Benjamin Michaux Clopton of Tennessee and Texas

Benjamin Michaux Clopton was the son of Anthony Clopton and Rhoda Hoggatt. He was named in honor of his great grandmother, Olive Judi Michaux Morgan, the daughter of Abraham and Susanne Rochet Michaux. A direct descendant of the first William Clopton, Gentleman, and Ann (Booth) Dennett Clopton, Benjamin was born in Davidson County, Tennessee on March 21, 1807. He married in Bastrop County, Texas June 15, 1836, to Justina Augusta Haden, who was born April 4, 1818 in Rowan county North Carolina. Benjamin died January 14, 1893 in Bastrop, and Justina, died October 23, 1869 in Bastrop.

They had six children: Anthony Clopton, Hoggatt Clopton, Agnes Clopton Scott, Mary Elizabeth Clopton Sherman, Rhoda Ann Clopton, who died in infancy, and John Benjamin Clopton.

On February 13, 1839, Benjamin purchased a blacksmith shop in the town of Bastrop for $100.00. On that day he also bought a slave, Polly, and her son, William Henry. However, he sold Polly for $1000.00 only a few weeks later, on March 8, 1839. He continued to operate the blacksmith shop until May 4, 1849 when he sold the business for $500.00.

In 1845 while an Alderman in the town of Bastrop, he purchased 1/4 of block #9 in a city auction for $41.00. His fortunes continued to rise and on May 25, 1850, he bought 400 acres of land for $300.00 near Elgin (SW corner of James Standifer). The 1860 the United States Census lists Benjamin's occupation as a farmer; the 1870 Census, as a blacksmith; and, the 1880 Census lists him once more as a farmer. In 1886, he sold 120 acres to his daughter, Mary Elizabeth Clopton Sherman, and he told an additional 120 acres in 1888 to his son, John Benjamin Clopton.

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Contributed by :

Maggie Clopton Wright
and Suellen Clopton Blanton, bblanton@fast.net
Based on a Clopton Family Newsletter Article in the December 1995 Issue