GGWC Benjamin May

Biography:

Benjamin May, the son of John and Mary (Stafford) May, is believed to have been born in Virginia March 17, 1737. (Tradition says he was born in Scotland but never proven.)
Benjamin May is first found listed in the 1762 Pitt County tax list as living with his father John May and brother, James May. In the 1764 Pitt County tax list Benjamin is found living in the household of Mary May, his widowed mother.

Benjamin May settled on Black Swamp, Pitt County, on the south side of Contentnea Creek near the present town of Farmville. He was listed as a "Saddler to the County and Province" as early as 1767 and he began purchasing large amounts of land as early as 1766. Between the years 1779 to 1783, Benjamin May received land grants totaling 1200 acres from the State of North Carolina. He became a very active and influential figure in the social, political and military affairs of Pitt County.

In 1773 Benjamin May was named as captain of the local regiment of Pitt County Militia. On July 30, 1779, he was appointed 1st. Major of the Pitt Regiment of Militia by Governor Richard Caswell. It is said that Benjamin May commanded the local militia at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on February 15, 1781.

On October 4, 1774, Benjamin May was elected a member of the Pitt County Committee of Safety and was on the committee to build the courthouse and jail at Martinsborough, now Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina.
On July 17, 1775, the Pitt County Safety Committee chose Benjamin May as one of the captains of the 15th Company of Pitt Patrollers.

Benjamin May was a delegate from Pitt County to the NC Provincial Congress at Halifax, North Carolina, April 12, 1776, when they passed the Halifax Declaration of Independence. He was appointed there with James Gorham (for Pitt County) to "receive, procure, and purchase firearms for the use of the troops". When the Provincial Congress met again on November 12, 1776, Benjamin May was chosen one of the five delegates from Pitt County.

Benjamin May served as a justice of the peace and resigned in 1784 after many years of service. He served as a member of the NC House of Commons from 1804 until his death on August 8, 1808,

Benjamin May appears to have been married several times. He married first on November 25, 1765 to Mary Tyson (b. April 16, 1748-d. 1800) daughter of Cornelius and Mary (Sherrod) Tyson. They had the following 12 known children: Tyson, Benjamin (Jr.), Fanny, John, Patsy, Sally, Elizabeth, Delitha, Mary, Clara, James and William May.

SAR Patriot #: P-243466 DAR #: A075992

Death: 1808 / Pitt / NC

Qualifying Service: Major / Patriotic Service

Children: Clara, Mary "Polly", Sallie, Benjamin, James, Patsy

Patriotic Service Description: Synopsis: In 1774 Benjamin May was elected to the Pitt County Committee of Public Safety and on 1 July 1775 he and 87 other citizens signed the Pitt Association Pledge of Allegiance which acknowledged King George's sovereignty, but detested the repressive acts of the British government in regard to the Massachusetts colony

Sources:

SAR Patriot Index Edition III (CD: PP2210, Progeny Publ., 2002) plus data to 2004. During the Revolutionary War, Benj. May was a commissioned Major within the Pitt County (NC) Whig militia; sources, The Colonial & State Records of NC, Wm. Laurence Saunders, author; a State of NC publication, Vol X, copyright 1993, pgs 99, 913 & 915; also, appl. for NSSAR Nat'l. No. 175971 approved on Jan 14, 2010.