Turk...was not aware of any native American). My first real realization of ethnic implications was when I life-guarded the summers of 1962 & 1963 at Poinsett state park (at that time, the racially segregated South). The state park for blacks was the nearby Mill Creek Group Camp. Those were Civil Rights times of unrest with black "sit-ins" at white establishments.... Read More	Long Branch Baptist Church Cemetery in Dalzell is a Turkish people cemetery Joseph Benenhaley (Jusef Ben Ali): I grew up in Sumter & was well aware of these folks as a third local ethnicity (white, black, and Turk...was not aware of any native American). My first real realization of ethnic implications was when I life-guarded the summers of 1962 & 1963 at Poinsett state park (at that time, the racially segregated South). The state park for blacks was the nearby Mill Creek Group Camp. Those were Civil Rights times of unrest with black "sit-ins" at white establishments. As the July 4th weekend approached, park Superintendent, Storm Bailey, sat us lifeguards down and told us there were rumors that a black group was going to attempt a sit-in in "white" Poinsett Park. "But, be aware that a couple of Turk families usually come here on July 4th for a family picnic. So, if you see any dark-complected group coming across the dam, get to me quickly. If its the Turk group, I'll instantly know; and y'all can run around and assure the park users that its not blacks holding a sit-in." My mother (a life-long Tuomey Hospital nurse, Sumter, S. C.) told me before she died about the location of the 3 Turk rooms at old Tuomey Hospital along the inclined connector segment between the white wing and black wing of that old hospital in Sumter. I credit this memorial bio mostly to the excellent, very scholarly 235 page book (2018) noted below. Joseph was a refugee of the extensive, Turkey-centered Ottoman Empire from Old World conflict possibly captured off of North Africa and enslaved in the Caribbean and somehow making his way to Charleston, S. C. (the evidence is elaborated upon in that book). Gen. Thomas Sumter recruited Joseph and a dark-complected Frenchman (John Scott) as scouts during the Rev. War. Known in official records in Sumter County, S. C., USA, as Joseph Benenhaley (about 1753-1823...dates indefinite), he was given land in the Stateburg area of that county by Revolutionary War General Thomas Sumter. The "Turkish People" lived in a culturally closed community for 200 years in what became Dalzell, S. C. The youngest son of Joseph was Ferdinand Lysander Benehaley (1815-1862). Joseph was the first in Sumter County of what became an isolated & enclosed people group tending to be dark-complected and locally known (at least into the 1960s) as "Turks" with no initial connection with blacks, American native Indians, or the Melungeons. At some point, this proposed progenitor of this enclave leading to the local ethnic term, "Turk", was designated "Jusef Ben Ali" in some family lore or other writings or stories passed down. Another surname spelling might also be Benengeli. In April 2000, Greg Thompson (an Iowan who married into the Turkish community) wrote a feature in the Sumter newspaper, The Item, suggesting that the children of Joseph Benenhaley and John Scott intermarried, forming the beginning of the "Turkish People" community and rarely married outsiders until between 1830 & the 1880s when there were marriages to surnames Oxendine, Ray, Hood, and Buckner. Greg married Kathy Marie Peagler whose mother was Turkish (Leah Dorothy Bennenhaley Peagler...Leah's brother was "Big Ike" James Isaac Benenhaley). These 3 folks were instrumental in the collection of materials which university historian Glen Browder (a class of 1961 Edmunds High School graduate one year ahead of me) and his co-author eventually contributed to the book effort, below. By 1950, the Turkish Peoples numbered about 500, and most resided within a 10 square mile area of Sumter County (Dalzell to Stateburg...old name: "High Hills of the Santee"), centered in what might be referred to as the Dalzell Settlement. They lead a local public school legal effort that succeeded in the 1950s to become integrated into the public school system of Sumter County. It is thought that a few females of the surname Oxendine ("Red Bone" Indian folk in Privateer, S. C. who came from Lumbee Indians in Robeson County, N. C.) began to intermarry into this Turkish People in the 1830s (possibly triggered by the U. S. Indian Removal Act of 1830). An example is Charlie Oxendine (via son James) marrying Mary Ann Benenhaley. The Ray surname began entering in the 1840s (and the mother of the co-author of the below book was a Ray). The first black to marry in was Matilda Ellison (grand-daughter of the famous black cotton-gin maker and one of the largest slave holders in S. C., William Holmes Ellison, II of Stateburg). Ellison had a grand-daughter (Matilda) who married "Curly" Lawrence Benenhaley (her family rejected or disowned her...they had no children). Matilda wrote a series of letters which were passed down very closely within the community of Turkish People. And this turned out to be a treasure trove of historical information on these people. The Hood and the Lowery surnames began entering in the 1870s. The Bruckner surname began entering in the 1880s. Other surnames lumped into this ethnic group became part of the ethnic group but had other origins for dark complexion. Some advocate that they are of a Cheraw tribe of Indians (http://www.thesumtertribeofcherawindians.org/about.html). And some argue that these folk are simply part of a broader society of mixed-blood ancestry...Melungeons. A descendant of this group of Turkish People (Dr. Terri Ann Ognibene, co-author of the below book) has an on-line doctorate dissertation of what had been known by about 2008 (http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=msit_diss&sei-redir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Fsearch%3Fhl%3Den%26source%3Dhp%26biw%3D%26bih%3D%26q%3Dognibene%2Bdiscovering%2Bthe%2Bvoices%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bsegregated%26gbv%3D2%26oq%3Dognibene%2Bdiscovering%2Bthe%2Bvoices%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bsegregated%26gs_l%3Dheirloom-hp.12...2919.20316.0.22009.55.12.2.41.2.0.87.875.12.12.0....0...1ac.1.34.heirloom-hp..41.14.759.u8giDGNwHFg#search=%22ognibene%20discovering%20voices%20segregated%22). She and Dr. Glen Browder researched & published an amazing book detailing copious archived & obscure documentary resources & references and numerous interviews attempting to solve the mystery of this people group: South Carolina's Turkish People, a History and Ethnology, 235 pages, 2018, University of South Carolina Press. In this book, they state that the prevailing view among the group was that they were "Caucasian of Arab descent" (page 19). An article about this subject was published in the 5 July 2018 issue of the New York Times by Richard Fausset. There was an hour-long discussion of Sumter County's Turkish People on 30 Nov. 2018 on Walter Edgar's Journal via S. C. Public Radio: http://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/post/south-carolina-s-turkish-people and there is a front page write-up in the Charleston Post and Courier issue of Nov. 19, 2018. The authors of the above book have donated their research materials to the South Caroliniana Library on the University of South Carolina campus...a premier research archives. And, there being official disputes as to Turkish ethnology versus native American ethnology, papers clarifying the differences have been filed and accepted with the South Carolina Commission for Minority Affairs. Researchers have not documented (with markers or other evidence) some of the church burials noted on Find a Grave (the belief is that, way back, most were buried on home places). On pages 89-93 of the above book, burial locations of unmarked graves are discussed.

frequently asked questions (FAQ):

Where is Joseph Benenhaley's memorial?
Joseph Benenhaley's memorial is located at: Long Branch Baptist Church Cemetery, Dalzell, Sumter County, USA.
When did Joseph Benenhaley death?
Joseph Benenhaley death on 1823 in Dalzell, Sumter County, South Carolina, USA
Where are the coordinates of the Joseph Benenhaley's memorial?
Latitude: 33.9952740
Longitude: -80.4940580

Family Members:

Spouse

Children

Joseph “Joey & Jos Benanhala” Benenhaley

(1805 - 1865)

Ferdinanad Lysander Benenhaley

(1815 - 1862)

Flowers:

Nearby Cemetories:

1. Long Branch Baptist Church Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9952740, -80.4940580

2. Springbank Baptist Church Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9980270, -80.5114170

3. Hopewell Baptist Church Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0143630, -80.4887390

4. Thomas Sumter Memorial Park
Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9869003, -80.5175018

5. High Hill Baptist Church
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9849450, -80.5306550

6. High Hills AME Church Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9851670, -80.5321210

7. Spann Family Cemetery
Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9930200, -80.4525500

8. High Hills Baptist Church Cemetery
Stateburg, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9851990, -80.5343280

9. Cherryvale Plantation Cemetery
Cherryvale, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9627130, -80.4632250

10. Providence Southern Methodist Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0299050, -80.4598550

11. Saint Lukes Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9747009, -80.4408035

12. Ellison Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9583570, -80.5373800

13. Horeb Baptist Church Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0321950, -80.4504790

14. Saint Luke's AME Church Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9636190, -80.4448110

15. Ross Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0324780, -80.4502230

16. Hooper Cemetery
Stateburg, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9553330, -80.5351670

17. Church of the Holy Cross Cemetery
Stateburg, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9529340, -80.5319160

18. Wayman Chapel Cemetery
Stateburg, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9493529, -80.5288466

19. Wayman AME Chapel Cemetery
Stateburg, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9493670, -80.5293090

20. Tirzah Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Dalzell, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0156160, -80.4287640

21. Dinkins Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0441890, -80.5342420

22. Singleton Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9452500, -80.4533500

23. Bethesda Methodist Church Cemetery
Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 34.0428610, -80.5395700

24. Saint Paul AME Church Cemetery
Sumter, Sumter County, USA
Coordinate: 33.9424090, -80.4517920