Mary, I think I have additional information. This is from my geneaology chart-it will take some time to dig thru my records to find the backup information. I think that Mary Chares (Cheers) was married to Nelson Benton. I have one source listing Nelson as dying in 1870, but other information indicates that he did not return home after the Civil War. His CW record indicates he was captured on Sept. 30, 1864, and he has no other records after that. Allen Russell Benton married Mary Gore, who died in 1852. It appears that Allen then married Mary Cheers Benton, who was his second wife. I remember that there is some conflicting information in all of this, so I'll have to dig thru all my stuff to refresh my memory. My aunt Vera in California (who is 92, the daughter of Ancrum Jethro Benton) has told me that her parents told her stories about one of her ancestors who abandoned their wife and kids and was not heard of again. She thinks that this person was Nelson. Anyway, the jury is still out on this one. I have a LOT of Benton information that I'll gladly share.