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Charles "Wes" Benton was one of the best known musicians in this part of the Country and by 1906 had already served twenty years in the recorders office at the County Courthouse. He was also serving as the City Clerk, an unpaid position. Benton inherited the Mayors position when Mayor Twineham announced he would be foregoing the remainder of his term to accept President Roosevelt's appointment to Postmaster. In the early days, if an elected Mayor could not fulfill his term, the City Clerk automatically became the Mayor. This law was later changed. Benton served the final year of
Twineham's term.
Charles Wesley Benton was the son of J.T. and Rachel Benton, born on September 5, 1856 near Oakland City and resided in Gibson County his entire life. In 1877 he was married to Jenny Edna Paterson, who died in April 1908.
Benton played a large part in the musical history of Southern Indiana and Princeton. You could very well call Mr. Benton the Father of Princeton Music. He was a musician of extraordinary talent and could play practically every instrument in the band or orchestra. He specialized on wind instruments and in particular the cornet.
For 30 years Benton was the director of the old Princeton Band and took the organization
many places, far and wide, for concerts. At the time of Benton's death he was the oldest band director in Indiana.
For 23 years Benton served as City Clerk of Princeton and during the height of his band triumphs served as Mayor.
Benton started working in the courthouse when the third courthouse was completed in 1886. There was not another person living or dead, who had the intimate knowledge of records in the Gibson County Courthouse as he did. In the 50 years that he spent in the Courthouse, he acquired an invaluable knowledge of this counties records. He saw the rise and fall of many notable families through his abstracting of the records, from the probates of wills, to filing of foreclosure. He knew it all almost by heart.
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